A Creative Day with Grace

 As the school holidays draw to a close, I had the pleasure of spending a full day with Grace—my turn to look after her and make some memories. Earlier in the week, she enjoyed a day with Pop, who took her swimming. 

Yesterday started in the craft room, where inspiration struck thanks to a new dragonfly die. We cut dragonflies from rice paper, each taking three to decorate with different mediums. I experimented with Nuvo Shimmer powders in blue and green for one, used mop-up paint for another, and finished the third with Temu Glitter pens—this last one sparkled beautifully and became the centerpiece for today’s card. 

Grace made some rainbow backgrounds and added her dragonflies (but I didn't get any photos of her two cards)

For the card, I chose ombre patterned paper in blues, die-cut a  panels using Gina L Master Layouts 2, and layered onto a larger sized panel for extra depth. The dragonfly die came with a grid die, which I cut from silver holographic card—perfect for a shimmering background. A stamped sentiment from Altenew Sentiment Stripes completed the look with some holographic dots for extra shimmer. 

Our afternoon adventure took us to Gloputt, an in-the-dark mini golf course. We laughed our way through the glowing obstacles and capped off the day with several rounds of Air Hockey. I was soundly beaten by a nearly seven-year-old, but the fun and laughter made it a perfect ending.

Baby Wipes: A Fun Creative Experiment

This month’s challenge in my local swap group was set by my friend Suna, and it was a fun one: “Use a Baby Wipe.” She even shared a few YouTube videos to get our creative juices flowing, which really helped spark some ideas.

On Wednesday afternoon, Grace and I experimented with a few different techniques. The idea we loved most involved ink blending onto cardstock, layering a stencil over the top, then adding several layers of baby wipes before running the whole stack through my Spellbinders Platinum 6. The result was such a surprise! The baby wipes absorbed the colour in the most interesting way. Because I used Distress Oxides for the ink blending, the finished panels have a soft, almost velvety look and feel. Grace made several panels during our session, and they all turned out beautifully.

On Saturday, I couldn’t resist making a few more panels of my own—two in green and one in a vibrant orange. One of the green panels has already been turned into a card, but since it hasn’t reached its recipient yet, I’ll save that for another post. Today’s focus is the card I created using the orange panel.

For this piece, I used a Gelli Art Circles stencil over Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide ink, which added lovely texture and interest to the background. To ground the floral focal point, I die cut a vellum rectangle and layered it over the panel. The flower dies are from an unnamed brand and, I’ll admit, they gave me a bit of trouble—no instructions always makes assembly an adventure! In the end, I decided to keep things monochromatic, die cutting all the pieces from white cardstock and softly blending colour onto them using some Altenew Warm and Cozy inks.

The leaves were cut from orange pattern paper from Scrapbook.com, which tied everything together nicely. I trimmed the panel, matted it with white cardstock, and added a touch of sparkle to the flower centres using Gold Wink of Stella. To finish the card, I added a gold foiled sentiment from a Spellbinders set.

This challenge was such a fun way to try something I haven't done in a while, and I love how the baby wipes created such a unique texture. 

My Favourite Colour: Purple 💜

 Hi everyone!It’s time for me to share my card for the latest Sweet Stampin’ Challenge, and this time the theme is “Your Favourite Colour.” For me, that was an easy choice — purple all the way!

I took my inspiration from a wonderful YouTube tutorial by Jo Simons. Embossing has always been one of my favourite techniques, so combining my love of texture with purple tones felt like the perfect way to approach this challenge.

I CASE’d Jo’s card design, using kraft card for the main panel along with the Altenew 3D Embossing Folder – Dancing Cosmos. To bring in that gorgeous pop of colour, I used Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink, which works beautifully with the technique I chose.

This embossing and inking method is great fun and very satisfying. I embossed the kraft card first, keeping it inside the folder, then lightly rubbed white pigment ink over the raised areas to highlight the design. Next, I applied the Distress Oxide ink directly onto the other side of the embossing folder. Carefully closing the folder, I ran it back through my machine. I repeated the inking process a few times to build up good, even coverage.

Once everything was dry, I gave the raised areas another gentle rub with white pigment ink to really make the design pop. To finish the card, I added a few purple enamel dots and pre-printed sentiment strips — simple but effective.

I absolutely love how this card turned out, and I hope it inspires you to experiment with your favourite colours too. Do come and join us over at the Sweet Stampin’ Challenge and share what you’ve been creating — we’d love to see it!

Happy crafting! 💜✂️

Just for You: A Blue-Themed Farewell Card

 

Last week, one of the ladies at my hubby’s workplace was heading off to a new job, and I was asked to create a handmade card for her send‑off. I wanted something thoughtful and elegant, so I settled on a simple but heartfelt theme: Just a note… to say you will be missed.

I chose a blue colour palette for this card. To start, I used some beautiful watercolour‑style patterned paper from Scrapbook.com. I die‑cut an arch from the paper and created a coordinating frame, then embossed it with a woodgrain folder to add subtle texture and interest. This was mounted onto a crisp white card base, letting the blue tones really shine.

For the focal point, I chose the Altenew Petite Mountain Aven dies. I cut three sets of the florals and blended Persian Blue ink over them to build depth and variation in the colour. A small touch of yellow in the centres brought the flowers to life and added just the right amount of contrast.

I added delicate gold leaves cut from the Sizzix Geo Floral Frame die set. The metallic accents worked beautifully with the blue palette and added a hint of elegance without overwhelming the card.

The sentiment was created using the Altenew Scripty Sentiments die, cut from a dark blue cardstock to tie everything together. To finish, I scattered a few small gold dots around the design for a subtle sparkle.

This card was fun to make and a lovely way to say goodbye while wishing someone well on their next adventure.

 

Special Easter Wishes

 Happy Easter!

I’m currently away for the long weekend, staying with friends in beautiful Mangawhai, and it felt like the perfect time to share the Easter cards I’ve been busy making.

The first two cards travelled all the way to Perth, Australia—and I’m happy to say they arrived on the Thursday before Easter, just in time! Both are hybrid cards, using some delightful free images I found on a Facebook page. To give them a soft vintage feel, I printed the images onto linen cardstock. I then used my Gina K Master Layout dies to cut stitched squares and mounted them onto cream-coloured 4.5” square card bases. To finish them off, I added sentiments from a very old Hero Arts mini sentiment set, paired with a sweet little banner die.

One of these cards went to my little man, and his mummy sent me a video of him opening it—so cute! That absolutely made my day.

The next two cards were for the girls. 

We dropped these off, along with their Easter eggs, on our way north early Friday morning. Once again, these were hybrid cards, using printed panels I purchased from Unquietly Creative. I fussy cut or die cut the images, which made these cards both fun and quick to put together.

And finally, I made one more card for a friend, this time for her grandson who is around eight weeks old. For this card, I used some PET tape from Journalsay and paired it with a sentiment I printed on my computer. Simple, easy, and such a lovely way to create a special card without too much fuss.

I really do love how versatile hybrid card making can be—it’s a beautiful mix of handmade and digital, and perfect for creating thoughtful cards with ease.

Enjoy your Easter and wishing extra special Peace to the World in this troubling times. 

Guest Designer Fun: A Sweet Treat–Inspired Card at Time Out Challenge

 I recently won over at Time Out Challenge and was absolutely thrilled to be invited to join them as a Guest Designer for Challenge #310. Of course, I didn’t hesitate for a second — I said YES!

Today I’m sharing the card I created for this fortnight’s challenge, which is themed “Inspired by a Sweet Treat.”

Anyone who knows me, will know this challenge was made for me. I’m a self-confessed chocoholic, and I honestly don’t think a day goes by without at least a little chocolate… sometimes more! So naturally, chocolate became the inspiration for my card.

To begin, I embossed a piece of red cardstock using an older embossing folder to give it a lovely vintage feel. For the “chocolate,” I used a dark brown cardstock and embossed it with the Altenew Mod Squares folder. Cutting it on an angle allowed those squares to really resemble a block of chocolate. I then added some extra richness by swiping the surface with Gold and Redwood Ink.

The wrapper was created by tearing some silver cardstock along with a scrap of vintage patterned paper, adding texture and a slightly rustic feel. For the sentiment, I reached for an older (now discontinued) stamp from Quietfire Design, designed by Suzanne Cannon. I stamped it using Altenew Espresso Ink to keep the colour palette warm and chocolatey.

And of course, once I started, I couldn’t stop there! I had a little extra playtime and created more Sweet Treat–inspired cards, including a fun birthday cupcake and a celebration cake.

This challenge was such a joy to work on, and I loved letting my sweet tooth guide my creativity. Thanks so much for stopping by — I hope my chocolate-inspired card brings a smile to your day!

Spring Butterfly

It’s the end of March (where has the year gone), and here in New Zealand Autumn is starting to make itself know.  But it’s time to wrap up the Die Cut Divas March Challenge (Spring is Coming),so I’m sharing my final card for the month. We’re lucky to have Gina K Designs as our sponsor, so I pulled out one of my most-loved staples: the Gina K Master Layout dies.

I reach for the Gina K Master Layouts all the time—they make putting a card together feel simple For this one I’m featuring Master Layout 18, including that beautiful black frame that pulls everything together and gives the design a clean, finished look.

I started by cutting a rectangle panel with one of the dies from Master Layout 18, then ran it through the Tapestry embossing folder for that pretty texture in the background. Next, I stamped the butterfly and flowers from Blooming Butterfly, die cut them, and added soft colour with watercolour brush markers from K-Mart.

To pull everything together, I layered on that black frame from Master Layout 18 (it instantly makes the design feel crisp), and I even tucked the leftover centre piece behind the butterfly to give it a little spot to “land.” A white heat-embossed Woodware sentiment on black card was the final touch—simple, clean, and it balances the frame nicely.

If you’d like to join in, there’s still time to enter the Die Cut Divas MarchChallenge. You have until 9:00pm Pacific Time today, and we’d absolutely love to see what you create— remember to use your die cut machine to emboss or die cut!

Dawn and the Divas

Warm Spring Wishes

 Hi friends! Today it’s my turn to share over at Die Cut Divas, and I had fun playing along with our March challenge: “Spring Is Coming.”

Our fabulous sponsor this month is Gina K Designs.

For this challenge, we’re looking for projects that give us those lovely spring vibes and include either dry embossing or die cutting.

For my card, I pulled out two Gina K Designs stamp sets: Music to My Soul and Warm Spring Wishes (both retired). I die cut a square panel using Gina K Master Layout 3, and while the die was still in place, I softly blended some pink ink for a gentle pop of colour.

I stamped the guitar image from Music to My Soul, cut it out with my Scan’N’Cut, and coloured it with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment comes from the Warm Spring Wishes set, and everything was mounted onto a 5-inch square card base to finish it off.

We’d absolutely love for you to join us! Head over to DieCut Divas, and share your own spring-inspired project. I can’t wait to see what you create!