Happy Birthday to You

WARNING:  SUNGLASSES MAY BE NEEDED

Found this Distress Oxide panel in amongst my background panels and instantly thought of the new to me MFT 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU' Die. so I cut out all the pretty letters to use on a card but then of course decided to use the negative first. Trimmed it to size.

Added a copper sparkle sheet of paper to the base of the card then added the negative die cut to the

top. Put back all the little bits and pieces that get cut with the letters to fill it back in and of course found I had lost one piece. 

Then the dilemma - I mean its not like Im going to have another piece just the same colours to get a colour match up and did I want to colour another piece, really this was a five minute put together between getting home from seeing mum and dad and setting off again to babysit the grandchildren. A spur of the moment inspiration.

I found a piece approx 1/8" trimmed from one side and I scissor shaped it. Can you spot which one is the replacement on. Tell me which one it is and why you think it is and the first correct answer gets a prize...........

So back to this blinding beauty, I decided it needed something else and so added from my pre coloured #mftstamps  Happy Hippos which when I went to the link are out of stock at MFT but they never ever take long to restock. You can go and subscribe and they will let you know when back in stock. They are also carried by a lot of other big suppliers so check around. They have the cutest images to colour, these are just a few. (I don't get commission for adding link or talking about this is just my personal opinion.)

How's that for a perfectly coloured cake to go with this background (you would think I loved these colours!!!), the bird and balloons up the top balance everything just perfectly with my little hippo and present at the bottom. No sequins needed on this card or Wink of Stella though Sophie assured me that glitter on the front would have made it even better Nanni. 

Challenges:

Seize the Birthday : Vibrant Colours Topping

Very rare for me to hit the topping twice in a challenge but

I think this card most certainly hits the spot.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Sparkle & Shine

Couldn't get much more sparkle on a project than this.

Cards In Envy : I'ts Birthday Party Time

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you drop by again soon.

Congratulations on Your New Home & With Love on Mothers Day

Two cards that came together very quickly with pre coloured images. Basically 15 minutes before I left home to go down to visit with mum and dad I got these ideas so you know me, I have to go with them. There are no particular challenges in mind for them I just wanted to make them.

Now I'm sitting in with mum and she has settled down for a snooze so I thought I would blog to pass the time. Mum is actually looking a bit better than I expected and ate something this morning, she is very frail now but where I had been told she isn't eating she did eat breakfast so that was good. She smiled at me a lot and loved having her neck rubbed and hair played with and of course she then dozed off. Gentle times.

I am loving these Katia Studio stamps Whimsical Town which I have to say I haven't finished with yet as there is still a road and boat and landscape so expect more. I saw a card on the internet done with the house white embossed and coloured with Distress Inks. I loved it and wanted to do a similar card.

I haven't looked at it again so I hope with fingers and toes crossed that its not exactly the same. I randomly coloured my white embossed houses with Distress Oxide, heavier at the bottom and lighter toward the top. Flicked a bit of water over them when finished then blotted up.

I then did the background with  Distress Oxides going from Peacock Feather at the bottom, Salty Ocean then Broken China very light then used the MFT cloud stencil and went over the top area again with Broken China to add clouds. I fussy cut the houses and added the houses using dimension foam tape. (This is one instance when having the die would have been better as the outline was too light for the Scan 'N' Cut and fussy cutting not as good as it could have been).

This next card

Simon Says Floral stamp, Copic coloured R81 R83 R85 and YG01 YG17. Cut out panel with stitched rectangle die. Added fun foam to the back of the panel.

You can just see the Wink of Stella on the flowers here.

I added pattern paper to the front of the card and then decided to add the ribbon you can see. So disappointed the ribbon looks bright pink here. It is actually very close in colour to the flower but all the photos show the ribbon as bright pink. Ahhh well you will just have to trust me on that, it is a very pretty match and I cant think why it is showing up so different in colour. You can just see the sentiment.

Both cards have part of the sentiment on the front and the rest of the sentiment inside.

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

Challenges:

Crafting With Friends Challenge #65 Anything Goes

My first time playing at this challenge. Will add

'Congratulations on Your New Home'

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #464 New (Home, Baby, Job etc)

Congratulations on Your New Home

As You Like It Challenge : Favourite Colouring Medium (and WHY?)

With Love on Mothers Day

Copic Coloured is my favourite colouring medium because it achieves such a wonderful colour coverage and blend with so little effort. I love to paint and colour with pencils too but those are time consuming and take a lot more effort. Copics are like cheating, an easy way to make a beautiful picture.

Crafting With an Attitude Challenge #38 Anything Goes

Congratulations on Your New Home

Work It Wednesday April 2018 Simon Says Mothers Day

With Love on Mothers Day

Wishing you the very best on your new home

This stamped image is the house I didn't include in my last card I made using Katia's Studio Stamps.

This one looks more like its a star gazer so that's what I made it do.

Sorry the photo's aren't the best. There is a young lady who lives in my house (not naming names who used my camera while we were away taking photos of granddad and everything that moved and didn't and obviously decided she really liked this camera. Soooooo when mum unpacked it and put it back with her photography items this un-names young lady has snuck out, retrieved camera and packed for respite care).

I searched high and low and thought I must be going mad I knew I had unpacked it then had a light bulb moment, rang respite care and was told that they had gone out on the Harbour and un-named young lady took some wonderful photos. Looks like I might need to get a new camera.

Back to the card - not so great photo but you an see its still turned out ok. Background done using Distress Oxides. I did with all blue Oxides and came back with the mauves after I had finished the card to darken the sky a bit. I stamped and white embossed the building.

I coloured the building and tree with pencils and added bit of white pencil light coming out from the house. Then I added glitter paste stars. The tree was a late addition and white ink stamped and then I drew around it with white ink as it was too faint. Stamped the sentiment from another stamp set.

Drew in the hillside freehand, added the white ink line as though embossed then added green pencil in different colours to add dimension.  Then added watery mauve and purple Distress Oxide to darken the sky so the stars worked in better.

I was really happy with how the hillside looked. Cut the piece with wonky stitched die and thats it. The Top photo is probably the most accurate colour wise.

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge : Sparkle and Shine

Crafting From The Heart Challenge #202 Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create Challenge #208 Anything Goes?Twist Vellum

without the twist

Thanks so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon

Rainbow Sparkle

It's a sprinkle sparkle shaker card perfect for any occasion and exactly what a granddaughter would want or so she told me. The card base is not quite as dark as it appears here, I think I might need to

invest in a photo box, I haven't had problems before but this is the second time I have had the coloured card stock come out so dark. Put some money into a photo set up, I spend enough on stamps etc. So as you can see its a card made of a mix of brands and I think I will be lucky to remember all of them so my apologies in advance.

Of course the wonderful fairy is Stamping Bella and I have done her in my Copic Rainbow blend mix YG01 Y000 YR000 R10 V01 BV01 B41 B000. Then fussy cut her out.  

Little bit of sparkle to finish her off.

I used a Pretty Pink Posh Circle Die for the Shaker part and nearly

forgot to add the frill section back in. I backed the shaker section with

glitter paper, added mixed rainbow coloured sequins to go with

the fairy and added acetate to the top.

A few sequins on the outside and the silver glitter paper 'sparkle' &

'rainbow' and swirls finish the card off.

Challenges:

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies Challenge April Challenge

A Bit More Time To Craft Challenge #66 Anything Goes

The Fairy and the Unicorn April Challenge Anything Goes

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

Hugs & Kisses and Birthday Wishes

I cannot stop doing these rainbow coloured backgrounds, stamping then colouring with pencils. I hope your not getting sick of looking at these types of cards because I cant promise this will be the last one because I am just enjoying doing them way tooooooo much.

Just check out the colours of my garden, it's another magical garden with flowers half one colour and half another colour. I first blended Distress Oxides, a mix of light and bright rainbow colours then flicked a bit of water here and there. Once it was dry I stamped and white embossed this wonderful 'The Ton' stamp 'Riotous Wildflowers' which I have stamped on so many mediums ready to colour & paint when I get home.

I this instance I have coloured with pencils over the Distress Oxides each time using a dark pencil colour then the white to brighten and lighten the colour. When colours meet and blend I did the same with my pencils.

I decided to do a long panel for this card so did silver glitter washi each end of the card and finished off with a MFT 'Hugs' diecut.

Another card I just love the look of. I am falling in love with this style though it is harder on my hands having the ink behind is just amazing.

My next experiment will be with a non floral card, I'm looking forward to that.

Challenges:

Crafty Catz Challenge #412 Anything Goes Twist Your Favourite Colour

Without the twist.

As You Like It Challenge : Favourite Colouring Medium (and WHY)

Pencils because they work so perfectly over Distress Oxides

 and the colours look so amazing over the Distress Oxides and

I just get such a buzz out of looking at the finished image.

Seize the Birthday: The Topping Vibrant Colours

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #287 Make Your Mark

Distress Oxide blending then colouring with pencils

Thanks you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

'There is no place like HOME' and 'Happy Birthday'

The road trip is all going well. Dad and his sister, Cis are totally enjoying themselves, telling stories from the past and I am recording as we go. With a few hick-ups here and there, though it doesn't matter, because they forget they already told a story and are happy to tell it again. Cis has an amazing memory at 93 for their family history, able to remember names and dates of those who lived near and were related.

