My Planner - April Set Up

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Hope your day is going well.  A very special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you so much for joining me.

I have another Planner update to share with you.  Around the middle of each month, I start to set up the pages for the following month and I thought I would share the process.  So this is how I have set up my Planner ready for April.

Firstly, these are the divider pages I have made.

In the previous sets of dividers, I actually included a pocket to store the stickers, etc. for use during the month, but now I have actually placed all my stickers and labels and such in a small set of plastic drawers that sits on the top of my work bench.  The page did need a little decorating though so I simply added some ribbon and a couple of labels.

 

I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that the cover page for each month is actually one of Katie Pertiet's free printables.  HERE is the link to her Free Downloads page in case you would like to take a look.

I love Katie's designs and the quotes she uses.  I found a journal card that sort of matched the month tab and simply resized it on Photo shop to fit the page.

The full month at a glance where I record all my reminders and appointments, etc. 

I started doing some stamping and stenciling in my March pages and I have continued that in the April pages.

The stencil used on the middle section of the page is from Tim Holtz and I used  Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.  I wanted it kept in the background so didn't get too heavy on the ink. 

Around the edges I have used a leaf stamp.  Have no idea where it's from .. found it in my stash.  Here I used two stamp pads ..  VersaColor Lime and Kaisercraft Brown.  I actually started off with just the Lime but didn't like the look so added the Brown and simply went a little nuts I think, stamping it quite a few times.  I  do like how it turned out.

I have added a few Heidi Swapp transparencies to my Planner for no other reason but that I like them.  (Good enough reason I reckon'.  LOL!!)

The quotes are a mix .. some off the net and some out of Kaisercraft 6 x 6 mini Paper Pads.  I have tons of these pads (love Kaisercraft papers) and they have some great quotes in the back of them.

The same page with the transparency moved out of the way.  Rather than use up all my washi tape (I don't really have a lot) I mostly use strips of designer paper to decorate my pages but I have added washi tape to the inside edges.  Adds a bit more interest I think.  This particular washi tape I found at Office Works.

The weekly pages where I record what actually happens each day.
  Well, most days anyway.   There will be days where nothing much worth recording happens so, those sections will just be filled with stickers, etc.

Week 1 

Not really happy with the above page .. a bit wishy washy .. but, perhaps, once I get some daily happenings in there and add some stickers, etc. it will probably look better.  I hope!!  LOL!!

Week 2

These weekly pages are basically the same .. just different papers and different quotes.
I have found a design/pattern I like and I'm sticking to it.   For the moment anyway.  Perhaps, further down the track I will find another way to do it but, for now, this suits me.  I know the quotes and paper I add take up a fair bit of the writing space but, if I do have notes I want to record, or if the day sections aren't big enough to take everything I want to write there, I simply add a note page in the center.  To see what I mean, check out my January pages HERE.

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

All the pages for this Planner are actually free printables from PenGems.   I have downloaded the full year of pages but I only print out the month I'm working on.  If you wish to get them for yourself HERE is the link.

The week pages are not numbered so I purchased some Heidi Swapp Clear Number Stickers and added them to the week pages.  They are the perfect size for this Planner.

.. And, there you are .. April all ready and set to go.  In a week or so, I will share  how March finished up looking.  Hope you will come back to take a peek!!

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the rest of your day!
Take care and God Bless.

The Last of my Cards for Christmas

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Thank you so much for visiting.

This year has simply flown by and here we are with just two days to go til Christmas day.  Unbelievable!!  Happy to say though that I'm pretty well organised for the great day.  It does help that we are celebrating  at our son's house this year so I haven't had to worry about the meal or anything.  Really looking forward to it.

Well, I thought I would share a few more of my Christmas cards (seeing as I have nothing else to share at this point.  LOL!!)  Once again, these are variations of the original theme.  

The background is a little different on this first one.  I've still layered two sheets of DP (from

 Megs Garden of course) but, this time, I have torn the center out of the top layer to reveal the one underneath.  This is an idea inspired by Di Garling, an amazing scrap artist who creates the most stunning projects.  I visited her blog not so long ago and she used this technique on one of her scrapbook pages so, I thought I would try it out on a card.  I think it looks great!!  Thank you Di!!  You can check out her blog HERE.  

Did a little stamping on this one and also slightly changed the way I added the snow so as to make it look like its dripping (melting).  I have put snow on all of my cards this year, which may seem a bit ridiculous because we have been suffering through a heat wave here in Adelaide, but I really love the look.  Have to thank Pamelia Johnson for that.  I mentioned in a previous post that she has a wonderful step by step showing exactly how it's done and I'll give you the link again HERE.  Have to say, hers is so much better than mine, but I still love it!!

A bit of hessian ribbon added to this one and, once again, I have torn the center out of the top DP layer.  Also, I have been using some Quick Release Die Paper from Couture Creations while cutting my pine branches (it really works to release the paper from the die so much easier)   and, on this card I decided to add it to my branches under the flowers.

