Feel Better Flowers

Good afternoon and welcome! Today has so far been much nicer than the weather forecast…but the clouds are now starting to roll in so maybe the rain is coming after all? Not that we really need it right now but we might be glad of it in the weeks to come.

Today's card is for my favourite Sister-in-law ( ok she is the only SIL  but still the fave! ) who has just been released from hospital after a nasty illness and is now continuing to recover at home. For inspiration I used the wonderful sketch at Just Add Ink  - always a favourite challenge for me and the sketch by Tina this week is fabulous as usual and so open to interpretation.

 And as my SIL is an avid gardener there were always going to be flowers and greenery :-)

So with the sketch and theme decided this card did come together quite quickly :-)

I used the largest flower from the Flower Patch set in the two colours and fussy cut the images so as to be able to layer them with dimensionals under each layer. And the fabulous framelits meant the leaves were cut quickly and easily too!

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White

Inks: Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Sassy Salutations

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Large Polka Dots EF, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I do hope you have a moment to check out the great inspiration at Just Add Ink this week and maybe you might be next to enter :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Deer Christmas

We have had a lovely day here in Melbourne today. The weather is beginning to cloud over now and rain is indeed forecast for this evening but the sun has been shining for most of the day. And the Spring veggie garden has yielded its first real fruit of the season - tomatoes, cucumber and spring onions ( as well as plenty of lettuce varieties ) all ripe for the picking!
Today's card for the Paper Craft Crew sketch

Such a great sketch! I do hope you have time to stop by The Paper Craft Crew and see the great cards by the Team this week to inspire you.

And my card was made with my Brother-in-law in mind. He and my sister live in almost rural New Zealand and he occasionally gets the opportunity to go hunting in the forests looking for wild deer….not that I think he's had a great deal of success - just the thrill of the chase :-)

Of course there will be no snow in New Zealand this Christmas - it will be Summer! But they can always dream :-)

There are many directions you can go with this sketch and I decided to make a scene :-) The lovely Stag and birds and coloured using the Blendabilities markers and the snow drops are first stamped and then filled with some Silver Dazzling Details for some sparkle! 

Card stock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer

Designer Series Paper: All Is Calm

Inks: Momento tuxedo Black, Blendabilites markers: coastal Cabana, cherry Cobbler and Neutrals

Stamps: White Christmas

Accessories: Silver Dazzling Details, Small Star punch (retired), Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I do hope you have time to check out all the great inspiration from the rest of the Team at The Paper Craft Crew and maybe you might be the next to enter the challenge?

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Pink thoughts

Welcome to another beautiful Spring Melbourne Day - although it feels more like Summer already with a warm 30 degrees today! Today's card is for this week's sketch at The Paper Craft Crew. The team have so many great cards to inspire you I do hope you have a moment to check them out.

So without further ado, here is this week's sketch:

And here is my card:

So is a picture of pink of white with a few touches of silver :-)

Card stock: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Silver Glimmer

Inks: Strawberry Slush, Silver Encore, Momento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Tap Tap Tap, Dictionary

Accessories: Large Polka Dots EF, Big Shot, Starburst Framelits, Strawberry Slush Twine, Frosted Sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I do hope you have time to drop by The Paper Craft Crew and check out all the great inspiration from the Team - and maybe you will be inspired to be the next to enter too :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Thank You Again

Today has been one of "those" days when I felt a little behind most of the time…our Sally (black Lab) was not impressed to find she got no breakfast this morning and straight away she knew that meant a trip to the Vet (Specialist) And she was absolutely right! A couple of months ago she was diagnosed with a "most likely benign"mass behind her Right knee. There was no need at the time to hurry removal because it was benign, was cutback during Biopsy and she stopped limping. But lately the limp has returned so she is having a CT scan today and the Specialist and staff are so patient and good with her - she is not an easy patient, due to her former life prior to adoption she gets very scared and has been known to snap at Vets in the past  - but not here which is testament to their good care.
So today's card is for the Vet hospital staff. I needed some inspiration….and in a hurry, so I turned to Freshly Made Sketches as I have already used this sketch this week and it has inspired me again!

This time I changed the Twine and button to a ribbon and bow…

And yes, it features the long retired "D is for Dog" stamp set but as dear Sally is a black Lab and wears a red collar there really was nothing else more suitable :-)

So to "update"this card, I added the new Polka Dots EF, the wonderful Back to Black DSP, black Satin ribbon AND some sequins of course :-)

The main dog image is embossed in Black with the collar coloured with a Red Marker. The greeting is embossed using Clear EP over the Red ink to give it a lovely shine and textural feel also.

Card stock: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Back to Black

Inks: Versamark, Momento Tuxedo black, Real Red

Stamps: D is For Dog (Retired) Sassy Salutations

Accessories: Big Shot, Polka Dot EF, Black Satin Ribbon, Black and Clear EP, Silver Sequins (non SU)

Thanks so much for stopping by today - for those wondering, Sally is happy and home although of course we are still waiting on the Scan results for now.

  I do hope you have time to check out all the great inspiration at Freshly Made Sketches  and maybe you too might be inspired to enter the challenge this week!!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Trees Update

Over the past few months I have heard of and seen several wonderful Cases of a card I created and shared back in August - my first Tree Shaker card featuring the Festival of Trees stamp set. You can see the original post again with a Tutorial here  but this is the card :-)

This was my first play with the stamp set as the original post was called and I was quite amazed and humbled by how may people enjoyed this card.
Several people have taken the time to comment that they have Cased this card and some have used it for Workshops and that is so wonderful as to occasionally inspire others is what we all hope to do and it is fabulous when it actually happens!
And today, I received a special comment - from Indina in Germany  who has done just that and used this card in a Class and I am so honoured! It is one thing to see other very good versions of the card. But to see it stamped in another language was for me really very special!!
And it got me thinking - that it is such a wonderful thing to be part of a truly International stamping community! And how inspiring it is to be able to share our creations and have them inspire others no matter what language we speak or where we are in the world - so thank you Stampin Up! And thank God for the Internet too :-)

So a big thank you to all who have taken the time to share that they've Cased this card and enjoyed making it - it is truly humbling and inspiring for me too :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Festival of Trees for FMS

Good afternoon and welcome! It is a hot day today here in Melbourne - 33 degrees and a good incentive to stay inside in the Air Con and out of the heat. And after taking Sally the Lab for an early morning walk and watering the veggie garden I thought I'd earned a bit of time for paper crafting :-)

And for inspiration I used the wonderful sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week -by Kin and  so fun!

Such a great sketch - is so open to interpretation  - and I chose to go for a Christmas card :-)

The starting point of this card for me was the DSP - the Trim the Tree Stack. Lovely modern twists on traditional colours :-)

I stamped the Trees in Garden Green and then stamped the middle with some Cherry Cobbler and added some of the fun Dazzling Details over that. And a punched Gold Glimmer star on top to match the Gold twine below  :-)

Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Gold Glimmer

Designer Series Paper: Trim the Tree Stack

Inks: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler

Stamps: Festival of Trees

Access: Big Shot, On Point EF, Tree Punch, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Gold Twine, Gold button and Dimensionals (lots of), Snail

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have time to check out the great inspiration from the team at Freshly Made Sketches this week and maybe you too will be inspired to enter :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Bright and Beautiful

Good afternoon and welcome to another perfect Spring day in Melbourne - 26 degrees Celsius and bright shining sun and beautiful blue sky! I just love Spring - warm days and cool nights and a growing veggie garden :-)
And as it is Wednesday it's also time for another fun sketch from The Paper Craft Crew! The Design Team have a great variety of beautiful cards to inspire you so I do hope you have time to check them out. Here is this week's sketch:

And here is my card :-)

This was one of those cards that came together very quickly as soon as I saw the sketch -it doesn't happen that often but is so fun when it does - and was time to bring out the gorgeous Silver Satin Ribbon and the Star framelits :-)

The card base is some Pear Pizazz and all the layers are added with dimensionals as usual and includes the beautiful stars which are alternately Silver Embossed and Pear Pizzaz stamped and topped with a Candy Dot. And the little banners are made from the All is Calm Washi Tape :-)

Card stock: Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: All is Calm

Inks: Pear Pizzaz, Versamark

Stamps: Bright and Beautiful

Accessories: Big Shot, Stars Framelits, Silver EP, All is Calm Washi Tape, Frosted Sequins, Silver Satin Ribbon, Subtles Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by today and I do hope you have time to check out the great cards the Team at The Paper Craft Crew have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you create with this sketch this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan