A little life update and two Reindeer cards

Life has been full over the last little while. Between a weekend away, coming down with a horrible head cold, and then flying down to Wellington to spend a few days with my dad, crafting has had to take a bit of a back seat. I came home still coughing, spent a couple of days tucked up in bed, and then eased back into work.

By Tuesday afternoon I was finally feeling a little more human, so I spent a couple of happy hours in the craft room. I had reindeer on my mind after seeing this month’s challenge at Christmas Kickstart, and that was all the inspiration I needed.

For the first card, I started with a digital image from my files: a Bugaboo image called Reindeer Trio. I printed it out, pulled out my alcohol markers, and enjoyed colouring this adorable little trio.

Once the colouring was finished, I die cut the image with a Gina K Master Layout die, using a little partial die cutting to get the panel to the right size. I found a Craft Concepts sentiment stamp in my stash that fitted perfectly in the open space and stamped it to complete the focal panel.

For the background, I used some lovely red music paper and added the coloured panel on an angle for a playful look. I really do think these three reindeer are just adorable.

My second card took a very different direction. I found a sweet reindeer stamp in a Rosie’s Studio set called Hearth + Home and stamped it onto a white panel with Memento Toffee Crunch ink. I added the bow in Catherine Pooler Peppermint Scrub ink for a cheerful touch of colour.

To build the frame around the image, I used an older Hero Arts woodblock stamp, Pine Bough, stamping around the edges with Distress Oxide Evergreen Bough ink. I then blended a little of the same ink around the edges to soften everything and bring the panel together.

The sentiment, from the same Rosie’s Studio stamp set, was stamped in VersaClaire Nocturne ink. I masked the words and deer before splattering white acrylic paint over the panel, then finished the card with a dark green mat on a white card base.

It felt so good to be back in the craft room, even just for a short time. Sometimes a couple of hours, a few favourite supplies, and a pair of reindeer cards are exactly what is needed.

Christmas Cardmaking with Poinsettia Sticker Tape

 A quick creative update from me today: over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a festive set of Christmas cards using some Poinsettia Sticker Tape I recently purchased.

I made four cards in this set, combining the poinsettia tape with die cuts and a little stamping to add extra detail and dimension. The tape gave each card an easy festive starting point, while the die-cut pieces helped to create a more finished handmade look.

It was a lovely way to play with a new product and put together a coordinated mini collection of Christmas cards. I always enjoy projects where a few simple supplies can be mixed and matched to create variations that still feel like they belong together.

I’ll share the finished cards here, along with a few notes on how I used the tape, die cuts, and stamping. 

First up - Peace

Using Hero Arts Peace die and stamp set.  

Next-

This one used a large Joy die - the "O" made with the sticker tape.   Added a little stamped sentiment die cut and ink blended. 

Next -

Used an oval die from Gina K Master Layout with the scalloped backing layer in dark green and a gold die cut sentiment and finished with three little gold dots. 

And finally -

For this one I used a large die cut sentiment and some stitched rectangles from a Gina K Master Layout die. 

Have you started your Christmas cardmaking yet?

 

White on White with One Colour: Heartfelt Wishes.

It’s the last day of August, which means it’s time to share my card for the Die Cut Divas August Challenge. This month’s theme is White on White with One Colour, and our wonderful sponsor is Birch Press Design. If you enjoy intricate and elegant die cuts, their website is full of beautiful inspiration.

For my card, I reached for a lovely Birch Press flower set called Star Flowers Contour Layering Die.

It was the perfect starting point for this challenge, giving me a delicate focal image while still leaving plenty of room for that soft white-on-white background.

I began by die cutting the flower die twice from white card. Using a selection of pinky-red Altenew inks, I blended colour onto the flower pieces and layered them together to create two large flowers and two small flowers. For the white-on-white background, I embossed a panel of white card with the Craft Concept Leavy Flourish embossing folder, which added just the right amount of texture and interest. I then created a die-cut frame using two dies from the Hero Arts Infinity Arches set and adhered it to the embossed panel. The flowers were arranged with three in the bottom left-hand corner and one in the top right-hand corner, giving the card a balanced yet graceful look. To finish, I stamped the sentiment in the same pinky-red colour using a Hero Arts stamp from the  All Occasions (retired) set, then die cut it and added a few white pearls for an elegant final touch. All in all, I’m really pleased with how this card came together—it feels soft, pretty, and fitted the challenge theme perfectly.

I hope you’ll join us at Die Cut Divas this month and share your own White on White with One Colour creation. We can’t wait to see how everyone interprets this elegant theme!  Just remember to use your die cut machine to cut or emboss. 

