Die Cut Divas - World Cardmaking Day - all month!

It's my time to share some inspiration for Die Cut Divas for our October Diva Challenge. We're celebrating World Card Making Day all month long!! You just need to make a card including die cuts &/or use an embossing folder and enter it into the gallery by 9pm Pacific Time on October 31st.

I've been doing a few Christmas cards during this month so I'm keeping with that theme for my today's card.    I don't have a lot of My Favorite Things products - mostly older stuff from when I first started card making.  So today my Christmas card uses an older (discontinued) die called Hexagons.  

The die set has two dies - one that cuts a border and then separate hexagons.   The separate hexagons are two sizes... one the exact size of the border and one slightly smaller.    I chose to make the border in black and then used a variety of Christmas papers for the separate ones and layered together.  I've pair this border with an embossed panel from We Are Memory Keepers (Gemstones)  and a die cut sentiment from WPlus 9 (Seasonal Sentiments) Cut with some Altenew Sterling Glitter card and some stamped sub-sentiments from a Hero Arts Stamp and Cut set (Peace).

Thanks for stopping by. 

June CCC Reveal

It's time for the reveal over at The Card Chain Challenge -  June's themes

                                                 

Theme Options: CAS, feathers or friendship or Product / Technique Options: Wink of Stella and/or glitter.

My card for Janet in Mauritius used the sketch, CAS and feathers

  
The feathers are from a WPlus9 stamp and die set.  I used some PP for my stripe.  Add a little friend sentiment and the Hello with a few sequins.  

Had fun making this.  It's always fun to make and send a card - in my case, mostly overseas.  And I received a beautiful card from Kath in England 

 

 

WWC227 Michelle's "All About Occasions" challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Michelle is our hostess this week with an "All About Occasions"  challenge. 

I had to make a Belated Birthday card as I completely forgot a friend's card.

My background was made by dry embossing the Broken Chevron stencil from Altenew.  I learnt about doing this when I took Laurel Beard's class at the Altenew Academy.   Laurel taught us to do the dry embossing and then keeping the stencil in place, blending inks over top.  It's hard to see the wonderful texture this gives.  I used Altenew inks - Baby Pink, Fuchsia, Limeade and Lime.   I then added some Lindy's Gang spray and some white iridescence spray.  The shimmer in real life is stunning.   I added a flower and bee sticker from Uniti.  The sentiment is from WPlus9.  I matted the panel into some dark pink card and onto a square card base.

Come join in the fun.  Check out the projects that 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 11.00am NZ time) to link up your project

Belated Birthday elephant

My mind has been letting me down.... I missed my friend's birthday on the 3rd so  quick belated birthday card for her.... thanks to the cute elephant from Wplus9 and the cute sentiment that went with it.

I started by sponging Distress Oxides inks - Shaded Lilac, Broken China and Crushed Pistachio and added some stars in Worn Lipstick and Delicata Gold.  Stamped and die cut the elephant and balloon and coloured with my Prismacolor pencils.  Added a bit of glossy accents to the balloon.

I must make myself a better list of the birthdays so I won't have to make belated birthday cards.  

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 38th Wedding Anniversary.  Time just seem to have flown by.   I made a card for him using a stenciling technique I saw on Jennifer McGuire's blog.

 

I covered my white card with Blueprint distress ink and using a Tim Holtz stencil and some Silver Shimmer Spritz over it.  Added a touch of blue/silver glitter paper down one side.  The balloon and elephant are a WPlus9 stamp and die set coloured with Zig makers.

As I've used a critter I'm entering into the challenge at Simon Says Stamp 

Thanks for stopping by

Vintage Roses

Last week I spend a bit of time watching some some videos on Altenew Layering stamps.  It's a free class available at the Altenew Academy (HERE)  I liked the way the stamps layer.  I do have a couple of them but decided play with a WPlus9  set.

I used Coming Up Roses together with some distress inks and some generation stamping

 I still need LOTS of practice but was reasonable happy with my results.  I embossed the sentiment across the centre using a Clearly Besotted set.  And of course a few Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

Back to work this week and it was hard going yesterday.  Slightly better today.  Luckily the weather has been a bit iffy so don't feel so bad... but not good for the parentals who are still staying with us.  Today they came into Takapuna for lunch with me even though it was raining.  They are here till Saturday before heading back to the Gold Coast.

Have a great week.

Dawn

Hope Wreath and Coffee Lovers blog Hop

I have two cards for you today.... first up is the card I made for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

I used a Bugaboo image and some Spellbinders dies.  The sentiment is a Penny Black one. 

Next up is a card I did this afternoon.  I picked up issue 125 Papercraft Essentials and it had a great stamp set.   I just had to make a card straight away

I stamped the beautiful wreath in Versafine green ink and then clear embossed it.  I used some Distress markers to colour the berries and leaves.  The dove was inked with Memento Gray Flannel ink and a few strokes of a pale gray Copic.  I stamped and embossed the bow and fussy cut it out.  The Hope die is by WPlus9 and is cut in some shimmery green paper.    Just love the result I got with this one.   I have about 10 more cards to make over the next week to send to my local relatives.

thanks for stopping by, I do appreciated your visit. 

June Birthdays

Hi there.  June has lots of birthdays for my friends and family... including my own yesterday (14th).  I had a lovely birthday that started the night before with an awesome Italian dinner with my hubby, son and his fiancee.  They stayed the night so was nice to have them there for the morning.  Melissa's birthday was the 2nd June so we celebrated both.

I have four workmates having June birthdays too... Got three of the four cards made - one is this one

then there is this one

 this is for Anouschka.  She is a fun loving lady who enjoys her glass of wine. Uses a Bugaboo image.  I used a new embossing folder from WRMK's.  It's a 3D embossing folder.  In real life it is simply stunning. 

This card was inspired by one I saw on FB from Melania Deasy   I love the pretty background she did.  I used some distress inks and sponged them on.  I added a few glue dots and added some multi coloured glitter.  I then dotted some gold Kindyglitz , splattered some watered down gold ink and some water splatters.  I die cut the Simon Says Stamp word with gold glitter paper and used gold ink to stamp the Hero Arts sentiment and clear embossed. it.  The flowers are by WPlus9 and inked up with distress inks. The base card is  coloured one that was with a magazine. 

I'm working on the fourth one tonight.   It is a similar design to the one above.  Just using some different flowers, die cut and sentiment.  I better go and get it finished. 

Watercolour flowers

The current online card classes, "Watercolor for Card Makers", is so much fun.  I'm loving every minute of the classes.  So much inspiration... and it's not too late to join in as once you register, you have a life time to revisit and review....Go here to have a look.

Today I have some water colour flowers to share with you.

This first one has a water coloured block background and then stamped the Darkroom Door flower which was inked with distress inks and painted. I was really pleased with how the background and flower then ended up stamping the sentiment crooked.... hence the banner. Added some clear flat sequins to finish. 

Next up is a faux watercolour technique.  My inspiration for this was a video from Wplus9 (here) but it tied into the classes, as we also learnt this technique.  

This was as I had finished the piece and then this is what I did with it.

I made a small 3 1/4" x 4 1/8" card.  The frame was made with some Simon Says Stamp woodgrain card coloured with a Copic marker.

My final sample is a more artsy water colour using a Hero Arts stamp

I used the colouring on the front of the stamp to paint in my colours.  Still to make this up into a card. 

And if you want to see some more of the beautiful faux painting  do hop over to Lin's blog as well as Nancy's and Barb's.   And I came across this beautiful example by Diane

Off to watch another days videos. 

In Your Comfort Zone

I saw on Lin's blog that WPlus9 were having a challenge to make a card within your comfort zone... using their stamps/dies.   I have two WPlus9 sets.... Fanciful Feathers and Fresh Cut Florals with their matching dies.

Of late I've been doing a bit with stencils...after taking the On-line Card Class, and today got some more stencils so I thought I would combine the two.

I started by using some paste over a new TCW stencil "Mini Chervon Tiles"  Once they dried, I spritzed with some blue glimmer mist and then used my SU Spray thingie with some blue and green Tombow pens.  I next die cut some die cut two feathers from some card also spritzed with blue mist.  I edged it with a grey marker and added some white dots.   The sentiment is from the Fresh Cut Florals  set.  I used two sentiments.  I layered the panel onto some shimmer card then onto the card stock.  I added the flowers with a bit of black twine.

I had fun making this ~ in my semi CAS style... not too many embellishments.  Think I could have added some sequins though. 

Had fun yesterday, on my day off for our National Holiday... cleaned my oven (using a tip I found on FB using Ammonia) then had a good amount of time crafting, getting a few things done.  Will share more later in the week.

Thanks for visiting.

A few Christmas cards.....

Over the past few weeks, I've done a few Christmas cards.  I have two to share today ~ so hang in there with me while I show you what I've been doing.


My first card was inspired by Betty who made a few cards with poinsettia's on them together with some little berries.

I used a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die to make my flower, some rose leaves, the berries from WPlus9 Fresh Cut Florals die and stamp set and a background with a Couture Creations embossing folder.  This one has been entered into the challenges at Simon Says Stamp and CAS-ual Fridays

and a quick card I made for Chupa's Saturday Sketchbook #109

I really liked the sketch and used a new pad of PP from American Crafts called Peppermint Express to co-ordinate the colours.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft.  My snowflakes are from a Marianne's die set and a punch.  The large one is cut with glitter tape stuck to some card and the rest were cut and punched and Stickles added.   Added some Stickles to the houses and snow and finished with some silver gems.   The whole card took me less than 20 minutes to finish and then that long for the stickles to dry.

I'm hoping to get a few more Christmas cards done... I was lucky enough to win a place in the latest On-line classes class... Holiday Card Workshop and am really looking forward to the class.  Thanks to Joy who picked me for a place.

Have a great week

Say it with Flowers

Today is my first post for Creative Craft College DT and our challenge is "Say it with Flowers"

I used a new WPlus9 stamp set called Fresh Cut Floral with the matching die set.

I CASE'd a card I found on the Wplus9 blog.  I stamped in a variety of distress inks after die cutting the flowers and leaves and layered them up.  The background is some woodgrain cardstock from Simon Says Stamps.  The sentiment is from the stamp set.  

Do hop over to the blog to see what the other's have come up with... some beautiful projects from the A Team.  We've the New Zealand team... from all round New Zealand.  Would love to have you join us in the challenge. 

Well it's a new month and that means it's a new challenge over at Die Cut Divas.  I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I made...

WPlus9 plus Hero Arts = Perfection

That is so true with this Christmas card I recently made.

I have seen a number of stamped wreath cards and with the arrival of my new  Fresh Cut Florals stamps I thought I'd give it a go.

I started by drawing a circle on my card front and using one of the leaf stamps stamped around one side then using the opposite shaped stamp, did the other side, meeting at the bottom.  Added some little little flowers and berries from the set and added some gems and pearls and a little green bow.  

This is one of a number of cards I made over the long weekend.  The weather was superb and while the others worked out in the garden and backyard, I set myself up on the deck 

I got quite a few cards done, lots of colouring and some watercolour backgrounds made.   Hubby did some tiling on a patio for our friends

We had breakfast out on the patio on Monday morning.    Then we decided to have a picnic lunch at Te Ari Point.  I even paddled my feet in the sea.   Too cold for me to swim...... although Hubby and Mike did!

 

It's Halloween tonight.... very quiet here this year.  Only one lot of visitors so a few sweeties and chocolates still waiting to be eaten... but NOT by me.  I'm taking part in "The Biggest Loser"  at work.  13 of us have put $10 each into the kitty and at the end of 6 weeks who ever has lost the highest percentage of weight will win $80, $30 to 2nd and $20 for 3rd.  So far after the first week I've lost 1.05kgs (2.3pounds) and that was with a long weekend away!  Plus had good results at the doctors today.... Blood Glucose levels the lowest they have been for years!  BP perfect 120/80 and cholesterol at low levels as well.... Want to keep that up.  

Happy Halloween!

 

Feathery Fun

Feathers are quite on trend at the moment so when I saw this awesome set at WPlus9, I knew I wanted it.

 

To get an idea of how to use I went onto the WPlus9 Design Blog and found lots of great inspiration which I promptly added to Pinterest, so I'd have some ideas.

So here's what I came up with... both cards very CAS

First one uses Iced Spruce Distress ink

I used a 2mm calligraphy pen to make the frame around the card, giving a look of matting.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set.  I used the matching sentiment inside 

and decorated the envelope as well

My second card used Golden Glitz ink with a very similar design

This one is a get well card for a friend who came off his bike recently and is in the Acute Brain Injury unit in Porirua hospital doing some rehab.  He is very lucky to be alive and is making good progress.  

The weekend was very full on with the family.  Our nephew's 21st birthday party was on Saturday and we had some of the family staying the weekend.  So I'll finish with a pic of the nieces and nephews ( the younger 6)

My son is the last one on the right.

Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate you visits.

Dawn