Mele Kalikimaka card

The colour challenge on the CDAC site was to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii  by using the colours of pink, blue-green, and beige, and the free digi of the mermaid. Here is my version, and CDAC loved it so much they gave me an award for it! I created a blue-green backgound on the PC, printed and coloured the mermaid with COPICS and glitter, added puff paint for the waves, and drew a few trees, people and a fush. The rock was made from a piece of handmade paper, distressed with a dark brown chalk.

The wedding of 2010

I've been a little quiet here because I was heavily involved in getting my daughter's wedding 'perfect for her', so just could not find that extra time to make any card creations. Instead, I spent nearly 3 months (b4 and after work) sewing, sewing, sewing.

So the big day has now come and gone, and here are the results. All the table decorations (cloths, serviettes, runners, and favours) were handmade. The second photo shows the bride on her big day, and she looked gorgeous! The third photo is the wedding invitation cards that my daughter made (in one of her rare creative moods)! Stunning and very classy.

 

 

Purple Angel

I just could not resist the challenge of making this Angel in the online (and free) CDAC Angel Class! As I change the colour scheme of my Christmas decorations each year, this year I chose purple and silver, based on a gorgeous piece of purple tinsel I found in the local shop. And this littel Angel is going on top of the tree this year!

So here's how she was made. First you need to join the CDAC Paper Angel Class and download the free pattern pieces. I printed out the sheet, then cut out all the pieces to use as a template. The image on the front of the Angel's dress is from Digistamps4Joy and is called 'flower border'. I pasted this image into MSWord, copied it and flipped the second image horizontally, and then moved them closer together so the 2 leaves almost touch. Remember if using an image on the angel dress, to slightly tilt the images to fit the dress curve. Once this was printed onto cardstock, I used the dress template piece to trace the pattern around the images, and then cut out the cardstock. The images were coloured exclusively with glitter pens. Once coloured, I punched out single 'stars' on the border of the dress and sleeves (my thumb was sore afterwards!), and cut the edges of the dress and sleeves with pattern scissors. Both the dress and sleeves were pasted onto some lovely purple foil and I made sure the edge of the foil was visible at the bottom of the dress, so I could cut this with the pattern scissors as well. I covered all the pieces with a clear glitter Stickles, and added gems to the hem of the dress. The wings were cut out of purple foil, with white feathers and purple gems glued onto them. The halo is a piece of glittery cord I found in my stash.

"Use a feather" Challenge at Digistamps4Joy

This week's challenge at Digistamps4Joy is 'use a feather'. I luuuuv feathers, so enjoyed making this card.

 

Card recipe:

digistamp - a brand new image called – “Lady+hat’

Copics – Caio E00 and Y28, Sketch E25

Hat and shirt – watercolour pencils

Necklace – tiny red gems

Black embossed background – Cuttlebug Victoria folder, with silver distressing on raised areas

Papers and flowers out of stash

The requisite ‘feather’ (2x) for the challenge

Don't forget to pop into Digistamps4Joy to see what the rest of the DT have made, and we can't wait to see what card you make with a FEATHER!!!!

Cards made with the "wreath" digis

Here are 3 cards I made with the 3 different 'wreath' digis available at Digistamps4Joy.

 This card was made with "Christmas wreath 3". The wooden part of the wreath was coloured in with Copics (E25 + Y28 ), and the bow, leaves, and berries with Promarkers (cobalt green, sap green, cadmium red). The white cardstock was embossed with Cuttlebug folder "Swiss Dots", all the dots were glittered, and then the basic white and red shapes cut with Nestabilities.  These were layered on top of each other and then onto gold card. The swirls on the left were made using a tiny sequin that I found at the local material shop! Of course the usual bling was added to the ribbon, leaves, and some berries.

I like this card - perhaps it is the embossed (Cuttlebug 'snow dots') white card that was covered in dimensional 3D glitter that came out so nicely. The digistamps is "Christmas wreath 2".  Copics (E25 + Y28 ) were again used on the wooden part of the wreath, and the leaves and berries were coloured with Promarkers (cobalt green, sap green, cadmium red). The edges of the snowman were coloured in with a light blue watercolour pencil, and the colour was worked towards the white centres. Snowman's hat and scarf were covered with the same dimensional glitter. Circles cut with Nestabilities.

Card 3 was made with the digistamp "Christmas wreath 1"
The same Copics, Promarkers AND glitter were used.

Digistamps4Joy Challenge #6

The challenge at Digistamps4Joy for the next 2 weeks is "Inspired by Christmas / Holiday Season", and for this I have made a card that is one HUGE bling card! Unfortunately the photograph does not do the card justice. The background paper is a piece of glitter card - r-e-e-a-a-l-l-y glittery! The image - from Digistamps4Joy - was coloured in with the computer (Inkscape), and the paper ribbon strip on the side was made using a cheap little punch I found in the local shop, and thought that it would work nicely with ribbon threading. Because the glitter background is so dominant I decided to keep the card simple, and only added a gold embossed "Merry Christmas".

Hope to see your entries in this challenge, and do pop in to the blog to see what the rest of the DT has made.

Digistamps4Joy Challenge #5

The challenge for the next 2 weeks at Digistamps4Joy is " you spin me right around" - incorporating circles.  My card is made with the thinking about you digistamp, and I made a circular (just a fancy word for 'round' of course!) easel card. I used olive coloured cardstock, 3 patterned papers which I distressed, stickles glitter, half pearls, and some flowers.

 The prize is the choice of digis from the store, and we have gorgeous digistamps, so pop on over to Digistamps4Joyand see what's on offer! Of course you should also visit the other DT members to see how they have interpreted this challenge. They are:

Jen

Gemma

Louise

Debbie

Audrey

All for now, till we meet again!

 

Nell on bicycle

I've had this gorgeous image for a while now, but had forgotten about it! It comes from Beccy's Place, and is still available there. There is this unspoken perception that anyone over the age of 50, is on the downward slope! Mmmm, I personally think the last 7 years after 50 have been my best, and somehow after 50, you just don't care anymore what people think!! This image says it all.

I used:
Dusty pink cardstock for the card, desert coloured cardstock - edge cut with shaped scissors, two matching patterned papers, red ribbon, hald pearls, and of course the ever present glitter glue.

Enjoy!

Digistamps4Joy Challenge #4

Congratulations to the winners of challenge #3 at Digistamps4Joy.com - your cards are superb! This challenge is based on a sketchcard, and our DT has once again excelled in the gorgeous cards they've made. 

I decided to make a South African Christmas card i.e. no snow, no penguins, just good old hot summer and beautiful sunsets. I used the design "giraffe with hat", but of course he can be used in a 'cold' Christmas setting as well. The oval shape is actually a 'shaker' with gold stars inside, with a sunset background photo. I raised the giraffe image on top of the oval shaker, and added puff paint on the fluff of the hat. The rest of the card includes leaves punched from different coloured cardstock, and edges glittered, ribbon, Copics and Promarkers, and a piece of crimped sand-coloured paper. Here's a close-up of the oval shaker and giraffe.

Please visit the rest of the DT and see what wonderful cards they have made, and leave a message. We love to hear from you. Now ..... over to you, and you only have until 26 October 2010 to enter. Enter your blog entry on the Digistamps4Joy blog, and remember - use a Digistamps 4 Joy image.

Take a look at what the rest of the DT has done with this challenge:

Jen

Gemma

Louise

Debbie

Audrey

Mel (GDT!)

and then of course me ... but you are already here!

Something Cute

Challenge #26 on Phindy's Place is ... make something cute. What fun! I could not resist the "flowertop fairy mushroom" image, so bought it, and what a super image it was to work with. So, here's my "cute" card.

Because the purple background paper I chose, came with the stunning glitter embossing (top right), I decided to keep the card very simple. The fairy was printed onto a light green paper, and the edges were stippled with purple and blue, to blend into the background of the card. I added lots of clear stickles to the wings. On the left is a piece of very wide purple ribbon, onto which I sewed some olive green organza ribbon which I gathered and scrunched up, then tacked onto the wide ribbon. Here and there I glued a few green glitter gems. And that's it! The close up of the fairy (below) shows the wing bling, and the colouring with my fluorescent gel pens, and Copics for the hair and skin (haven't quite mastered the hair technique yet, but was my first time with Copics, so be patient with me, I'll get it right soon!).

Phindy's Place challenge #25

The challenge for this week on Phindy's Place was to make a card from this sketch. What a super sketch this was to work with!

My card is made 'mostly' with goodies that I recently bought, but was too stingy to use! Ever felt like that? You buy this absolutely stunning paper, and then can't face the thought of putting a pair of scissors to it! Silly really, but I'm only human. I chose the colour pink as it is breast cancer month.

So, I used:
Pettycoat Patty from Phindy's Place; W&M pink floral papers; a "Sweet Friend" sticker I've had for ages; piece of beige lace; paper flowers; stickles; and Copics and gel pens. I cut off the image at the bottom of the dress, sewed some lace to another image, then glued the feet back in place. I've posted a close-up of the dress and lace.

The reason for the season

This stamp was designed for Digistamps4Joy, and I have made up a card from it. I found a 'book' of what initially looked like silver patterned paper, bought it, then got a wonderful surprise when I opened it at home. It was a set of velum paper, over printed with the most gorgeous silver designs! Here you can see how I layered it on top of a piece of purple cardstock. The stamp was printed onto white card, cut with a nestabilities shape, the edges stippled with light pink and purple, and the flowers coloured in with pastel gel pens. This has come out so nicely, and I think the velum gives a soft feeling to the whole card and stamp.

Digistamps4Joy DT challenge #3

Digistamps4joy challenge #3 was chosen to remember Breast Cancer Awareness month - October, and it really is a super challenge - all you need to do is "think pink" and create any papercraft project with pink. And the prize? Three lucky people will each win ANY digistamp from the store - and believe me there are some really soooooper stamps to choose from! There's a FREEBIE too! So enter the challenge, you only have 2 weeks to enter your card!

I used "funky Kate" to make my card, and she can be purchased here at Digistamps4Joy. The list of other items used are:
fluorescent pink gel pen, and watercolour pencils, Copic E000, pink spotted ribbon from stash, pastel pink, ruffled, shiny BG paper (also from stash), duck brad, white card stock (embossed with Cuttlebug Snow Dots folder), cerise and silver cardstock, glitter gems (pink and silver), pink frame from Cricut Sentimentals, and of course .... silver glitter glue for the "bling"!
Did you notice the pink ribbon 'gem' in her hair? Reminded me of the breast cancer ribbon.
Do pop into the other DT member's blogs and take a look at what this great team has created. Leave a comment too, as we love hearing from you!
Debbie (South Africa) http://dkhdesigns.blogspot.com
Jen (South Africa) http://jencraftsa.blogspot.com
Margy (South Africa) http://deniquecrafts.blogspot.com
Louise (New Zealand) http://www.punknscrap.com
Audrey (United States) http://hippieaud.blogspot.com
Gemma (UK) http://handmadebygem.blogspot.com
and our Guest DT (Sweden) http://bettina-bettyboop.blogspot.com

 

"Jill" the scarecrow

Yesterday was a holiday here (Heritage Day), so I had some time to sit and draw! I'm not a feminist, but sometimes I wonder why most things in life have a 'male' flavour eg. manhole, manager, chairman, etc, and I'm sure you could come up with many more. What triggered my thoughts yesterday, was seeing a drawing of a scarecrow - yes, a male. So, all fired up, I switched on the trusty old PC and designed a "pretty little girl" scarecrow. Ok, I did give in, and drew a brother for her as well. So here is "Jill" and she will soon be available at Digistamps4Joy, together with her brother "Jack". Isn't she just so cute? I coloured her in with water colour pencils, and fluorescent gel pens. The beige background is a piece of mulberry paper with fine threads in it, and I distressed the edges with bright orange chalk. The leaves were made with a new punch I had just bought (got to get practice using it!), and I glittered the edges. Hope you like her. Now, suppose I'd better go make up her brother as well.

Gorgeous legs

I always like to 'test out' my digistamps before sending them to be sold, and this is my latest stamp - and card.

The digi, called "Fancy Legs" is available at the Digistamps4joy site.

I cut the stamp in half just below the first frill, then sewed on two narrow pieces of gathered organza onto the bottom half, and then glued the top half back on top of the frill (that sounds complicated, but isn't!). The legs were coloured with Copic E000. The dress was covered with red glitter glue, the top frill with a clear Stickles, and after colouring in the shoes with red felt pen, I added 3 flat gems. The background paper is one of those scented papers (don't know the name sorry), and I layered this onto red and gold paper, with the edges trimmed with a Fiskars punch.

This photos shows the frills, and the background paper, showing the lovely pattern on the paper.

A card from recycled 'goodies'

The brief for the Digistamps4joy second September DT challenge was ... use something that has been recycled.  I think most of us have the habit of saving just about everything ... "just in case", and all the family are saying "oh no, not more rubbish". Anyone out there got this t-shirt? So, when I saw this challenge, my first thought was .. yay, now I can use some of the 'rubbish'! So after scratching around, I decided to make a Christmas cracker-card, using the 'flower heart’ stamp from Digistamps4joy. Apologies for the glare on the gold card, but I battled to take a photo with the flash.

The base of the heart was coloured in with a Copic (E00), while I coloured the flowers in with gel pens and glitter glue. The recycled items are:

1. Gold triangle top-and-bottom trims – from a 2009 Christmas cracker
2. Gold paper peeping out behind the heart and acetate – from a 2009 gold Christmas hat
3. Hatch pattern clear acetate (see it in the close-up photo) – believe it or not …. is from the base of the inside container of a box of Zoo Iced biscuits!

Catching up, and xmas tree ornament cards

Goodness, but time is flying! In the last 4 weeks I have spent two of them away from home - and my craft room! My sister suggested for my last week away, that I take a whole bag full of crafting goodies with to the hotel. The problem with that is, that just as you get into making something in the room, you realise you left the glue at home! So, I took another route. I printed out 10 pages of images that I wanted to make cards out of, put them, my small cutting scissors, and plastic sleeves, into a large plastic pocket. It took me exactly 3 nights, after each workshop session and dinner, to cut these out while watching the TV!! Should have printed out more, but oh well, at least some cutting was done.

What I want to share with you today is the shaker Christmas cards I made, to hang on the xmas tree.  I must credit the original idea to Maria Bell of stampininspirations.blogspot.com, where she also has a tutorial on making these ornaments. I took her idea, made a few more shapes, and changed the finished product from a tree ornament, to a christmas card. This is just me being the old practical self again. I thought if I could make the ornament big enough to be able to write a message on the back, then I could send it as a Christmas card, and the recipients could hang it on their trees. My sister then came on board, and cut out some additional shapes from the Cricut cartridges, and I ended up making 12 of these different "cards". So here are 4 of the cards I made. The candle digistamp is from www.digistamps4joy.com.
Oh, and these are ALL shaker cards!!

Digistamps4joy DT & Challenge

Today is the day that Digistamps4joy announces the Design Team, and I made it - my first as a DT member, so I hope I do them proud! Our first challenge was to design a card with one of their stamps, around this image, taking into account the patterns, colour, and layout.


















So, after scrutinising the room, I decided to take up on the following characteristics:
1. stripes on cushions and wall;
2. rectangular cushions;
3. colours: white as the base colour, lime green, cerise (pink), and light blue;
4. a circle shape, as in the lamp and the spots on the one cushion, and finally,
5. a horizontal band cut by a vertical band on the left.

I used the "chef-Henri" stamp as my image, coloured him in with copics and fluorescent gel pens, and added a little clear stickles on his hat. The striped paper comes out of my stash (and yes it looks almost the same as the upholstery covering!). The circles were cut with 2 different size Nestabilities. The green 'flower' was made from 4 small hearts punched out of paper, and held together with a pink heart gem.  So, here is my interpretation, and I'd love to know what you think.

Congratulations go to my fellow DT members (2 from South Africa, 1 x UK, 1 x USA, and 1 x New Zealand) - a real global team! I'd love for you to pop into their blogs, see what wonderful cards they have made, and congratulate them. They are:
Jen  - Debbie - Louise - Audrey - Gemma and our guest designer for September - Jen (another one!).

Do pop into Mel's blog Digistamps4.joy to see all the other super digistamps she has there. There is a really really nice freebie there - thanks Jen (SA) - up for grabs for registered members.

More than "1" fold

The August 2010 challenge at Card-making downloads was to make a card with 'more than 1 fold'. Typical of me .... I as usual went a little overboard, and made a card with 9 folds, 5 mountain folds and 4 valley folds! It took me ages to get the folds in the right place, and the right way, and then to get the card to fold up properly into the 'book' shape. But, perserverance paid off. As per usual, one has to use one of the products from the website, so I used the "Trendy Hats set" from Debbie Gibbons, with the gorgeous spotted paper. I backed the images, and spotted paper, with black paper. The front topper was decoupaged, and the card tied together with ribbons on both sides. The first photo shows the card folded and tied up, and the second image shows it opened up. Well I tried anyway to show the various folds in a photograph, but after taking 10 shots, decided to give up, and post this one. A lot of fiddly work, but worth the effort.