House Mouse Birthday Card

Morning everyone, last day of the week. :-)  Well today I have a card especially for Polka Doodles as they have a giveaway of Letraset AquaMarkers.  Now after seeing these on Jak Heath's blog I would definitely like to give them a try.  So this is my entry into the giveaway at Polka Doodles which closes 29th August.  As part of the entry requirements you have to post a photo of a papercraft creation using a watercolour technique.

So I dug out my watercolour pencils and aqua pen last night and coloured up this cute House Mouse picture.  Don't these mice look so content and full.  I have added glitter to the icing of the cake.  I then layered up the image and added it to a square card which I had rounded the corners on.  Also layered up the background paper.  Sorry don't know the name of the stripey paper as this was the last scraps of it.  Used a rub-on for the greeting and finished with two blue bling.

This card is also perfect for the challenge I set over at Craftmad this week.  'Cupcakes'.

Also would like to enter this in the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge which is 'The letter B'.  I am going for Birthday.

Cupcake Card

Morning everyone,  I see blue skies today.....I hope they stay. :-)  This is a card I made for the lovely niece who turns 9 this coming Saturday.  This is also the reason why I set the theme of Cupcakes for the Weekly Inspiration Challenge over at Craftmad. 

I have used a wonderful template, papers, ribbons and beads from a UK magazine called Quick Cards.  It was pretty quick as all the ingredients had been thought of for me.  It was fun to put together, cutting the card shape out, adding the ribbon and glueing on all the beads for the sprinkles.

Pick Three Challenge - Stamping Vacation

With all the excitement of yesterday and being accepted on the Stamping Vacation Design Team I thought I should do another of Denise's challenges.

Now this card itself was a challenge.  I started following an idea I saw in a magazine and when I finished I just didn't like the look.  So out came the glitter.  Originally this card had a paper pieced cupcake in the centre.  So glitter went on the flame, no that didn't do it....so added the border....nope still not right.  Added the orange dots to match the cupcake liner and added glitter to the dots and outlined the circle border.  No still not right.  Covered all the circles in glitter and the cupcake liner.  Still didn't like it.  Kept showing my 14 yo daughter at every stage as she tells me outright what she thinks.  She said the cupcake is too small.  Well I looked at it again this morning and thought she may just be right.  :-)  So dug out Denise's Pick Three Challenge to see what I could add to fit the challenge and to help my card.

I think the sailboat and the birthday sticker finish it just nicely.  At least now I smile when I look at the card.

So I started with black leather craft card for the base card.  Punched out twelve circles from papers in my scrap box.  Slid them under the Blue Bazzill topper that I made by stamping Happy Birthday across.  More scrap paper to create the sailing boat which I have stuck on with 3D Foam Tape.  And lots of glitter.

The three things I have picked were:

a Summer theme,

any colour glitter,

any sticker.

I'm on the Design Team for Stamping Vacation

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post but....  I am very excited my first time ever on a Design Team and it's for a blog I love to visit.  Denise, over at Stamping Vacation kindly accepted me as part of her Design Team.  I must have had ESP as I mentioned her blog in the post below.  Telling you that if you need a challenge Stamping Vacation is the place to go as Denise has a challenge for almost every day of the week.  The challenges are very varied and will have you digging around in your collection in no time.  So pop over and become a follower...don't forget to mention that Merry sent you. :-)

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team too.  Annmaree, Stacie and Angie are three other ladies I have gotten to know over time in blog land.  There are another couple of ladies that I have yet to meet but I am sure I will love their creations.

Festive Fun...Girl in Santa Hat

Another week.  Woohoo! I have the house to myself, first time in six weeks.  :-)  Yes, my hubby has returned to work but on light duties.  I think he is happy to be out of the house but not looking forward to catching up on work.  I am looking forward to doing things at my own pace and eating when I feel like it.

