Oval Slatted Birthday Card

Hello everyone and welcome back.  While cleaning up some craft supplies, I found this pretty paper from Marianne Designs called Country Flowers.

After rummaging through my dies, I thought this Slatted & Eclipse Oval die from Divinity Designs would work well and so I went to work.

I never get tired of this slatted look.  It's so subtle but makes a pretty paper really stand out. 

I normally cut out the slatted shape 3 times using thick cardstock.  Then I adhere each layer to each other using liquid glue.  I find that these 3 layers plus the pretty paper layer gives it enough height without adding too much bulk.  This is especially important when you mail cards overseas. Anything thicker than 1/4" requires additional postage.

On the inside, I used the following products:

Stampabilities - Elegant Happy Birthday

VersaFine Clair Inks - Shady Lane

eK punches - photo corners

And that was a quick and easy birthday card done. It doesn't show on the pic, but I did add a couple of small lilac butterflies to the inside just to add a little more interest and to match the front of the card.  

See you again soon.

Hugs,

 

New to me Hobby

 Hello everyone.  I have not made cards in a bit and that is because I'm having so much fun with book nooks.  I'm totally hooked on building these things.  I find it so fun and relaxing.  Such a feeling of accomplishment watching it grow as you put all the pieces together.

Pics don't do it justice.  There are so many intricate details that you just can't see from the photo.  This is the first one I ever build, but I'm on my third one already and loving it. This one is called Romantic Venice by Rolife. I'll take pics of the others and share them with you in another post.  One is for Christmas and the other for Halloween.

Interesting story - my son's girlfriend was the first one to build one of these.  My daughter and I loved it but I thought, at the time, that the pieces were just too tiny I would not have the patience to build one.  Well, my daughter got herself one and got hooked.  After seeing all her pretty ones, she's built over 10 of them, I thought I would try my hand at it and so I got one for my birthday, which was back in March. It took me this long to give it a try and I have to admit that I'm having loads of fun!!!  My son's girlfriend, the one who started it all, built one and thought "never again" 😂  She build hers but didn't really enjoy it.  Isn't it funny how things work out?

Let me know in a comment below whether you have tried to build one of these and how you feel about it :-)

Cheers for now.

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round ~ P, Q is for ...

 Hello and welcome to this month's challenge at Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Our challenge this month is G, H is for ...

P is for ... Pinecone, Presents, Peppermint

Q is for ... Quilt (sorry, I could not find anymore for Q but look below at my second card😀)

Card no. 1 - P is for Penguins

I love the idea of these cuties having a snowball fight. What a fun way to spend time at Christmas!

I used the following to create this scene:

Festive Friends Delightful Die Cuts Pad - Hunkydory - penguins, igloo, snowballs

Winter Wonderland Paper Pad - The Paper Studio - snowflake background

Silhouette - snowy tree, snow banks

I created the Merry Christmas greeting die cut using the Silhouette.

Snowflakes are from the same die cuts pad as the rest of the images.

* * *

Card no. 2 - Q is a for Quaint Village

It's hard to find a Christmas word beginning with the letter "Q", so this might be a bit of a stretch, but what do you all think?  It works, right?  It reminds me of all those quaint little villages you see on Christmas movies. The various layers of this card base were pulled from various designs from different Silhouette files.

The village is from Hearty Crafts 3D Toppers - Winter Villages collection.

The trees were cut using a die from Cottage Cutz called Fir Trees.

On this card, I used the 2mm foam squares, from Hunkydory, to adhered each layer to each other.  It looks beautiful, but it does add quite a bit of bulk to the card. I will either hand deliver it or mail it locally.

The Merry Christmas greeting was cut using the Silhouette. The tree was cut with the same die I used to cut the trees for the front of the card.  I used a white Gelly Roll pen to add the "snow".

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Now it's your turn to make a Christmas project,  and to come play along with us.  You have till the end of the month to link your project to our blog at  Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Hugs,

Sympathy Card

 Hello everyone. I have a Sympathy card to share with you today.

