BIG Hat

Hello fellow crafters,
A couple of facts for you to ↗ your stress levels - yesterday was the 301st day of the year, and two months from yesterday, Christmas and Boxing Days will just be a memory. Too much information? I thought so! 

With the next fact, MY stress levels are where the planes fly - this is the first Christmas card I have finished! EEEEEK! I have coloured all but 2 of my images, and I have bought all my papers and most embellishments, but I still have to design my cards and put them all together. Methinks I may be using a small selection from sketches I have made of cards I have made previously. I never make 2 cards the same, but hopefully by using just a few sketches, and changing colours, images, and embellishments I will not be posting Christmas cards in January.

Speaking of sketches, I used the sketch which is the theme for the October Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

I love this image, and bought the stamp 2 years ago from Blade Rubber Stamps in London, in memory of my adorable Rodolfo who passed away 4 years ago, aged 16½ . He was blind, and friends used to refer to me as his 'seeing-eye person'. Many people, including our vet, were amazed at how strong the bond was between us. 

The inside of the card co-ordinates with the front. The background paper has been in my stash for so many years, I had forgotten I had it. In 2006, I purchased an A3 sheet of the deeply embossed paper in an art shop in London, cut it into A4 sheets and 'squirrelled' it away so well that I forgot about it too. I found lots of hidden treasures recently, so hope to use much of them in the coming weeks.

Challenges I would like to enter are -

Whimsy Inspirations #52 - 'All Things Sparkly' (2nd entry)

Penny Black and More at Allsorts - 'Animal Magic'

I Love Promarkers #140 - 'Christmas Is Coming'

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long #34- 'Circle'

Perfect Sentiments #53C - 'Christmas Critters'

Passion For Promarkers #172 - 'Pets'

Penny Black Saturday - 'Sketch'

IMAGE - Penny Black 'Jolly Xmas Kitty', coloured with Promarkers.

DP - Both unknown

DIES - Spellbinders 'Floral Ovals', 'Classic Circles'; Marianne Doily, and Poinsettias; EZ Cut 'Holly'.

Peel-off greetings and holly stickers, gold micro stars, crystalina and gold Kindyglitz, liquid pearls - all from my junk stash.

Until next time, thank you for visiting.

Hugs,

Jennifer. x

Bathing Beauty

Hello fellow crafters,
My card today is yet another easel card - I love making them. It is for a lovely young lass, Connie, who will be turning 12 next Wednesday. By coincidence it is also her baby brother's first birthday. That is our dear little Russell, or Tiger, as John calls him. I finished his card about 2 weeks ago - you can see it here . Yes, they were both Halloween bubs!

Don't look too long, or you may damage your eyes...I think I went a tad overboard with colour! Connie has such a bright, bubbly personality, I wanted to create a card to match. The reason for the thong (or flip flop) theme is because I nicknamed her ages ago (for reasons too lengthy to explain) "Connie Thong". I had to search high and low for the DP.

This view is the card lying flat, as it appears in the acetate presentation box I always use for dimensional cards. The large die-cuts, and the small one on which I stamped my image, are cut using Framelits Dies which my friend Margaret lent me while she was away in Italy. Thank you so much Margaret. 

A close-up of the little cutie, coloured with my Promarkers.

A close-up of the flowers, and the little thong I made from fun foam, found in most kids' craft shops.

Inside the card, showing the tag, with ribbon loop, for our personal greeting, and the pocket which holds it.

The inside panel with the computer-generated greeting raised on 3D tape.

The back of the card which actually becomes part of the front decoration when the card is flat.

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges -

Ladybug Crafts - 'I need a 'P' '(pink, purple, punches, pocket)

Penny's Paper Crafty #99 - 'Ribbon and/or Buttons'

Whimsy Inspirations #52 - 'All Things Sparkly'

Bearly Mine #58 - 'Easel Card'

Cheery Lynn - 'Texture'

IMAGE - Whimsy digi stamp 'Lexi's Beach Ball', coloured with Promarkers.

DP - Art Stamps Australia 'Thongs'.

INK - Tim Holtz distrss ink 'Picked Raspberry'.

DIES - Stampin' Up 'Labels Collection Framelits'; Memory Box 'Catalina Border'; Cheery Lynn 'Butterfly -    small'; Spellbinders 'Scalloped Ovals', 'Scalloped Heart' and  'Scalloped Rectangles'; Cuttlebug 'Heritage Corners'.

