Blue Butterflies

 

Hello to all in 'blogland'

Recently I entered a challenge over at I Spy With My Little Eye, and was thrilled

when my card was chosen as one of the Top 2. I was even more thrilled when I

was invited to be a guest designer for their current challenge (# 12), the theme 

of which is "...Something Beginning With 'B'.

This is the card I designed using 3 B's...blue, butterflies and birthday.

I believe the design fold is called a 'box-seat' fold.

This is the back of the card showing the centre panel, where I will write

my personal message to the recipient.

A view from the top of the card, which shows fairly clearly

how the card has been constructed.

This view is of the card lying flat.

Challenges I would like to enter :-

A Place To Start - Monochrome 

Craft Rocket #111 - Birthday

Crafty Animals #80 - Anything Goes (must feature an animal) (2nd entry)

Critter Crazy #83 - Anything Goes (must feature a critter) (2nd entry)

Time Out #257 - Birthday

Triple B - Anything Goes, but must feature either Birds, Butterflies or Blooms

Dies - Cheery Lynn and Sweet Stamps (butterflies); Cuttlebug (21)

DSP - Bella 'Ever After'

Ink for sponging - Distress Ink 'Tumbled Glass'

Glitter cardstock - unnamed

Peel-off sticker is from my junk stash

Embossing Folder - Craft Concepts 'Wings'

Why not pop over to I Spy With My Little Eye and see Ellie and Pauline's gorgeous cards, and the fabulous male card by my fellow guest 'teamie', Pia, then enter your own creation.

Until next time, thank you again to Ellie and Pauline for the invitation.

Hugs,

Jennifer. x

 

Classic Automobiles

 

Good Evening.

Living here in our retirement village is a lovely friend who is turning 80.

He is a true gentleman, and it was a pleasure to make this card for him to

celebrate this special milestone birthday.

I sponged around the card base and snippets of cardstock for the script layer, greeting and car 

bases with distress ink. I had stamped the script with Walnut D.I., but I felt it was too dark, so

I covered it with vellum, attached with brads. The cars, gentleman and '80' were cut from 

snippets of bronze mirror card, left over from my Christmas card-making marathon.

The inside of the card continues the 'classic' theme.

Challenges I would like to enter :-

Creative Knockouts #512 - Celebrations

Cut It Up #294 - Anything Goes

Double D - Anniversary or Birthday (optional - use bronze)

Dragonfly Dreams - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I Spy With My Little Eye #10 - Something Old and/or Something New (the 'Happy Birthday' stamp is new, the dies are very old)

Paper Funday #61 - Anything Goes (optional Celebrate)

Snippets Playground #471 - Celebration

Unicorn #94 - Birthday

 

Dies - Marianne LR 0198; Couture Creations Exquisite Gentleman; Cuttlebug Olivia

Stamps - Stampin' Up Go To Greetings, Peaceful Moments; Darkroom Door Script

Inks - Ranger Distress Ink Gathered Twig, Walnut

Brads, Vellum, Bronze mirror card - from my junk stash

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

P.S. I apologise if the main paragraph is 'weird'. In my draft it appears normally formatted, but in my preview it is weird. I have tried for ages to correct it, but to no avail, so have just decided to 'publish' as is.

Birthday Thank You

 

Good afternoon.

It was my birthday a couple of days after Christmas, and 2020 saw a

milestone...70! HOW did that happen???

There was nothing I could do about it, but I'll just pretend it didn't happen.😁

Each Boxing Day some beautiful friends always have us to their home, and we

always have a lovely time. After the beautiful meal, I received a BIG surprise.

They had made a yummy cake with candles, THEN presented me with two 

very beautiful and extravagant gifts. I shed a few tears of joy, as I have 

only ever had three birthday cakes in my 70 years.

This is the card I made to thank our friends for such a wonderful

birthday/Christmas evening. 

A close up look at the tiny hand-made flowers, and the stamped "Thank You".

Challenges I would like to enter:-

As You Like It - Favourite Colour Duo and Why. (Soft pinks and greens as they remind me of spring, which I love)

Little Red Wagon #585 - 'Die-ing To Get Crafty'

My Time To Craft #448 - 'Thank You'

Simply Create Too #166 - 'Fave Colour Combo (soft pinks and greens)

The Funkie Junkie Boutique - 'Something Delicate'

Dies - Creative Expressions Scarlet; Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Thinlets 661806 (mini florals); Cuttlebug Vintage Corners (negatives used in corners)

Ink for sponging - Tim Holtz Distress Inks Aged Mahogany, Scattered Straw, Peeled Paint

Paper - DCWV The Lace and Linen Stack

Sentiment - Stampin' Up Cling Set Peaceful Moments

Tiny beads are from my junk stash

It's time to bring the washing in from the clothesline, and feed our fur baby kitty (who turned 16 at Christmas), so until next time "thank you" for visiting.

(Socially distanced) Hugs

Jennifer.  x 

Green Chocolate Card/Box

Good Evening.

Recently I showed you a chocolate card/box I made using pink blue, and 

silvers. I made 6 of these in all, and while they were all made using the

same template, all are in different colours.

This one is made using a luxurious linen-like paper.

A closer look at my handmade poinsettias, and mixed foliage.

Inside my card/box with the message tag, and a yummy chocolate in situ.

Another close up look at the flowers, and the tiny die-cut sentiment.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Allsorts #600 - Christmas Flowers, Wreaths, and Trees

Beccy's Place - Day 30 'Do what you love' (Anything Goes)

Dies - Cheery Lynn Poinsettia Strip; Tim Holtz Holiday Greens; Stampin' Up Sweetest Border; Spellbinders Holiday Sentiments, Scalloped Ovals; Creative Expessions Pine Cones and Greenery

Paper - First Edition Christmas Village

Ink for sponging - Distress ink Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint, Iced Spruce, Forest Moss

Ribbon, 'berries', gold cord, eyelets are all from my junk stash

Goodness, we are less than an hour until December...how did that happen??????

Until next time, Thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Poinsettia and Foliage

 

Good morning.

"Oh dear", I can hear some of you say, "She's on her poinsettia obsession again".

Yes, its true, I love poinsettias, and yes, I do have several cards and boxes

again this year where I have used them, but not as many as usual.

Previously I have taken my cards outside to photograph them, but am therefore

always at the mercy of the weather, so recently I made myself a 'light box' and

bought 2 reasonably expensive lamps. However, I am not at all happy with the

quality of my photos. The photos above and below were taken less than a

minute apart, yet the reds look completely different???

A closer look at my poinsettia and some of the foliage. I attached that gorgeous

lattice die-cut to double-sided JAC paper, then liberally sprinkled glitter dust

to fill the open spaces. I also applied the tiniest amount of glitter dust to the

poinsettia, but as is always the case, the amazing sparkle does not show up.

 

I love this greeting die. To make it easier to attach it to the background,

I attached a piece of the silver paper to JAC paper before cutting it out.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 'Red and Green' (must show logo)

Beccy's Place - Day 19  'P'

Moving Along With The Times #124 - 'Christmas Flowers' TOP 3

Papercraft Business #33 - 'Christmas'

Try It On Tuesday - 'Traditional Christmas Colours'

Dies - Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Poinsettia, Holiday Greens; Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Netted Star Background, From Our House To Yours, Pine Cone Greenery; Memory Box Woodland Branch

Embossing Folder - Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Poinsettia

Inks for sponging - Distress Inks Aged Mahogany, Vintage Photo, and various greens

Pearl Centre - Stampin' Up Beaded Pearls

Glitter - Crafts 4U Glitter Dust Clear

Until next time, thank you for visiting and also for your kind comments.

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Chocolate Box

 

Good afternoon all. I know I've once again been M.I.A., but I will not bore

you with the details of why.

My offering today is something I have not created before...I'm not sure what

is the correct name, so I will just call it a Chocolate Box. 

I saw some examples on Pinterest, but none contained a brand of chocolate

that I wanted to use, so I experimented with scraps of cardstock til I had the

correct dimensions. Once I had 'mastered' the technique, it was quite 

quick to produce, so I made several using various patterned papers.

Inside the box showing the large 'pocket' for the chocolate, 

and the smaller 'pocket' for the gift tag, on which I will write

our personal Christmas greeting.

A closer look at my festive floral arrangement. The other boxes

I made use more traditional Christmas colours, but I did enjoy 

creating this one using the blue, pink and silver combination.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Beccy's Place - "Day 12 Try Something New"

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas #516 - "Anything Christmas Goes"

Fezziwigs Festive Frolics  - "Anything But A Card"

Little Red Wagon #575 - 'Non Traditional Colours"

Moving Along With The Times #124 - "Christmas Flowers"

The Holly and The Ivy #83 - "Anything Christmas Goes"

Christmas Craft Creations (must show logo) - "Anything But A Card" DT Favourite

Dies - Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia; Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Greens; Stampin' Up Sweetest Borders: Elizabeth Craft Designs Season's Greetings

Paper - First Edition Christmas Village 

Ink - (sponging) - Distress Ink Tumbled Glass

Pearl, ribbon, and fine silver cord are from my stash

I must go and water my pot plants, as an extremely hot day is predicted for tomorrow, so until next time, thank you for visiting.

Hugs,

Jennifer.  

Kitties

Over the past few weeks we have had a worrying time (in addition to this

horrific pandemic), as our darling kitty, who is 15 1/2, has had several trips

to our vet, including for a general anaesthetic. Our wonderful vet has

 discovered what is wrong, and has prescribed treatments which will

most likely have to continue for the remainder of Cookie's life.

This is the card I have made for Cookie to give to Karleigha when he has to visit

her again later this week (along with a box of choccies). As well as Cookie writing

a "thank you" in the card, he will include an apology for being such a naughty boy

for her. "Co-operation" is not a word in Cookie's dictionary!! At home he is the 

cutest little boy, but for sweet, gentle Karleigha he morphs into a hissing,

growling, biting Cujo...he is so embarrassing!

This is a much loved stamp I have had and used for many years.

As always I have used Promarkers to colour the cute image.

A closer look at my hand-made paper flowers, and their tiny

bead centres.

I have only had the set of cling stamps that this greeting is from

for a few months, but it is becoming a favourite.

Challenges I would like to enter

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - 'Anything Goes' (must include a critter)

Alphabet - ' 'E' is for earth-bound animals'

Crafty Animals #39 - 'Anything Goes' (must include an animal) TOP PICK

Creations in Pink #22 - 'Anything Goes mainly in pink'

Cute Card Thursday #637 - 'Anything Goes'

Penny Black and More - 'Favourite Stamps'

Show Us Your Pussies #55 - 'Furrything Goes'

Sweet Stampers #44 - 'Animals/Birds'

Image - All Night Media 418G

Colouring - Promarkers

Die Cuts - Marianne LR 0116; Cheery Lynn Medium Rose, & Flourish Leaf Strip; Spellbinders Scalloped Rectangle (Long) (cut several times to reduce size and shape)

Punches - Martha Stewart Butterfly Trio; EK Success Scalloped Corner 

Sentiment - Stampin' Up Peaceful Moments (cling set)

Ink (sponging) - Distress Ink Spun Sugar, & Peeled Paint

Tiny beads are from my junk stash

As I have been writing this post (and earlier) I have been entranced by the music of Beethoven. Since 2001 the ABC Classical Radio Station have held a 'Top 100' each year. Listeners are invited to list their favourite classical music, each year having a different theme (movies, dance, opera, 'swoon' etc., or other famous composers). The ABC then play a 'countdown' over an entire weekend, then release the Top 100 as a boxed set of CDs.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs (virtual of course),

Jennifer.  xx

Watchful Seagull

Gosh, it is June already...the weeks just seem to rush by.

My brother celebrates another birthday soon, but as he does not

read my blog it is safe to show you the card I made for him.

I bought a lovely clear stamp set about 2 months ago, and this image and

sentiment are included in it. That fabulous wood-grain background is

stamped on kraft cardstock with Walnut Stain distress ink, then trimmed 

down to fit the card front. I bought the stamp about 2 years ago, and this 

is the 1st time I have used it...yes, I am hanging my head with shame!!!

A closer look at the image which was a joy to colour. As usual

I used my Promarkers.

My double Figure Eight knot was tied with kitchen twine.

This is one of several sentiments in the stamp set.

Challenges I would like to enter

2 Crafty Critter Crazies #39 - 'Anything Goes' (MUST have critter)

Beccy's Place - 'Anything Goes' (MUST use a Beccy's image)

Crafty Animals #39 - 'Anything Goes' (MUST have animal)

Creative Inspirations - 'Let's Hear It For The Boys'

Cut It Up #201 - 'Boys Will Be Boys'

Little Red Wagon #552 - 'Patterned Paper or Make Your Own'

Moving Along With The Times #119 - 'Things With Wings'

Papercraft Business #30 - 'Fathers' Day/Masculine'

Passion For Promarkers #545 - 'A Celebration' (brother's birthday) TOP 5

Sweet Stampers ##44 - 'Animals/Birds'  DT Favourite

Unicorn ##55 - 'Masculine' TOP 5

Image and Sentiment - Beccy's Place Smooth Seas

Colouring - Promarkers

Dies - Spellbinders Classic Rectangles (cut down several times to 're-size')

Background - Stampin' Up Hardwood 

Ink - Distress Walnut Stain

On this very chilly, wet evening I say "thank you for visiting, and please stay safe in these troubled times".

Jennifer.  xx

Geraldine the Giraffe

Good afternoon all. 

Recently I made this card for a friend's teenage son. Unfortunately, 

I sent it off in the mail before uploading the photos in my

computer, not realising I had had my camera on the 

wrong setting, resulting in the blurry result...apologies.

I do not have any giraffe patterned paper or embossing folder, so I 

drew a giraffe pattern freehand on a piece of 'thickish' cardstock,

then cut it out with a craft knife...phew!! I then used my 'stencil'

to emboss a piece of ordinary cardstock for the top half of the 

base panel (it is very faint). I then used my stencil to 

sponge black paint onto the lower half of the panel.

I stamped my giraffe with Versamark ink and embossed it with

black powder. I then used a rectangle die to cut the stamped panel,

and while it was still in the die I sponged the panel with Distress

Ink, thus creating a clear border inside the matting layer.

I adore giraffes, and I have named this one Geraldine...

I know, I know, not very original.

Challenges I would like to enter

Artsystamper #16 - 'Its A Guy Thing'

The Paper Girls #200 - 'All About Boys'

Image - Stampworld Giraffe

Sentiment - Peel-off sticker

Dies - Spellbinders Rectangles (long)

Inks - Versamark; Distress Ink Tea Dye

Twine is from my junk stash

On this very cold, grey, and miserable day I will wish you all well and safe.

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Sailing

I hope you are all still staying safe, and continue to do so as we

have tentative lifting of restrictions.

Before all this terrible virus descended upon us, a good friend was

planning to venture into the world of sea cruising, but of course that

adventure had to be put on hold for some time.

He is still adamant that when the world is back to 'normal', he will

be on the first cruise ship leaving port. This is the card I made to wish

him Bon Voyage when his dream finally becomes reality. It is safe

to show you the card, as he does not look at my blog.

Tying that knot gave me a few grey hairs, but in the end, with the

help of an online tutorial, I was happy with the result. I'm sorry, I

did not save the link, but if you Google 'knots' there are many tutorials.

Inside the card co-ordinates with the front.

I bought this stamp, many, many moons ago, and I am ashamed

to admit that this is only the second time it has seen ink.

Challenges I would like to enter

Aud Sentiments #250 - 'Masculine' (must use sentiment)

Cardz 4 Guyz #244 - 'Vintage'

Creative Card Cottage #129 - 'Make It Masculine'

I Love Promarkers #409 - 'Anything Goes' with option of 3 of a kind (2nd entry)

Try Stampin' On Tuesday #455 - 'Sketch' with option of nautical (have manipulated sketch)

Image - Stamp-It Australia Nautical Trio

Colouring - Promarkers

Paper - unnamed, from 6 x 6 pad from bargain store

Sentiment - Computer generated

Ink for Sponging - Distress Ink, Walnut

The afternoon has turned very grey and cold, so I am off to make myself a lovely hot cup of tea, and put my fluffy slippers on.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Virtual Hugs,

Jennifer.  xx

New Driver

Good afternoon. I hope you are all still staying safe and well.

Recently a lovely young lady we have known since she was born gained

her driver's licence. Imogen comes from a beautiful family...her maternal

grandparents are dear friends of ours, and we have watched her mum

grow from a cute little toddler, to a wonderful mother and career woman.

This is the card I made to congratulate Imogen on her achievement. 

Where have all those years gone??

Imogen not only excels academically at school, she works at

2 part-time jobs, saving enough money to buy a little car,

which is coloured (you guessed it!) green.

Challenges I would like to enter

Passion For Promarkers #539 - 'Add A Sentiment'

Polkadoodles Craft #17 - 'Anything Goes'

Simon Says Stamp (Monday) - 'Create A Scene'

Image, Sentiment and Dies - Polkadoodles Mini Winnie Lets Go clear stamp and die set

Colouring - Promarkers

Punch - Carl Vinca medium

Ink (sponging) - Distress Ink Tumbled Glass

Washi tape is from my junk stash

Until next time, thank you for visiting.

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Happy 90th

Hello to all of you in blogland. 

It is exactly 3 months since I last posted anything on my blog, so here I

am at last. There are several reason for my absence (healthwise), but I

will not bore you with the details, as I know that so many people are 

in an infinitely more dire situation than me. We are certainly in 

awful times aren't we, and I fear there is worse to come.

On a happier note, one of our neighbours celebrated a major milestone

last week, turning 90 years of age. Anne is so sweet (and quite a character).

This is the card I made for her.

The flowers were cut with a 'strip die', and hand-coloured with distress inks

and an aqua brush. The whole process was quite time-consuming and

fiddly, but as Anne is such a cutie, I was happy to create the card for her.

The 'With Love' die-cut is tiny. I cut around it

with my deckle-edge scissors.

I had one flower left over, so I adhered it 

inside the card.

Inside the card. As I prepared to take this photo, the sun 

was suddenly obscured by dark clouds and seconds

later the rain pelted down.

Challenges I Would like to enter

C.R.A.F.T. #550 - 'Spring/Easter' 

The Paper Players #484 - 'Tic Tac Toe' (die cut, spring, birthday)

Crafty Friends #132 -'Spring'

Dies - Cheery Lynn Miniature Rose Strip, Flourish Leaf Strip; Crafts 4U With Love

Colouring - Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Embossing - Crafters Companion Flower Garden

Stamp - Stampin' Up Cling Set Peaceful Moments

Seed Pearls are from my junk stash

Until next time thank you for visiting, and please stay well and safe,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x