I made this card to send to a friend whose hubby passed away recently.

This card was put together using a very old card kit from The Netherlands, so I don't have information on the dies used.  In addition to the bits and pieces that came in the kit, I used the Mini Labels stamps from Marianne Design to stamp the sentiment.  The decoupage flower is from a cutting sheet by Nel van Veen.  I didn't photograph the inside of the card, because I had already written my message when I realised that I had not taken a pic. It is very simple though - just a white mat to write my personal message.

I always struggle with this type of card.  I always feel that I can't find the right words to express the sadness I feel for my friend, especially when they are so far away and there is nothing I can do to help, you know?  Do some of you also feel the same way or is it just me?  

Hugs,

Retirement Card

Hello everyone and welcome back.  After 50 years plus of working, hubby finally retired 😀  Since he loves the beach and everything tropical, I thought this card would be perfect for him, and yes he did love it.  Told me that all that was missing was a cold beer to which I replied that it could be easily arranged 😀

To make this card, I used the following crafty products:

Honey Bee Stamps - Hammock Lovely Layers die set

Marianne Designs - Sandy Path (beach grasses)

Sunny Studio - Tropical Trees Background (seagulls)

Silhouette - Card base, Beach Scene Pattern Paper,

Inside Small Palm Tree & Sentiment

I had fun making this card.  If you follow my blog, then you know by now, that tropical themed cards are one of my favourite cards to make.  I'm also having fun having hubby home. After 41 years of marriage, we have gone thru many phases of life together and this is a new one for us.  It's an adjustment but a fun one!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope to see you again next time.

Hugs,

 

Birthday Hobby Dots Card

Hello everyone.  I have a hobby dots card to share with you today. 

These cards always take a bit of time to make, but I love all the sparkle on the finished product.

This card was made using a Dot & Do Kit by Amy Spring, from Couture Creations.

Here is a close up.  I wish I could capture all the sparkle on a photo but just can't.  Every single element is a mirror sticker, so I'm sure you can imagine how beautiful it is.

I wanted to do something special on the inside, so I replicated the corners with left over mirror stickers/hobby dots.  I used a wood stamp from Hero Arts called Special Birthday to stamp the sentiment in VersaFine Black Onyx ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I do appreciate your visits.

Hugs,

A Stitched Birthday Card

 Hello everyone. I hadn't stitched a card in a while so looking thru my layered images I found this one that I thought would be perfect for my uncle.  Then it was just a matter of looking for a stitch pattern that I liked.

The brown variegated thread on this pic looks a lot more burgundy than brown, but on the card, it does look like various shades of brown which obviously matched better with the pic.  The different layers of the image, 4 in total, are adhered together with foam squares.  

Since I'm mailing this card overseas, I kept the inside pretty simple.  I used the Happy B'day w/Shadow die set from Kat Scrappiness to make the greeting.

That's all for today folks.  I'll be back soon with another card to share with you.

Hugs,

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round ~ M, N, O is for ...

 Hello and welcome to this month's challenge at Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Our challenge this month is M, N, O is for ...

M is for ... Manger, Mary, Mistletoe

N is for ... North Pole, Nativity, Nutcracker

O is for ... Ornaments, One Horse Open Sleigh, O Holy Night

If you have been following my blog, then you know that I challenged myself at the beginning of the year to make a card for each letter, and so far so good! I did make 3 cards for this challenge 😀

Card no. 1 - M is for Moose

I don't have details about this gorgeous die or the stitching pattern as this was taken from a card kit that I received as a gift from The Netherlands.  The only thing I did to it was the stitching and adhered the punched gold stars.  Then instead of the image it came with, I used a Christmas Moose layered image from  Hearty Crafts 3D Toppers Christmas Mooses collection.

I used foam squares to adhere each layer to each other. There are 3 layers in total. I love the dimension it adds to the card and since I used the 1 mm foam squares, it doesn't add too much bulk.

On the inside, I used the Merry Christmas w/Shadow die from Karen Burniston and added a few left over gold stars.  These stars were cut using a border punch from Martha Stewart.

* * *

Card no. 2 - N is for Nutcracker

This card is from the Stitch & Do Kit No. 159.

It came with a cutting sheet with various Nutcracker images.  I chose this one.  There are 3 layers to this image, even though you can't quite see it from the pic. They are adhered to each other with 1 mm foam squares from Hunkydory.

The greeting on the inside is from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Great Impressions stamps.

Card no. 3 - O is for Ornament

I used the following crafty goodies to create this card:

Marianne Design - Merry Snowmen cutting sheet

Marianne Design - Open Christmas Bauble die set

Marianne Design - Twigs

I added a sprinkling of tiny gold stars to make it a little more festive 😊

On the inside I used a stamp from the 

Simon Says Stamps - Nutty & Bright stamp set

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Now it's your turn to make a Christmas project,  and to come play along with us.  You have till the end of the month to link your project to our blog at  Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Hugs,

Sail Boat Pop-up Birthday Card

Hello crafting friends. Hubby had a birthday yesterday and this is the card I made for him.

I followed the YouTube video tutorial by Karen Burniston.

Here is the list of crafty ingredients to make this card:

Karen Burniston - Boat Pop-up

Karen Burniston - Sailboat Add-ons

Karen Burniston - Set Sail Borders

Spellbinders - Summertime Vacay

Amy Designs - Ocean Animals

Marianne Design - Fish Punch Die

Kat Scrappiness - Happy Birthday w/Shadow

Hot off the Press - Tiny Sentiments & Icons Stamp set

It was fun putting this card together and Karen's tutorials videos make it very easy too.  Hubby liked his card so mission accomplished :-)

I'm going to play along at:

Four Seasons Challenge - Summer

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll see you again soon.

Hugs,

Pet Sympathy Card ~ Maverick

It's been a few months since we had to say goodbye to our Maverick.  I just couldn't write this post till now.  Maverick was my son's dog.  We gave Maverick, a Basenji puppy, to my son as a Christmas present when he was in High School.  Although he was my son's dog, it was I who spent the most time with him during the day.  He was my constant companion until my son got home from school.  A couple of years later, my son went to university and although he did come home every day, I was still the one who spent most of the day with Maverick.  After graduation, my son started working and again I spent even more of my days with Maverick.  When my son bought his house and moved out, I'm sure you can understand how lonely I felt. Not only did I miss my boy, but I missed his puppy too.  He really was our puppy!  Although I missed having Maverick around all the time, I visited my son often, and I often pet-sat for him.  So in a way, Maverick was still around, just not all the time, and that took some getting used to.  But then he got really sick and we had to say goodbye and that, my friends, shattered my heart.  I felt that loss all over again but knew that this time, I couldn't just visit, you know?  Even now, writing this post, I miss the little guy so much.  He had a bed right here in my hobby room and kept me company while I crafted.  He was such a good boy with such a huge personality that only another Basenji owner would understand.  They are so smart, so protective, so loyal, but let me tell you that they don't listen worth diddly.  Not unless they want to or unless there is something in it for them.  I'm sure that Basenjis are not the only breed with these traits, but our Maverick was just one of a kind. Yes, I understand you all feel that way about your puppies.😊

Anyway, before all these memories bring me to tears again, I'd like to share the card I made for my son and his girlfriend when Maverick passed.  My son's girlfriend has been a part of this family for long time, so Maverick was definitely hers too.

Now take a look at the photo below.  It only takes one look to see the instant love that was shared between my son and his puppy.  As soon as my son got home from school, and then later, from University and then a few years later, from work, they were inseparable!  There really is something beautiful between a boy and his dog! My son was 16 at the time and Maverick was only 8 weeks old, and a total Christmas surprise for my son.

As for the card, I combined a few files from Silhouette to get the look I wanted.  It was one of the saddest cards I've ever had to make.  Pets really do take a piece of your heart when it's their time to cross that rainbow bridge. 

And on this sad note, I will see you next time.  Thanks so much for your visit and for letting me pour  my heart out to you.