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 

Bluebell and Friend

 

Hello lovely people. Recently I hinted that I would have some exciting news

this week........well today's the day to 'spill the beans',.....

Last month I won a challenge at Christmas Craft Creations with one of my

chocolate card/boxes, and as a result I was invited to be the Guest Designer

for the month of January. I was thrilled to accept!! The theme this month is

'RIBBON OR TWINE'

Below is my first card for the challenge.

I used the 'out-of-the-box' technique to die-cut around the image, as it

is a fairly large stamp.

Coloured with Promarkers, is the incredibly cute image

by Wild Rose Studio.

A closer look at my poinsettia, die-cut foliage, and bead sprays.

The centre of the poinsettia is Prills mixed with clear craft glue.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Crafty Calendar - 'Make It Cute' (2nd entry)

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas #524 - 'Anything Christmas Goes (optional Feature a Creature)'

Christmas Kickstart #46 - 'Such A Deer!'

Let's Squash It! #4 - 'Use Embossing Folder AND an Animal'

The Holly and the Ivy #85 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'  TOP 5

Image - Wild Rose Studio Bluebell With Presents

Colouring - Promarkers

Dies - Spellbinders Scalloped Circle; Craft4U Stitched Circle; Memory Box Holly Branch; Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Greens; Creative Expressions Pine Cone and Greenery; Cheery Lynn Poinsettia Strip.

Embossing Folder - Unnamed, free with Cardmaking Australia magazine

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Ribbon - Vandoros grosgrain

Prills, gold twine, and tiny red beads are from my junk stash

Tiny gold 'foliage' accents are cut from an old Christmas decoration

For more inspiration from the very talented regular design team, why not pop over to Christmas Craft Creations then enter your own 'Ribbon or Twine' creation.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Cheers,

Jennifer.  xx

Snowflake

 

Good evening fellow bloggers. 

I'm afraid my blogging came to a screeching halt a week ago, 

as I injured my back, just lifting a bag of groceries out of the car. 

I have spent the past week 'zonked out' on a cocktail of 

painkillers. Today is my first day back on my feet,

albeit with regular 'horizontal' breaks.

This is a rather quick and easy card to make, so I made a couple of them

in different colours. I attached a piece of JAC D.S. tape to a piece of

bright blue cardstock, then after peeling off the top protective layer,

I attached the die-cut snowflake & greeting onto the very sticky

card front. 

I always save the tiny snowflakes left from punching the corners

of my Christmas card inserts, so I placed several of them around

the large snowflake.  I smothered the exposed 'sticky' with glitter,

but as usual, the wonderful sparkle does not show up. To finish 

off, I cut a silver layer, then adhered this to a white card blank.

A closer look at the greetings die-cut.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Allsorts #603/4 - 'Sparkle and Shine'

My Time To Craft #447 - 'Monochromatic'  TOP 3

The Holly and the Ivy #85 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

Christmas Craft Creations - 'Winter Blues' (must show challenge logo)

Dies - Kaisercraft Fancy Snowflake (bought at a post Christmas sale for $2!!!!!!); Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Holiday Words:Script

   Punch - Martha Stewart Aspen Snowflake

   Glitter - Tim Holtz Rock Candy Dry Glitter

Wow, only 3 more sleeps til the big day. I hope all your preparations are progressing well, although Christmas 2020 will be like no other. Recently, here in Australia, most restrictions had been lifted, but sadly last week Covid once again reared its very ugly head and is rapidly spreading again, so Christmas, like in so many other places globally, has been basically 'cancelled'.

I am way overdue for my 'horizontal' break (for the night), so I will close.

Stay safe,

Hugs (safely distanced of course),

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.  

Santa With His Lamp

Hello fellow crafters. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas day.

This is the card I made for my husband, John.

In the 'bargain' stores this year there have been some lovely packets of 

inexpensive cards with somewhat retro images. I bought a few packs

of each, and they can be die-cut in different ways to make such 

pretty 'toppers'. This Santa image was part of a fairly large card.

The sentiment here was part of the sentiment on the original card. 

A closer look at my floral and foliage arrangement.

