Darkroom Door - Happy Birthday Wishes

Hello friends, welcome and thanks for stopping by!  You can never have too many birthday cards - I am sure you know that!!  They are the best seller in the shops that sell my cards, so I have been trying to get a few made before the next 'top ups' are due. These ones came together from those things constantly gathering on my desk - my favourite kind of card at times - being limited to what is on the desk stops me over-thinking the process....know what I mean?!?!  The fabulous sentiment is Darkroom Door - Small Stamp - Birthday.

I have also used IMAGINE Memento Inks in Tuxedo Black, Teal Zeal and Rhubarb Stalk, Little Birdie Crafts, Want2Scrap, KaiserCraft papers, Authentique Paper, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner Ultra and 3D Foam Squares and Spellbinders 

This card is linked to the followng challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes 

Crazy 4 Challenges - Make a Card Of Celebration

Alphabet Challenge -  X IS FOR X-tra EMBELLISHMENTS 

Brown Sugar - ANYTHING GOES 

Crafty Catz - ANYTHING GOES WITH OPTIONAL TWIST PRETTY PAPERS 

Creative Fingers - ALWAYS  ANYTHING GOES

 QKR Stampede - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES 

House That Stamps Built - Anything Goes

Little Red Wagon - Balloons

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Crafters - Patterned paper

Word Art Wednesdays - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread - Always Anything Goes 

Unicorn Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafting Happiness Challenges - ANYTHING GOES optional twist FLOWERS

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy creating

Happiness Is...

Hello friends, welcome and thanks so much for stopping by!  I have a little change of pace today -a whimsical card inspired by this adorable owl that has been recycled from a old greeting card - how cute is it - and those eyelashes - gorgeous!

The patterned paper is from Kaisercraft, it was 'lurking' in my stash and I am so glad it has seen the light of day!  It has been cut/embossed using the Spellbinders Nestabilities Scored and Pierced Rectangles Etched Dies and the Platinum Die Cutting Machine and adhered to a slightly larger Kraft card front using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner Ultra.E

The centre panel is from Authentique Paper and adhered to the centre of the card front also using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner Ultra.  The Owl has been popped up using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L 3D Foam Squares.

The partial pink die cut frame is from an older die by Seth Apter - and still a favourite with me.  The beautiful cluster of flowers is from Little Birdie Crafts and has been glued to the top right hand corner.  Nice and Easy to make, but adorable all the same - in my opinion anyway! Wink:wink! The Owl has been poppee

This card is linked to the following challenges:

Crafting Happiness Challenges - ANYTHING GOES optional twist FOOD AND DRINK

Cutie Pie Challenge - CUTE AND CUDDLY ANIMALS

Make My Monday - CRITTERS

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges - ANYTHING GOES 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - FRAME IT (partial pink frame)

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes with a Critter

Classic Design  Challenge - Always Anything Goes

Crafty Animals - Always Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with Patterned Paper
Creatalicious Challenges - Anything Goes with optional Embossing

Dies R Us Challenge - xoxo Hearts, Love, Valentine

Not Just Cards - Always Anything Goes
Papercraft Business Challenge - Valentine's Day / Love

The Creative Crafters - Anything Goes

Allsorts - Dies and/or Punches

Alphabet Challenge - Anything You Wish

Brown Sugar - ANYTHING GOES

Crafty Catz - ANYTHING GOES WITH OPTIONAL TWIST CRITTERS

QKR Stampede - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES 

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy crafting

Love Always Wins...

Hello friends, welcome and thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend at some level.  It is Sunday night here in the Southern Hemisphere and I have spent a good part of the afternoon and evening creating in front of the 'Fire Fight Australia' Bushfire Relief Concert - it is amazing and so touching to see so many amazing muscians come together to fundraise after the bushfires.

Something I have had sitting on my desk for some time is this beautiful figurine that my DH gave me when things were changing for me creatively - it made him think of Frida Kahlo and the sentiment is perfect. When he gave it to me he said, 'this is to inspire you as you enter a new season' - he said I was transitioning, which I don't mind as long as it doesn't involve hormones LOL!  I have to be totally honest and admit that she sat on my desk for 6 months - I didn't want to ruin her...so I waited....

I started by adding recycled sari silk as a headband,making sure it was wrapped around her bun - and that was all I needed to get started - funny what inspired us isn't it!?  To this I added a mixure of flowers and leaves - after all Frida is known for her beautiful floral crowns. I have used a mixture of Little Birdie Crafts flowers and some from my stash.  A silver chain and heart was added around her neck and secure using glue.

I do have to say at this stage the thin eyebrows were a little bit challenging - espcially when Frida is known for her 'monobrow' so I slowly thickened them with a fine pen and brushstrokes - they need to be thicker but I will do that at some stage...

Embellishments from my stash were added around the waist, starting with a thing strip of tulle at the waist, a gold jewellery piece - a grape cluster and a teal bird.  Above the lace around the hem I added an old bracelet, small flowers and small shells that were glued onto the bracelet.  The shells were from my beautiful Nana - I have had them for some time and loved the touch they add.  I have used Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L to adhere all of the embellishments I have added.

I added depth to the flowers using Chameleon Alcohol Markers, along with a little Crackle Paste to give it a more aged appearance - just a light touch, but loving the effect it added.  I finished off by filling in the indents/dots around the metal wings with a white paint pen - all in all I am very happy with the wayshe looks, but you can be sure I will continue to add bits and pieces along the way until I feel she is complete - if there is such a thing LOL!

This project is linked to the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Crack It Up

A Bit More Time to Craft - Always Anything Goes
A Perfect Time To Craft - Always Anything Goes

Bleeding Art Challenge - Always Anything Goes

Classic Design  Challenge - Always Anything Goes 

Creative Craft Cottage Challenges - Add a Heart

DL.Art Linky Challenge - Always Anything Goes

Not Just Cards - Always Anything Goes

World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - Always Anything Goes

Fab n Funky - Love

The Three Muses - Flowers 

Word Art Wednesdays - Anything Goes

Everybody-Art-Challenge - Color of Love

Dare 2B Artzy Challenges - Love is in the Air

We Love 2 Create  - Always Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy creating

Hope Is...

Hello friends, welcome and thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope your week has been a kind one - the good news is the weekend is here and that has too be a good thing - right!!  I have been enjoying time on The Studio and once again I am using up older products.  It is always such a great feeling to create something from those things lying around.

I have created a side step card - I am at little partial to Fancy Fold Cards - they seem to have the instant ‘wow factor’.  The paper is an older one from my stash and has been embossed and sanded before being trimmed to size and adhered using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner Ultra.

The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous set and has been stamped onto white card stock using Imagine Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black. It has been cut/embossed using the Spellbinders Nestabilities Fancy Edged Rectangles Etched Dies; the die has been used as a stencil and the inside sponged using ink and a sponge dauber before the die is removed, creating a crisp white frame.

The flowers are a mix from my stash and Little Birdie Crafts Flowers, along with buttons and 3D leaves from my stash.  The beautiful Kookaburra is from a set of  Kaisercraft Collectibles.  I have used Scrabook Adhesives BY 3L and Want2Scrap Bling - my 'go to' products. 

This card is linked to the following challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft - Always Anything Goes

Crafty Creations - Always Anything Goes

Artistic Stampers - Words

Classic Design  Challenge - Always Anything Goes 

Crafts Galore Encore - Always Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - With Love

Crafty Animals - Always Anything Goes

The Paper Funday - Anything Goes/Optional Twist Valentines

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with Patterned Paper
Creatalicious Challenges - Anything Goes with optional Hearts

Word Art Wednesdays  - Anything Goes 

DL.Art Linky Challenge - Always Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes with a Critter

Not Just Cards - Always Anything Goes

Sweet Stampers - Anything Goes

World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - Always Anything Goes 

Brown Sugar -  ANYTHING GOES 

Crafty Catz - ANYTHING GOES WITH OPTIONAL TWIST EMBOSSING WET OR DRY 

QKR Stampede - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES

 Aud Sentiments Challenge - Anything Goes 

Moving along with the Times - No Image, sentiment/quote as the focus of your card 

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy creating

Pen and Ink Mini Album

Hello friends - welcome and thanks so much for stopping by.  Once again I am trying to make the most of  a quiet moment or two and play a little catch up with posts and projects.  Today I am sharing a Mini Album I created for a dear friends birthday.

