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.

I'm adding this one to the CAS Christmas Challenge -  Woodland Critters 

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 Kickstart Challenge - Just Add Antlers!

 I'm still not well and after a very busy weekend, today I was shattered and still coughing so another day at home.  I did two half days - Monday and Wednesday and had Tuesday and Thursday sick.  Went to the doctors on Thursday - Chest infection and bronchial asthma - so antibiotics and taking time off.  

I rested up today and spent some time in my craft space this afternoon.  I had sorted some digital images over the weekend and two day I printed two old Bugaboo images to enter into the challenge at Christmas Kickstart Challenge.

 

First one used a favourite Christmas image - Puppy Reindeer.   I've used over the years since 2014.

Isn't it gorgeous!  The sentiment was part of the digital images.  I printed and used Spectrum Noir Tri-blends to colour.  Added little bits of Gelly Roll Sparkle clear pen to the bells and on his hat, the stars, the ground.  I masked off the edges and used a Blue Grey maker to add a faux matting layer.   Added some silver die cut sequins. 

My next card also uses a Bugaboo image from 2016.

A cute as reindeer.   Again used the Spectrum Noir Tri-blends to colour.  Added a Kaisercraft sentiment.  A little of the Gelly Roll Sparkle Clear pen on the starts and the Christmas baubles.  

I went to photograph the cards and for the live of me, I couldn't find the first card anywhere.   I honestly couldn't find it at all, then remembered I had cut and folded some card bases and put them in a folder.  Yep, sure enough there it was amongst the bases.    

Hopefully off to work tomorrow. 

Pawfectly Pawsome Christmas and a Christmas Wreath

 I had a bit of play time over the weekend.  I saw that the latest Christmas Kickstart Challenge was under way and it's a fun challenge - Pawfectly Pawsome... anything with PAWS on your Christmas cards. - Dogs, cats, mice, foxes, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, bears and even weasels: are all welcome!

I had fun looking through my library of digital images for Christmas critters with paws!  Bugaboo Stamps (now defunct) had lots and I have a heap of their images I've purchased or obtained over the years.  So two cards were made.

First up - this cute little bear on a candy cane...

I printed then trimmed to a stripe for the centre of my card.  I found some shiny red polka dotted paper for the background. (note this was very hard to photograph!)  I used my Prismacolour pencils and some Gamsol to colour in the image.  The sentiment is from a Kaisercraft stamp set.   

And my second card - is an old favourite from Bugaboo

Doesn't he look sad for not getting the call up to help Santa.  I used my Prismacolor pencil again.  And a little blue ink to surround him.  I cut my panel with a Gina K Master Layouts die.  My red base card has a little dry embossing down the right hand side.  

And while I was in the Christmas mode, I saw that CAS Christmas Card Challenge is back and this month the challenge is Wreath

Not to sure if it's CAS enough.  I used a Sizzix Die set I picked up last weekend for $7.00 on special at the local Spotlight.  I die cut all the pieces a number of times from some mixed media paper and used Altenew watercolour paints to colour them all.  I die cut the Altenew Mixed Frame die - the deckle one... and then used a Spellbinder cover die to emboss the panel.   I finished with a digital sentiment. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope that you had time to play over the weekend.  

29 Again???? Birthday time at Die Cut Divas.

Hi there.  It's my day to share another birthday card at Die Cut Divas today.  Our theme is BIRTHDAYS and Bugaboo Stamps are our sponsor. 

 Here is my project

My friend, Suna, had her birthday yesterday and this was the card I sent her.    I used the 29 Again Stella image and coloured it with watercooler pencils.  I added some Sharpie Gold ink pen to the Again and added gold Wink of Stella over it.   I die cut my patterned paper and the layer behind it with Gina K Master Layouts,

Do come and join us at Die Cut Divas. 

Birthday Bear - for Die Cut Divas Birthday challenge.

 It's time for me to share a card with you over at Die Cut Divas... 

Our sponsor is Bugaboo this month and our theme is BIRTHDAYS.  Winner will receive a $12 voucher to the Bugaboo store.  

Here is my project.  

I did some paper piecing for my card using two co-ordinating papers.  I used my Gina K designs Master Layours to cut my layers.  I printed the image onto white card and also onto the patterned papers and fussy cut them to piece on the card.  I die cut some Simon Says Stamp hearts and added to the sentiment circle. 

Do come and join us at Die Cut Divas with your birthday cards. 

70th birthday card

 One of our friend's turned 70 the other day.  He and hubby used to play rugby together over a number of years... Hubby asked me to make a card that used the logo of one of their teams.   So I took a photo of his shirt with the logo on it... and here's what I came up with....

