On a blog break

I will be back in July. Thanks for your visits.
Blog hugs,
Margaret.

A little loopy

... that 's what I am. I have had 3 very hectic weeks at work.
We have been hit with so much sickness at work, I ended up being inundated with work and didn't know whether I was coming or going. I have been acting manager at our clinic for the past few weeks, but it felt more like a Jack-of-all-trades.
This is my last post, before my summer break. I am off to have a good time. I hope you can say the same.
Here is my card; it is the lovely "Dexter in a puddle" stamp by Motivet. I got this one at the Craft Barn. Pity they don't stock Motivet stamps anymore. So cute.

I used Basic Grey Junebug papers on Kraft card. Dexter is coloured with Distress inks.

 The sentiment is a K&Co rub-on from Wild raspberry collection. The background stamp on the tag is from Kaisercraft.

Some distressing of the papers and some loopy ribbon and voila... holiday deserved.
See you.

Stampavie card 3: Owls in the night

Hi,
This is probably my last card for the month. I did use another Stampavie clear stamp; 2 cute little owls looking very interested at a glowing caterpillar.

 Once again I used my colour pencils on kraft card. I had a bit of a play around to decide what a night sky should look like and also how the night light would change the colour of the owls.

I did not use any black, but made my own with different shades. The swirl border is from Efco stamps and is dotted with Viva pearl pen in Ice White.

Some Glimmer Mist in Flower Power and Spring Rain to colour the white Prima flowers. A Basic Grey Kioshi brad for the center to match with paper from the same collection. The sentiment is from TPC Studio.

Just another close-up of the colouring. Hope you like it. Don't forget to enjoy the Bank holiday weekend.

Stampavie card 2: Wonderful friend

Hello and Happy Birthday to my darling mother. Love you, sweetheart, looking forward to our holiday together.

I am on a roll and in the mood for colouring with my Caran d'Ache pencils.
So good to have YouTube at hand. Thanks to all the people sharing their gifts with others, because I am good at stealing with my eyes... Not sure if I would ever make a YouTube upload, but I appreciate every bit of it.
I have used another of my long-time-ago-purchased Stampavie stamps, never inked this one before.

At first I was thinking of making a baby card with this one, but not many newborns in the neighbourhood. Although 2 colleagues have announced their pregnancy, but are not due until October and December. I am not going to start on their cards yet...

 I love colouring on Kraft card, such a happy medium. If you have never tried it, please do, you 'll be surprised at what effects you can achieve on this cardstock. It is much easier for me to work with pencils and get shadowing and layering than with Copics.

The DP is 5th Avenue from Melissa Frances with some inking on the edges, Ribbon, lace and 2 little lace flowers give this card a soft feel. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and die-cut with Nestabilities tags.
Something else; you probably have heard of Adele, singer/songwriter? I love this song of hers and dedicate it to the love of my life. "These words are for you, mannetje, 'cause I love you.".

Thanks for looking and all your kind comments.

Remember...

...that something incredibly wonderful is always possible.
I have made a card with a new style, for me that is. Where I would normally stamp the image and then cut it out to put on a card, this time I have stamped directly onto kraft cardstock with StazOn.
The stamp is from Stampavie and coloured with pencils Supracolor II soft from Caran d'Ache and a bit of Derwent Metallic pencils.

I actually love how the image looks and I like it better than Copics so far.

 The paper is from October Afternoon.
Ribbon from American Crafts.
The sentiment stamp is from Kaisercraft.
Some Papermania pearls and Glossy accents to finish.

Hang in there

My first Gorjuss girls stamp!
I have seen these images for a while, but never decided on getting one. I finally bought one at the Market Gallery.
I have coloured with Distress Inks on watercolour paper and used Nestabilities to frame it. Another first for me is using Melissa Frances paper 5th Avenue collection. This is such soft toned paper, so pretty, I hardly dared to cut it.

 I used a paper doilie behind my image and sprayed it with Glimmer Mist Key Lime.

The flower is made with some lace and a brad. The leaves are a Prima hortensia flower that has been cut in 2 and sprayed with Glimmer Mist.

The butterfly is decoupaged and I have added a little glitter powder on its wings.
Inside the card is a sentiment from the Wild Card cartridge that reads:" Hang in there".

Your love and friendship is a precious gift

Hello,
I have this last card in the Kanban series to share with you.
Again I have used Distress Ink to colour. It is still not the easiest medium for me to use, but I will keep trying to improve on it.
I kept this card nice and simple without DP -how is that possible?-.

Make a special birthday wish

Here is my next card in the series with Kanban stamps. I don't know who the artist is, but it seems very similar to Lili of the Valley stamps.
I wonder...
So here comes a little fairy girl waving her wand over the frog in the box. Cute, isn't it ?

The star border stamp is from Efco stamps, a German manufacturer. I got it from a bargain corner at Emerald Crafts. I think it works wonderful with this image.

Everything is coloured with Distress inks which I hugely enjoy. They are not as forgiving as Copics, but I am learning.

I just called to say...

...I love you!
Another card with Kanban stamps to share with you all.
I just love working with Distress inks and watercolour paper. It die-cuts so nicely too.
I am quite limited with the distress inks as I only have 9 colours, but it seems to make the challenge all the better.

I used a Marianne design die for the frame, EK Success punch for the flowers and an X-Cut corner punch.
The paper and trim are from Making Memories.

I used some Viva pearl pen for the flower heart and a little Glossy Accents on the image. The inside of the card is also decorated with the DP and another die-cut from the same set. The sentiment is also from Kanban and I added some Stickles around the edge.

