Black and White Snowflakes

 

Good evening. What about this, eh...nothing for many months, then posts on two consecutive evenings.

Although I have more DSP than most stores, I am a 'sucker' for beautiful paper. A few months ago I bought two 12 x 12 DCWV pads. They were so gorgeous, I just couldn't decide which one to buy, so they helped me out by both jumping into my basket. Does that sound vaguely familiar to those of you who are paper addicts like me? 😁

I have had this large die for many years, and it is still one of my favourites. The aforementioned paper pads had several pages of wide strips that coordinate with the main papers, and this is part of one of those strips. I loved the 'clean' look of this card, so made several cards using the various strips.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

ABC Christmas -'Z' is for Zebra (black & white and/or stripes) (2nd entry)

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Snowflakes

The Holly and the Ivy #153 - Anything Christmas Goes (2nd entry)

Die - Memory Box Grand Merry Christmas

DSP - DCWV 12 x 12 December 25th

Peel off sticker - from my junk stash

Wouldn't it be great if I could keep up a regular flow of posts 😏, but time will tell, won't it.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs, Jennifer. x

Happy Easter

Good afternoon. In my previous post I showed you one of the 5 chocolate

box/cards I made for an order. That one was in pinks, and this afternoon

I have 2 more to show you...1 is in purple tones, and the other is in green,

yellow and orange tones.

While all 5 box/cards are in various colours, the actual boxes are all

exactly the same size and design. I bought a large block of chocolate,

and experimented with scraps of cardstock until I had a perfect size

for that particular chocolate block which is probably the most common

one in Australia.

A closer look at the floral arrangement.

Inside the box/card, showing the little pocket with its tag

on which to write a personal message; and the large pocket

that holds the block of chocolate.

This is the 'green' box/card.

A close-up look at the pretty flowers and foliage.

Challenges I would like to Enter:-

Craft Rocket #102 - 'Layer It Up'

Fab 'n' Funky #570 - 'Use Die Cuts'

Make My Monday #197 - 'P' is for... (purple, pocket) (2nd entry)

My Time To Craft #505 - 'Easter or Spring Flowers'

The Paper Funday #52 - 'Anything Goes; with optional twist, Flower Power'

Through the Purple Haze #203 -'For Girls'

DSP - Stampin' up; First Edition Spring Drop

Sentiments - LOTV; Peel-off sticker

Dies - Stampin' Up; Spellbinders; Creative Expressions; Cheery Lynn; Dies R Us

Flowers, ribbons, brads, pearls are from my junk stash

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs, Jennifer. xx

P.S. If you are wondering what happened to the block of chocolate I used to create the template for my box/card.....you'll have to keep wondering, 'cause that's my secret 😁😁😄.

 

3 Trees

 

How's this for a scary thought...this time next week 

Christmas 2021 will just be a memory...my bad

for saying that, aren't I.😁

I am a self-confessed paper addict, and although I have enough DSP to

open my own store, I just could not resist the gorgeous Bella Carta pad

Home For Christmas. In addition to the 6" x 6" sheets there are 2 pages 

of co-ordinating cut-aparts, many with their own matting. These make

a lovely focal point for a relatively quick card, such as the one above.

The peel-off stickers (dots and borders) are negatives.

This is probably the shortest post I have ever written, but the card more or less "speaks" for itself.

Until next time, I thank you for visiting, and I hope all your preparations are coming together nicely.

Stay safe,

Jennifer.  xx

Quilted Winter Wishes

 

Good afternoon. 

Despite my stern warning to myself that I could not 

purchase any more new dies, I could not resist this wonderful quilt

die. It is so easy to create cards which look very different for the same 

occasion e.g. Christmas, and also for other various occasions.

I used very traditional colours for this card which is for a dear friend in England.

Inside the card showing the lovely verse and the punched corner.

Dies - My Favourite Things Die-namics Square Quilt Cover-up; Cheery Lynn Poinsettia Strip; Tim Holtz Holiday Greenery

Papers - Kaisercraft; Graphic 45 (both from old collections)

Verse - Creative Expressions Holly Jolly Sentiments 

Punch - Martha Stewart Aspen Snowflake corner punch; unnamed office circle punch

Peel-off sticker and gold washi tape are from my junk stash

I hope I can 'keep the ball rolling' with regular posts, so until next time thank you for visiting.

Stay safe,

Jennifer.  xx

Black and Silver Snowflakes

 

Hello fellow crafters. I guess you didn't expect 2 posts in 2 days, 

especially after such a long break.

As I have said in previous posts, I have a personal rule being that I

never make any 2 cards the same. However, at times like Christmas when

when I, like so many other card-makers, need to make many cards, I 

will create 2 or even occasionally 3 similar cards...such is the 

case with the following 2 cards.

These 2 cards were sent to friends who do not know each other, and both

of whom do not know I have a blog, so will not see this.

The grey-looking plain paper on both cards is actually a beautiful

shimmery pearlised silver, a pack of which I have had for many

years. I put a tiny dot of glitter glue in the centre of each

snowflake on the black paper, but as usual with

most glitter it does not photograph well.

