2016 Review

So, I finally found a moment (in a very busy year with not much card making or blogging) to share the last few cards that I had made this year but hadn't shared.  Most of these were birthday cards!

Using watercolouring and the Birthday Blooms stamp set

Using watercoloured stripes and vellum die cut pictures.

Featuring the Fairy Celebration stamp set

Rainbow coloured butterflies from the Watercolour Wings stamp set

Watercolour Wings stamp set & matching die

Using lots of bright colours for the bokeh look!

My birthday thank you cards using the Jar of Love stamp set

Jar of Love stamp set and Swirly Scribbles thinlit dies

Birthday card for my nephew featuring a die cut racing car

And finally, a cute little gift box made at one of our SU team nights.

Well, I think that's the rest of my cards for the year.  Tomorrow is a new year and I hope to make and share a whole lot more.  Bring on 2017 xx

Fathers' Day 2016 - Part 2

So I just shared the card I made for my dad (LOVE YOU DAD!).  I also wanted to share the card I made for a Facebook card swap.  This one was completely different, but just as cool (in my humble opinion!!):

I used a Black CS card base and layered the card up with Whisper White CS and banners.

I added a silver die-cut Happy greeting and hand stamped Father's Day. I cut out each little letter (gulp!!)

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Labeler Alphabet

Papers: Black CS, Whisper White CS, Silver CS & SU DSP (now retired)

Inks: Tuxedo Black

Other: Big Shot & Hello You thinlets

Happy Stamping xx

Father's Day 2016

So it was Father's Day yesterday - and I got in early this time and sent my card off to my dad IN TIME (it arrived on the Friday before Father's Day) and I also sent off the Father's Day card swap for one of the Facebook card swap groups I am a member of!

My first card share is the card I made for my dad.  My dad loves gardening and trees, so I started with some watercolouring paper and watercolour paints:

I used a wash of greens and blues for the background using my Aqua Painters brush.  Love that brush!

I used my new Thoughtful Branches stamp set with Tuxedo black ink, with a little bit of shadow stamping too!

Add some cardstock, some silver dots for interest, a sentiment and the card is done. I kept the colours simple with a black and silver background.  Perfect for my dad!

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Thoughtful Branches and Gorgeous Grunge

Papers: Black CS, Silver CS, Watercolour card & Whisper White CS

Inks: Tuxedo Black, Metallic Silver (now retired) and Wild Wasabi

Other: Sponge Daubers & Aqua Painter

 Happy Stamping xx

 

Happy Fathers Day 2015

Just popping in to wish my Dad, my husband and all the other dads a very Happy Father's Day.

My dad is travelling overseas at the moment, so he's not yet received this card I made for him.   So sshhh!! It's a surprise!

I've used a lot of retired products on this card, as they were all I had handy for a Father's Day card.  All my stamp sets I've been buying lately have been either very girly or all flowers!!  Whoops!

For this card, I used a Crumb Cake card base, Blackberry Bliss as my focus colour and all the hexagons punched out from the Moonlingt Desinger Series Paper Stack (now retired).

I couldn't believe I didn't have a Father's Day stamp (well a decent sized one anyway), so I used the good old MDS to print my senitment from the Delightful Dozen stamp set.  MDS is now retired but if you have it already installed on your computer, you can keep on using it!  Yay!!

Happy Father's Day dad xx

My Super Hero

Well, the month of June is birthday month around here.  And we've finally made it through to the end.  With two of my three children born in the same week of June, it sure makes for busy times.  But it's over now, birthday cakes are eaten, birthday parties are now a memory and time to share some of the birthday cards I made.

The first is for my big boy, turning the grand old age of 12!  And I thought a super hero card would be perfect for him!!

I used Cherry Cobbler CS for my base, and sprayed Cherry Cobbler ink over the card using the sunburst stencil from the Hip Hip Hooray kit (from the now retired 2014 Catalogue).  When the ink was dry, I used my Cricut and a mask cutting file to create the mask!

I added a couple of stars cut from Crushed Curry cardstock with some of my little star punches.  You can see the solid yellow star is the inner of the larger star.  Clever, huh?  I've stamped over the little star with dots using Crushed Curry ink (and now I can't remember which stamp I used).

I added a Whisper White CS strip and stamped a cool birthday sentiment (non SU stamp) and the card was done!  Voila!  And yes, the card was much admired by ALL the boys in my family!!

Controller card!

So yesterday I shared my first  male-themed card, so here's another one for inspiration!

This card features a card front/stamped image coloured in by a lovely friend of mine.  I'm not sure what stamp this was from, or if it was just a digi-image - but another card perfect for teenage boys.

This time, I used some DSP (my friend's son who received this card loves purple!!), a card base of Crumb Cake CS which I had embossed with diagonal stripes and some photo corners punched from Basic Black CS.

Again, a basic Happy Birthday sentiment keeps the card nice and simple, and no way at all fussy for the boys!  Especially teenage ones, where you cannot be cutesy!!

This card was coloured in with a mix of Copic markers and Stampin' Up! blendabilities which unfortunately are no longer available.  But if you love colouring, google or search pinterest - heaps of digi-images!!

xx

Cards for the Boys

So it's Easter Monday, and I'm going to try and catch up on sharing my projects!!  Going through this blog, I see I've been a bit slack at sharing.  A time thing really, I'm making the cards but not finding the time to share.

So let's see how I go this week, making and sharing.  Think I'll make this week about the boys!  Starting with a card perfect for teenage or pre-teenage boys!

I found a digital cut file for the 'HUH'.  So apt don't you think.  I think this will be a standby design now that I have an eleven year old son, with friends all turning twelve and so on!!

I used boy-friendly colours: Real Red, Crumb Cake and Basic Black.  Very safe, don't you think!

Add some Washi tape, staples and a birthday sentiment.  Yep the card was done.  And my nephew who received this card thought it was hilarious!!

Hope this card inspires easy, not-fussy, male themed cards!

xx

Valentine's Mail

So this year we celebrated Valentine's Day.  Don't know why, it's a very much a hit and miss celebration in our house!  So when I was thinking of a card for my husband, it was all about the non-pink and non-girly card.  And when I saw the idea of using the hexagon punch to make little envelopes.  I knew I had the idea!

This idea came totally from one of my favourite websites for inspiration: Paper Paradise.

Happy Valentine's Day to my WH xx

Father's Day card reveal

OK, so now it is a day AFTER Father's Day, I can share my Father's Day card I made for my dad.  In case you're wondering, I didn't make one for my husband.  I gave the kids enough craft supplies to make their own, and that they did.  Even if the glitter glue took over 24 hours to dry.....

It was really hard to think of a theme for my dad.  His hobbies include reading, gardening and music.  I had lots of stamps for nautical/beach themes or maybe even sports.  But in the end I decided to use my Lovely as a Tree stamp set.  My dad loves trees, so even if I've made him cards with that set before, it still is such a versatile stamp set for another card!!

I used a few trusty (and not recently used) tools for this one.  The brayer and some sponges/daubers.  And got myself inky.  Thank goodness for post-it notes.

I stamped the trees with Always Artichoke & Chocolate Chip ink.  And then inked up the background using Old Olive on the brayer and sponges and then Basful Blue for the sky. The colours complemented each other beautifully.

My stamped image (on Whisper White) was then matted onto Crumb Cake and then onto the Whisper White card base.  Added some linen thread and a little sentiment - the card was done.  I added a couple of staples for interest.  But definitely nothing girly on this card.

I used:
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Inks: Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Bashful Blue & Chocolate Chip
Papers: Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS
Accessories: Word Window punch, staples, linen thread, brayer & daubers

My inspiration came from here.