Sending you a little TLC

It is May! One more month before my vacation and I can't wait. I am on a countdown.
I have dug out some stamps I have been hoarding and finally decided to get some ink on them. The main image is from Kanban and the flowers are from Making Memories.

The card started out with a handmade background in an unusual colour combo for me.
The main image is coloured with Copics and I used Memento inks for all the stamping.

 The ribbon weave border is from Marianne Design and the ribbon too. Some Viva Pearl pen dots are used to embellish.

The inside of the card has a Joy! Crafts frame together with a Kanban sentiment punched out with a Fiskars label punch. There is one thing I changed after taking these pictures; I rounded the corners of the kraft card.

Live, Laugh, Love

Hi there,
Another card with Tilda from Magnolia as it is such a sweet little image with her little spring lamb.
The DP is from Doodlebug and is flocked, so very nice that I didn't have to do this. I have Doodlebug flock, but find it so dusty and it makes me sneeze.

 The cardstock is from Papermania and I coloured it with Copics to match the blue from the image.

The flowers are EK Success punches with Basic Grey and Doodlebug brads. The tag and photocorner are from Spellbinders and the border is from Martha Stewart. The sentiment used is from Papertrey Ink from the set I won.
Thanks for visiting and hope you like my card.

Home Sweet Home

Good morning,
It 's a sunny day with clear blue skies, but a bit cooler than previous days. I think we are having the loveliest April since a long, long time.
I have the day off work after a late shift last night. I enjoy being at home and the peace and quietness I have here. I can see the mini lilac tree in full bloom and little goldfinches come feeding on the bird-feeder.
I have made a very small card, a note-card, with Crafty Secrets stamps. I just kept it very simple as it is a beautiful stamp on its own.

 I used American Crafts cardstock.

The sentiment is stamped with Archival Brilliance in Peacock and I added some Papermania sparkles.

A close-up; just coloured with Copics.

To my friend

My dear friend has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Such sad news. She is such a dear girl and my heart weeps for her.
I wish I could hug her and hold her tight and tell her that everything will be all right.
Next Thursday is her op and I have dug out a card I made a very long time ago.
I am going to give it to her to encourage her.

I am thinking of you, honey, so often and want to let you know that I am here for you.
Hugs and kisses.

Gable Box

Hello,
Another effort, courtesy of the Scor-Pal. This time I have tried a gable box.
I used DCWV cardstock and Basic Grey paper.
The stamp is from Just-Rite and coloured with Copics, Glossy Accents and some glitter powder.

 The sadle stitch ribbon is from Papertrey Ink.

The flower is from Kaisercraft and sprayed with GlimmerMist in Lemon, Bronze and Creme de Chocolat.
The button is from Basic Grey.

Best wishes

Hello to a  lovely sunny Good Friday,
I hope you all have a chance to enjoy at least some of this nice weather. I am working a late shift, but will have 2 days off work this week-end.
I finally got myself a Scor-pal and I made this easel card from an idea I got from Beata Johns at Splitcoaststampers.
I used my new stamp set from TCP Studio, which I found @ Emerald Crafts in Lyndhurst. It is dangerous for me to visit that shop. They always have something new. I found some Melissa Frances papers. I hope they will get her stamps too. I am absolute fan of the sentiment stamps with Sherelle Christensen's handwriting. It is on the paper Kitschy Kitchen too.
Here comes the card:

 The card is made with Papermania Rose garden paper and American Crafts cardstock.

 I coloured with Copics and put black Coordinations cardstock behind the image.

 I even made a matching envelope with the Scor-Pal.

And this is the lovely stamp set from TCP studio.

Have a great day!

Hello again,
My next card is on entry for the Lili of the Valley Challenge blog; Challenge 92 - Happy Birthday.
It is the same stamp as used in my previous post and also coloured with distress inks, but this time fewer colours and stamped with Staz-on.
Here is the sneak peek I did earlier on.

 The full image, cut with  Nestabilities Deckled Rectangles.

 I used a pre-scored blue card and Papermania papers and die cuts, and also some Ledger paper from Making Memories.

Prima flowers with Glimmer Glam and Doodlebug jewels. A MS butterfly in 3 layers with glitter powder.

 The wave cut on the paper is done with my Cricut Plantin Schoolbook.

 Some Papermania die cut letters on the inside of the card spell Celebrate.

And once again the complete card.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a nice day.

Dreaming of everything wonderful

Hello everyone,
I have neglected my blog a bit. I have had a few hiccups with my internet connection. So I finally decided to give the wireless router a try.
When it finally arrived, it didn't seem to improve the connection or the speed, although my computer was saying it had excellent strength. After a few days of just browsing on my iPod, my service provider seems to be up to scratch and I can now use my laptop without extra stress of losing connection.
My next card has been ready for a while, but unable to post.
I am using a Lili of the Valley stamp and coloured with Distress ink.
Here is the sneak peek I posted earlier.

 I stamped the image with Adirondack Latte ink.

I used just 9 different distress inks to colour the whole image. It is my first time trying this, but I must say that I love the result. It really gives a less clean and crisp finish than the Copics, but it is so much fun to do.

I finally found some small doilies on the craft fair and I have used Glimmer Mist to colour it.

The sentiment is also from Lili of the Valley. The butterfly is from MS with a thick layer of Stickles.
The DP is from Making Memories Just Chillin'.
Thanks for stopping by.

Sneak peek

Hi,
Just sharing a little peek into my next project. I coloured the same image twice with Distress ink. One image is stamped with Adirondack Dye ink and the other with Stazon. Both worked but gave a completely different effect.
I' ll be making 2 cards with these Lili of the Valley images. Hope you 'll come back to have a look.