PUNCHES - Martha Stewart 'Branch' and 'Loop Hearts' PATP; Carl 'Sakura'.

SENTIMENT - Computer generated 'Curlz' font.

BRADS -'Kaiser'.

Flowers, Gems, Stickles, Ribbon, Fun Foam - all from my junk stash.

Just an update on my appointment with my Dr. on Tuesday...while my liver tests are still fairly elevated, they are stable. I have had liver problems since childhood, and have to have regular tests. However, sometimes, like earlier this year, my levels skyrocket and I often finish up in hospital. My levels are never within the official Normal Range, but until they settle down I have to have blood tests every few weeks. (When in hospital I have had to have blood taken 4x per day!). The growth (not a cyst) on my kidney is benign, but has to be checked annually, and my 'ladies department' problem is still ongoing, but surgery is now looking unlikely - thank goodness! As for my hand, it will be another few weeks before we will know if the cortisone injection, 2 weeks ago, was successful, or if I will need surgery. 

I must now go and prepare dinner...we are having grilled fresh fish, salad, and herb bread. It has been 35 degrees C today, so I thought a nice light meal is in order. John had an appointment with his neurologist today, down in Newcastle (he has Parkinson's Disease), so we took the opportunity to go to the fish co-op where the seafood is always lovely and fresh.

Until next time, thank you for visiting.

Hugs, 

Jennifer. x

Fairy Bear Hugs

Hello fellow crafters,

Gosh, we are experiencing the weirdest weather - the past few weeks have been freezing one day and sweltering the next. On Saturday it was 39 degrees C, yesterday was a pleasant 25, and today was 14 with an icy wind making the temp. feel much lower. We are back into winter clothes, and have the fire blazing, while only 2 days ago we had the air conditioner going. To quote John Lennon "strange days indeed".

Tonight I have a card I made for Eliana, a lovely American friend in Miami, Florida. She emailed me to say she has received it, so it is safe to post it on my blog. We actually met some time ago via eBay, when I bought some Stampavie stamps from her, and we now email each other regularly. We both share a mutual love of animals. Eliana's eBay ID is ratones67, and I can highly recommend her for very prompt, friendly attention, and great prices. 

The cute image is a Stampavie clear stamp, called Fairy Bear. I coloured her and her kitty friends with Promarkers, then added Stickles Star Dust to her flowers and wings. I also added Star Dust to the little coloured circles on the DP (don't know its name, its from my stash). I then used my Martha Stewart PATP Butterfly punch around the edges of the DP, adding Star Dust to the corner butterflies. The 3 small butterflies, and the Branch ferns are also MS.

I have had those sweet little mini flowers for about 2 years. The sentiment is computer generated - the font is French Script. 

The inside of the card co-ordinates with the front. I used Spellbinders Labels ?One for the area on which to write my personal message, and also for the image on the card front. The corners on the layered pink card are trimmed with an EK Success punch, and the tiny flowers are punched with a Carl punch.

I would like to enter my card in - 

                              Flutter By Wednesday Challenge - 'Any Winged Creature'

I have to have another of my regular blood tests early tomorrow morning, followed by an appointment with my doctor to find out the results of several tests and procedures I have been having for several months now for some worrying health issues, so will say "goodnight". I have been very amiss about visiting all your beautiful blogs recently, but I will try to remedy that situation tomorrow night.

Hugs,

Jennifer. x

Poppies and Roses

Hello fellow crafters,
Finally we have some pleasant spring weather. Yay!!! Let's just hope it lasts before the predicted horror summer heat sets in.

Today I have a card for you that has a very unusual colour combination for me - black and orange. Here in Australia we tend not to celebrate Halloween, so although I have admired so many cards in recent and current challenges using that theme, I have not participated. However, Cheery Lynn's current challenge theme does not specify 'Halloween', just 'Black and Orange', so I thought "why not have a go", challenge being the key word.

I have always loved poppies, so decided to use a very old, favourite stamp by PSX, a company which sadly disappeared some years ago. Their stamps are such beautiful quality. The luxurious glittered DP is First Edition Desert Blooms.

I coloured the image with my Promarkers. 

The black flowers were punched using a Carl punch, and the roses and gems are from my stash.

The inside of the card is also decorated.

Dies I have used are Cheery Lynn Lace Light Deco Border, Fanciful Flourish, Flourish Leaf Strip; and Spellbinders Classic Circles (plain and scalloped).

Challenges I would like to enter are -

Cheery Lynn #49 - 'Black and Orange'

Wags and Whiskers #90 - 'Orange, Green, Black and White'

I hope you enjoyed (or are still enjoying) your weekend,
Until next time, thank you for visiting,
Hugs, Jennifer. x

Dancing Piggy

Hello fellow crafters,
To say the weather is strange would be an understatement! Last Friday, we had a sweltering 36 degrees C, but yesterday and today have been FREEZING - 10 degrees without the icy wind contributing to the chill factor. We have had the fire blazing, and are dressed in multi-layers of clothing. Many parts of eastern Australia are blanketed in snow for the first time in more than a century. We have also had dangerous gale-force winds, but so far we have not had any of our hundreds of huge trees on our property blow over.

I have not been able to do too much crafting this week, as I had to have a cortisone injection into a tendon in the palm of my hand on Tuesday. I have had a 'Trigger Finger' on my right hand for about 6 months, whereby my finger 'locks' if I bend it (a tad painful), and since the injection it is very bruised and sore. Hopefully, the condition will improve somewhat, or surgery is the only other course of action.

This happy little girl is Party Pig, a Beccy's Place digi stamp. The DP is DCWV The Glitter Stack. I bought the felt flower at a craft fair in London 2 years ago in a packet of 5 (no name). IRL, it is very similar in colour to the purple cardstock with which I have layered everything, so I don't know why it looks so different in the photo. I printed 'Celebrate' on my computer, and again the colour is more purple IRL. The font is Curlz.

I coloured Party Pig with my Promarkers, and used 'Star Dust' Stickles on her beads and party hat.

The card base is a standard opening card. The hat is a Cuttlebug die, the Double Loop border is a Martha Stewart border punch, and the squares were cut with a Spellbinders Classic Square die.

I would like to enter the following challenges-

Crafty Boots - 'Use Three of Something' (3 Spellbinder dies, and 3 swirl offcuts inside card)

Di's Digi Downloads - 'Animals Acting Like Humans' 

Papertake Weekly - 'All Creatures Great and Small'

Beccy's Place - 'Use Beccy's Place Image'

Until next time, thank you for visiting, and welcome to my new follower.

Hugs,

Jennifer.

Pauline's Poppies

Hellow fellow crafters,
I know those of you in the UK have been experiencing bizarre weather, but here in Australia it is likewise. Four nights ago, I went to bed with bed socks and a hot water bottle (not a pretty sight!). The next night we tossed and turned throughout the hottest October night for many years, then had a maximum of 36 degrees C the following day. Yesterday, we wore jumpers again. There have also been some pretty serious bushfires not too far from us. The weather people are warning that we are in for a horror summer, temperature- and bushfire-wise! We haven't had rain for weeks, and the grass is tinder dry. mmmm, not nice!

Anyway, on to more pleasant matters - last month, I won a Memory Box die, 'Prim Poppy' in a blog candy draw by a lovely lady, Pauline, who has become a great 'bloggy' buddy. You can find her gorgeous creations here . I fell in love with this die the first time I saw it, so was thrilled when I knew it was coming to live with me. This is the card I made for Pauline, to say "Thank You". She received it a few days ago, so it is now safe to show you.

It was almost impossible to capture the 'damask' effect on the beautiful black paper - at some angles the pattern completely disappeared. I don't know the brand or name of the paper. I bought it at a scrapbook shop about 4 years ago, which has since closed down. The stems are cut from Bazzill Bling cardstock. The flower heads are cut from pearlised card, and I cupped and layered them with 3D Zots to add dimension. 

I wanted to use minimal decoration inside the card to highlight both the beautiful DP (which feels like satin on suede), and my other brand new die, Spellbinders 'Floral Ovals'. I have coveted this set for months! The greeting is computer generated - 'Scriptina' font.

My detail sticker on the back is layered onto more of the DP, then a die-cut using one of my favourites by Marianne.

Challenges I would like to enter -

An Oldie But a Goodie - 'Song' (Little Red Poppy by Rob Kennedy)

Crafty Ann's #75 - 'Film' (Poppy, starring W.C. Fields)

My Heart Pieces - 'Black'

I must play 'domestic goddess' now and prepare some lunch for us. I shouldn't complain though, as John is cooking dinner tonight. So until next time, thank you for looking, and also welcome to my newest follower.

Hugs,

Jennifer. x