Goodbye 2009

Hello on the last evening of  2009,

We are having a quite time. I 've been struck with pneumonia and this is actually the first day that I manage to do something. I 'm on Amoxicillin 1500mg and I think it's starting to work. Although not at night, I 'm giving my other half sleepless nights. Oh, dear.
I 'll keep this short, just a card and a few of my favourite Christmas decorations.

The stamp is from Stamps Happen, cute little birdies. Maybe you feel stuffed like them now. The frame is cut with Storybook cartridge, some flowers from Marianne Design, paper from K&Co Que Sera Sera, rub-on sentiment from Wild Raspberry. I added some Glimmer Mist and pearls from Papermania, sequins from the Beadshoppe and brads from Making Memories. Colored with Copics and some Distress ink.

These ornaments are from glass and are made in Poland and Germany, only the last one is made in China. I love snowmen and have collected quite a few. It's a shame that they all will have to go in hibernation again. Sigh, until next year. Happy New Year everyone and good health. Yeah...

Below zero

Just another card for you to see, before I leave you to start the Christmas cooking.

I punched a window through the card and now I have a spinning circle. The stamp is Dutch by Marianne Design. I colored with Copics and Shimmerz and added liquid applique and flowersoft for dimension. The sentiments and big snowflake are cut with the Cricut, Graphically Speaking cart.

This is the other view. I wish the punch would have reached further, but it couldn't. I like trying different things so I'll think of something else. Maybe with my Nestabilities next time.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Love Always

I have a little card to share with you.
I love the colors and shine to it.
I started with the Doodlecharms heart shape and the shadow, which I sprayed with Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist and embossed in the Cuttlebug.
Then I used the bird and crown from the Crafty Secrets stamp set and colored with Blingz. The crown is silver embossed.
Then some Prima and Petaloo flowers sprayed with Sand and Pearl Glimmer. Some punched branches and hearts sprayed with Olive Vine and Vintage Pink, some Autumn Leaves's buttons, some Distress ink on the paper and frame edges and a sentiment stamp from Hero Arts.

The papers are Basic Grey Porcelain and MakingMemories Ledger paper.

Just add a blue polka dot satin ribbon, et voila, c'est fini.

Love, love. love it. Thanks for looking.

Two snowfriends

Haha, maybe the last of all my Christmas card makings. Yet I do not know for sure.
Let's see; 2 jolly cards made with the limited edition snowfriends cartridge and some lovely paper from My Minds Eye.

I added a sentiment from the JustRite set and I used Nestabilities to cut out the image part to get a 3D effect. The cardstock is from American Crafts and Coordinations.

On this little man I added the mouth with black gel pen. I also used Martha Stewart border punches and some ribbon.

Hope you like it. I 'm off to bed, it was my first day back to work and I didn't sleep very well the night before. Woke up at 2 am with a drilling headache and I didn't manage to fall asleep again after the painkillers. I'm worrying way to much about my work, a good thing I've got my hobby.

Collecting Sea Shells

So I fancied something different to making Christmas cards. Although I've got 2 more snowmen cards to show, I needed a break from all the wintery stuff. I bought this sweet stamp from Hobbycraft on Friday, but only managed to finish the card now. As my mom is here, she too wanted to try her hand at making a card. Only, she needs a lot of help because of artritis in her hands and she can't decide. Too overwhelmed by the pretty papers and colors etc...LOL.

Supplies: Paper Bonbon Doodlebug boutique assortment, MakingMemories Ledger paper, Coordinations blue card, American Crafts white card, Prima flowers and pearls, John Lewis's lace, rose from stash, Storybook for the frame and Stretch your imagination cartridge for the shells, Copics, Nestabilities circle die, Stickles Star Dust, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl, Sand, Creme de Chocolat, Distress Ink in Tea Dye.

The inside of the card is decorated with Doodlebug paper and Martha Stewart Doily lace punch and some sea shells. The little girl stamp is from Stamps Happen.
Thank you for looking and have a good week.

Merry Christmas with A Child's Year

Goodmorning,
What a frosty start of the day. Black ice everywhere. Tricky business to get the shopping done, but it's back to work tomorrow, so it's got to be done.
I made a card with the "a Child's Year" cartridge and it's another one for Christmas.

Supplies: My Mind's Eye paper, Coordinations cardstock, corner punch from supply, 3D foam pads, Anita's silver outline sticker.

