Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Lately, my friend Cindy has been sharing some beautiful cards she created for Justine Hovey’s 12 Days of Christmas series, and they inspired me to join in. The free sessions had already begun, so I decided to purchase the upgrade and catch up.

Here’s my take on Day 1.

The design brief called for a white embossed background, gold splatters, washi tape, a white focal image, and a gold die-cut sentiment.

I chose a landscape layout to make the most of my embossing folder, which features large snowflakes and a delicate snowfall pattern. It’s a 3D folder from a Card Making Magic magazine that I picked up at my local stationery store. Once the background was embossed, I added a strip of washi tape and a scattering of gold splatters for a little festive sparkle.

For the focal image, I used a white die-cut poinsettia. A touch of gold in the flower centre ties it in beautifully with the gold die-cut sentiment and the splattered background.

It’s been a long weekend here in New Zealand, with Labour Day commemorating the struggle for the eight-hour working day—a right New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim in 1840. Because I don’t work on Fridays, the break has felt especially long, giving me plenty of time in my craft room.

I’ve also taken a few extra days off this week after being encouraged to use some of my accumulated leave, which means even more time for crafting. I’ll have more Christmas cards to share over the coming days!

Sunday Crafting: Briar Blossoms and a Festive Poinsettia Tag

I enjoyed a little crafting on Sunday as the World Cardmaking Day celebrations stretched over the weekend for me.

When I stamped the One Go – Briar Blossom the other day, I did two panels, so I had another set ready for a new card. Before choosing my colours, I searched for photos of briar roses and found several in pink and yellow. That became the colour scheme for this design. I also stamped and embossed another panel so I could add a few extra leaves.

For the flowers, I used Altenew Rose Quartz and Maple Yellow, pairing them with Shadow Creek and Mountain Pine for the leaves. I created the background by embossing a panel with the Altenew Organic Linen 3D folder, then used the stamp packaging as inspiration for the floral arrangement. A small sentiment from Altenew Sentiment Strips 3 completed the card.

While tidying up, I found the narrow offcut left over from the square card I made last week. It was just the right size to turn into a tag card. I created a smaller version of my white poinsettia card, this time cutting the poinsettia from homemade red glitter card. I chose a different sentiment from the Rosies Studio Heath & Home stamp set and added a few tiny gold glitter dots as the finishing touch.

I really love making Christmas cards, and my festive stash is growing quickly!

Hope you all got some time to craft over the weekend. 

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. 

Love is in the air... at Sweet Stampin' Challenge.

 I completely forgot that I was due to post my card for Sweet Stampin' Challenge.    So I had to run into the craft room about an hour or so ago.  I already had an idea in my mind, thinking it was next Saturday that I needed my card for.   I was child minding again yesterday - spending time crafting again!!  Stenciling was the order of the day.  Grace really loved doing this.  And made a beautiful card - which I forgot to take a photo of - she has a great eye for colours. 

Anyhoo.... here is the card I made.

I had been to Kmart this afternoon and picked up a pack of red and pink card bases.   I trimmed the front of a red one and used a Couture Creations embossing folder - Peacock Fans,   I die cut lots of hearts from a Lawn Fawn set called Candy Hearts.  I made a little envelope using my WRMK envelope board.  I added the hearts coming out of it.  Added a die cut bow and a little sentiment from a Gina K stamp and die set - Blooming Butterfly.   

Do come and join us at Sweet Stampin' Challenge