A blog award from Roxy

Hi blogging friends,

I received a lovely blog award from Roxy of "Roxy's Cards".  Thank you Roxy - I really appreciate it.

"Liebster is a German word, meaning dearest or beloved, but it can also mean favorite. The idea behind the Liebster Blog Award is that it is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to create new connections and bring attention to these wonderful blogs!"

The Liebster Blog Award is used to show appreciation of smaller blogs (under 200 followers) and to help spread readership and joy!  As part of the tradition, this award is passed along to five other blogs that have motivated and inspired me in such great ways!

To accept the award:

1. Link back to the person's blog who gave it to you and thank them :)
2. Post the award to your blog
3. Give the award to 5 bloggers (less than 200 followers) that you appreciate and value
4. Leave a comment on the five blogs you chose to let them know.

I am passing this award onto Sudha from India.  Sudha's blog is called "Crazy Crafter" and Sudha has been a great supporter and encourager of my blog.

Also Cathy Fong from her blog "Fong Crafty Place".  Love Cathy's unique and fun style and Cathy has just joined the Penny Black Design Team.

Another blog I recently discovered is 'Shien's Paper Arts' by Joe Shien Shien.  Shien Shien is a lady from Indonesia who loves all papercrafts.

Melania Deasy's blog is "Things I love about papercrafting".  Melania also comes from Indonesia and I adore her fun and creative style. 

And the 5th blog is "Stampin' cos it's fun" by Jean McKenzie - a fellow Australian who has also been a great supporter and encourager of my blog - and makes the most gorgeous cards.

I would encourage all my readers to stop by these five blogs - you will be so glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by!   And thanks again Roxy for thinking of me

Jocelyn

Stampendous Bear Safety Pin - a new baby girl card!

Hi blogging friends ,

One of our neighbours had a baby girl and this is the card that I made for the occasion:

I used my Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits and paper stumps to colour the cute little teddy bear nappy pin image which took oh, all of 5 minutes!   I used my pearlescent chalks to add blue, pink and lemon around the image which added a lovely, sparkly yet subtle sheen - alas, very difficult to pick up with the camera but I hope you can see a little bit of soft colouring - it looks so pretty IRL.   

The sentiment is by Stampin' Up from their Nursery Necessities set.  I added a line of Basic Grey pink rhinestones underneath and used my Arrows Border punch to punch the tiny little pink hearts around the image (the leftover punchies from using the punch look like tiny hearts).  I added some pink Kindyglitz to the bear's cheeks, the pin itself and the tiny pink hearts.  Here is a close-up of that cute little bear:

The gorgeous embossing folder I used on the white cardstock is by K Kingdom called 'Flowers and Dots' which originally came from Fat Cat's Card Corner in Australia but is no longer on their website.  I did a bit of a search on the web, but couldn't find it anywhere.  Maybe it has been discontinued? 

And here is a pic of the card inside which is the same layout as the card-front except that I reversed the colours:

I used the same embossing folder for the pink cardstock and the sentiment is from the same Stampin' Up Nursery Necessities set - there are lots of fantastic sentiments in this set.  I added a Basic Grey pink rhinestone at each end.

Lastly, I added the white dotted pink organza scalloped ribbon (LOVE this ribbon!!), sewed on a pink button and added some Fray Stop to the ribbon ends, then glued on the pink organza flowers which I have had in my stash forever!  They came with the white pearl already sewed on in the centre.

And here is a pic of the gift that will be accompanying my card.  More teddy bears of course......sorry it's such a lousy photo.  I took it really early in the morning and the light wasn't very good at the time.  Just LOVE that cute teddy bear bib and the teddy rattle.  The gift bag was bought as I have no idea how to make such a large bag!

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A100 - Have a heart or two - where you project must have at least 2 hearts.  I have 6 hearts around my image.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Simon Says 'Anything goes'

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous B061 Safety Pin (wood mount), Sentiments from Stampin' Up! Nursery Necessities

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Circle + Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, K Kingdom Flowers and Dots KEM117 embossing folder (retired?), Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), paper stumps, organza ribbon, fray stop, pink flower button (Spotlight), pink sewing thread, pink organza flowers, Basic Grey pink rhinestones, pink Kindyglitz glitter glue, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk, cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' white, pink

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border (tiny pink hearts), Stampin' Up! corner

Taylored Expressions: You're my Hero - Girl's Rock!

Hi blogging friends,

I have been taking part in an online Card Class called Clean and Simple Cardmaking this month and learning lots of fabulous ideas and it's been great to watch the videos as I am a visual learner.

On Day 5, the class was Watercolour Blocking using Distress Inks and Blending Tool by Jennifer McGuire - and this is my one-layer-card inspired by that class - you might need your sunglasses for this one!

I cannot give you a link to the classes as you have to have paid to view them but here is a link to the website in case you want to check it out and other classes that they have.

To do the vibrant background, I inked up my Ranger Ink Blending Tool/foam pad with Wild Honey Distress Ink, sprayed some water using my Ranger Mini Mister onto my Craft Sheet, put the inked up Blending Tool into the water then dragged it across my watercolour paper.  Using another clean foam pad, I did the same with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, then did the Wild Honey again, and so on, and so on, until I had covered my watercolour paper.  I love the way the water made the inks blend into each other to create new colours.

Using Versafine Onyx black ink, I stamped the Girl Rock Star image from my Taylored Expressions set "You're my hero" and did the same with the sentiment (note I used my Stamp Positioner to make sure they were in just the right spot).  For any black bits that didn't quite stamp cleanly, I went over them with a black Bic Mark-it texta.

I used the grungy element stamp from the set to the do the 3 corners and stamped several times without re-inking then used my Ranger Tool/foam pad and the Onyx black ink to darken all the edges of the card.

Added the 2 small black brads each side of the sentiment, punched 2 stars from Rose Glitter Cardstock then added the black grosgrain ribbon.  

I will be giving this card to my grown-up niece for her birthday which is in a couple of months time; good to get ahead!

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

The ABC Challenge - H for Happy Birthday which can be cards, gifts, invitations - anything you like

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Challenge 58 - Anything goes - which runs for 2 weeks

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be sharing a baby card on my next post - watch this space!!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Taylored Expressions 'You're my Hero' foam-mounted red rubber

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black, Ranger Distress Inks - Worn Lipstick and Wild Honey

Accessories:  Ranger Ink Blending Tool and foam pads, non-stick craft sheet, Ranger Mini Mister, 2 x black brads - Basic Grey, black grosgrain ribbon, black Bic Mark-it texta, Stamp Positioner, Acrylic blocks, 140lb watercolour paper, Rose glitter cardstock

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner, Carl CP-1 and CP-2 Star punches

Taylored Expressions: You're my hero - nephew's birthday card

Hi blogging friends,

One of my grown-up nephews is a Musician and this is the one-layer card I made for his birthday: 

I broke out one of my more recent purchases from Taylored Expressions called "You're my hero" which is an awesome set - lots of different rock images for guys and gals, sentiments and grungey elements:  very cooool!  This set is rubber mounted with that foam stuff so you will need something to mount it on for stamping eg: acrylic block, and a stamp positioner comes in very handy!  I have no connection to the company other than loving their stamps and dies - fantastic quality and great value for money IMHO.

I inked up the grungey background image with Faded Jeans Distress ink, misted it with water using my Mini Mister then stamped it on my white cardstock base and stamped it again in a different spot (without re-inking) so I had another image but looking more faded.   I then inked up the same image with Wild Honey Distress ink, misted it with water then stamped that over the blue image and then again without re-inking.  Because Distress inks react with water, I ended up with a bit of a mix of the two colours in various spots which I really like.

I rounded the corners on the top and bottom RH corners with a Stampin' Up corner punch then stamped the bottom LH corner and top RH corner the same way I did the grungey background.

I used my Ranger Ink Blending Tool and foam pad with Wild Honey ink and went around the edges of the card then did the same with Faded Jeans ink.

Once I had done that, I used a heat-gun to dry off the card then used my Stamp Positioner to stamp the guitar, guitar neck/fret board and the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I used a black Bic Mark-it texta to colour in the tuners so they would stand out better from the background.

I wanted to add some glittery black stars so punched out some stars from black cardstock, added Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue but after it dried, they didn't look as nice as what I hoped as the glittery bits looked all uneven - and then - LIGHTBULB moment - I grabbed a piece of scrap black cardstock and inked it with Versamark Watermark ink, poured on some Polysparkle clear embossing powder and heat-set it.  Voila!   Nice and sparkly but the glitter was set in the embossing powder so a) it wasn't going to come off and go all over the card, and b) it was nice and even - which I hope you can see from the close-up photo below - hey, it looks just like the night sky!!

Then all I had to do was punch out the stars - easy, peasy!  Great way of making some glittery cardstock - and quick - and when you think about it, you have a way of making glittery cardstock in any colour to match your project if you were needing just a small amount for punching or making an embellishment.  If you don't have Polysparkle clear embossing powder, just pour some of the embossing powder into a little container and mix in some glitter and use that.

Here is a close-up of the glittery stars on the card itself:

Lastly, I added two tiny matching raw sienna brads next to the sentiment to balance the card.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Crazy 4 Challenges:  C4C118 -  New year….new ‘toys’…..new techniques. Do or use something NEW on your card/project. My 'new' technique is the glitter cardstock I made for punching my stars PLUS I am using this newly purchased stamp set for the first time.

Splitcoaststampers - Ways to use it WT336 - Versamark - from a while ago.  Note SCS Challenges have no time limit - you can play anytime.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Taylored Expressions 'You're my hero'

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Faded Jeans and Wild Honey, Versamark Watermark

Accessories:   Brads - raw sienna, Polysparkle embossing powder, heat-gun, Ranger Mini Mister, Ranger Inkssentials Blending tool and foam pads (one for each colour), stamp positioner, acrylic block, Black Bic-Mark it, cardstock:  KW Doggett "Knight" white, black

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner, Carl CP-1 (small) star, Carl CP-2 (large) star

My Favourite Cards - July to December 2011

Hi blogging friends,

If you missed my last post, I am sharing my favourite cards from 2011.  My last post HERE were my favourite cards from January to June 2011.  And now, I am sharing my favourite cards from July to December 2011.

You can click on any of my photos to have a BIGGER look and if you click on the link in the card name, it will take you to the original post on my blog where you will find the Card Recipe and the details on how the card was made.

*****************************

July saw me playing with a new set of watercolour pencils by Derwent called Inktense - oh how I loved how vibrant they were - and this card entitled "Standing Seagull" I made especially for my husband's birthday. 

In August, I made a birthday card called "Fetching Slippers" for my BIL with my one of my favourite Penny Black stamps called "Fetching slippers" - so cute with the dog wearing the cat slippers.  I would love to have some just like it!

In September/October, I made a Christmas Gift Set for my DD of a card, matching tag and a snowglobe - so fun!  And my DD loved it!

November saw me very busy with making Christmas cards plus I made one birthday card for my nephew's 8th birthday - so I have picked 2 favourites from this month.  First my nephew's birthday card "Dinoraur birthday wishes".  Just loved how it all came together with the textures and colours.

And my other favourite was this Christmas card I made with an Elzybells stamp called "Elzybells Teddy and Snowman".  Just loved that dotty designer paper (I LOVE dotted designer paper) and loved the image as I am also nutty about snowmen and teddy bears!   I gave this Christmas card to my DD's teacher together with some shortbread that my DD and I made together and decorated with red and green M and M's (yum!).

I was very productive in December and made more Christmas cards than I ever have in the past.  I also picked 2 favourites from this month.  The first "And if you ever saw him...." was a clean and simple card that came together quickly and easily using my newest stamp "Dasher" by Stampin' Up!  Just love that stamp! 

And my 2nd favourite card for December was "And the angel said...." which was a card that "happened" when I was in a mad rush to make some extra cards as I still hadn't made enough Christmas cards.  I ended up making this card in silver and purple as well as the gold and made a whole lot of them in one sitting. 

So, that's the end of my favourites for 2011.   Hope you enjoyed my little walk back in time.  Now I am flat out making cards for my extended family's January birthdays - four birthdays in the first 10 days of January - eeeek - plus I am "trying" ("trying" being the operative word!!) to make a masculine 90th birthday card - wish me luck with THAT one!!  I am a little stumped for ideas........

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope to see you again soon!

Jocelyn

My Favourite cards from 2011 - Part 1 - January to June 2011

Hi blogging friends

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but here it is already 38 deg C (which is 100 deg F) - hot and windy!   And it's only lunchtime!!   Definitely an inside day    which is perfect for blog-hopping and cardmaking.

Lots of bloggers at this time of year pick their favourite cards from the past year so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and share some of my favourites.  I'll do my favourite January to June cards on this post - then do the July to December cards on my next post.

You can click on any of my photos to make them larger and you will find the link to the original post on my blog by clicking on the underlined (ie: linked) card name where you will find the Card Recipe and details on how I made each card.

First up is my January card called "It's for you".  It was fun making a circle card and I love this Penny Black image - AND I was pleased as punch when Penny Black Stamps "tweeted" my card to their blog followers!

My favourite February card was "Star Lilies Easel birthday card" which I gave to my mother for her birthday.  I really went to town with all the various elements on the card - and there is something so special about making a card for a loved one:

March saw my first use of watercolour pencils for colouring images and it was love at first stroke!  My card "You are the Best-est" was the first card I put together with an image coloured with my pencils and was one of the Splitcoaststampers Favourites for that week which blew my socks off!

My card from April "Purr-fect Message" was another Penny Black image that I coloured with watercolour pencils.  This card came together really quickly and easily - one of those cards where everything flows - yay!  This card went to my niece for her birthday:

May had me still playing with my watercolour pencils and I made this card "Hello - how are you doing?" for a very special and dear friend who was going through a very difficult time and I wanted to brighten her day.   I was so excited that one of my favourite, favourite cadmakers, Sue Nelson aka Susie B on Splitcoaststampers left a wonderful comment about my card.  Sue has had a huge influence on my cardmaking and is a really lovely lady.

In June, I made a birthday card "Happy Birthday Teddy" using a teddy bear stamp from an old Stampin' Up! set from the year 2000.  I also enjoyed using my watercolour pencils in a slightly different way to make teddy have loads of texture.   I think teddy bears are timeless and even an old stamp can still look just as good more than 10 years later: 

Thanks so much for stopping by!   I'll be back with my favourite cards from July to December 2011 on my next post.

Jocelyn