A little Easter Story

Just popping in to wish you a very Happy Easter!! I hope that you're enjoying the long weekend and the opportunity to get away and/or catch up with family and friends. It's been rather busy here with church services and all but now it's time to relax and recharge and in some ways I have my own little Easter story to share too before we get to the card.

In the middle of Lent, on March 5, the sad day came for Sally the beautiful Lab to say goodbye. She had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer late November and she put up such a brave fight but it did spread and she let me know that she was ready to rest.  It was a sad day for everyone as we took her to our long-time friends at the Hallam Veterinary Referral Hospital.
For those that don't know, Sally was adopted as a 6 year old having been abused, had puppies and was frightened of everyone and just about everything too. I had just been told that I had 5 years to live with an inoperable tumour pressing on my brain that had also caused an aneurysm and I was discharged from hospital under Palliative Care. Sally was to be a companion but she surprised us all and became my unofficial and self taught Assistance Dog (she was too old to be officially trained). Three days after bringing her home she sniffed all around my head - she knew there was tumour there. When 6 weeks later I had a serious stroke causing significant left sided weakness, I had to decide whether to return her to the Shelter or as we had already bonded and she had started to come out of her shell whether to make the monumental effort to put her first and attempt to somehow give her the walks and socialising she needed.

As is obvious, I chose the latter and in return it was Sally that helped me walk again and am sure she is a lot to do with why I'm still here - almost 3 years longer than expected. Often in those early days I'd have to sit and rest on people's fences and on these occasions when she knew I was struggling she decided to take the lead. She would walk ahead of me just enough so that I could lean on her via the lead. She didn't look to left or right to explore - no, she'd just look back to check I was ok before slowly and steadily getting me home. She also would stand guard in the bathroom since I sometimes collapsed in the shower and she would always know before I did when I was about to be in trouble and would dance about and cry to alert me in time. It wasn't all work for her though as we also met a lot of other dogs and owners out walking and at the park as you do - some of which have become amazing friends. Sally had a few special dog friends - Monty,  above, whom she would play with for hours on end...

And our morning walking friends these last 7 years - her best girlfriend Tag and big Max who Sally adored.

It's been four weeks now and I am glad that she is at peace and know that it was the right time. A big thank you too, to all that have sent flowers and cards - it's so lovely to have such beautiful friends.
But it has turned my world upside down a little more than I expected. And not just mine, as one of her doggy friends is missing her too.
For now, I've decided to help an organisation to foster a dog looking for a new home whilst I make some decisions for the future. There are many dogs it seems that are killed in country pounds for no reason other than they have no room.  So groups from the city go out and rescue as many as they can take and they all need somewhere to live whilst they wait to be adopted  - which is where foster carers come in.
It is too early for me to commit to a new permanent furry friend yet but some company would be good and a new face on our morning walks should help cheer her friends too. So watch this space - I hope to hear in the next few days when I can bring home a furry foster friend to join us on our walks and adventures :-)

So with the telling of our little Easter story done, onto the card at last :-)

For a rather quick and simple card,  I've gone with last year's Easter Message stamp set.
The base layer is blended Distress Inks and and then I've stamped the palm on top in Tranquil Tide.
The main image is embossed in Gold and the Cross coloured using Watercolor Pencils. The little die cut branch is from the retired Botanical Blooms bundle.

Card stock: Tranquil Tide, Whisper White, Pear Pizazz
Ink: Versamark, Tranquil Tide, Watercolor Pencils
Stamps: Easter Message (Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Botanicals For You, Gold Embossing Powder, Metallic Sequins Assortment
Non SU: Distress Inks (Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio) Watercolor Card Stock -all Ranger (TH)

Thanks for popping by today and if you are looking for a new furry friend I can recommend adopting as one of the most rewarding experiences you can ever have. Not only will you have saved a life but you may well meet a faithful friend that will give you back far more than you can ever imagine :-)

I was asked by the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, whose shelter Sally (then called Cougar) came from to write our story for their Newsletter so I'll let you know when they will go ahead with that.

In memory of Sally, adopted 16/09/10 - 05/03/18

Jan

Happy Easter

A very happy Easter Monday to you!! I hope you're enjoying the long weekend and the little chocolate indulgences that come your way :-)

Today I have a little collection of religious Easter cards to show you of two different designs that unusually I CASED from Pinterest. Sometimes, when you see something that is already perfect it is best to just go with it :-) I did put my own spin on them as you will see and you may even notice how eager I was to get these in the post as the photos are not quite as good as usual.

These four are a CASE of Kathryn Mangelsdorf . I decided to leave off the bow and experimented with colouring the Cross with Watercolor Pencils in the closest one, and a layer of vellum over the top in the second. It's a lovely elegant way to use the Falling in Love DSP too :-)

The second card that inspired me to a CASE is this beautiful embossed and water coloured version by Heike Bastelotti. For my cards, I decided to experiment with a number of colours - and created a rainbow of cards :-)

Yes, some are quite bright!! Spring colours were an influence and also some of the recipient's favourite colours such as pink :-)

These image was clear embossed onto water colour card stock and then coloured around the image with Water Color pencils. Then I used an Aqua Painter to smooth the colour and move it to behind the image as well. Once it was dry, I added the sentiment, sequins and after these photos were taken, some flicks of Clear or Gold Wink of Stella - depending on what suited the colour. In the end, I suspect the blue was still my favourite as I made more of them than any other colour but the Razzleberry and pink weren't far behind :-)

This Easter weekend I have been making some non-card making projects - some for gifts and a little home decor project which I hope to share with you soon. What are you doing this long weekend? I hope you are able to enjoy a little craft time and creating something new too :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Easter Treat Bags

A very happy Easter to you all! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend whether you were celebrating with friends and family, going away or spending some time crafting for the long weekend. As for me, I didn't go away but did have a lovely time with friends and also a little fun crafting too :-)

Each year I usually make a little something for people in our music group at church for Easter. This year I decided to use different DSP's to make some Easter gift bags - full of a variety of little eggs. Some Ferrero Rocher, Lindt, Cadbury...all sorts of flavours and colours and sizes of eggs. So much fun!!

To make the bags I used different DSP too - colourful ones for the ladies and some black and white versions for the men. Sadly, I ran out of time to make tags -or take photos of them all. So each one ended up with a co-ordinating twine bow. Really simplistic I know - but it worked :-) I have laid out here some of the papers I used with the twine colours so you can get an idea. Each bag was therefore individual whilst all had the same contents.

The bag is a Medium size using the Gift Bag Punch board with a folded over top held in place with a Glue dot when full - the bow goes on the front. For measurements I followed the instructions and used a piece of DSP that is 10" x 81/4" and also watched a video tutorial by Hannah to create the fold over top. In this video, she also uses a ribbon closure which I decided to omit :-)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the Easter break - and school holidays for those in the South Pacific :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Another Easter Card

A very happy Palm Sunday to you! Easter is just around the corner and I have another card to share  with you that might help give you extra inspiration to join us at Just Add Ink and our "Just add E" themed challenge. You can see my original post related to this challenge here.
This card was supposed to be a little masculine but it ended up with a few flowers none-the-less - and was inspired by JAI's Rochelle Blok's card this week. I love her rustic Cross so wanted to make one of my own and decided to team it with the Sunburst die.

Of course the gold foil does make it a little difficult to get a good photo as it reflects and shines so well....but shine is what we want for an Easter card  :-) I stamped the Petite Petals on corresponding card stock before and punching the flowers. Later versions may well involve a layer of vellum and some background stamping on the white circle but I was looking for a clean and look for this one as it was for a male.

Card stock: Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Gold Foil, So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Corrugated Kraft
Inks: Island Indigo, so Saffron, Soft Sky
Stamps: Petite Petals, Seasonal Wishes (Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Sunburst Thinlit, Banner Framelits, Petite Petals Punch, Bird Punch, Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones
Non SU: Stitched Circle Dies- SSS

Whilst walking at our local park this week we have noticed that cricket pitches are being replaced by posts of various kinds. I was delighted to see Rugby posts amongst them - in AFL (Australian Rules football ) heartland, it is quite unusual and certainly made this ex pat New Zealander's heart skip a beat. Rugby being our national game :-) Of course the dogs have other uses for them too :-0

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the change of seasons - the overnight temperatures have dropped seemingly instantly this weekend and the mornings and evenings are considerably darker later and earlier respectively. Daylight Savings is likely coming to an end soon.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Happy Easter and a Butterfly Birthday

Happy Easter to you!! I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing Easter weekend!! We had a gorgeous day yesterday - the forecast showers didn't eventuate and it was still warm enough for short sleeves :-) After a busy few days  - that went very well phew!! -  it was lovely to take some time to relax and recharge the batteries and catch up with friends and family.

And here is a card that was made for a lovely new friend's recent birthday :-)
For inspiration I used last week's sketch from Just Add Ink - you can see the original post with card and  sketch here.

The gold butterfly is the star here with a little sponging of Pistachio Pudding ink underneath. The pom poms added for a little texture and fun :-) I hope she likes it.

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, Gold Foil

Designer Series Paper: Gold Soiree

Inks: Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding

Accessories: Big Shot, Butterfly Framelits, Starburst Framelits, Angled Tag Topper Punch, Calypso coral Pom Pom Trim and Seam Binding, Gold Twine

Easter is of course synonymous with chocolate and I do love that we are allowed to indulge our love of it a bit without the usual guilt LOL!! But I did receive this awesome little box of cupcakes from a lovely friend too that I just have to show you - they look too good to eat!!

Wow!! Aren't these just the cutest?!

Such a lot of detail in the grass and nests and the cutest little eggs.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you are having a wonderfully relaxing long weekend full of fun and laughter and good (and not so ) food :-)  Feels like a good time for a dog walk for me lol!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Simply Easter

It's the last week of Daylight Savings and today has been one of those beautiful Autumn days. It started crisp and clear and we enjoyed a warm top of 27 degrees before it started to cool again during the late afternoon.
Sally seems recovered from her latest round of Vet visits and enjoyed a "full on" play with her best friend Monty…then he lay down to chew on a stick - which she then wanted and eventually teased him into giving it up. She is too smart - she know how to push his buttons - but he doesn't really seem to mind :-)

 Here - he still has the stick

Now he's lost it but doesn't seem to mind as long as he has her attention!

Yes, they are best friends - so cute :-)

So it was a quiet afternoon for the dogs after all that exercise and I could look at making some simple Easter cards to give to some friends at church later this week :-)

Very simple :-) I stamped the starburst image from Kinda Eclectic on white card stock in Lost Lagoon and then embossed the Cross in Gold on a vellum layer. A simple greeting and some gold twine and all done!

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Vellum card stock

Inks: Lost Lagoon, Versamark

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic, Blessed by God, Seasonal Wishes (retired)

Accessories: Gold EP, Heat Tool, Gold Twine

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add Eggs / Ovals

The Seasons are well and truly changing - though we had a short lived return to Summer yesterday with a lovely 33 degrees - quickly followed by a storm and a little rain - so maybe not quite Summer again after all ;-) 

And it's also hard to believe that Easter is only just a couple of weeks away!! So it's a fabulous suggestion by Nikki that this week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to "Just Add Eggs / Ovals" 

 Of course please don't feel limited to making an Easter themed project - ANYTHING using ovals or eggs is the idea of this challenge!!  So I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see all the wonderful and varied creations that the Team have made to inspire you this week.

I decided to do an Easter themed oval - with a total of 3 Nieces and 1 Nephew so far (as surely the numbers need to even up a little lol?! ) this doting Aunty from afar is getting ready to post some chocolate love back home to New Zealand. And I've had the pleasure of meeting them all but the youngest who is only 8 weeks old ;-) 

This cute little box in a bag is made using the Mini Treat Bag Framelit. I saw a video by Linda Parker to expand the bag using 2 pieces cut with the largest of the bag dies. Detailed instructions are in Linda's video although I will look at putting together a quick and easy photo tutorial over the next couple of days. Suffice to say the little Lindt bunny fits inside perfectly and I added some Window sheet to give it the strength needed to stand the rigours of going through the mail :-)

Card stock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White, Gold Foil Vellum, Window Sheet

Designer Series Paper: In Colour stack, Gold Foil Designer Vellum 

Inks: Versamark, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Seasonal Wishes (long retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Oval Framelits, Gold EP, Gold Sequin Trim, Gold and Silver Mini Clothes pegs, Calypso coral Ribbon (Saleabration)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the wonderfully varied projects the Team have made to inspire you! And I look forward to seeing what you will make this week with either eggs or ovals - or maybe even both :-0

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Happy Easter

Its been a lovely Good Friday - starting out with clouds that later delivered the rain that was promised and finishing with sunshine. Lots of people going to Church today - including me :-) and a busy day for the Fish Mongers in town!

And so fittingly, today's card has a Good Friday theme for Easter too.

The card base is Baked Brown Sugar stamped with the Hardwood in the same colour. Then there is a piece of white card before the delightful piece of the Watercolor Wonder DSP - which just seems so colourful and celebratory for Easter!
The Cross is another piece of Baked Brown Sugar stamped with Hardwood - and the individual Planks are cut to size and layered with dimensionals.
Unfortunately, even though it is embossed with White Embossing powder, the greeting doesn't really stand out but in some ways that is good as the Cross remains the star.
Next there are two lovely Tulips from the Simple Stems set and then there are the leaves. Now ideally I would've used my Bird Punch for these but it has not yet been released from the punch "hospital" after an admission for a paper jam - fortunately it has been repaired, just not quite home yet :-) So the last resort was indeed the stems front the Simple Stems set - with the top of the stem removed.

So I hope you are having a very good Good Friday wherever you are today and whatever you are doing and wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Easter Eggs

Today the sun has come out at last! After the last four days of quite heavy rain it is wonderful to be able to enjoy some sunshine and take the dog for a longer walk :-) And of course it is also only one week to Easter so another fabulous reason to celebrate!
Unfortunately my health has not been great recently but today is a better day and so am joining in the fun at Can You Case It. Where the theme this week is "Bunnies, chicks and eggs."

Now this card didn't quite turn out how I had envisioned it  - of an egg falling down steps and cracking open but its nearly there :-)

For the card base I used some Whisper White with some Coastal Cabana card between the layers.

To make the "steps" I stamped the wonderful Hardwood onto some Sahara Sand card and cut the steps and rounded the corners. I had some left over grass from a previous project and added it here to give an outdoorsy feel along with some Gorgeous Grunge stamped in Gumball Green.

Next the egg and chick were stamped in Baked Brown Sugar and the insides with some Calypso coral and the the little chickadee was coloured with Crushed Curry ink using a Blender pen and added with dimensionals.

And finally a little bling with (just a few!) sequins :-) Yes, I still love the bling!!

Card stock: Coastal Cabana, Gumball Green, Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Inks: Baked Brown Sugar, Gumball Green, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry

Stamps: A Good Egg (Retired), Hardwood, Gorgeous Grunge

Accessories: Hexagon Punch (flag ends), Blender pens, Non-SU sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you pop over to Can You Case It and see what the wonderful designers there have made and maybe you could have a go too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Easter is coming

Welcome everyone to a wonderful Wednesday! It is the last week of summer and I will be sad to see it go for another year but in the meantime, today has brought some gentle sunshine after some cooling light rain overnight. And it is time for another sketch from the Paper Craft Crew!

This sketch has several layers and I'd love you to check out the wonderful examples the Design Team have created and feel inspired to join us this week :-)

For my card I decided to get ready for the next big season - Easter! And to use some of the gorgeous DSP available for Free as part of Saleabration until the end of next month.

The DSP is layered together - using the Scallop border punch on the River Rock layer - and added onto a piece of Whisper White card so that it can be added with dimensionals above another white layer.

Seeing as the  middle strip of paper here is so colourful it doesn't really need much added to it I think - just one flower from the lovely Simple Stems set and a gold sequin for the starfruit flower :-)

For the greeting I used a retired stamp set with the Banner Framelits - the greeting is actually cut with them too and then trimmed down using my paper cutter to sit within the Cantaloupe one. And the little banners are cut from the same DSP as used in the horizontal strips. 

Card stock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Sweet Sorbet *

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe

Stamps: Simple Stems, Seasonal Wishes ( Retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Banner Framelits, Crisp Cantaloupe Twine ( Sweet Sorbet Accessories Pack*), Non SU Sequin

*Available during Saleabration

I actually made TWO Easter cards using this sketch this week!! So here is the other card too. It uses the same sketch of course and the same layout, just different designer series paper to create a different look

You can see the similarities here to the first card I am sure :-) 

The starting point here was the beautiful Watercolor Wonder (USA spelling) DSP with its subtle blues and greens. The middle strip uses the Hardwood background stamp and the lower card layer is embossed using the Decorative Dots EF.

Card stock: Island Indigo, Whisper White,

Designer Series Paper: Watercolor Wonder

Inks: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit

Stamps: Simple Stems, Hardwood, Seasonal Wishes (retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Decorative Dots EF*, Banner Framelits, Coastal Cabana Twine (Sweet Sorbet Accessories Pack*)

*Available during Saleabration

So I hope you feel inspired  to check out the beautiful samples from the rest of the Team members and come and join us this week at the Paper Craft Crew!

Happy Stamping until next time,

Jan