Dad's memories are so mixed up now that nothing is accurate but as he talks to Cis the memories just flow, It's so beautiful.

I need to get lots of footage of Cis talking so dad can watch her on the iPad when he's at home and missing mum.   Elysha is happy to sit and listen or watch TV or colour in. I don't think I will get much colouring  done myself, as I need to prompt with questions, make drinks, meals, clean up etc so I think I was dreaming.

By night time and when the nurse arrives at 7 I'm ready for bed too lol. Tuck me in and read me a good night story, ready to start all again the next morning.

But I thought I better post a couple of cards first.

What do you reckon????Aren't these stamps the coolest. I had to have them. They are from Studio Katia  Whimsical Town, I only had time to colour one card before I set off and this one was stamped on Canvas Cardstock and coloured with copics.

So easy to colour with copics, pick two colours one dark one light. Colour with the light, add a bit of the dark then pull out further with the light. Works perfectly.

I used all but one of the house stamps as I saved one for a different card. I stamped and masked and stamped again. There are other filler stamps as well as the tree. I also stamped the sentiment from the

set with includes Your Invited sentiments. These houses are soooo cool.

This is a Lily of the Valley stamp that I have had forever and I was reminded of her the other day. We are always so busy buying new stamps and forget that we have the most amazing, cute, pretty stamps there right in front of us.

I coloured her with my Copic rainbow combination that I can't think of off hand- being away I cant check the combination. But it sure does look pretty and soft and perfect with this little sweetie.

After I finished colouring I added a die cut silver glitter paper 'HAPPY birthday' and then lots of the smallest wee diamond gems to look like little rains drops.

Challenges::

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #287 Make Your Mark

There is no place like home - Copic colouring

Watercooler Wednesday #165 All About The Occassion

My little fairy is all about celebrating your birthday.

Always Fun Challenges #53 Anything Goes

There is no place like home

Make My Monday Challenge #68 Things with Wings

Happy Birthday

Stamping Sensations April One For the Girls

Happy Birthday

Work it Wednesday March 2018 Simon Says Stamp Blog

There is no place like home

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

Celebrate Your Birthday

This week I will be posting random cards that I have made and coloured over the last week or two, not for any particular challenge but rather because I felt like using the stamp sets or backgrounds I had made.

As of the time of posting this I am setting of on a journey with Elysha and my dad. We are going to visit dad's older sister (only by a year). Cis is 93 and lives independently, cooks and looks after herself and even babysits the grandchildren and great grandchildren at times. She has a great sense of humour and remembers their early life on the farm and in the hotel when they were children so well. She was always the one who would tell us stories about dad that painted a very different picture to that which dad tried to present to all us children (so pure and do no wrong).

Now as his memories are so quickly disappearing and are so very jumbled up I decided to break the monotony of his days. He pines so much for mum, sitting at the large windows looking across at the cottage that she now lives in, hoping that she will come out and wave to him, and not realising that unless my sister or I are there there is no one to bring her out as she has no memory of him.

He rings me up to 20 times a day forgetting he has called or just to tell me he is going to see what is going on. I decided there was no time like the present and decided to organise a trip. I hired a car, organised the staff to get his medication, oxygen etc ready, cancelled Elysha's program and pickup for a week, booked motels with disability accommodation, nursing support and found the most amazing bunch of people in every area I came across all going out of their way to do all they could to help me get it organised especially as I decided to do it only four days ago. The journey will take 8 1/2 hrs so will be broken with an overnight stay on the way. Then three days with his sister and her family then two days to come home.

Now this long explanation means I will have colouring stuff with me to do at night as he and Elysha sleep if I still have the energy but nothing for making cards so I will post cards I have made.

Todays card is my first. And I have to say my favourite, I absolutely love how this background turned out. Multimedia cardstock. I now have more Distress Oxides so more colours to play with.

Bright rainbow colours blended here and there. Then flicks of water. I then stamped this amazing 

The Ton peony bouquet and masked it and added the vase that comes with it. 

I coloured with pencils and added lots of white to highlight each time using a darker colour one way and a very light from the other direction then bringing in the white to lighten..

I added white pencil to the vase to define the glass look. I did try copic at first and copic shadow but it just didnt work with this piece. There is some shadow evident at the base on the right in the vase but the pencil picked it up better. To finish the piece of I added a very fine line of gold washi tape each side and a gold mirror card diecut 'celebrate' and inside 'your birthday'

I love this set and cant wait to copic colour and watercolour and also colour without the vase and ohhh isn't it lovely!!! I totally enjoy their stamp sets.

Challenges

Just Us Girls #435 Word Week

I do believe my colours scream it all

BOLD

CASual Friday #196 Spring Fever

613 Avenue Create Challenge #208 Anything Goes Without the Twist

I have gone without the vellum twist.