Two cards, two inspirations...

I have two cards to share today: one I made on Friday for a retirement party we attended, and another I created on Saturday for Amy’s Woodblock Wednesday Challenge.

First up is the retirement card. It was made for a woman who had worked with my husband for nearly 30 years. She is heading to Vietnam for a holiday, with a friend,  in a few weeks, so that became the inspiration for the design.

I used Pingwing to find a beach scene, printed it onto an A2 card, and then trimmed it down with a Gina K Master Layout die. I had recently purchased a jandals die, which was perfect for the theme, so I cut the jandals from gold glitter card from Altenew and some black card. To finish, I created the sentiment on my laptop using Word.

My next card came about on Saturday while I was doing a bit of tidying up. As I sorted through some of my woodblock stamps, I realised I was still in time to join Amy’s Woodblock Wednesday Challenge.

For this card, I used a Penny Black stamp called Gossamer. It is such a pretty image, and I came up with the idea to ink blend around the flower, then paint the flower in a lighter tone of the same colour.

I stamped the image and die cut it with a Pinkfresh Studio Folk Edge die. After masking the flower, I added Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass and Broken China, blending the colour all around the image. I then used a light wash of Tumbled Glass as paint, with a little Mowed Lawn for the leaves and flower centres.

The sentiment is from a Penny Black photopolymer set, Je T’aime Paris, and I finished the card with a little die cut butterfly from Monte’s Craft Supplies Layered Butterflies die. 

I'm entering this into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Anything Goes - optional Things with Wings. 

I was really pleased with how this one came together — it turned out just as I had imagined. Thanks so much for stopping by to see today’s cards.

Use a Die: A Festive Christmas Card for Sweet Stampin’ Challenge

It’s my team’s turn to share some inspiration at SweetStampin’ Challenge, and this fortnight’s theme is one I always enjoy: “Use a Die.” I absolutely love dies and die cutting. I’ll admit I probably have far more dies than I need, but somehow, I still can’t resist adding more to my collection.

For today’s card, I used a die set I picked up from my local stationery store. They carry a small range of dies at very reasonable prices, and over the past few months I’ve collected a few Christmas designs. This card gave me the perfect excuse to use one of them.

I started by cutting the full die from red card. Then I cut the smaller pieces —the trees, stars, and topper — from green card and gold glitter card, before piecing everything together. To keep the die cut as the focal point, I created a simple background using white card embossed with the Altenew Dotty Circles 3D embossing folder.

The sentiment comes from an LDRS Christmas Stack and coordinating all-in-one die. I had already stamped and die cut the full stack, so I now have plenty of extra sentiments ready to use on future festive projects. To finish the design, I added a few red glitter dot embellishments for a touch of sparkle.

Once the main panel was complete, I cut it into a square, matted it with red card, and added it to a top-fold card base. The result is a bright, textured Christmas card with the die cut taking centre stage.

I hope this inspires you to get out your favourite dies and join us at Sweet Stampin’ Challenge. We’d love to see what you create!

White on White with One Colour: My Die Cut Divas Challenge Cards

It’s time to share my cards for this month’s challenge at Die Cut Divas, where our theme is “White on white with one colour.” We’re lucky to have Birch Press Designs sponsoring the challenge this month, and if you love beautiful dies, they have some wonderful designs to explore.

I don’t have a large collection of Birch Press Designs products, but I do have their String Art Hot Foil Plate. It took me a little while to work out how best to use it for a white-on-white card, but in the end, I decided to emboss a white panel with it. The subtle texture gave the background just enough interest while keeping the card elegant.

For the focal image, I used an already stamped and cut Couture Creations Ringing Bells image, which I had cut with my Scan’n’Cut. I coloured the bow and clappers with red pencils, then added Star Dust Stickles for texture and sparkle without introducing another colour. The sentiment came from the LDSR Christmas One and Go stamp and die set, which has left me with lots of extra sentiments ready for future cards.

While I had the hot foil plate out, I also cut some red foil and created another card panel.

For this card, I wanted the focal point to stay white on white, so I die cut the Spellbinders Poinsettia and built it into a layered flower. A small red glitter dot in the centre tied it back to the one-colour theme, and I stamped a Merry Christmas sentiment in red ink before clear embossing it. A few more red glitter dots finished the design beautifully.

I really enjoyed finding ways to add texture and interest while keeping the palette so limited. White on white can be such a lovely challenge, especially when that single pop of colour is used thoughtfully.

Do come and join us at Die Cut Divas this month with your white on white with one colour projects. Just remember to use your die machine to cut or emboss.  We’d love to see what you create!

A Pair of Mixed Media Cards for Dad

Yesterday I spent some time making cards for my dad, with two special dates coming up very close together. Father’s Day is on 6 September, and his birthday follows just a few days later on 10 September. Because I need to post both cards—and NZ Post can be a little slow these days—I’m trying to be organised and get them sent early.

I decided to go with a mixed media theme for both cards, beginning with the Father’s Day design. 

I started with a piece of ombré patterned paper from Uniti in shades of blue and purple, then cut it using Gina K Master Layout 1.

To build up the background, I used the Circle Disruption stencil from AALL & Create and added areas of blue and purple ink with my blending brushes. I also brought in Memento Toffee Crunch, along with Altenew Cloudy Night and Cloudy White inks, to add extra depth and contrast.

For the embellishments, I die-cut several black cogs using Paper Rose Studio cog dies. I randomly dabbed them with embossing ink, then heat embossed them with WOW Metallic Copper Sparkle powder for a worn, metallic effect. A few dots from a gold Posca pen added the final touches of shine.

I finished the card with a pre-printed sentiment from a Uniquely Creative digital kit, then matted the panel onto black card before attaching it to a white card base.

I carried the mixed media look through to Dad’s birthday card as well, this time creating a bold blue-and-gold panel. I ink-smooshed the background using Catherine Pooler Juniper Mist and Distress Oxide Chipped Sapphire, which gave the piece a rich, layered feel.

Next, I used a Craft Giraffe splatter stencil with Versamark ink, then added Ranger Gold embossing powder for texture and shimmer. Once the panel was ready, I punched out a pile of 1-inch squares and arranged them diagonally across a die-cut panel.

To complete the card, I backed the panel with dark blue card, attached it to a white base, and added a sentiment cut from gold mirror card. 

Both cards have the same mixed media feel, but each one has its own personality. Now I just need to get them safely into the post and hope they arrive in plenty of time!

Crafting with a friend- fun afternoon of creating.

One of the best things about paper crafting is sharing it with a fellow crafter, and yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with my friend Suna at her home in Orewa. It's about a 30-minute drive from my place, and it was well worth the trip.

I arrived around midday and we got straight into crafting. After about an hour of creating (and chatting!), we took a break and walked to a local café just five minutes from her apartment for lunch. After a delicious lunch, we headed back for more crafting before I left for home at 4.20 pm.

Despite spending over three and a bit hours together, I only managed to complete two cards. Then again, there may have been a little too much chatting happening!

My first project was a Christmas card featuring some recently purchased poinsettia-themed sticker tape.

I placed a strip of the tape across the centre of my card panel and then used two dies from the Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One set to divide the panel into two sections. I chose a stitched border for the top section and a plain border for the bottom, adhering both pieces back onto the panel while leaving the decorative tape visible in the centre.

The sentiment is from Rosie’s Studio Hearth & Home and was stamped onto the lower panel using Nocturne Versafine Clair ink.

To finish the design, I created a poinsettia using a new die set. Although the set includes three layers, I felt the largest layer was too big for this card. Instead, I cut two of the smallest layers from red cardstock and layered them together, then cut the middle layer from green cardstock. For the flower centre, I used white cardstock coloured with a yellow Posca Glitter pen. The set also includes foliage dies, which I cut from green cardstock.

I'm really pleased with how this card came together.

My second card also showcases a new die set featuring an arched panel and a flowering branch.

I cut the branch twice from white cardstock. For the base layer, I coloured the branch using a grey-green Spectrum Noir marker (thanks to Suna and her pens). On the second die-cut, I coloured the flowers with pink Altenew ink and then carefully fussy-cut them out. The die design makes this process surprisingly easy, with cut lines that clearly define the flowers and buds.

Once everything was layered together, I adhered the floral branch to the white arched panel. For the background, I added a piece of blue watercolour paper from a Scrapbook.com paper pack to the card base. The die set also included a couple of extra floral elements, so I created a small cluster in the top corner. After that, I decided the card didn't need anything else. Sometimes the simplest finishing touch is no extra embellishment at all.

The cards were fun to make, but the real highlight of the day was spending time crafting with a friend. We shared stamps, dies, ideas, and plenty of conversation. There's something special about being able to bounce creative ideas off one another while working on projects side by side.

I'm entering my second into Darnell's NBUS challenge.  All the dies used from the one set are having their first outing.