2016 Christmas Cards #2

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, hope you are all enjoying your day.

Seems like the weather in Adelaide is definitely heading into winter mode .. has been a little chilly of late.  Have to say, I much prefer that to the heat of summer.  It is so much easier to just rug up and get yourself warm than it is to strip off and cool yourself down.  Besides, I think my stripping off days are way, way behind me.  LOL!!

So, I am here to share a Christmas card with you.  Yep, you read that right .. a Christmas card.  After last Christmas I decided I was going to make at least two Christmas cards each month so that, by the time Christmas did arrive, I would have at least some of my cards done.  Well, you know what happened to that idea don't you?? .. totally went out the window.  I made one in January and that was it.  Now, we are already into April, and I thought it was about time to get some more done.

The papers used are the left-overs from last years cards and are from Kaisercraft's Holy Night 12 x 12 Paper Pad.  I love the traditional colours for Christmas so these papers are perfect for me.

The large bloom is the Azalea from Green Tara and is available at Megs Garden HERE.
The different berry sprays and the twine are from my stash and the leaves were cut on my Silouette.

I created a small banner from the papers, added the gold sticker and then mounted it onto the card with some dimensional adhesive dots.

Popped some Art Extravaganza White Crackle Texture Paste (boy, that's a mouthful) through a Prima Dots & Stripes stencil and was going to add a bit of glitter here and there but, unfortunately, I used it all up and forgot to get some more.  Duhh!!!

So, when it was all done, I splooshed around some gesso and also added a few prills here and there.

The inside ready for a quote and message.

So, I now have two Christmas cards for this year and hopefully there will be some more to share soon.  Hopefully!!!!  LOL!!

I am entering this into the challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges HERE

Thank you so much for visiting and do enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

(Just a quick update .. I won!!  I am so thrilled that my card was chosen from all the lovely entries.  Thank you to everyone at Christmas Card Challenges.  I feel very honoured.)

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.

Rose Quartz Cards - A Megs Garden DT Post

Hello sweet visitors and welcome to my blog.  Really lovely to have you drop by.

Megs Garden has a new paper collection called Rose Quartz and I am here to share two cards I created with these papers.  If you like all things pink this is the collection for you.  Whether you prefer shabby chic, vintage, clean and simple or any style you like, if you like it in pink, then this is definitely the collection for you.  Of course, even if you're not so much into pink, you can simply add any colour combination you like and this would still be the perfect collection for you.  There are so many gorgeous images which are suitable for fussy cutting and also, lots of ephemera that would be perfect for anything you wish to create.

So, onto the cards I created.

This one actually started out to be a tag but, when I was half way through, I decided to turn it into a card.  That's what I usually do with the tags I make anyway.

In the Papercraft Mini Packs, you get a total of six sheets.  Three of these sheets have two different designs in two 5.4" squares with two additional strips on the side.  I have used one of the 5.4" squares for the bottom layer on this card and two of the side strips for the top layer. 

The sprigs were cut on my Silhouette, the doily and the knitting cotton are from my stash.  All the other elements, including that gorgeous bit of lace, are available from Megs Garden.  I will leave a list of products at the end of this post.

Once again I have used my favourite 'go to' flower.  I just adore this Puffy Paper rose.  It comes in a creamy white and I have simply used some watered down acrylic paint to give it a little colour.
 

The deeper pink flower above is the Carrabella Rose which is another favourite of mine.  The smaller flower is a little cherry blossom which was also coloured with acrylic paint.
Just a little tip.  When colouring paper flowers it is a good idea to first spray them with a little water.  You don't need to saturate them but the paint blends much easier if the paper is a little wet.

This next card is an Easel Card.
 

I have used similar embellishments as on the first card but, this time, the papers are from the Mini Book Kit.  

The vintage lady images were cut from one of the ephemera pages and then mounted on some chipboard.  I think they are the perfect anchor for my easel card.

There is plenty of space above the images to add a personal message.  Isn't that paper just gorgeous??

Here, again, I have used the Puffy Paper Flower, the Carabella Rose and some Cherry Blossoms as part of the cluster.  The leaves and sprigs were cut with my Silhouette and the gem sprays are from my stash, as is the chippie underneath.

The labels were torn from the ephemera pages.  I then border punched and pleated a small strip of  paper, layered it with the labels and tucked them all into the side of the cluster.

 

Used some crackle paste through a Tim Holtz stencil to add a little more interest to the front of the card.

Tucked some cute little rose buds into the cluster and then added some seed beads as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating with this beautiful collection of papers and hope I have inspired you to try them for yourself.  You don't even have to wait for them to be delivered.  If you purchase the download version you could start using them straight away.  How awesome is that??

Megs Garden Products used
Rose Quartz Papercraft Mini Pack
Rose Quartz Mini Book Kit
Puffy Paper Flower
Carabella Rose
Cherry Blossoms
Mini Rose Buds
 Antique Cream Nylon Lace 38mm
Antique Pink Nylon Lace 38mm
Flower Stamens

Thank you so much for visiting.  Why not pop over to the Megs Garden blog and take a look at what the other DT ladies have created.  You are certain to find some inspiration there.  HERE is the link.

I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Man Card - Clean and Simple

Hello everyone!  

A very warm welcome to my blog ... so glad you dropped by.
Hope the weather in your part of the world is treating you kindly.  It's actually been quite cool here in Adelaide today, which is wonderful, but they tell me it's going to warm up again.  Just hope it doesn't get too hot.  Hate the heat!!

Anyways, I am back to share another masculine card with you.  This one was made for a close friend.  As the post title suggests, this one is actually quite clean and simple.  Well, for me anyway.  LOL!!

Here 'tis

The papers used are from 7Dots Studio and are part of a give-away I won from Helen Tilbury at 

Scrap Addict.  

Not a lot of layers, and not much grunge happening here.

I did splash a bit of black ink around  and added some washi tape.  I also 'rusted' up the little metal cogs a bit as you can see.

Haven't used an embossing folder in an age so I decided to drag one out for this card and I did ink the raised areas with some VersaColor stamp pads.

   

Heat embossed the greeting, mounted it on some cardstock and then simply attached it to the card with some bits of twine.

Just decorated the inside with some border punched strips of paper.  The bottom section is a pocket ...

...  which is used to hold the verse.  My personal message was written on the other side.

And that's it, all done and dusted!!  As I said, it is a bit cleaner and simpler than I usually do but my grungy mojo has gone west.  Besides, I thoroughly enjoyed making this card and think I will be doing more of the simpler ones.  I also want to try some watercolour cards and have been haunting You Tube for ideas and techniques.  Have been hopeless in the past with watercolour but I'm going to keep trying and, hopefully, will be able to get it done!!  One can dream, can't one??  LOL!!

Thank you so much for dropping by and do enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

Chantilly Cream Sympathy Cards - Megs Garden

Hello my lovely visitors and welcome to my blog.  Hope the World is treating you well.

Creating sympathy cards is always a bit difficult and when you have to make them for someone who is very close to you it makes it even more so.  I needed to make cards for two very close friends who had lost someone dear to them amd I used Megs Garden's Chantilly Cream Collection because they are such lovely papers and the creamy tones were just perfect for these cards.

Triple layers of paper for the base with some different laces in between.  I will list all Megs Garden products at the end of this post.  Distressing and crumpling the edges slightly, I think, gives everything a softer look.

The small tags and the frame were cut from the ephemera pages.  All the flowers are available from Megs Garden.

The leaves and doily are from my stash.

Printed the greeting on my computer and simply cut it into a small banner.

The next card only has a single layer of paper for the base.

I added some book paper, a doily, some ribbon and a piece of lace for the layers under the cluster.

The Puffy Paper Flower flowers are available from Megs Garden and I added a bow made from knitting cotton to my cluster.  The leaves are from my stash.

I used a lot of the same elements on both of these cards and the insides are the same as well.  I haven't shown you the right hand side as I had already added a personal message.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I did find these a bit difficult to make and, as they are quite personal, I really had to think twice about posting them.  I am hoping that, by doing so, I have helped those of you looking for some ideas.  I found the Chantilly Cream Papers  were the perfect choice.  As I wanted a monochrome look, the lovely creamy tones and subtle patterns were ideal.


Thank you so much for visiting and I urge you to hop on over to the Megs Garden Blog HERE to take a look at the gorgeous creations by my Team mates.  You will find some wonderful inspiration for using this fabulous paper collection and more.

A special thank you to all you sweet visitors who have left me some words of encouragement  and love.  I really do appreciate each and every one. 

Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg