03 June 2026

A Fairy Happy Birthday

 Hello everyone and welcome back.

I needed a quick card for a friend's birthday and this is what I came up with. It's been a while since I played with my Lavinia stamps.  I quite like the way it came out 😊



I used watercolour paper and masked off the front of the card, except for about an an inch and half.  Using 3 of my favourite distress inks, I applied them at random on the strip of card.  Next I misted a stencil and gently layed it down on top.  After a few seconds, I lifted it, again, very gently, and ta da ... the stencil effect came through by lifting the ink.  I used my heat tool to dry it completely before stamping my favourite Lavinia fairy, Aurora.  I used Faber Castell's polychromo pencils to colour in the blossoms, both on the front of the card and the Star Blossoms on the inside of the card.  To finish off the card, I stamped the sentiment, added Fairy Hugs glitter, Wink of Stella pen and a few tiny silver stars.

Here is a list of the supplies I used:

Lavinia Stamps - Aurora
Lavinia Stamps - Star Blossom
Lavinia Stamps - Fairy Foragers
Lavinia Stamps - Fairy Happy Birthday
Lavinia Stencils - Laurel
Distress Oxide Inks - Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Shaded Lilac
Fairy Hugs Glitter - Raven

Thank you all so much for stopping by and for spending some of your time with me. 

Till next time,
stay safe and well!





31 May 2026

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round ~ K, L is for ...

  Hello and welcome to this month's challenge at Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.
Our challenge this month is K, L is for ...


K is for ... Kris Kringle, Kings, Kiss Under the Mistletoe 
L is for ... Letter to Santa, Lanterns, Lights

My two cards this month are:

K is for Kittens


So this is a new type of card making for me.  Not so long ago I came across Maremi's Small Art by Marta Lapkowska and loved it.  So, of course I had to get a few things to try it out for myself 😀  I got the Essentials Backgrounds - Whispers of Christmas and Bits & Bobs - Christmas Edition.
To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I made this card, but I'm not exactly thrilled with it.  Plus it took me a long time to fussy cut all the bits and bobs.  It also took me a long time to decide what went together with what ... so yes! I struggled to put everything together just right so it would look semi-decent.  After seeing so many gorgeous creations, I realized that it is definitely a "me" thing.  I'm going to give it another try soon-ish and see how that goes.  I'll let you know!


But now a little bit more about this card.  All the elements are from the Bits & Bobs book.  I fussy cut what I wanted to put together and then it was a matter of using 1mm and 2 mm foam squares to add all the different layers.  I think I need lots of practice in fussy cutting, but who has the time or patience to cut out all those fine hairs on the cats????  Still, I think I could have made a better job of it.  Next time I'll try harder for sure, or I'll just look for elements with straight edges 😁


On the inside, I used a cut out from one of the SVGs from Dreaming Tree.  I love the way this comes out and the fact that I can resize it to fit the size of my card.  This card is a 5.25" square card that does not need extra postage when mailing it.

* * *
Card no. 2 - L is for Lantern


As you know, I find stitching on cards very relaxing so after making the card above, I needed something easy and already planned out for me, so out came my Stitch & Do kits.  This card was made using kit #159.


Doesn't this sweet image just portray peace and joy?  It makes me feel so tranquil looking at it until I look at all the snow - then I just want to head off to a tropical island somewhere!!!  I did have to fussy cut the 3 layers of the image, but that was easy peasy.  I used 1mm foam squares to adhered the different layers together.  This way I get a little dimension but not a lot of bulk which is important when mailing cards overseas.


On the inside, I used a stamp from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Great Impressions Stamps.  I used copic markers to add a little colour to the lamp post.

Okay friends, this was a very long and chatty post.  I guess you can tell that I'm feeling better 😊 So thanks for stopping by and listening to me.  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.

I'm playing along at:

Hugs,


24 May 2026

Monster Birthday

 Hello friends. I made this Monster of a Birthday card for my grandson who turned 9 yesterday.






I used a file from Silhouette, by Bella Carta Designs, to make this card. Grey cardstock is from Recollections. All others are from Scraps drawers. I made a second monster frame for the back. This is where I wrote my birthday message for him. It was quite a bit of work to put together, but fortunately the video tutorial was easy to follow, and the smile on my grandson's face made it all worth it!😀

That's all I have for today. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,


22 May 2026

He Is Risen

Hello everyone, today I'm sharing another card made for Easter 2025.





I used a combination of files from Silhouette to create this card. It fits into an A7 envelope which is the size I normally use to mail cards overseas.

I will be back again soon to catch up on sharing more cards with you.
















20 May 2026

Peek-a-Boo Bunny

 Hello and welcome back.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a lot of catching up to do, so let's start with this Easter card.



I used a couple of different Silhouette files to create this Slimline Easter card.

It measures 9" x 4" and fits perfectly into a business size envelope.

Thanks so much for the visit.  I'll be back again soon to share another project with you.  I hope you'll stop by again.

Hugs,



18 May 2026

Floral Birthday Card

Hello everyone and welcome back. Today I'm sharing the card I made for my hubby's aunt who turns 96 today.





Crafty ingredients to make this card:

Silhouette - Card Base
Amy Designs - Spring is Here - 3D Pushouts Sheet 
Recollections - Itsy Bitsy Ditsy Cherry Pie patterned paper
Scrappy Tails Crafts - Rhinestones

I sized this card to be 5" x 7" when folded flat for mailing.  It fits perfectly into an A7 envelope.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I have a bunch of cards to share with you and will be catching up in the next few days, so I hope you'll come back for a visit.

Hugs,




 

17 May 2026

Circle Slatted Card

Hello everyone.  I made this birthday card for my son's girlfriend. I love playing with these slatted & eclipse dies from Divinity Designs. For this card, I used the Circle one.  I think that it's such a lovely way to use up your pretty papers.


Because I wanted to have both birds as part of the slatted image, the circle had to be placed a little higher up on the card, leaving a bit of empty space at the bottom.  In order to fill up this extra space, I used the Celebrate die, from Karen Burniston, and cut it out of both fuchsia and silver cardstocks so I could make a slight shadow on the word.


The image is from a sheet from Marianne Designs called Country Flowers.
It is a 6 x 6 inch square image.  I cut it to 5" x 5" so it would fit on this 5.5" square card.
The silver mat is 5.25" x 5.25".


I used the Kat Scrappiness - Happy Birthday w/Shadow die and the Pin Numbers die from Marianne Design to create the elements on the inside.  I finished it off by cutting a few photo corners using a very old eK punch.

That is all for today folks.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll see you again soon.

Hugs,





16 May 2026

Queen for a Day

 Hello everyone. I am in full Summer mode already, so you'll notice that my blog has changed before we even hit June 😂  In case you're wondering, my Summer begins when our pool reaches 86 deg F (30 deg C).  Of course the whole family has been swimming already but if you know me, then you'll that my water needs to be at Caribbean temperature.  There are times that hubby and I playfully argue about this.  I will go swimming when pool water is at 92 deg F (36 deg C), which he calls bath water and no longer pleasant, but dang it, it's 100 + (37 +) outside, so the water still feels cool.  Don't get it why he can't understand that!!!😂

Now that I've explained why I'll go swimming in bath water temperature, let me share the card I made for my sister-in-law's birthday.


I used the ...... from Hunkydory.
I followed a tutorial from Sam Calcott to make the card base.


I love Hunkydory card kits. They are always beautifully printed, and have beautiful gold foiling.


To keep with the gold foiling, I added the two embossed gold strips, one to the top and one to the bottom.  I love this card fold as it's easy to make and it stands
up beautifully.


I made an extra panel and adhered it to the back. This is where I stamped the greeting and where I wrote my personal message.


This card folds flat for mailing, and fits perfectly in an A7 envelope.


This is all for today folks.  I do have some catching up to do so I'll be back soon to share other makes with you, including all the Easter cards I made this year that I have not blogged yet.

Hugs,

13 May 2026

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #277 ~ Anything Goes w/optional twist - Flowers for Mom

    Hello crafting friends and welcome to our monthly challenge


  The theme for our challenge this month is

~ Anything Goes w/optional twist - Flowers for Mom ~


Using a file from Silhouette, I made this box card, filled with loads of flowers, to send to my mom on her 91 st birthday



Most of the cardstock is from my scraps drawers. These little flowers are a great way to use them up :-)


I made an extra panel on the back to write my message.


I resized this card to fit perfectly into an A9 envelope.

That's all for today.  We would love to see you play along with us.  You have until noon, CST, on 9 June 2026, to link your project to our challenge.

Hugs,


10 May 2026

Happy Mother's Day

Hello everyone.  It's Mother's Day in the US today so I would like to wish you all a wonderful day filled with love and joy.


I'd like to share the card I made to send to my mom.


This card was made by using a few different cut files from Silhouette.


The cardstocks are Bazzill.  The patterned paper is called Itsy Bitsy Ditsy Cherry Pie from Recolletions.


I made an extra panel and adhered it to the back, so I could write my personal message.


When closed flat, this card measures 7" x 4" and fits perfectly in an A7 envelope.

Mom already received her card and loved it, so mission accomplished 😊

A small note for the few moms I know, and for all those that I don't know, if today is a day of pain and sorrow for you, please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

God Bless