Berry stem, deep red balls and gold twiglets are recycled Christmas decorations.

Mini pine cones are from trees on the farm we lived on until a few years ago. 

I collected heaps of them.

Image - Bought Christmas card

Dies - Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia (embossed with matching folder); Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Greens; Cheery Lynn Cutie Fringe ll; Memory Box Woodland Branch; Spellbinders Classic, and Scalloped Circles

Punch - Martha Stewart Fern

'Snow' - Cadence Icy Snow Paste

Until next time, thank you for visiting.

Hugs,

Jennifer.  xx

Silent Night

Can you believe it, only 3 more sleeps 'til the big day.

I have well and truly broken the promise I made to myself early this year to NOT

buy anymore dies. You all know what I mean don't you...there are just so many

beautiful ones out there, and each seem to be prettier than ever.

This card uses 3 such dies...the gorgeous 'Silent Night', the very versatile star 

background, and the mini poinsettia. I used 3D tape to raise the top layer to

allow more of the embossed layer to be seen.

A closer look at the elegant 'Silent Night' which I adhered to a piece of

JAC paper, then sprinkled fine glitter on that. Finally I adhered that to

the gold matting paper.

I sponged the edges of all the poinsettia petals with Aged Mahogany 

distress ink. The centres are punched from scraps of gold glitter card.

The white foliage has been lightly sponged with Iced Spruce distress ink.

Dies - Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Netted Star Background, Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Swirled Silent Night; Cheery Lynn Poinsettia Strip; Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Greens; Marianne Design Creatables Folding Lace Square (gold glitter foliage)

Gold paper - Unknown brand

Gold glitter card - Crafts 4U

Embossing Folder - Freebie with Cardmaking Australia magazine

Distress Inks - Aged Mahogany, Iced Spruce

Glitter - Tim Holtz Rock Candy

I have quite a few Christmas cards in my drafts, so hopefully in the next few weeks (although Christmas will be long gone) I may be able to make time to show them to you...I am taking a few weeks off from duty at the Fort.

Hopefully all your Christmas preps are more advanced than mine.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  xx

Sparkling Forest

Good evening all.

The card I want to show you tonight is the Christmas card I made for 

my dear husband, John...

It is an easel card, and I have used a new (to me) technique ...dryer sheet and 

ultra-fine glitter...there are endless tutorials for this technique on the internet. 

The sparkle is truly amazing, but as usual that is barely visible in my photos.

A closer look at the die-cut poinsettia with its pearl centre.

This is the easel card opened out. I chose the lovely blue paper, because

I thought it looked a little bit like cracked ice on a lake in front of

the pine tree forest.

The die-cut sentiment.

The back of my card. John gave me the "Handcrafted by" stamp many, many

Christmases ago. "Jen Pen" is one of the two nicknames John has for me.

Challenges I would like to enter

Addicted to Stamps - 'Baby It's Cold Outside'

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - 'Anything Christmas'

Craft Rocket #44 - 'Winter'

C.R.A.F.T. #450 - 'Christmas'

Dare 2B Artzy - 'Winter Wonderland'

Eclectic Ellapu - 'Christmas'

Merry Christmas #2 - 'Anything Christmas'

Penny Black and More - 'Something New' (Technique)

Stamping Sensations - 'Cold and Frosty Colours'   TOP 3

The House That Stamps Built - 'Tic Tac Toe' (Pearls/Snowflakes/Silver & Snowflakes/Blue/Glitter)

Image - PSX K1465; Stamp World Handcrafted By

Paper - Kaisercraft Silver Bells

Dies - Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Words:Script; Spellbinder Layered Poinsettia; 

           Memory Box Star of Wonder

Punch - Martha Stewart PATP Aspen Snowflakes (negatives used for 'falling' snowflakes)

Glitter - Tim Holtz Rock Candy Ultrafine

Peel-off stickers, dryer sheet, and pearl are from my junk stash.

I really must be off to bed as I am light-headed with tiredness...I did some very heavy work in our couryard garden today, then did a huge grocery-shop. We had house guests last week, so the fridge and pantry were almost bare; and we are having several lots of guests this week.

Until next time, thank you for your visit,

Hugs,

Jennifer. xx

White On White Poinsettia

Surprise, surprise peeps, I have another poinsettia card for you. Okay, you win...it's not

a surprise. I have an obssession with these gorgeous flowers. 

When John and I were married almost 46 years ago, I had just finished my training to

become a registered nurse (sister). The nurses' quarters were bordered by dozens of

poinsettia shrubs in full bloom at the time. I asked the matron if I could have a couple

of blooms to place in the church as a symbol of my very happy years training. She

told me she would organise some. When I entered the church I gasped, as the

lovely elderly hospital gardener had filled our beautiful old church with  

many huge arrangements of them scattered throughout, 

so perhaps that is where my 'problem' originated.

Poinsettias come in such a variety of colours, and while our wedding ones were deep 

red, I have made these ones white with a soft sponging of  Iced Spruce Distress Ink.

A closer look at the poinsettia, and some of the bead sprays I made using silver wire 

and clear glass beads.

Inside the card is quite simple, and co-ordinates 

with the front.

I double-matted the sentiment from a sheet I bought at a 

craft show in London several years ago.

Challenges I would like to enter

Always Fun #37 - 'A Christmas Carol' (I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas) TOP 3

Crafty Cardmakers #202 - 'Christmas' 

Die Cuttin' Divas #348 - 'Holiday'

Dies R Us #87 - 'White on White'

Scor-pal #44 - 'More Than 1 Score-Anything Goes Christmas'

The Holly and the Ivy #21 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

The Merry Christmas #48 - 'Anything Goes + Christmas' TOP PICK

Winter Wonderland - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

Words 2 Craft By #48 - 'Christmas In My Heart' WINNER

Dies - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Tattered Poinsettia, Holiday Greens

Embossing - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Texture Fades Tattered Poinsettia Pattern Set

Inks - Distress Ink Iced Spruce

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Lattice Pattern - Scor-pal board

Glass beads and large sparkly gem are from my junk stash

Wow, only 3 more sleeps before the big fella in the red suit visits...where DID this year go??????

Thank you for your visit,

Hugs,

Jennifer. xx

Vintage Poinsettia

I can hear you all saying "Here she goes again with her obssession with poinsettias".

How can you resist poinsettias at Christmas? Florally speaking, along with holly,

they are so representative of Christmas. Besides, I LOVE this poinsettia die.

I made this card for a lovely couple who live in the house opposite us. Although I have

enough gorgeous paper to open my own shop, I instantly fell in love with a new

'vintage' 12 x 12 pad by Kaisercraft, and of course it had to come home with me.

For most of the foliage I 'smooshed' various green distress inks over a sheet of 

white cardstock before die cutting them. The holly is from gold card.

I die-cut several layers of only the 2 smallest layers of petals of my favourite 

poinsettia die, by Tim Holtz, and embossed them in the matching folder. 

Before embossing them, I sponged the edges with distress ink. The gold

centre is a blob of hot glue, quickly sprinkled with micro foil stars, 

then gently shaped as it cooled.

Challenges I would like to enter

Country View - Christmas

Crafty Cardmakers #202 - Christmas

Dream Valley #169 - Christmas

Fussy and Fancy #202 - Christmas

The Holly and the Ivy #21 Anything Christmas Goes (2nd entry)

The Merry Christmas #47 - Anything Christmas Goes (2nd entry)

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes (2nd entry)

Dies - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Tattered Poinsettia, Holiday Greens; Cheery Lynn Wreath Strip, Holly Flourish.

Embossing Folder - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Texture Fades Textured Poinsettia Pattern Set

Paper - Kaisercraft Letters To Santa

Sentiment - Kaisercraft Letters To Santa

Distress Inks - Gathered Twigs, various greens

It's difficult to believe, but one week from now it will be Christmas Day. Whatever you do "stay calm and don't get your tinsel in a tangle!!".

Until next time, happy crafting and thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer. x

Snow Scene

Hello to all the busy, crafty people out there in blogland.

I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders, as John's medical 

negligence case was all 'done and dusted' in Sydney earlier this week. For 

more than 2 1/2 years we have experienced almost constant stress.

For the past few months I have managed to have spasmodic sessions in my craft

room, and by breaking my own rule of only creating 'one-of-a-kind' cards, I 

have managed to finish the 54 cards that I mail or personally deliver.

Hopefully I can now try to get into the spirit of Christmas, 

decorating the house, cooking, and shopping.

This card was not a production line creation, although to save time I did use a topper 

from a sheet I bought several years ago at a craft show in England. It did 

however take a fair amount of my time because I was rather 'out of practice'.

A close up look at the wintery spray I made from various die-cuts,

recycled Christmas decorations, and some tiny conifer cones from

our trees in one of our paddocks back on our farm.

A small section of the house on the topper.

Challenges I would like to enter  

Die Cut Divas - 'Winter Time'

Kreativeinkauf #57 - 'Conifer'

Sparkles Monthly #98 - 'White Christmas'

The Holly and The Ivy #20 - 'Anything Goes, Christmas'

The Merry Christmas #46 - 'Anything Goes + Christmas'

Tuesday Throwdown #371 - 'Christmas Scene'

Winter Wonderland - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

Image - Topper Sheet (Unknown Brand)

Paper - Kaisercraft Letters To Santa

Dies - Cheery Lynn Cutie Fringe 2, Wreath Strip; Memory Box Woodland Branch; Impression Obssession DIE-021N; Sizzix Tim Holtz Holiday Greens; Spellbinder Decorative Labels Eight

Sentiment Tag - Craftworks Cards

Snow - Leane Creatief 

Glitter - Tim Holtz Distress Stickles Clear Rock Candy

Red Berries and Gold 'Twigs' - recycled Christmas Decorations

Lace, gold bead, and pine cones - from my junk stash

I do hope your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely, and you are not getting too stressed. I also hope you are staying warm or cool, depending on what part of the world you live in.

'Til next time (soon I hope), thank you for your visit,

Hugs,

Jennifer. xx

My Favourite Poinsettia

Did I give you a fright when you saw my sticker, wishing you "Merry Christmas"?

No, it's not that time yet, but the way this year is flashing by, that fellow in 

the red suit will be paying us a visit before some of us are ready.

You are probably thinking "haven't I seen this card before"...well you have seen ones

very similar. However, I have 'tweaked' the design ever so slightly.

When we moved into the Retirement Village last year, we of course met lots of new

people, some of whom have become friends, so in order to save some time, I 

thought I would partly CASE some of my previous Christmas cards, as I

now have many more cards to make than previously, and no-one 

here in the Village has seen my cards before..

A closer look at my poinsettia...have I told you before that I LOVE this die and

matching embossing folder. In their original state, the die-cuts of each layer  

have a slightly elongated shape, so after I emboss each layer, I cut each 

 petal off, then hot-glue them individually to a small circle of scrap 

card. My poinsettia then has a more evenly round shape.

Inside my card...Have I also told you I LOVE this border punch set?

Challenges I would like to enter

4 Crafty Chicks #345 - 'Flowers'

ABC Christmas - 'H is for Home, I is for Informal' (I chose Informal)

Christmas Cards All Year Round - 'Flowers'

Merry Monday #242 - 'Twigs or Branches'  HONOURABLE MENTION

My Time To Craft #343 - 'No Designer Papers'

That's Crafty - 'Foliage and Flowers'

The Holly and the Ivy #3 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'  WINNER

Dies - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Tattered Poinsettia; Memory Box Woodland Branch; Spellbinder Classic Square; 

Embossing - Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Texture Fades Textured Poinsettia Pattern Set; Fiskars Texture Plate Snowflakes

Ink - Distress Ink Walnut Stain, Gathered Twigs

Punch - Martha Stewart PATP Aspen Snowflakes

Peel-off sticker, gold cord, gold beads are all from my junk stash

As Daylight Saving finished last weekend, the shadows of course are lengthening quite early so I had better get all the washing off the line. 

Until next time, thank you for visiting, and may I wish you "happy crafting".

Hugs,

Jennifer. x