This is my second card for my Card Swap over at Craftmad this month.  I have really enjoyed doing paper piecing and think I may just use my stamps a little more often.  This lovely lady was created by Ruth over at Passion for Cards.  You should pop over and see the beautiful flowers she has drawn recently.  I am also entering this card into Denise's challenge 'Lots of Paper - Patterned Paper with Dots'.  Now if you are looking for a challenge I can confidently say that Denise will have a challenge for you.  I think she now has a different challenge every day of the month and they sure get your head thinking.

Now for the card.  Well I started with the image and paper pieced her with SU Design Paper and Riding Hood Red.  I added a xmas sticker hat (Sticker Store).  Now I needed a layout so I headed over to Stamping When I Can and checked out the list of sketches she posts each day. There was one from Sketch Saturday which was perfect.

I have used a pre-scored White card for the base...then a layer of SU Design Paper, 2 strips of SU Riding Hood Red which I have stamped with little starbursts using versa mark.  Layered up the lady on SU Kiwi Kiss and added three buttons and a rub-on greeting and holly sticker.

Aquamarker Pen Giveaway

The very talented Jak has created this fantastic card and coloured with Aquamarkers from Letraset.  Jak has three sets on offer as a giveaway which closes 26th July.  As I normally colour with my watercolour pencils and aqua pen I think that these Aquamarkers sound like a close alternative.  Something I am very interested in as I would always love more range of colours.  Apparently they colour like pen but you can blend with water even when the colour has dried.

6 Cards in 1 Hour

Well almost 1 hour. :-)  I have seen a couple of the ladies that I visit attempting this challenge set by Alicia over at Time to Create. (Entries to be in by Sunday 25th July)  The cards they created are lovely.  So I thought why not have a go.  I don't normally mass produce but after those owls I did it was nice to have a good stock of cards at the end.  How hard can it be to do a simple card six times in one hour.  Hard!!!  I didn't realise that cutting the holly leaf would take such time.  I had planned on a holly wreath for each card which would have meant 8 leaves per card. Yes, my layout was changed midway. :-)

These cards took me 1 hour and 30 minutes give or take.  The reason they are Christmas themed is that I have to make a card for our July Card Swap over at Craftmad.  The theme this month is two cards using paper piecing in a christmas theme for Christmas in July.

So I have started with pre-scored white gloss cards from Blue Edge Crafts. A strip of SU Real Red which I have run through the Cuttlebug using my Swiss Dots embossing folder.  Covered the cut edge with a ribbon and added a lovely christmas sticker greeting from Sticker Store.  I have used one of the original stamps I bought many many years ago.  I used black ink and stamped on a variety of green patterned paper and cut them out.  Glued them to the card and then added sequins for the berries.

Floral Fantasies - Blog Candy

Now I really don't want to share this information with you but as part of the Blog Candy entry requirement Brenda has asked us to share.  :-(  lol  Yes, Brenda at Floral Fantasies has blog candy

Brenda is heading off on a fantastic 16 day cruise and whilst she is away has scheduled nine posts with clues as to what port she is in that day.  Another requirement for this blog candy is that you must answer each of these nine questions to go into the draw on Monday, 9th August when she returns.  Oh, one other thing .... there are actually four candies. :-)

Be sure to check out the rest of Brenda's blog as she creates amazing cards.

Night Time Owl Cards

Here are the last of my owls....for now anyway.  :-)  I thought these needed a nighttime background.  So I have used black card for my base card and then added SU design paper to the bottom section and hidden the top of the paper with black ribbon.  I cut out a white circle with my spellbinders to create a moon in the background.  Once again cut all the different shapes from my scraps.  I think this is what I enjoy most about paper crafting....get the most out of every little piece of paper.  Printed the greeting out on my computer and layered it up on black card.

Have a wonderful day everyone.  We are on the start of our long weekend due to a show (fair) holiday.