I used a Bugaboo digi stamp and inserted the Shore Black's logo.  I then used my black Copic marker to colour in the shirt.  I did a bit bigger card for this so I could get the image in it.   I added a die cut 70 and an Altenew Happy Birthday sentiment. 

I had fun making the card and both Hubby and our friend, Warren, loved it. 

St Patrick's Day over at Sweet Stampin' Challenge.

Hi there.  It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' challenge and our theme is

 

St Patrick's Day (or use Green!)

Remember to include some stamping otherwise we won't be able to 

 include you in our Top 3!

 Here is the card I made to celebrate St Patrick's Day

 I went through my scrap stash and found the plaid oval for the basis of my card.  I used a plain olive green as my panel and printed the sentiment.  I die cut the bench out of some grey card and sponged the edges.  The little girl is a Bugaboo image that I printed and coloured and then fussy cut.

So now it's over to you, we'd love to have you playing along.

 I'm adding my card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:  Use some Green

Foxy Thanks at Die Cut Divas

Hi there.   Dawn here to share my Thanks card today at Die Cut Divas .

Our theme this month is "THANKSGIVING OR THANK YOU"

I used a Bugaboo image and coloured with some Copic and Altenew Alcohol markers.

I found the perfect thanks die - it's from a Cuttlebug alpha set called Olivia.   I used some bronze coloured shiny card and adhered it over the bottom of the image.

So come and join us HERE

Puppy Christmas - Dachshund through the snow!

My blog friend Jo's Christmas Kickstart this fortnight has the theme.... Dachshund Through the Snow... a play on words - so she and Elfen helper Cat want to see canines on the cards.

I knew what digi stamp I was going to use straight away, but didn't get time to create till this colder Saturday afternoon.

I started by making my own background using the Newton's Nook two part stencil.  I used some cream cardstock and used Altenew Enchanted Gold pigment ink and then added the red dashes with Catherine Poolr Design Rockin' Red ink.   I printed the Bugaboo image - Puppy - enough Reindeer and used Alcohol markers to colour it in. Plus a little gold gel pen for the bells.   I used some rectangle dies to cut it out and then used the same size die and one two bigger to die cut the frame.    A bit of Kindyglitz for the snow and the fluffy hat.

And another lovely surprise to see I made the Top Picks for my tree cards in the last challenge

 Thanks Jo and Darnell for picking me.

I got a few other cards done today(getting ahead with some design team work) as it was a bit wintery and staying in my craft room was a great way to spend the time.

Got a message from my son to say they are home from Hawaii and that little Grace was a great traveler.  Slept  90% of the flight over and coming home today didn't cry at all.  Getting a seasoned traveler.  They had a great time there... including my son proposing - so came back an engaged couple.

Weekend fun

Hi there... I'm been playing in my craft room over the weekend and today... The kids were away down south for a few days...

I got a few cards made on Saturday to get ahead of my samples for Watercooler Wednesday.  So keep a look a out for them in the future.. Sunday I spend catching up on watching videos.  And trying out a technique from Lydia Evans... an oldie but a goodie.... using inks on an acrylic block.  I follow Karen  Dunbrook on Facebook and was inspired by her cards as well.

I used some Zig markers to scribble onto my block and spritzed with water before stamping onto some watercolour paper.  I then used a Hero Arts stamp Night and Day Flowers.  I used my MISTI  to stamped the flowers firstly onto the smooshed piece which I had positioned onto the card base, then moved it out of the way and stamped again fully on the base.  I then lined up the two lots of stamping and stuck it down.  I added the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp  and some clear jewels.

Sunday I decided to make a card for Jo's Christmas Kickstart challenge... the theme is "The Elves and the Shoemaker"  I used a sweet elf from Bugaboo for my card.  I finished it off this morning. 

I originally put my panel onto a red card base.... but did this~

Yeap... put it on the wrong side of the card.  As you can see above, I managed to salvage the card by trimming the red base and adding to a blue card base. 

I'm on holiday this week, to spend time with Emma, Andrew and Archie.... today we spend some having coffee, shopping and playing in the playgrounds at the Mall and then later in the day, Emma and Archie joined hubby on his daily walk

and today Miss Grace is one month old

She has started smiling now....

Thanks for stopping by. 

May Flowers at Die Cut Divas

It's my day to share over at Die Cut Divas .   Our theme is May flowers and our sponsor is

 

I chose to use this sweet image

These little poppets are just the cutest ever.  I printed her and then die cut with a Spellbinders square,  I brushed on some pale blue ink while the die was still in place.  I used my computer to print the sentiment.  The base card has been embossed with a floral folder.  