Papers - Papermania A Christmas Carol; Echo Park A Gingerbread Christmas; 

Sentiment banners - Craft Creations Ltd 

Glitter glue - Ranger Stickles Diamond Dust

Peel-off sticker snowflakes are from my junk stash

Hopefully I will be back soon with some more cards, so until then thank you for visiting.

Stay safe,

Jennifer.  xx

Joy and Peace

 

I know I said in my last post that I would be back in a few days, but once again

life and health issues have intervened...grrrrrr, so I have had my 'head down

and tail up' in a frenzy to create all my Christmas cards. They are all now 

finished and in the mail, so I may be able to show you some in 

the next weeks leading up to Christmas.

 

 I absolutely love the gorgeous papers in the Bella Carta paper pad I bought

earlier this year. The green DSP has a lattice design, and but because it is

very subtle, it is rather difficult to see.

Inside the card, with punched corners.

Paper - Carta Bella Home For Christmas 6 x 6 mega pad

Sentiment on front of card - Paper Rose Crisp Christmas sentiment sheets

Greeting inside card - Creative Expressions Christmas Sayings clear set CEC389

Dies - Cheery Lynn Poinsettia Strip B324; Dees Distinctively Ponderosa Pine Sprig; Build-A-Wreath (free with Australian Simply Cards magazine)

Punch - Martha Stewart Aspen Snowflake corner punch

Peel-off stickers are from my junk stash

I hope your Christmas preparations are 'on track', and you all keep safe in these uncertain times.

Until next time,

Jennifer.  xx

Daisy Thanks

 

Hello fellow bloggers. After a 3 month absence I am hoping to post more

regularly. Both John and I have had health issues, but during the long break

 I have not been completely idle...I have made many of my Christmas cards

as well as creating a large mixed media art work for a wedding gift (which

sadly has had to be postponed for a second time due to this awful virus).

Several months ago I drove 7 hours north to a reunion for those of us who began

our secondary schooling in 1963😲...yes, that long ago! I had a wonderful week-

end, catching up with old friends and reliving many memories. A pleasant surprise 

was that three of our teachers attended. The reunion, almost 2 years in the planning

 was so well organised, mostly by one lady living approximately 1,500 kms (1,000 miles) 

away from the reunion. To thank Jenny for her mammoth effort, 

I gave her this card (with a box of choccies).

I thought the stamped sentiment inside the card was perfect for 

the occasion.

A closer look at my handmade daisies and the die-cut greeting.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Ally's Angels #51 - 'Anything Goes'

Creative Fingers #217 - 'Anything Goes'

Happy Little Stampers (dies) - 'Anything Goes with Dies'

The Flower Challenge #61 - 'Use A Shape' (square) (must use handmade flowers) (5th birthday)

Dies - Spellbinders Oval; Tonic Studios Daisy Lace Square; Sue Wilson Creative Expressions Isobel; Memory Box Fauntleroy Crest

Punches - Carl Daisy; Martha Stewart Fern; Stampin' Up Scalloped Oval

Colouring - Promarkers  (Yellow and Vanilla) to colour pearls and daisy centres

Sentiment - Stampin' Up Peaceful Moments cling stamp set

Pearls and border sticker - from my junk stash

Please all stay safe in these uncertain and scary times.

Until next time (hopefully soon),

Hugs (virtual of course)

Jennifer.  xx

 

Birthday Stars

Good evening all. I hope you are all staying safe wherever you

are in this troubled world.

Do any of you find that there are one or two months during the year

where you have an overload of birthdays or other celebrations where

you are constantly in a flurry of card-making?? January and July are

those months for me.

I had not even begun to pack away my Christmas crafting items when I

needed to put my head down and tail up (not a sight for the faint-hearted!)

This card is for a young lad who lived near us before we moved into

this Retirement Village. He has had to overcome a long list of health

issues, so we think he is a little 'star'.

Dies - EZ Cut Stars; Sweet Story Stars; Memory Box Night Sky Border

Main Sentiment - Unnamed Happy Birthday peel-off sticker

Punch - Carl Alphabet Set (I punched Hayden's name from around the unwanted edges of the sticker sheet)

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Craft Rocket #77 - 'For the Boys/Men'

Daisy Chain #48 - 'Happy Birthday'

I hope to be back in a day or 2 with another of the many cards I have made since Christmas, so until then, happy crafting.

Thank you for visiting, 

Jennifer. xx

 

Silver Trees

 

Good afternoon.

At the beginning of this year I made a promise to myself that I would

limit my urge to add lots of goodies to my junk stash. I managed to

keep my promise fairly well, but when I saw this gorgeous 3D

Embossing Folder, my resolve mega-melted!

The E.F. is large, and because it is 3D, the naturalistic layered look of the forest is

fabulous. I LOVE it! I bought that lovely snowflake ribbon about 3 years ago at

a craft show, and decided that it was time to use it.

For my greeting, I used dies from 2 different sets.

The insert of the card has snowflakes punched in each corner, and 

I used this rather large peel-off sticker I have had for 'yonks'.