I have used an older Kaisercraft Collection Pen and Ink for the album, love the crispness of the black and white - it is always so easy to mix and match with a Collection, it certainly takes the guesswork out of it!  I have used Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner to adhere the papers to the album pages.

I love this gorgeous little girl image and have never been too sure how to use it - but she fits perfectly into the frame with her body popped up using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares.The sentiments are from a mix of Kaisercraft Collections 

The beautiful flowers are from Little Birdie Crafts - I love the variety and dimension without being too bulky!  Some of  the sentiments have been adhered to Spellbinders Dies and tucked into pockets.  Wooden embellishments, lace and other miscellaneous elements have been added.  

This project is linked to the following challenges:

Crafty Creations - Always Anything Goes 

Creative Moments - Anything Goes 

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - New Goodies/Old favorites or Both

Scrapy Land Challenges - Always Anything Goes with Die Brand SL sells (Spellbinders)

Sisterhood of Crafters - Thinking of You

The Paper Funday - Anything Goes/Optional Twist Friendship

Word Art Wednesdays - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread - Always Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Always Anything Goes

 Tuesday Throwdown - Something New (flowers)

Get Creative Challenges - SOMETHING NEW (flowers)

Use Your Stuff - ANYTHING GOES

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist: Shiny

Dragonfly Dreams - Anything Goes

International Art & Soul - Monochromatic 

The Corrosive Challenges - Always Anything Goes

We Love 2 Create  - Always Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes

Incy Wincy Designs - Anything Goes

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy creating

Celebrate Twist and Pop Up -Special Day Card

Hello friends - welcome and thank you for stopping by!  I am slowly using up all of the gorgeous images and papers I was given by a friend - they are from a publication and I have to say it was so-o-o quick and easy to put together - simply elegant!  I am surprised just how many cards I have made with them - this time  I am sharing a fancy fold card using the 1009 Twist Panel Pop-Up - Karen Burniston in mauve

Cut a card base and score half way; fold the card stock into an A-frame card base. Decorate the card front,  I have used two free papers from Publications - adhering to the pre-cut purple card base using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L E-Z Adhesive Runner Ultra. The gorgeous  Corner Bling is from Want2Scrap and has been adhered to the top right hand corner.

The pre-cut image circle has been popped up to the left of the Bling Corner using Scrapbook Adhesives BY 3L 3D Foam Squares; with the sentiment overlapping onto the lower portion of the circle.  two rows of contrasting lace have been glued along the lower portion of the card front.

 The inside panels have been decorated with Little Birdie Crafts flowers and images flowers.  The sentiment is from the Karen Burniston Die Word Set #2 Birthday.

You can find Karen's video HERE

This card is linked to the following challenges:

World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - Always Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist: Shiny

Dragonfly Dreams - Anything Goes

International Art & Soul - Monochromatic 

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Always Anything Goes

My Besties Spanish Challenge - Always Anything Goes

The Corrosive Challenges - Always Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes 

Just Us Girls - Create Dimension

Simply Create Too - MONOCHROMATIC

Cardz 4 Galz - Haberdashery (Lace)

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with Patterned Paper

Creatalicious Challenges - Anything Goes with optional Wishes

Mix It Up Challenge - Anything Goes + optional: Paper Piecing

Papercraft Business Challenge - Anything Goes

World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - Always Anything Goes

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you!

                                                          {{{hugs}}} and happy creating