A Christmas card for my sister

Sad news; Borders is in administration. Our favourite bookstore. That's where I get my American Craft magazines from. It's a shame. All we have left is Waterstones and they don't do mags. WHSmith does Cards and Scrapbook trends, but it's not the same. Borders also had Martha Stewart magazines and other American home decor mags. I will miss them. My DH was really down when he discovered the news. No more browsing in the guitar mags for him. Poor man.
I 've got some new cartridges. One is A Child's Year and although I find the images beautiful, it is quite a challenge to use as they are just silhouettes. I decided to make a large card for my sis. Hope she will like it.

I used chalks and Shimmerz to colour the image. The white cardstock is from American Crafts and is really good quality. The stamp is from JustRite, I used Nestabilities to cut it out. The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye. I also used Swiss dots embossing folder an Martha stewart Doily lace punch. The pink ribbon is from Paperchase.

I sprayed Pearl Glimmer Mist over the top to make it shine and afix the chalk, which really worked. I tried to give them eyes too. Don't think that worked out like I wanted it. I used 3-D dots to adhere the image to the base. And off they go, rumpapapum, rumpapa rum,...

Happy Birthday cards

Hi,
I'm back. My, what a cold day! Just been to town with mum so she could by herself some new clothes. What a chore. she's got such a small size -even 8 is to big-, it's so difficult to find anything that fits.
Well we're back in the warmth again.

Let's show you 2 cards I made for my stash. I used A Child's Year cart for the coffee cup die. I cut it in white card and coloured it with Sand and Creme de Chocolat Glimmer Mist.

I used DCWV paper, Inkadinkado stamps, felt, paper and organza flowers, velvet ribbon and flower brad from MakingMemories, white flower from Hero Arts, Copic markers, Liquid Pearls and Stickles, Nestabilities, organza ribbon from Joy! Crafts.

Baby, it's cold outside

Hello again,

I know, it's been a while. Work is getting more and more stressfull.
We still can't find the staff. I had the job offer on my blog, but took it down after some time. After all, it is a hobby blog and it is up to Fresenius to do the right thing to recruit.
But I will mention it again, might be someone out there desperate for a job. Although I hope all of you are fine. This is not really a time you want to be job hunting. Any RN's after full-time or part-time employment and you want to try something new or you have renal background? Contact me, leave a comment under this post. I will get back to you. Our nurses will provide you training and mentoring on the job, I am a nurse and mentor myself. My unit is Chandlers Ford dialysis unit and you can also check it on the Fresenius careers website http://www.freseniuscareers.co.uk/jobs/workingforus.aspx.
I will be more than happy to answer your questions here if you like.

On to my cards now. I've got another Christmas one. I used a lot of glimmer and shimmer, it's Christmas at last. I made this square card and a little gift card holder.

Supplies: Whiff of Joy stamp, patterned paper from Search Press, cardstock from Coordinations, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Shimmerz and Blingz, Stickles and Glitz it! glitter, Sakura gelpens, Prima and Hero Arts flowers, Making Memories brad, Nestabilities, Graphically Speaking cart for the Cricut, ribbon from Joy! Crafts.

I have one week annual leave and my mother has come over to stay with us until Boxing Day. It will be nice to spend Christmas together at last. It's been a few years since we've had that.

Today we had our first snow of the year. It didn't stay, but it was fun to see.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. I'll be posting more, so stay tuned.

Brrr...

Hi there,

The first of December and we wake up to a really frosty morning. I have a card to match the weather.

Supplies: K&Co paper, Tim Holz Distress ink pads in 6 colors -the only ones I have-, waterbrush, Nestabilities, Cricut Graphically Speaking cart for the snowflakes and the sentiment, Prima Hortensia, Basic Grey brad, Making Memories ribbon, Glitz It glitter, Stickles, Mint Shimmerz, Flowersoft, McGill punch, Martha Stewart border punch, stamp is Snoesjes by Marianne Design, ink: Memento.

The whole image was colored just using distress ink pads and a waterbrush. Although I have only 6 colors, I think the result turned out great. On the close up you can see that I also colored the sentiment with the ink and glittered it.
Thanks for visiting, have a nice day.

Cute as a bug

A very cheerful good morning,
Let's get posting. I made a card, a tag and an envelope with the dearly beloved Cricut.
I used a few of my favourite items on this project. I really loved fiddling on this one.
See what you think:

A shot of all 3 items together.

The card on it's own.

The tag on it's own on the inside of the card.

Supplies: K&Co paper, MakingMemories ledger paper, Marianne design Eline's Vintage paper, DCWV Spring for the red dot paper, blue paper from Tesco, glitter foil from Lidl.

Ink: Memento Black Tuxedo, Colors: Caran d'Ache aquarelle pencils, Sand and Creme de Chocolat Glimmer Mist, Pink Shimmerz, Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls from Ranger, white Sakura gel pen, Flowers from Hero Arts, Shimmer and Pearl dots from Papermania, velvet ribbon from Crate Paper, patterned ribbon from Hobbycraft, Martha stewart border punch, Nestabilities, Woodware scalloped circle punch, We'R MemoryKeepers gromlet, 3D-foam, Doodlecharm cartridge for the bug-card cut at 8 and 8.5", tag cut in 5", stamps are from the Bug's Life set from Crafty Secrets.

Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it. Enjoy your Sunday and bye for now.

Cherish

Goodmorning everyone,
What a night we've had. Storm winds and gushing rain. The sun has come out finally this morning.
I have another card I would like to show you.

Supplies: Memento black tuxedo ink and Versamagic red ink, grey card from stash, patterned paper from Marianne Design,  stamps from the Greeting Farm, JustRite and Somerset Studio, colors Copics, Stickles, Nestabilities, Swiss Dots embossing folder, red foil from stash, black lace from Veritas, Tom Tas heart punch.

New stamps

Goodmorning,
Hope you had a nice weekend. I sure did. The weather wasn't, but that doesn't bother a keen crafter.
Saturday, my DH drove me all the way to Surrey, first to Crafts U Love and then to The Craft Barn. He planned on buying me my Christmas presents. Ain't I a lucky girl!
Of course I couldn't wait to start using them... Don't worry DH, I've kept a few for you to wrap and give on Christmas day.
I decided to make some cards for 3 colleagues of mine, who will be leaving for other clinics. In one way or the other, they are all moving to be closer to their families.
And now the cards:

Couldn't resist this happy hippo from Motivet. I used some pink and mint Shimmerz and a lot of cutting and ebossing with the Cuttlebug. I used K&Co + Making Memories paper, flowers from American Crafts colored with Shimmerz.

This little girl is from The Greeting Farm. On this card I used Glimmer Mist. I must say I am won over by the Shimmerz. Less mess, easy little pots to use and cheaper than Glimmer Mist. Definetly my choice for making cards. The sentiments are made with JustRite stamps and I used my new circle Nestabilities to cut them out, which is a lot nicer then using the punch. I finally got the complete Copic set and I really enjoy them. It's worth investing in them.
Thanks for looking and have a nice day.

Happy Holidays

Goodevening,
Here is my card for the CPS142. I did stick with soft colors this time. Only the cookie tray had to be red. Hihi. I do actually love the way it has turned out and I'm getting quite addicted to my JustRite stamps and embossing. I just wish I found a way to cut or punch out the 1 5/8" circle. Such an odd size.

Supplies: Marianne Design paper, vintage pink Glimmer Mist, Whiff of Joy, MakingMemories Passport and JustRite stamps, silver embossing powder, Woodware punches, Nestabilities, Copics, white Sakura gel pen, Paperchase ribbon, crystal bling, VersaMagic DewDrop inks.

A close up to let you have a peek at the embossed gros-grain ribbon -I havn't tried that before- and the neat sentiment from JustRite. I have now seen them online in England...

Holly-Jolly Christmas

Hi,
As promised, my next batch of Christmas cards.

Supplies: Clear, gold and holographic embossing powder, stamps: Hero Arts, Woodware, MakingMemories Passport and JustRite, card from craft supply, patterned paper from Sizzix Little Sizzles, ribbon from Paperchase, Xcut courner rounder, Cricut, Cuttlebug Swissdots, Copics, Stickles, Woodware round punch, McGill punch, buttons from John Lewis, Martha stewart punch.

I've stuck to the traditional colors for Christmas. Maybe I'll try something in pastels soon. I can't just stick to one style. I just like pretty things no matter what color or style.

I turned the cardstock into background paper by using clear embossing powder over some flourish stamps.

Seasons Greetings Tags

Hello,
I finally manage to post these tags I 've made. I finished them yesterday, but due to my late shift, I didn't get to uploading them.
I really love this cute little stamp from Hero Arts. I embossed them with holographic powder and colored with Sakura gel pens and Copics.

Supplies: liquid applique, Hero Arts Holly Jolly clear stamps set, Copics, Sakura, Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, Cuttlebug Swiss emboss folder, Nestabilities, Hero Arts flowers, Making Memories brads, McGill branch punch, Paperchase ribbon, lace from John Lewis, peel-off stickers.

Thanks for visiting. I'll be posting some tag-cards soon, made with the same stamp set, but just another image.

Happy Everything

Hello,
I 've just finished the card I made for the BBTB challenge. I kept it simple without any patterned paper, because I wanted to do more cutting and layering. I was almost going to make it a Christmas card, but held off because was ment to be a bit more spring style - hence the flowers.

I love how it 's turned out. I cut the branch in 4" and robin in 2". The flowers and leaves are 1".

Supplies: 3 shades Tsukineko ink for the robin, DCWV Neutrals and Coordinations Elements cardstock, Martha Stewart punch, clear embossed Hero arts sentiment, Orange and Stardust Stickles, popdots, chalk for the background.

Hope you like it. I 've been looking at all the art work on Regina's blog. Amazing stuff! I do love Michelle Kovack's creation. Great job!

Snowflake card for Friday Sketchers 77

Goodevening,
I did make the challenge card and managed to finish it today. I followed Jacqueline's sketch to make this card with a Crafty Individuals stamp.
As I had already stamped the image in Midnight Blue ink, I decided to stick to a blue and white colorscheme.

Supplies:  Marianne Design paper (blue), white glittered card from DCWV, blue cardstock from Coordinations, Copics, white Sakura gel pen, Papermania adhesive shimmer dots, MakingMemories brad and ribbons, Accent Essentials cartridge for the Cricut, Nestabilities, Fiskars tag punch, Woodware retro words stamp, Xcut corner rounder punch, Anita's 3D-Gloss, Pearl Glimmer Mist.

I wanted to give a close up on the white accents I did on the bird with a gel pen. Unfortunately the picture kept coming up blurry. Maybe it is too shiny for a picture. I tried the macro setting, but that became even worse.

Thanks for stopping by and good night.

Morehead Card and Tag

Hello,
I'm back again after a very busy weekend. When I work a Saturday, I miss out on any crafting time. The Sunday turns out always short of hours. Sigh. Today is my day off and I 'm crafting without a worry in my mind. Well almost...

I made a card and a gift tag to go along. I finally got back into my Morehead stamps. I hadn't inked this one yet. Isn't she cute? And I don't know why, but I prefered my roses yellow and my shoes red. I tried to match the colors with the June Bug paper.

Supplies: Basic Grey paper, Versamagic Dew drops ink, Copics, Nestabilities, MakingMemories delaney flowers and ribbons, Basic Grey brad and button, Plantin Schoolbook cart for the tag.

Hope you love it, I'm on to my next project, something for Friday Sketchers maybe...

CPS140

Goodmorning, The stormy winds and rain from last night have eased off. It truly is autumn now. The weather has inspired the card I made for the CPS challenge.

Supplies: white card from Royal & Langnickel, yellow cardstock from DCWV Neutrals, patterned paper from Basic Grey Mellow, Copics, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Tonic Distresser, Ranger distress ink in Shabby Shutters and Dried Marigold, flowers from Marianne Design, brad from Basic Grey, chipboard heart from American Crafts, green metallic paint from DecoArt, ribbon from stash, eyelets fom MakingMemories.

Thanks for visiting, have a nice day.

Friday Sketchers 76

Goodevening,
I'm playing along with the Friday Sketchers and this is my interpretation of the sketch:

Supplies: Basic Grey Sugared paper, DCWV Neutrals cardstock, Motivet stamp, Tsukineko Gingerbread and Pearlescent Orchid ink, clear embossing powder, flowers by Hero Arts and Prima, Basic Grey brads and fibers, Fiskars oval punch, McGill branch punch, tag cut with Plantin Schoolbook cart, Vintage Pink and Olive Vine Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copics.

A close up of the card allows you to see the embossing and shine. Thanks for looking and leave a comment if you like, telling me what you think and I'll come and visit your blog.

Too Cute to Spook

Hello,
I finally managed to upload my project for the BBTB challenge. We had to use the tag feature from the Stretch Your Imagination cart. I used the card function on the tag and made it into a Boo! banner.
Click on the picture to enlarge.

I used a few carts to make this one: Stretch Your Imagination, Doodlecharms, Accent Essentials and Storybook.

Supplies: DCWV Glitter Spring Stack, Papermania cardstock, black card from craft supply, Glitz it Sparkles, wobbly eyes, bling flowers from John Lewis, Prima flowers, orange ribbon from Hobbycraft, fibers from Avec, twine, McGill pine branch punch.

I made a little purple accordeon flower to give some weight to the banner. It is not completely symmetrical, but that doesn't matter to me.

I thinh it turned out really playful. It actually is the first banner I 've ever made. Might try a Christmas one soon. It's so much fun. |Hope you like it and thanks for visiting.