Recreating Cards #3

 I loved these two cards that I made in 2021 

This card design is actually quite easy to pull together. The coloured piece is made by ink smooshing and then some repeated stamping with a co-ordinating ink colour and a complimentary ink colour. I used a border die to cut the panel in half and make two cards. Adding a cake image that I coloured and a fun sentiment, finishes this card off. 

I recreated this card using a purple ink smooshed panel and a different border die. I had more cake images, but I tried different sentiments and sequins to see how I liked that. This layout works with the coloured panel at the top or the bottom, which is great.  I like that I can get some very different looks from such a simple layout. 

I loved this so much, that I decided to try this again with a different stamp set. Stars look great on anything, right?! The big scripty sentiment looks so cool in the space. You could fill the space with other images like a plate, a party hat, balloons or a critter. I just love big sentiments! 

What I love about these cards:

- It's an easy layout that will work for both genders.

- I can use my big sentiments or smaller ones with more images.

- I can use my small stamps to make backgrounds.

- Uses my coloured images without having to make a 'scene' card. 

- I love that it's a two for one type of card. 

What I learned:

-I could make this card using patterned paper

-Some border dies look better than others when used to cut a panel

-Using the border die on an angle is more forgiving and looks way better than trying to get it straight. 

Everyone needs an opportunity to eat cake, in my humble opinion! 

Happy Crafting! 

Birthday Stash Building...

 January is the month for building the stash of Birthday cards. I make lots of Birthday cards in this time. 

I know it's February. 

Check out the birthday cards I made this January... 

 My motorbike loving nephew turned 18 in January. 
I love this tyre stencil from Tim Holtz. 

A friend of mine turned 35. 
I've been there, done that and got the T-shirt. 
The t-shirt is on an action wobbler. 

White cardstock, embossed with balloons.
Ink swiped with different shades of purple.
White "Happy Birthday" Die Cut (from Lawn Fawn).
Great birthday card. 

This fireworks stamp was in a set from 
Gina K Designs (for New Years Eve). 
It works great for any celebration occasion! 
Change up the colour combo for a 
different look! 

The following cards were created from my basket of backgrounds and die cut pieces that I have just sitting on a shelf. I was determined to use some of them up. Lots of them are left over from other cards I have made or from experiments in the craftroom. Where I was trying something out. 

Gel print background. 
Green cardstock used for the die cut 
Happy Birthday.

Everything except the "Happy Birthday"
and the sequins was a remnant from another project. 

This was all from the magic basket of left overs! 

There's more, but I want to save them for my next post. Who knows when that will be? 

My 2022 Christmas Cards

 Check out the Christmas cards I made this year. 

Using the Gelplate for some night sky backgrounds, was fun.  On the other hand, the embossing was a bit problematic and I didn't think I could do it 30 times, so I gave up after three. 

Next, I decided to use the Peace, Love and Doves background stamp.  Both of these designs meant that I would only need to stamp 15 backgrounds and cut them in half to make 30 cards. This big sentiment compliments it beautifully. 

Can you guess which one I went with for my big batch?  

Which one would you have made a big batch of?

I made about 24 of these.  Adding them to the left over cards from last year and the three I made with the beautiful night sky backgrounds and heat embossing, I ended up with about 35 cards to send out. I don't think I have that many friends!

That's that then... 

Have you finished your Christmas Cards yet? 

Have you sent them out? 

See you next time. 

Recreating Cards #2

 When I need some inspiration, I like to look back at my photos of cards I have made in the past. I often change up the designs or just pull out the same supplies to help me make a new card.  Sometimes, I pull out a card that I made very early in my card making journey and recreate it.  I often choose cards that I made with limited supplies and limited knowledge/ skills. 

This card was made using a stamp set from Winnie and Walter and Memento inks. I didn't have a huge selection of card stocks and I was trying to use up what I had.  I also used a Happy Birthday Die from Kaisercraft. I remember when I made this card, I had so much trouble getting it to fit the card base and look right. I had to add extra strips of card stock to try and get things to look right. 

This time around, I didn't have the same "Happy Birthday" die, so I used a different one from MFT. I also used Catherine Pooler inks instead of my Momento ones. I used Neenah Solar White 80lb card stock. The only thing the same, was the stamp set by Winnie and Walter. I didn't need to improvise so much on this card. I stacked the happy birthday sentiment three times on this second card.  I think that makes a big difference. 

I have to say, there is one thing I would change about this card if I made it again.  I would use a different green ink, or place my darker circles in different places so that the "Happy Birthday" would stand out more. I'm still very happy with how this card turned out. 

I know I promised to share my Christmas card batch... it's coming. I've made them - really, I have. 

Let me know in the comments if you are interested in more details about this card- specific colours of ink, etc. 

See you next time. 

I don't have any Christmas Supplies! Make Christmas Cards using what you have.

 Christmas Stamps and Dies are beautiful and we want them all, right? I know I do. 

When you are just starting out as a crafter, you have limited space or limited cash, it is hard to justify spending money on a stamp set you only use 'once a year'.  Also, many of the specifically Christmas stamp sets, only make one thing or one way. We want supplies that can pull double duty. 

If you don't have any Christmas stamps or dies, you can still make beautiful Christmas Cards.  If you want to invest in something for Christmas I would choose a simple sentiment such as Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joy to the World.  Something like that. Let's dive in.  

These two cards were made with not one Christmas item! 

The And Sentiments from Catherine Pooler has these three words in it. 
So good, right. I just did some simple ink blending and splattered some 
shimmer spray on the back ground. All of these supplies can be used for other occasions, but when put together, they make a beautiful Christmas Card. Admittedly, I probably wouldn't want to mass produce this card. 

I used a green re-inker in a spray bottle and some gold pigment powder
to spray through a mandala stencil for this background. An alphabet stamp or die set, 
means you can make the Christmas sentiment whatever you want it to be. 
Using the traditional Christmas Colours transforms your everyday crafty stash into Christmas Perfection. 

A simple and elegant embossing folder just needs a lovely gold ink blending over it. 
The lovely "Joy" word from 'And Sentiments'. 

Triangle stamp and a star.  Slap a Christmas sentiment on there and you're good to go. 

One of these cards uses Christmas themed pattern paper, but the other one is just Green cardstock. 
I stamped stars and other patterns to add some interest. But there wasn't a Christmas stamp in sight! 

If you invest in one or two Christmas greetings, the possibilities become almost endless. Check out the first batch of Christmas cards I made with some washi tape and only one Christmas Sentiment. 

The circles look like ornaments on the tree, right?

Circle stamps and a Christmas sentiment. Too easy! 

I used some stars out of a birthday stamp set, for this card. 
It is a bit rough and ready, but cute, right. 

This card is just beautiful. The photo doesn't do it justice. This card is so shiny! 
As Lauren Bassen says, "you got a leaf, make a wreath".
A simple Christmas sentiment, turns these leaf die cuts into a stunning Christmas Card. 
I just love those sequins too. 

There you have it.  9 Christmas Cards that you can make with no Christmas supplies, or just a simple Christmas sentiment. The first year I decided to make Christmas cards, the only Christmas stamp I owned was a "Merry Christmas".  That's it.  I have slowly accumulated more Christmas stamps, one stamp set a year - only if it's on sale! 

My DIY Prayer Retreat- Part 2

 Last time, I told you about my DIY Prayer Retreat. 

It was so good. I also promised to share with you a few of the insights I had during my retreat. 

1. I love listening to Praise and Worship Music. Why don't I listen to it more?!  Therefore, I will listen to my Christian Music playlists when I craft and during my quiet time - maybe not everyday, but so much more than before. 

2. Memorising Scripture really changes my mindset and it helps me to focus on God's love. Therefore, I am going to start using my scripture memorisation app again. Why did I stop? If you want to learn more about this app, click here. 

3. I need to give myself more opportunities to both be still and move.  Not at the same time.  LOL. I also need to do some mindful breathing from time to time, because breathing is important and focusing on my breath is like a little reset button. I always wanted one of those. 

I hope you have found these posts about Prayer Retreats helpful and you can use them to design your own. Of course, it would be wonderful to go to a retreat that is designed and lead by someone else, but we have to be practical about these things. Sometimes in some seasons of our life (often when it's most important to take time to retreat) a weekend away is not feasible. You can do it yourself.  I did. 

Until next time

My DIY Prayer Retreat- Reflection

 I had such grand plans for my school holidays in June. I was going to spend time with various friends, learn how to play lawn bowls, watch netflix, go on a wellness retreat, start a new exercise regime, make lots of cards, declutter my wardrobe and study, do my taxes, cook freezer meals for the new school term and read a novel. OMGGM.  Grand plans! 

When I caught a bad cold three weeks before my holiday and was still feeling awful a week before the holidays, my plans changed! 

The first week, was spent in bed, mostly.  I slept during the day! I watched netflix.  That's about it.  I did manage to go to the specialist. 

Then, the BFF asked me to house/cat sit for her and I had a brilliant idea. There was no way I could do all the things. Staying at the BFF's, on my own, was a good opportunity to have a DIY Prayer Retreat. I had seen some blog posts about DIY retreats. I was seriously excited as I prepared and it did not disappoint. The best article I read was this one from Arabah Joy. I recommend reading it and thinking using the ideas from there to plan your own retreat. 

You could also check out this Pinteret board with some of the articles and quotes that I used during my retreat. 

You might be wondering what I planned for the retreat... 

The Plan

 8:30 am Worship and Reflection - listen to worship music- craft

 9:00 am Quiet worship music, read psalms and call to worship. Then journalling setting up an intention. 

10:00 am Reading Bible Study/ Devotional

10:30 am Reflection and Journaling- 

11:00 am Gratitude Journalling- crafting

12 noon Lunch

12:30 pm Confession and Continued reading 

1:00 pm Journalling

1:30pm Praying for others- make cards (?)

2:00pm Music and Reflection Journalling.

This is how it actually turned out. 

9 am (I started late, but that's okay): worship music, prayer asking God to guide me and journalling

11am Gratitude Journalling- Read praise and worship Psalms (played worship music during this time too).

12 noon Lunch

12:30pm Reading Articles about grace, body image, diet and nutrition and note taking about these. 

1:00pm Journalling- prayer

1:30pm Writing a list of people I wanted to pray for and prayer.

2:00pm Reflective Journalling- planning for future reading, small steps for the future (next retreat, daily to do's in light of reading and prayer). 

Will I do it again? 

Absolutely. 

Also, I came to a few conclusions while I was 'retreating' and I will tell you more about that next time. 

If you get the opportunity, a few hours or even just one, being still in God's presence and digging deep into His word is so worth it. Do it! Whenever you can. 

Until Next Time, God Bless You. 

Recreating cards

I made this card in 2018. It was very near the beginning of my card making journey. I had limited supplies, but my stash was starting to grow. I love this card.

I thought it would be fun to recreate/ CASE this card, using my current supplies. I don't have the Happy Birthday die anymore. I gifted it to a crafty friend. I used a different die, but the stencil is the same. I tell you, it was much easier to make this card this time around. A paper trimmer makes a huge difference and so does experience! 

I also used different inks- Catherine Pooler instead of Memento.  I decided to do the ombre inking horizontally down the card instead of vertically. I also used glossy accents on the word die cut which was stacked for dimension. 

Even the photo is better! Haha. 

Bye for now. 

Wedding Card Creations and a Bonus Card

Love is definitely in the air. 

Check out these wedding cards I made recently. 

The Love Birds

The love birds with their bird house are a stamp
from a Gina K, which is now retired. 
The "Congrats" is from the You Did It Stamps set
by Catherine Pooler. 

 

Mr and Mrs Shake it up

Glitter cardstock frames these heart shaped sequins in a shaker card.
It doesn't get any better than this! 
The sentiment is stamped using silver embossing powder. 

Congratulations- Bonus Card

This Clean and Simple card has some heart shaped texture
created with a 2D embossing folder. It's hard to capturein a photo.
Gold heat embossing for the sentiment sets off the gold foiled border. 
No need for sequins or other embellishments on this simply elegant card. 

This one might be more appropriate for an engagement card. I did some experimenting before landing on the designs of the two cards above. The experimental pieces and some scraps were laying on my desk and before I knew it, I had made this card.  This is the best kind of bonus card. It's going in the stash, because engagements do seem to sneak up on me. So rude how people don't give me warning when they are thinking about getting engaged. Lol. 

Until we meet again,

Critter Cards- without colouring

If you spend a lot of money on critter stamps, you feel like you need to use them.  At least, I do. Sometimes, I don't feel like colouring my critter stamps. The thing is, there are so many other ways to use your critter stamps.  You just need to think outside the box. Let's look at a few ways you can make cards with critters, without having to build a scene or do any colouring. 

#1 Ink blending

You don't even need to ink blend realistic colours or place them where you expect.

The colours just make a bright background for the line art to sit on. 

So cute.

#2 Stamp onto coloured cardstock

You won't get any shadows or light, but it doesn't matter. 
Stamping these cute elephants on different shades of grey
cardstock gives enough contrast. A touch of stencilling
and a sweet sentiment, means this card came together
so easily and it really packs a punch.  

#3 Just stamp it  

This gelpress background didn't need much. 
Simply Stamping the hedgehogs on a basic shape is enough. 
The sentiment is simply stamped too, with a black mat. 
I'm really happy with how this card turned out. 

#Heat Embossing

This white heat embossed cat on black cardstock is so cute. 
You could heat emboss in white on brightly coloured cardstock too. 
I sent this card to a friend whose cat had crossed the rainbow bridge. 
She loved it. 

There you go, 4 ways to use your critter stamps without colouring. 

Do you have any other special tricks for using your critters (or any line art) without colouring them? 

Please share them in the comments below. 

 

More Critter Cards- Simple Scenes

Scene building is not really my thing, I can do it, but it takes a lot of effort for me.  When I have stamped out a critter and taken the time to colour it, I want a background for it, but I want the critter to be the star of the show.  Let's check out these very simple scenes set for some sweet critters. 

A cloud stencil with some light blue ink, makes a cloudy sky. 
Some post-it tape and light green ink, blends to make some grass. 
Use a card panel with a circle aperture to add some white space. 
Pop up the card panel, with a simple stamped sentiment too. 

This scene is just a bunch of critters holding up a 
Happy Birthday sentiment and some balloons. 
The background has some light ink blending around the 
edges and corners so there is a highlight in the centre. 
It doesn't get much simpler than this. 

The sentiment strip becomes 'the ground' on this card.
Some light ink blending behind the critter acts as sky. 
How cute is this dog holding the bunch of balloons in his mouth! 

I had fun building this scene! The cats are just playing
with little balls and string. They are climbing shelves and
looking down on the world. Judging you. 
I didn't worry about grounding or carpet or wallpaper. 
All those card makers who can do that are awesome. 
You can still make a great scene without feeling overwhelmed. 

Just some ink smooshing to make this bubbly, watery background
for this adorable whale was needed. Keeping the scene smaller than the card
by using a wide strip give the card some white space, a sort of frame and makes
the scene building so much easier. 

I used masking to contain this scene. 
Simple shapes and a bit of post-it tape and we're done. 

This is almost a one layer card with some great masking. 
A grey alcohol marker was the only real addition to ground the critter. 
This dog is so cute! 

That's that then, 

Next time, Critter cards for when you don't feel like colouring!