As I'm sure you all know, gold and silver are really difficult to photograph (as is

glitter). I took almost 20 photos from all different positions, but none were fully

successful, so please forgive the quality of my photos.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Allsorts #600  - Christmas Flowers, Wreaths, Trees

Beccy's Place - Day 23  'T' (Trees)

Cute Card Thursday #662 - Silver or Gold

Double D - Winter Blues   TOP 3

Fezziwigs Festive Frolics - Decorate The Tree

Embossing Folder - Stampin' Up 3D Evergreen Forest

Dies - Cottage Cutz Rustic Scene and Trees; Cheery Lynn Merry Christmas Set; Spellbinders Holiday Sentiments

Ribbon - Craft Queen

Peel-off sticker is from my junk stash

On this boiling hot, record-breaking day I will go outside, and try not to melt while I take my washing off the clothesline.

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

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Ornament Trio

 

Hello again. I hope you are all well and keeping safe.

My card has a rather vintage look, and all supplies I used to create it have been

in my junk stash for, in several cases, many years.

My greeting is from a sheet of mixed font Christmas greetings I bought at a 

craft show in Sydney about 10 years ago. I also bought sheets of other 

greetings (e.g. Happy Birthday), some in silver, some in gold.

A closer look at the lovely ornaments, cut from gold mirror card. The 2 large

ornaments are cut with dies I bought many years ago, and the small one

uses the ornament from a fab set of 10 Christmas dies that were free 

with a craft magazine.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Beccy's Place - 'Day 17-things beginning with 'O' '

Daisy Chain #47 - 'Christmas Is Coming'

Dies - Memory Box Snowflake Ornament: Spellbinders Lacey Circles; Free with Papercrafter Magazine Magical Christmas

Paper - Kaisercraft Turtle Dove

Greeting - Art Stamps Australia

Peel-off stickers (for 'hangers') are from my junk stash

Until next time thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  xx

Silent Night

 

Good afternoon fellow bloggers. Don't you all, like me, find it hard

to believe that we are now in the month of October...EEK!

I know now why so many of you are complaining about the new and

'improved' (NOT!!!) blogger😖. I have always been an "if it ain't broke,

don't fix it" gal.

Enough of my whinging, and onto the first card in my fairly substantial

box of Christmas cards.

It is a fairly simple card, but I think the gorgeous Silent Night die-cut

turns it into an elegant card.

I backed some gold paper with double-sided JAC paper before

cutting the beautiful greeting, thus making it easier to attach to the card.

I have had the dies for these baubles for many years,

and they have been much loved and often used.

Challenges I would like to enter

Crimbo Crackers #216 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

Merry Little Christmas #26 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

The Holly and the Ivy Christmas Challenge #80 - 'Anything Christmas Goes'

Dies - Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Swirled Silent Night; Memory Box Snowflake, & Swirl Ornaments

Punch - EK Success Mini Dots

Peel-off border sticker is from my ancient junk stash

On this slightly cool spring afternoon, I am off to have a short Nana Nap with Peter May...NO, NO, not the man himself, just one of his murder mysteries 😁.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

Glittered Roses

 

Hello out there in blogland. It is more than 2 months since I last posted anything

on my blog. All three of us (John, me, and our kitty) have been on a rough road

of constant medical and vet appointments for moderately serious conditions, but

we are now seeing very faint lights at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

In between appointments I have been trying to keep my mind occupied with my

card-making. By simplifying my designs, I have made quite a significant dent in

my Christmas card box...more about those in another post.

Last December I joined the local Art and Craft Society, and recently we re-opened

our gallery and gift shop (albeit with strict Covid-safe restrictions). I was asked to

place some cards in the shop, so here are several using the Promarker, glitter, and 

peel-off sticker technique.

I had already wrapped the cards (with envelopes) before I realised I had not taken

any photos, so that is why the white outer area looks uneven. I also took another

batch of different cards to the shop and forgot to photograph them beforehand -

they have all been sold.

I love these vintage, dusky pinks.

Challenges I would like to enter

A Bit More Time To Craft #124 - 'Anything Goes'

Colour Crazy #37 - 'Anything Goes'

Crafty Sentiments - 'Anything Goes'

Images - Starform peel-off stickers 

Colouring - Promarkers

Sentiment - Stampin' Up Peaceful Moments

Die - Marianne LR 0141

Glitter - Crafts4U Clear Dust Ultrafine

It's time to start preparing dinner and feed our darling fur-baby, so I will bid you good evening.

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs,

Jennifer.  x

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

Glittered Baubles

Gosh, there are less than six days left until the big day.

Where have the days gone?

Hello, and thank you to my new followers.

I hope you enjoy your visits to my blog.

This is another of the cards I made using the technique I demonstrated at a

craft show a few months ago...peel off stickers, ultra fine glitter and

alcohol pens. I really enjoy doing these, and for very little

effort, the results are so effective.

Unfortunately the amazing sparkle of the glitter

does not photograph well.

Image - Peel off stickers 

Colouring - Promarkers

Paper - Lili of the Valley

Dies - 'Snowflakes' cut from Crafts 4U white glitter card using various brand dies

Sentiment - From a recycled Christmas card

Glitter - Crafts 4U Glitter Dust

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

Hugs,

Jennifer.  xx