Owl Cards and more Owl Cards

Greetings on the cards are "Another Year Wiser" and "I Give a Hoot"

Greetings on cards are "Guess whoo? Thanks You" and "For Someone Whoo's Special"

Morning everyone, a cheerier post this morning.  I have been working on these cards the last couple of days since I spied the idea in a magazine.  This wonderful idea to use up your scraps is from Kirsty Maluga and is in the Australian Papercraft Magazine Issue 8.  My lunch box that I store all my leftover pieces in is overflowing once more and really loved this idea and a couple more to use some of them up. I thought this owl was so cute that I had to do more than one and for some reason '6' was the magic number.  Yes, two more on the go with my own background design.

The theme I conveniently chose for the Weekly Inspiration Challenge over at Craftmad is 'BIRDS'.   So I think these fit in nicely. :-)

I am also entering the top two into the No No Challenge at Stamping Vacation.  The theme for this is 'Anything but White'.

P.S. Denise this is the paper piecing I was working on.....so much fun.

Sympathy Card

Morning everyone,  this is the sympathy card I have made for my friend.  We are off to her partners funeral today which I am not looking forward to at all.  45...is too young to go.  Apparently, he was just standing there talking and grabbed his chest and collapsed.....all to sudden.

I found this lovely layout at ThinkSpot by Marelle Taylor.  Thought it was perfect for my new Organic Grace stamp set from Stampin Up.

Open Flag

I have been trying to create an Open flag for our local Museum 'The Mulgrave Settlers Museum', as we are down in the back corner of town directly opposite the mill.  The current signage they have at the moment is a wooden Open sign that is close to the building and you can see if you are driving past.  But if you are visiting the town or even a local you don't tend to drive down the street that we are on as people tend to think it mill property.  So I started out wanting to make a teardrop flag that I have seen in the car yards etc.  I could find an appropriate pole to use that would bend and hold the weight of the flag.  

So went for this flag option.  I bought a length (2.7m)  of PVC piping and an elbow joint.  Cut off 50cm for the top section of the flag.  The flag is made from a material that could be used in a spray jacket or shower curtain....don't know what they call it.  Which hemmed all the way round.  I then printed out Outline letters on the computer to spell out the word OPEN.  Cut these letters out to create a stencil.  Then used my new spouncer and painted the letters.  Yesterday, with hammer and block of wood in tow I hammered another slightly bigger piece of PVC piping into the ground.  It was only 50cm long but wider.  This will remain in the garden bed continually so that we can just slot the flag in and out.  

When I showed hubby he said the lettering is wrong way which they are if you are looking from town.  I did try to figure out the best way to paint the words on.  Didn't think of the wind direction being the deciding point which hubby pointed out.  That a majority of time it blows from the north.  Luckily I have a second flag ready to go and will just paint the letters the opposite way.  

Anyways, hoping this flag will catch someones attention.

Happy Happy Birthday 'S' Card

Hi everyone, another new week.  I know for sure that Wednesday will not be my favourite day.  I have a funeral to attend.  My friends partner passed away suddenly last Wednesday of a heart attack.  He had only just turned 45 the Thursday before.  Unbelievable and scary.  I am sure the rest of the week will sail along though and I hope yours does too.

A happier note....this card I created for my weekly inspiration challenge over at Craftmad.  This week it was 'S'....so very open ended.  Any technique, paper, embellishment, style starting with 'S'.  I started with the stripes as Mandy from Blue Edge Crafts had sent me a whole lot of Bazzill strips ages ago and I really wanted to use them just never found the right card.  Dug out all the green strips and a couple of brown and attached them to the card....in a hope they look a little like a tree branch with leaves.  Set up the sewing machine and sewed a couple times down each side.  Layered up the Blue Bazzill and Yellow Bazzill on the right side so I could add my sticker greeting.  Used my wonderful sticker birds from the Sticker Store stuck them to the same Blue Bazzill and cut around then attached to the card.  The card is actually resting on my scrap box that is overflowing.  Last night I started on a project that I spied in a magazine to use some of these scraps up.  So hopefully I can show that off tomorrow.

Take care everyone and happy crafting.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

Morning everyone, had to share this very yummy Pineapple Zucchini Bread that I made yesterday for the very first time.  The wonderful Stacie from over at All Things Crafty kindly shared the recipe.  The only thing I would say is don't do like I did.  I put all the wet ingredients into a bowl and then being lazy just piled all the dry ingredients on top without sifting or giving a little mix prior to adding to wet.  So I have a taste of baking soda (Bicarb Soda) in my mouth from time to time.  Live and learn.  Thanks Stacie I will be cooking this again.  As you can see the recipe is a big one making the square tin and a small loaf.

Stampin Up Bird

Morning everyone, I am really happy to share this card with you.  I have never had a card come together so easily and that I was so happy with.  Last night I thought I have to make a card as my desk and gear are back where they belong....although I still have a pile of paper and embellishments to sort through.  When I sat at my desk I discovered the brown punched out pieces, the bird, four pink flowers and the punched leaves.  I thought I might as well make a card with these rather than trying to find them a home.   They were left over pieces that Ruth gave to me on the Stampin Up workshop night.  

So grabbed a white pre-scored card (Blue Edge Crafts) for the base.  Spied the beautiful piece of Stampin Up design paper in my scrap box.  I had embossed it with the Victoria embossing folder last week to show Nana how the cuttlebug worked.  I layered the green paper on some black and rolled down the top.  Next I added all the pieces I had less one of the pink flowers as odd numbers always look better.  I dug out some of Stampin Up buttons and threaded twine through them and attached them to the centre of the flowers.  Finished with a perfect black Happy Birthday sticker. (Sticker Store)

Since I am getting back in the swing of things I have been checking out Denise's list of challenges over at Stamping Vacation.  I am sure that you can find a challenge there that suits your needs and tastes.  I am going to enter this in Denise's latest challenge "Animal Applause Challenge"  the card needs and animal you can hold in your lap safely.  I figure the bird is very appropriate.  P.S.  Denise is also having a DT call for all her challenges.

Get Well Soon

I have made this card for my friends Mum who has just had her second knee reconstruction.  So now both knees will have been done hopefully she has a pain free and more mobile life like my Mum. :-)

I have used my new SU Organic Grace stamp set...so much fun.  Mainly got this set as my Mum loves dragonflies so it will get a bit of use.  I have started with a pre-scored white gloss card from Blue Edge Crafts.  Then layers of stampin up papers Rose Red, Bravo Burgandy, and Bordering Blue.  Stamped the images in matching SU inks.  Finished with a touch of glitter on the dragonfly and the greeting which I printed from the computer.  My other new toys were the large oval punch and the scalloped edge punch that I used on the greeting.

Yes, I am slowly getting my craft room back into order.  Have most of my gear back in here but still have a pile on the floor....not sure where it all fitted before.  lol

Wow ... Wednesday

This clever little box was given to me at my Stampin Up workshop I had a couple of weeks ago.  Ruth created it using the new envelope die for the Big Shot.  Instead of folding the die into an envelope it is left open and overlap each other to form the side and bottom of the box.  Too cute.  The flower Ruth has made from one piece of Stampin Up card, brushed water over it and then seperated the layers.

As you may have guessed I haven't personally created anything to share.  So thought I would show you these amazing things I have spied while visiting peoples blogs.

Starting with this amazing Fuchsia from Valita's Fresh Fold blog.

This was a little fun as I have never heard of Mad Libs before.

Nikki tells you all about Mad Libs here at Whimsy Love

I found this link here that lets you have a try at a Mad Lib story.

Check out this amazing card by Jak Heath using a Mo Manning image.

Tilda and Basket

Kids are back at school today.....  :-)  I don't think they are as happy as me. lol  Really they are good kids, I just want my space.  Hubby is home for another two weeks which should be an interesting time, as there are no kids to sidetrack either of us.

Now the card I created using the June Card Sketch over at Craftmad.  I had fun using the diamond on the front as it is not a shape I tend to use.  I started with a pre-scored white card from Blue Edge Crafts.  Then layers of lovely textured paper that my daughter gave me.   The spotted paper is a Stampin Up Designer Paper which I don't know the name of sorry.  I coloured Tilda with my watercolour pencils and aqua brush and had to add a touch of glitter to her.  Finished the card with this lovely flower from Scrap Attack and three bits of bling.

We Will Miss You

Well today Nana our exchange Japanese student moves on to her new family.  :-(  Yep, we will miss her and I have learnt lots about Japan and would love to visit one day.  It did take a little adjusting to having three kids but when the third one is as quiet and as helpful as Nana was, it made things a lot easier.  Nana will be moving to a different suburb but still attending the same school, so the kids will still get to see her.  I have my fingers crossed that we find a way for Nana to remain playing tennis with us ladies on a Tuesday arvo.

So this is the card I have made for her.  I would have liked a little more time but Nana has been bitten by the cardmaking bug and was using my desk. lol  Yes, she came to Australia not doing anything crafty and has left our house wanting to do cardmaking and has also made one beaded bracelet and two little lovely charms.  Now she is heading to a house that I am totally jealous of.  The lady has converted their garage into a sewing/quilting room.  Heaven.  Clear boxes line the walls full of materials, she has a huge quilting machine.   She finishes quilts for other people.  Has a few quilts and hangers lining the walls too...wonderful.

Back to the card.  I have used the Craftmad July Card Sketch for this card.  The papers I have collected over time and not sure where from.  The image is from Dawn Moore called Happy Girl Bird which I coloured with my watercolour pencils and aqua brush.

Last day of school holidays for us here too....so big changes a happening.  The house will be very quiet tomorrow.  May even have it to myself if the Doctor lets hubby work a couple of hours.  First time in over a month ...... What will I do?  :-0

Happy Anniversary - 23 Years

Morning everyone, just had to share this fun card I made yesterday.  Yes, it's hubby's and my 23rd Wedding Anniversary today.  After 23 years I am feeling like a little humour instead of the romantic style card.  So visited Bugaboo and bought this wonderful Gus and Stella image. Isn't it such fun. :-)

I have coloured it with my water colour pencils and aqua pen.  Finished with some Dimensional Magic on the glasses.  I used a white pre-scored card for the base card. (Blue Edge Crafts)  Then found this wonderful heart paper that reminds me of those heart shaped lollies with messages on them.  Flipped over the top right corner and held it down with a heart split pin then stamped on the base card corner.  Layered the topper and wording up on some blue paper and tadah we have a card.

Nothing too special happening as hubby still not sit in a chair for too long with out him getting a dull ache in his lower back.  Yep, this is still from his cycling accident three weeks ago.  He has a review with the doctors tomorrow to see if they will let him go back to work.  His mind wants to as there are lots of things happening at work and of course it is all getting behind.  But he is not sure his body can last a long length of time.  We will see.  Also I think TV is getting boring after three weeks solid watching.  Now I did not think that day would come as my hubby loves his TV. :-)  Happy Sunday everyone.

A Building Theme

Morning everyone, the cards today were created for my Weekly Inspiration Challenge over at Craftmad.  The theme last week was HOUSES/BUILDINGS.  The theme this week is SPORTS.  Can't believe it Friday already and I haven't made that card.

This card I had spied a technique in a magazine that I wanted to try out.  First I used a white pre-scored base card (Blue Edge Crafts).  Then a layer of wonderful green paper from a magazine.  Next layered up some Stampin Up card Always Artichoke, Night of Navy and Bordering on Blue.  I then used a building sticker from the Sticker Store.  I peeled it off then attached and reattached it to my cutting board to remove some stickiness before attaching it to a piece of white card.  Then grabbed my chalks and rubbed this wonderful green colour across the sticker.  When all coloured removed the sticker and it has left this terrific outline. I then attached it to some handmade paper which I tore around the edge and added a little heart to the clock tower to make the building look more like a house.  Finished with a greeting printed off my computer.  Such a fun technique, I will be doing this again real soon.

This card I have used the sticker from the above card that I used as a stencil.  Bargain ..... two cards from one sticker.  I have used Stampin Up card for the base card Brilliant Blue.  Then ran SU Lovely Lilac through the cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder and edged it with a sliver of SU Gable Green.  I have then layered up the building sticker (Sticker Store) using the same colours.  Coloured the background of the sticker with my aqua pen and watercolour pencils.  Finished off the card with alphabet letters that I have collected from a magazine giveaway.  The 'W', 'M' are raised on a 3D Foam square and since the photo of removed and raised the 'D' also.

Happy Friday everyone.

Fairy Flower and Glitter Flourish Books

Hi everyone, I missed yesterday as my teenage son who has been moved into the computer room while we have our exchange student stay....has decided it's great sleeping in on school holidays.  :-(  So there was no time before we rushed out and spent the day crafting with two other ladies.  Well I crafted and the two girls spent time with the other kids that were their.  Nana (Japanese exchange student) got to see sugar cane right up close and even had a taste...too sweet she says.

Well I have finished two more books.  The papers once again are from the Once Upon a Time scrapbook pad I received in a giveaway from Thearica over at Pigtales and Quilts.  I haven't added any beading to the ribbons this time as I think the papers are pretty enough.

Happy Birthday Slider Card

Morning everyone,  I have been visiting Crafts U Print for a little bit now looking at all the fantastic sheets that are available.  I am not normally a decoupage or paper tole person but they have so many fun variations that I took the plunge and bought a couple of sheets.  This one is 'One Year Older and another  inch higher .... ref# cup48056_203.

You push the tab at the bottom that says 'Another Year Older' and his trousers raise up.  I am hoping this will one day happen to my son as he wears his so low.  But maybe not quite so high as the end result.  :-)

I think the bit I don't like about decoupage is the cutting out.  I love the putting together.  I have layered this one up and added some Dimensional Magic to the balloons to make them shine.  Also attached some cotton as the string for the balloons.

The link below will take you over to Crafts U Print.

Rose Book

Hi everyone.....it's Monday again.  We had a nice relaxing weekend which I think the weather helped.  It was overcast and a little showery so just had to stay indoors and play. :-)  I finally got to and finished another one of my books.  I was a bit worried about this paper as I thought there was too much pattern but am happy with the end result.  The stained glass rose is just lovely.  Found some wooden beads and a key charm to attach to the organza ribbon.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Pendant Park Card

Morning everyone, this is the card that we made with Ruth at the Stampin Up (Stamping 4 Fun) workshop I had last Saturday night.  Isn't this set so pretty and cute.  It is called Pendant Park.  We have used Soft Suede for the base card which we folded a little differently.  It has a 2cm lip at the bottom.  Ruth had already out the Top Note for us using her Big Shot Machine.  The inks we used were the Soft Suede and Rich Razzleberry.  I love the way we added a torn piece of design piece under the top corner of the Top Note and just turned them both over.  Just finishes the card.

WOYDW and Goodies Pack

Morning everyone, thought that I would take part in the WOYDW (What's on your Desk Wednesday).  Plus thought I would show how much my crafting has spread since April.  April I had to move all my crafting goodies here as we had to shuffle rooms for our Japanese Exchange Student.

So the above picture is as I first moved into my little corner in April.

Now the 1st day of July this is what my little corner looks like.  You will see I have been spreading.  There is now a pile on the lounge...some on the floor, more on the bookcase and I have even spread to behind me and the little round table.  Oops!  Only 12 more days and I have my room back.  Yay!!!

This is a collection of goodies that I won from the wonderful Brenda-Lea over at 'The Purple Lady' blog.  Brenda-Lea had a 29 day giveaway...just for the sake of giving away.  How generous is that.  The white cards in the photo have hearts embossed all the way around the edge.  Can't wait to get started on some cards with these.  Aren't the earrings cute that she has made.

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone.