Tuesday 29 March 2011

All dressed up and a surprise on the web...

First off.... the surprise on the web.....

There’s a new challenge blog in town with articles, swaps, interviews, videos, challenges, great prizes and MORE! Check out Lily Pad Cards!

  


They are starting officially starting 1 April... but have started a blog hop.... from now till then... 

and now for me....
This is me all dressed up ready for the ball.... my hubby took this so my daughter could see my new dress... and I thought I'd share.  I am so pleased with the dress... it's actually more green than it looks in the photo....
All dressed up


Haven't been making much in the way of cards at the moment... seem to be spending more time commenting than anything else.... but have one card ready for Wednesday's SSC challenge to share... till then, take care
 Dawn
 

Sunday 27 March 2011

March Card Chain Challenge Reveal...

I was a tad late getting my card off in this months Card Chain Challenge organised by the lovely Deborah.... and that's who my recipient was this month....  Deborah tells me the card has arrived so I can now share...
CCC March 2011

Inspiration from this came from a Stamp TV episode (here)  Gina K has lots of fabulous videos of lots of different techniques.  This one involved embossing on patterned paper and then using inks to bring out the embossing.  I used a butterfly embossing folder and some patterned paper I printed out on the computer.  I used a butterfly stamp from Stamp-It which I stamped on the die cut piece with the die still on it... then sponged the Aged Mahogany ink over it.   I used the distress ink to colour the butterfly.

And this little beauty arrived in my letter box from Mariette
CCC Challenge March 2011

Mariette did an amazing job on this one.... It is a stunner.

If you haven't joined Deborah card chain challenge.... you should... it is such fun. Visit her blog to link up shortly...

Our trip down to Hamilton today was good.... but not without a little incident.... We had a late night.... so told our son he could drive us down.   We have a Nissan Maxima so he was thrilled to be driving a good car.  The road down to Hamilton is mostly 2 laned highway.  I'm dozing in the backseat when I felt the car slowing and his girlfriend saying" Told you to slow down"  - yeap he was caught speeding and pulled over.... doing 127km in a 100Km area.   So a fine and loss of 35 demerit points.... not the greatest start to the day.  However the rest of the day was lovely.  We met at Peter's brother's house and the family all said a few words about their sister and then we viewed the video of the funeral service.  Very moving... then we all headed off to a local bar/restaurant  for drinks and a meal.  Lots of friends came, including two of Helen's friends from Levin.   It was lovely to catch up with the family and the young ones enjoyed each others company.    And a lovely way to say goodbye to Helen

Thanks for visiting.  Have a great week....

Dawn

Thursday 24 March 2011

Simply Scrapping and Crafts Card Challenge March 23rd

Thursday again here in NZ, which means it's Wednesday in the USA... and time for another card challenge over at the Wednesday card group at Simply Scrapping and Crafts site.  Please do join us ~ it's a fun challenge set by the lovely Clare. To use only ONE stamped image or sentiment on your card ...and no multiple stampings!  So I pulled out some patterned paper after seeing a card on the wonderful Deborah Nolan's blog ( here) and some of my new flowers and came up with this.
One stamp Wonder


I am a lover of all things purple so took that as my main colour scheme.  The purple dotted paper was in pack of 3 sheets I picked up for a $1 at the craft expo last week.  And the hydrangea strip was a scrap from a Webster's Pages sheet.   I used a Martha Stewart punch on some cream copier paper for the lacey border.  The bottom two layers of the flower are some I got at the Expo as well, top with one I punched.  The leaves are cut from a paint chip with a Sizzix die.

Do pop over to SSC and see what the other lovely ladies in the DT have produced... and enter the challenge.   It's free to join and there is just so many lovely groups there.  Something for everyone.

I'm also entering this into Joy's challenge (over at Less is More) ~ make a card inspired by someone else.  This was inspired by Deborah

Nearly the weekend.... lots to do this weekend... off to the Shipping Ball on Saturday night... bought a new dress....and then off to Hamilton on Sunday for a Memorial Service for Peter's sister...

Take care...


Dawn

Monday 21 March 2011

Cute and Cuddly... Wee Memories Challenge #48

This week over at Wee Memories Jenny has joined forces with Lawn Fawn to challenge us to make a Cute and/or Cuddly project.... There are some amazing samples from the DT and the guest designers Kathy and Kelly Marie.  
I knew I wanted to have a go... I had some really cute Penny Black Mice under a daisy that Paula had sent me a while ago.   I wanted to do something summer so choose some watercolour paper I made yesterday afternoon that was yellow based.
Wee Memories Cute or Cuddly Challenge

I used my new Labels 10 die to cut out one of the stamped images and sponged it with Wild Honey Distress ink before colouring it with Distress inks and Iridescent Medium.  I then painted  another daisy and used a pop dot to add to the die. Added some gold Kindyglitz to the centre.  My background was slightly distressed with the Wild Honey and then I stamped the Old French Script in Tea Dye ink.
The sentiment was from Rosie's Studio and embossed with Black EP.  Finally added a soft bow at the top.   I also entered this into Penny Black's "Sparkle" challenge.

Autumn is slowly coming to my part of the world.  It is getting darker in the mornings... particularly this morning as it was a bit rainy...  Have a great week all.

Sunday 20 March 2011

I went to Craft Expo 2011

Had an amazingly fun filled day on Friday... I took the day off work to go visit the Craft Expo 2011.  This is the first time it has been here in Auckland.  It was full of wonderful stalls and workshops with alsorts of crafts... Beading, quilting and patchwork, sewing, paper crafts and stamping, folk painting... I did two workshops... one where we used a napkin to add an image to some board and paint on it....
Cherubs and Hearts workshop

I haven't finished this yet as I feel it needs something more... just not 100% sure what... I have added some gold stamping in the corners.... maybe some tulle or lace or a flower?  Suggestions welcome...

My second workshop was a card session with Stamp Zone... We used an Inkadinkado stamp to make 2 cards... very much geared to total beginners... but I enjoyed it anyway... of course I did things my own way.... added some extra bits and bobs...

I added the flower and changed the centre of the embellishment... ( had to do that as I didn't add it at class and lost the centre of it on the way home)
Bird on a Branch class sample 2

this one is a smallish one and inside has some interesting detail.


There was also a bonus project.. a wine label card... I did this at home



I also watched a number of demos at Scottie Crafts.... including using Tim Holtz stains.... I SO NEED these.... they are wonderful... but I didn't get any yet as I had a bit of a spend up on stamps and spellbinders earlier in the day... plus some embellishments and papers... 3 sheets of 12 x 12 paper for $1 and 50 flowers for $3...    the only downside to the day out was the horrendous traffic getting there in the morning.  Took 70 mins to go 25 kms.  Only took 30 mins going home!!!! 


Busy weekend, not much done today other than making some background watercolours.  Enjoying the last of the lovely summer weather. 


Enjoy your weekend...

Thursday 17 March 2011

Jumping for Joy!

Finally can share my exciting news..... been jumping for joy since I got an email from Clare who is the lead designer for the Card group on Simply Scrapping Crafts to say that my application to join the team was successful.... Yeah... thanks Clare and Judy ( the owner of the site)  I am so excited to be part of the team..

Today we got introduced and were able to provide our first samples as a team.... all three D's.... yes my other team members are Dani and Dana.... how's that for a bit of a giggle...
Here's our intros and this weeks challenge.... a sketch by Clare.

Here's my sample card

SSC -sketch challenge

As you can see I turned the sketch upside down.  My card stock came with the sewing already printed on it... ( Got this set about 3 years ago at K-Mart to celebrate Breast Cancer Week)  I just had to add the tiny strips of paper and found a use for a little piece of daisy ribbon I had.  I made the die cut label using a couple of spellbinders, some masking and a HA background stamp.  Love this technique for making the frames ( see this video) Sentiment by Fiskars. Finished off with the rolled roses made with a Die-namics die.

I'm so pleased with my first sample ~ now to start work on next week's theme!!!  Please do come and join us at SSC.  There are so many great groups to join and it's all free....

Thanks for taking the time to read this today.... I'm still jumping up and down with joy

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Life is a Journey....

Today was the day that my eldest (and only daughter... )set off on another stage of her journey through life.  Only 3 1/2 months ago she got married, and now her and her hubby are heading off to Perth to live.  Perth is in Australia ~ over on the western side of the country... 7 1/2 hours by plane from where we live....  I understand their reasons for moving... the need to extend themselves in their work and try new challenges... but it is a sad day for me.  I will miss the chats during the day when one of us is a bit bored at work, the family dinners we have every few weeks, and the random visits.   But as her hubby said to me today " you're not losing your first born, you're gaining a holiday home!!!!!"  Now onto the planning

We went out to the airport to have lunch with her and to say our goodbyes.  She left at 2.05pm but  her hubby is staying till next Thurs to finish up work and get the house ready to be rented out.  I was strong.... only a few little tears from both of us and her friend Natalie...

I made a card for her and gave it to her with a bag of Liquorice.  There is a bit of a story behind the liquorice.  My Hubby LOVES liquorice especially Black Knight Liquorice.  We have to buy a bag or two each fortnight when we do the major grocery shop... and he keeps it in a jar on top of the fridge.  The very first thing either child does when they visit, is to head straight to the jar and they get upset if there is no liquorice in it....So the liquorice was so she wouldn't miss out too much.

Now for the card

Very simple... I took a page from an old map book of New Zealand and tore  round it.  I distressed the edges with Vintage Photo and embossed one of the Hero Arts cling Bicycles.  The little letters are from a pack I got on the weekend.  Inside I used the computer to write
" hop on your bike and enjoy the ride" and stamped another one of the bikes.


So to Emma and Brad, ('cause it's nearly St Patrick's Day)


May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Love you both.  Enjoy the Journey!


Monday 14 March 2011

Distress ink backgrounds...

As we know this months challenge over at Hero Arts is layer backgrounds.  Shari Carroll did a video and part of her technique was to smooch distress ink onto an acrylic block, spritz with water and then put onto your paper.... well on Saturday at my stamp group, Jill's demo used the same technique.  However in Jill's demo she then clear embossed Hero Arts Poppy background and then used the inks to colour in the poppies.   I decided to give it a go... but my first piece looked a bit yucky... sort of a bit muddy and I had used a grided block and there were some funny lines on the paper.... so I had another go.... using some similar colours inks ~ yellows and oranges with a touch of green.  Much better~~~
Distress ink background

I used the Spiced Marmalade ink to colour the poppies and the Shabby Shutters for the stems.  Added some orange ribbon I had and some soft peachy orange Bazzil for the base... I had chosen some brighter orange background but my style guru (Sue B) persuaded me that it was not right... and sure enough she was right!!!!

So I decided that next I would try and rescue my first piece of background.... I used a distress applicator to sponge some more distress ink on the piece.  Then I stamped the Envelope pattern over it.  I remembered that Linda had made a card where she used two different inks on a vine stamp slightly moving the stamp ( see here)  I thought I'd try something like that on the background...
Friends

I used a green distress ink and then the black Versafine.  I used a Fiskers sentiment stamp and then found some interesting ribbon to add along the bottom with a bow.  The rescue was successful!

Both of these cards were made on my 8 1/2 hours at Stamp Group.... I made a few more, but some can't be revealed as yet... some secret squirrel stuff and some waiting for the recipients to receive... so more over the coming weeks.   I had a great time as usual.

Another weekend over and only 2 more days till my daughter leaves.  We had a lovely dinner at home last night with the children and their partners.   The last time for quite some time.  A touch of sadness.....

Hope your week is a happy one.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Double Bow

Over at Simply Scraping Crafts this weeks challenge is to use a double bow on your card.  The talented Clare has done a video (here) that shows you how to do them.  I was lucky to get some seam binding from Donna which I coloured with distress ink to use on my card.

Elegant Birthday

I also found this video by Clare.  It is how to make a stamped die cut frame.  I decided to incorporate both techniques into my card.  I used three different companies stamps... Hero Arts for the frame edging ( Antique Background), My Favorite Things for the centre sentiment and Inkadinkado flourish for clear embossing in the corners.  I used one of my small handmade flowers for the centre of the bow.  

I can't believe how quickly this week has speed by... I suddenly realised I have done my card for the March CCC.... so it's on my list of cards to make at this weekend's stamp group at Stamp'n'create.... I seem to have lost track of the time... I spend lots of time blogging and looking and commenting on the lovely work I see, and not so much on making my own!!!!  Get heaps of ideas though... now to put them into practise.

Thanks for stopping by.... Take care

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Going Green....

Not organically that is..... but the card I made for my great niece's birthday is very green... in colour of course.....

Wishing you happiness

I had some lovely soft green spotted PP and I used it to make both the background and to paper piece the top of the Pure Innocence image.  I coloured her with Copics, cut her out and put onto the card.  I used two small triangles of green bazzill scraps to do the faux corner.   The sentiment is from a lovely set by My Favorite Things.  This is for Sophie, who turns 5 on the 15th March.  Not quite St Patrick's Day but the green colours for it!!!

Got my results back from my MRI yesterday.... I have no disc between my L4 and L3 vertebrae so looks like surgery to fuse the two together.  I have to wait to see if ACC ( accident compensation ) will pay as I hurt my back slipping on some wet tiles.... or whether I will have to pay.  If ACC pays, they will also pay 4/5th of my time off work, otherwise I will need to use sick leave, annual leave or leave without pay.  So you can guess I'm hoping they come to the party.  Not sure when I will find out....

Only one more week to my darling daughter leaves the country.  While I am pleased for them, I will miss her dreadfully.  No more calls during the week at work, no more girly shopping days.... will have to get the Skype up and working again...

Thanks for stopping by.  Your lovely comments are appreciated as always.  Take care

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Layered background

The technique challenge over at Hero Arts this month is Layered backgrounds and on the new challenge site I recently found...Simply Scrapping Crafts.... the Wednesday card challenge was also to make a stamped background.  This site is great... lots of challenges and forums for scrapbookers and card makers.   So here is the card I made...
Layered background

I followed Shari Carroll's video instructions for making the background ( here)   I did not have such a great success with my watercolouring of the leaves... I obviously chose the wrong inks... I used orange, brown and green, I used the Music Background which I stamped through a mask... and white embossed.  I then used some green distress ink on my acrylic block and spritzed with water and stamped over the embossing. I then overstamped the envelope pattern in Sahara Sand brillance ink. Then stamped the leaves. I felt it need a bit of colour so backed the piece onto some green card. Base card is a very light cream card with the envelope pattern stamped in Antique Linen distress. Not quite what I envisaged but not too shabby all the same. It is a fun technique that is a favourite of mine. 

Monday 7 March 2011

Phew... busy busy...

I can't believe it's been nearly 5 days since I posted... life has been busy...  a bit of card making, lots of socialising and fun.  Friday I had a card to make for a friend.... for a christening.  I wanted to do something special so spend some time thinking about the stamps I had and what I could do.  I had bought a set of stamps by Rosie's Studio last week that were some dictionary definitions... so I chose 3 that I thought fitted a baptism... Joy, Believe and Love.... here's what I came up with
I was pleased with the results and so was my friend.  Something a bit different.   Stamps used:  Butterflies by Stamp-It.  Words by Rosie's Studio and Congratulations by Hero Arts.

Saturday evening we went to some friends about an hour south-east of our place for a dinner party.  We had a great night, staying over night as it was too far to come home after a few wines.   I made a card to say thanks to Prue and Roger for their hospitality.

I started by masking round the card base with painters tape and stamped the Envelope background with Old Paper distress ink.  Then edged the mask with a fineliner pen.  I stamped the Chair onto some pp I found in my stash, that looks like leather and cut it out.  Stamped the thank you and then inside used the computer to type... for your hospitality.  Just a bit of a fun card....

Sunday... we went to a Roxy Music Concert.... held on the green at a local vineyard...Villa Maria.  The weather was not very nice over the weekend, but had improved by the late afternoon.   It was definitely cooler than we have had for the last few weeks, but it was fine by the time the concert started.  Not the greatest of concerts but not too bad.  But now I am feeling a bit tired.... sitting here watching TV and catching up with blogging.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Shabby Chic

I am a great admirer of Shabby Chic cards and am inspired by the amazing work of Jacqueline whose blog Jacqueline's Craft Nest is simply incredible.   Her work is so beautiful.   Please go see and leave her some love....Jacqueline loves to make tags and I decided to try and emulate her style and make a tag for Louise's Tag Tuesday challenge

this is what I made....
Post Card Tag

I got the background Post Card image from The Graphics Fairy and the vintage girl image from Antique Images.  Digital images are so cool.  You can resize them to whatever size you need.  I made mine small enough to fit on a tag.  I stamped a number of Hero Arts stamps onto the tag.  Old French Script, Silhouette Spray and Antique Background.   Used lots of Distress ink to stamp and distress the edges.  Added a flower and a ribbon.  I think I did okay!!!!

In fact, I love the tag so much, I decided to make a matching card.... resized a bit bigger this time....

Just made a few little changes... different colour ribbon, changed around the brads and flower colour. 


Hope all is well in your life this week.... I am still struggling a bit with back ache... have been to the spinal specialist and had an MRI ~ just waiting to hear what can be done to ease the issue... next Tuesday I go back for the results. 


Thanks for stopping by and as always any and all comments are appreciated.