Do come at join us at Die Cut Divas with your flower projects

Dawn T and the Divas

Another Snarky Christmas Card

My bloggy friend Jo, runs a great challenge called "Christmas Kickstart"  The latest challenge is "S for Snarky"

I have a number of Bugaboo images that are Christmas snarky so I've entered a couple of Snarky cards.

First one

I used watercolour paints to colour up this image and to make the striped background. 

and my second one:

For this one, I printed the snow globe and coloured with Alcohol markers, some white paint pen, and some glitter glue.    I embossed some white card for my textured base and added the snow globe

I had some fun with these cards.

Baby Grace is now home and all cozy in her own bed. Mummy is not sleeping well and is feeling very tired, but I am so proud how my son has stepped up to help with baby and give her time to rest and gain her strength again

Thanks for stopping by today.

WWC#211 - Kath's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Welcome to this week's challenge at Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  Kath's our hostess and her theme is Feminine -Anything Goes .

My card today is for Erin (my son's partner) - she had her baby shower last weekend. 

I used a Bugaboo digital stamp called "JJ Shopping for Two".  I used some patterned paper from a magazine.  My image was coloured with Altenew markers and Copic marker.

Only another 8 or so weeks till our Little Wriggler arrives.  Can't wait to meet her.

Come join in the fun and make a feminine project .  Check out what the artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges have created then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us.  You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at 1pm NZ time) to link up your project.

Thanks of visiting today. 

Angel Love

It's the final day of the month so last day of the monthly challenge at Die Cut Divas.... our theme is something new

I've used a new Bugaboo image called Love Angel for my card today.

I used a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die for the corner die cut and added the pink over a maroon card base. The image was printed and framed in Word and trimmed out.  I used some new Altenew Marker to colour my Angel.  I added a little sentiment into the corner.

Thanks for joining me today.  If you haven't already seen my Watercooler Wednesday Challenge post... see it HERE.

A big thanks to our lovely sponsor this month as well. 

World's Best Friend

It's my turn over at Die Cut Divas today

Our challenge theme is Anything New-new dies, stamps, techniques, paper, etc!

My new item is the dies I used... I got them just before Christmas and haven't used them yet.

My Bugaboo image is an older one but one I've always loved.  I used some Copic markers to colour.  I used a die cut to emboss the frame around it, and then added the gold and red die cuts for my label.

Do come and join us this month - Use anything NEW

Har Repotter Graduation card

One of my work colleagues wanted a Harry Potter grad card for her daughter whose graduation was last week.... so thanks to the Har Repotter images from Bugaboo.... I made her a box card.

I had fun making this and she told me today her daughter loved it. 

Hope you all had a great weekend... I got LOTS of colouring done for my Kit and Clowder classes.  We took Friday off and headed up to Mangawhai.  Had a really relaxing weekend, which did included a trip to the Markets, a winery visit (tasting and buying a nice bottle of Sauvigion Blanc) and a trip to the Waipu Museum.  I always enjoy visiting this museum as it tells the story of the Scottish settlers who came to Waipu via Nova Scotia. 

thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate all your visits.  Please feel free to leave me a message.

A wet weekend.

NB- Photo Heavy Post

It's been a very wet February here in Auckland.  This last  weekend was extremely wet.  So where was the best spot to be.. in the craft room.  I had a few orders to do.  So here is what I got done. 

First up - a card that was actually made last week for a colleague who is going onto Maternity Leave.  She is expecting a little girl

This is my favourite Mo Manning digi stamp.  It's called "Hush"  I used Prismacolor pencils to colour it in. 

Next was the first of 2, 21st cards

I used a Bugaboo digi image with a computer generated sentiment.  I used a Tim Holtz die in the corner and added a punched border

and here is #2

This one was inspired by a card on Pinterest (by Loll) I used a Spellbinders die to make my frame.  I die cut four from white card and one from glittery fun foam.  I also used the fun foam to die cut the 21.  The flowers are an older Hero Arts stamp which was white embossed and then I used some Altenew pink inks to sponge on.  Added some Novu Drops to the centres. 

My next card is one I made for my NZ card group swap.  The challenge was set by Suna, and was to make your own background. 

I made by background by stamping the second layer of the Altenew flower in a pale grey.  I then stamped all layers of the flower and added some accents with my colour pencils.  I die cut all the elements and stamped the additional bunch of flowers.  This is now on it's way south to it's recipient.

Next up is a card order from one colleague for another colleague who is going through a really bad time at the moment..one of her family members is currently fighting cancer with not a good outcome predicted. 

Using a Catherine Pooler stencil with some Altenew inks, a Spellbinders die, a MFT dienamics leaf, a Prisma flower and a sentiment from Rosie's Studio

Well, if you have made this far, I thank you.  Hope you had a chance to getting your craft on over the weekend.