Added some deep red cotton ribbon on this card and again included the quick release die paper.

More of the hessian ribbon but, this time, no baubles, just a couple of berry sprays.

Using the same basic design made it so easy to make my cards this year and yet, just by changing the embellies and colours slightly on each one, they do look quite different.

This will most likely be my last post for 2015.  I am taking a little break.  I'll probably still do some crafting but, even if I do, I won't be posting anything until next year.  I want to take this opportunity to thank all you wonderful people who have visited my blog and especially those who have taken the time to leave me some comment love.  Thank you all for your support and encouragement and I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2016.

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!!
Take care and God Bless.
See you in 2016!!

Man Card #2

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I'm here to share the second of two male cards I created just recently.  If you haven't seen it, and you'd like to, the first one is HERE.   

This card, and the previous one, were both made predominantly with Prima's Engraver Collection.

I really love these papers .. my fave colour combo!!
This card was actually made first and took me a few days to complete.  Then I used the left over bits, and some things I decided not to use here, to make the other one and that only took an hour or so to make.  This one is a bit more involved than the other card but still ... not sure if there is a lesson to be learned here or not.   

 

I've never used staples before but thought I would give it a try and, I like it!!  A great way to attach the twine from the labels so they don't just dangle every which way.

Had to add some crackle and, of course, swipe some gesso as well.

Cut out the Happy Birthday with my Silhouette Portrait.  I actually cut two and glued them together for some extra depth/height .. whatever.  I also covered it in Glossy Accents, although you can't really see that here.

The inside .. of course.

The stamp is from the 'Pearls of Wisdom' Set by My Favourite Things.

A couple of closies showing the layers.

 .. and another front view (just in case you forgot what it looked like LOL!!).

So, that is all my 'man' cards done for this year .. Yayy! .. and now I can get started on Christmas!!
That's quite freaky actually, because I have never started my Christmas makes before the end of November.  Hopefully this means less stress!! ..  or not!! .. LOL!!

Thank you so much for visiting and special thanks to you sweet people who take the time to leave me some love.  I really, really appreciate it!!  Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

'The English Rose Garden' - Two cards for Megs Garden

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

Hope you are all having an absolutely wonderful day!!

Megs Garden has added another gorgeous collection to their paper range and I am here to share a couple of cards I have made using these beautiful  papers.  The new collection is called 'The English Rose Garden'.  It is available in 12 x 12 sheets and also a mini paper pack for card making and, I have to say, it is stunning!!  Floral papers with a vintage/shabby chic feel and so gorgeous.  I absolutely  adored creating with them, so much so, that it took almost no time at all to make these two cards.

CARD No. 1

Megs Garden Products used

Papers

 English Rose Garden Mini Pack

Flowers

  
Lace 

Tim Holtz 

The chipboard pieces used on this card are from 2Crafty.  They are actually some leftovers bits from  pieces used in previous projects.  

I have fallen in love with those 'Carabella Roses', they are so velvety soft and pretty.  I had seen them before but hadn't actually had them in my hand until now and they are perfect for vintage and shabby chic creations but also would suit more modern projects as well.   They come in a few different shades and could also be sprayed and altered to suit.  I will certainly be using them  more often .. just adore them!!

I didn't use any sprays on this card but I did do a little stamping with Archival Ink and a Kaisercraft stamp.  I also added some seed beads in random places and doodled around the edge.

I used Matte Medium to glue the beautiful lace ribbon onto the edge of the card.  The small purple rose was originally white, I simply sprayed it to fit in with my colour scheme.

 I also did a tiny bit of stenciling with texture paste for added interest.

Love those Tim Holtz Keyholes, they are so handy to fill blank spots and you can paint and alter them as well.  In this case I simply swiped it over with some gesso.

The inside is simply decorated with some border punched strips of the same paper.

When all was assembled and dry, I randomly swiped around the card with gesso.


CARD No. 2

Megs Garden products used

Paper

 English Rose Garden

Flowers

Lace

Used a lot of the same elements on this card as I did on the first, so they do look similar and yet are still quite different.

That gorgeous Carabella Rose again.  Did I tell you, I love it???  LOL!!  I anchored the Lace ribbon on one side of the page and then gathered it and glued it into the cluster.

A closie showing the cute mini rose buds and also the seed beads added in random places. 

The stamp is, again, from Kaisercraft and the stencil used is the Mini Sketch Grid from The Crafter's Workshop.

Same stamping and stenciling at the top of the card.

The inside of the card is, again, decorated with border punched strips of paper.

Once all was assembled I added a few tufts of gauze to the flower cluster and also randomly swiped the card with gesso to create some highlights.

Well, I hope you like my little cards and that I have given you some inspiration.
If you wish to take a look at the items I have used on these cards, simply click on the product photos and that will take you straight to the web site pages.  While you are there, why not take a look around the site, there are heaps of products that I'm sure you simply cannot live without!!  LOL!!
To take a look at the fabulous creations made by my Team mates HERE is the link.

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg