I am back at long last! My loved one continues to improve each day which is great so I have had a little bit of time in my craft room this past week. I was able to go to the Craft Show as planned and had an absolute ball! It was a cold and wet day so it was perfect weather for craft shopping - and boy, was it packed!! I did a couple of 'Make and Take' free workshops and learned how to use Perfect Pearls and Perfect Medium which was fun. I stocked up on lots of Docrafts goodies - Tatty Teddy, Boofle, Forever Friends and Tulip paper tole (called Decoupage in the UK), toppers, designer papers and ribbons. And a couple of Penny Black stamps begged to be bought as well as a couple of Impression Obsession dies (I didn't know they made dies!): in fact, there were a lot of die brands that I had never heard like Lin and Lene, Joy Craft Happy's and Double do just to name a few. None of my friends make cards so I always go to shows by myself but there is always someone to talk to who shares the same passion and gets as excited as I do over buttons, ribbons or a piece of designer paper. I came home utterly exhausted but happy and uber-keen to do some cardmaking - hence today's card - which is very much NOT my usual style but I hope you like it:
Now, I would LOVE to say that I brayered the background but sadly, I did not. I am sure that my blogging friend Shaz from Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz who is the brayering-queen would be able to make something this pretty but my brayer and I stopped speaking a while ago because he just wouldn't do as he was told - plus being as clumsy as I am, I just seemed to make more mess than anything else! Bellbird Paperarts in Blackburn (Victoria) sell sheets of printed and coloured acetate and I bought various colours at the last Craft Show that I went to and have been itching to make a card with them ever since; sometimes, it just takes a while to get around to these things as you would understand. All I had to do was cut the acetate design to the size I wanted and go from there. I stamped the sentiment using Stazon Jet Black ink which dries on acetate very well. The first time I stamped the sentiment, part of the image didn't come out and I thought the sheet was ruined so I was very cheesed off. Then I had a brainwave and tried cleaning off the image with Stazon cleaner and hey presto: it removed it perfectly! Once the sentiment was dry, I attached some white cardstock behind the design with brads (obviously you can't glue it as the glue would show under the acetate). That part of the card making process was a bit fiddly. Then I simply layered that onto black cardstock, blue and then white. Lastly, I added an acetate butterfly which I also bought from Bellbird Paperarts (came in a pack of 6 different sizes from memory and are printed on clear acetate) and popped it up using dimensionals under the butterfly's body and bent up the wings. You can see the dimension in this next photo:
This card is for my stash but is intended for use as a Sympathy card or simply to send to someone to let them know I care or to show support. Challenges: I am entering my card in the following 3 challenges - Splitcoaststampers'Ways to use it' WT427May Flowers - where you are to use a flower or flowers on your project
Splitcoaststampers May Fan Club Challenge - Central Theme
SplitcoaststampersInspiration ChallengeIC390 - Jennspendants - and I chose a pendant as my inspiration and the beautiful blue colours made me get out this acetate sheet and finally make a card with it - and obviously I echoed the squareness of the pendant in my card. Thanks for stopping by and for any comments that you care to leave. Jocelyn Card Recipe: Stamps: Sentiment by Stamp-It Australia - siset014 sentiment set Ink: Stazon Jet Black Accessories: Printed acetate and butterfly - Bellbird Paperarts, dimensionals, aqua brads, cardstock - white, blue, black
Hi blogging friends, Sorry I haven't been around for almost 2 weeks. My loved one has been unwell so I haven't had time for crafting - and then on Sunday night, after having a lovely Mother's Day, something I ate didn't agree with me and I was sick all night and only just started eating properly again today. Not quite what I needed when I was caring for my loved one at the same time! Anyway, I thought I would share a little photo of Ruby I took a couple of weeks ago. I had put my laptop down to do something and when I returned, this is what I saw:
I had a great deal of difficulty getting her off too because she didn't want to move - it was warm and that's where she wanted to be! I am very careful now what website I leave open in case Ruby buys something on EBay LOL! I am taking my loved one to hospital tomorrow (Friday) for some tests which are just routine and on Saturday, I will be going to the Picture to Page Scrapbook Show at East Burwood. It will be wonderful to have some "me time" - a whole day to myself - which hasn't happened for ages: I can't wait!! Hopefully I will get some time in my craft room soon
It's a chilly Saturday night here where I live in Australia and I am sitting in front of the slow-combustion fire whilst I type this and watching my AFL footy team Geelong Cats play Richmond on TV - and Geelong is winning so I am very happy! We had a roast for dinner - yum - and now I am having a cup of tea. Perhaps it doesn't sound very interesting - even boring - but compared to last year when I was spending much of my time at hospital with my loved one, it is bliss! I didn't even notice the seasons last year because when you live at hospital, the seasons lose any meaning as it is always warm at the hospital and you are stuck inside. Dealing with a life-threatening illness changes you and your outlook on life: simple things bring so much joy to me and these days, I tend to live in the moment and don't worry about tomorrow. It's been unseasonably warm this autumn and I am really hanging out for cold days and (hopefully) plenty of rain as I have had to water the garden alot recently because we haven't had the usual autumn rains. Anyway, I shall stop chatting now and get on with my card........
Wild Rose Studio recently released some gorgeous stamps along with some pre-coloured toppers - and of course, being a lover of anything teddy bear, somehow a set of the Teddy Toppers found its way into my shopping basket....happy sigh.....
The topper was square but I wanted it a bit more fancy so diecut it using my Lifestyle/Quickutz Nesting Frames dies and my Big Shot.
The side panel was embossed using my Crafter's Companion Embossalicious Die'sire 6" x 6" Floral Square embossing folder and my Big Shot.
The designer paper on the card base is by Prima - Meadow Lark - so pretty. The side panel is from the other side of the designer paper. I have been doing well using my stash of designer papers rather than buying new papers - one of my New Year resolutions for 2013. Mind you, that may all change when I go to the Picture to Page Scrapbooking and Card Making Show at East Burwood on the weekend of the 18th/19th May, as I may be tempted by lots of pretty papers.......LOL!! If you have never been to this show, I highly recommend it. Parking is free and it is very well organised.
Here is a close-up of the sweet image:
I added some Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the edges of the flower petals and the teddy's cheeks. The glitteriness doesn't look as gaudy in real life.
The pink organza ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy. I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying. I sewed on a pink flower button to the bow then glued the bow on with fabric glue. I really love the softness that the organza ribbon adds to the card.
I used my Perfect Layers Tools to edge the layers with a 1/8" border.
Lastly, I added 3 pink self-adhesive Sparklets to the bottom right-hand side:
I couldn't figure out where to add a sentiment and whatever I tried just didn't look right so I (obviously) left it off - and really, the Teddy Topper says it all with the present. This card is going to my niece who is turning 11.
Challenges:
I am entering my card in the following challenge -
Hi blogging friends - I'm Jocelyn - aka JoBear2 on Splitcoaststampers. I am an Introvert and have been married to my best friend for 35 years last April and are a Mum to a grown-up daughter. I started my cardmaking journey in 2008 but also dabble in other crafts such as embroidery, knitting, crochet, decorative painting (folk art), photography and gardening. I am a crossword addict esp. cryptic crosswords and love to play the piano. I also love baking biscuits & cakes & watching my football club - Geelong Cats on the TV: I just can't seem to find the time to do ANY ironing LOL!
This Blog is dedicated to my American sister-in-law who has ALWAYS been a constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm to my cardmaking, and who first suggested that I start a Blog to showcase my cards.
Hi - I'm Jocelyn from Victoria, Australia. Thanks for having a peek at my Blog. Hope you enjoy your stay and please don't be afraid to leave a comment - I LOVE reading them and then I can come and visit you too. All content on this blog is copyright to me. Now that I am retired, I hope to blog more often than I have in recent years.
None of my cards are for sale and I am unable take part in image swaps nor stamp images to share - nor do I do Commissions. My enjoyment is solely to make cards to give to friends and family: I just LOVE making cards :-)
I do hope that my cards give you inspiration to make your own but please don't take my original artwork and copy it exactly the same for publication in a magazine, contest submission, challenge blogs or for personal monetary gain eg: E-Bay, Etsy etc.
You are NOT permitted to use any of my cards as samples to help sell any of the products that I use on my cards or projects on any website eg: EBay, Etsy, Online Store etc. as this will infringe my Copyright as I am the intellectual owner of said artwork. Use of my cards without my permission will be reported to the website in question for Copyright Infringement so that they can take the appropriate action required by law. If you do not understand the implications of breaching Copyright Law, you would do well to verse yourself of this information to protect your reputation as a Seller/Store Owner/Website owner.
Feel free to CASE (Copy And Share with Everyone) one of my cards for personal use ie: not for competitions, publication or where you would gain financially - but please make a couple of simple changes to make the card reflect your own input and personality eg: brads instead of buttons, different papers or border punch etc. and please include a link back here to my original card as a matter of kindness and courtesy. I have a watermark/web address on my cards to help you remember where it came from.
Feel free to share my cardmaking projects on Pinterest. If you hover over my photos with your mouse, a Pin It Button will appear and you can pin my project which will include the direct link. All of my photographs are copyright to me and may not be copied, shared or reproduced in any form without consent. Please play fair and don't harvest any of my images. Thank you for your understanding.