Butterflies and Dots

Hi Everyone! on this freezing cold night, I am sure that somewhere today it is snowing, it is so cold here that as I put this post together my fingers can hardly type as they are so, so cold...LOL.

So after a really busy day at work and having a rotten headache, almost migraine at work I am finally able to relax for the night and I look forward to my sleep in, in the morning, before having to go to work again in the afternoon.

So I made this card yesterday and I was so thrilled as my mojo finally came back, I so don't like when it decides it is going to go and have a holiday, especially when you are eager to craft and everything you touch turns out horrible.

I know, I know, I can hear you saying it, "enough prattling on, get on with the card", well here it is. I used a new set of Hero Arts stamps that arrived in a parcel to me on Friday.



I started out using a Hero Arts, Cream Card, one of the very few that I have, as I cannot seem to find anywhere in Australia to buy these and would really love to, so if anyone has any knowledge of where I can purchase these, send me a quick message through formspring or email me to let me know, I would be ever so grateful.

Anyway, getting on, I took my Hero Arts, Flourish Background stamp and stamped over the front of the cream card using some Hero Arts, Soft Sand Shadow Ink. Next, I took my white gel pen and having been inspired by the wonderful and ultra talented Kathy Racosin with her technique of using wonderful white dots I added some dots to parts of the flourishes on the card, I set this aside to dry. Whilst the dots where drying I took some white card stock and stamped three butterflies from the Hero Arts, Designer Butterflies stamp set and coloured them in with my Copics, once happy with the colouring, I added more white dots to the butterflies for a little added interest and a matching theme to the card front. I cut each image out and taking the same stamps again I stamped the butterflies directly onto the card front. I adhered each of the coloured butterflies to the corresponding butterflies on the card front using some Glossy Accents. I left this to dry and whilst the butterflies were drying I cut a strip on white card stock and stamped a sentiment from the Hero Arts, Bee Happy stamp set. I adhered the sentiment strip to the bottom of the card and lastly, I added some rhinestones to the card and corner rounded the corners.

Here are some other views of the card, I tried to have a couple of close ups so you could see the white dots.





So I hope that you all have a wonderful night and are staying nice and warm, or for others that may be in other countries reading my blog that are in Summer are staying nice and cool.

Hugs to you all!

JOY

Single Stem Flower

Hi Everyone! Hope your Thursday is going well. I have currently 2 days off work before I work the weekend, so after having a much needed haircut today, I am now at home ready to get started on some housework. So I thought that I would write a quick post and then I will get started on the dreaded.

So here is another card that I designed for the wonderful company Purple Onion Designs.



I started with white card stock, cut to size, folded in half and set aside. Next, I took some water colour paper and using Ranger, Distress Ink, Brushed Corduroy, I inked the stamp Late 1800's Script Background, with some ink, I spritzed with some water using my Mini Mister then stamped directly onto the water colour paper, heat set with the heat gun. Next, using some Ranger, Distress Ink, Barn Door along with Peeled Paint and shabby Shutters I inked up the Single Flower stamp, then using my Mini Mister I spritzed the stamp with some water and stamped the image straight over the top of the background stamp. Using more Ranger, Brushed Corduroy, I blended the edges of the water colour paper, I added a sentiment to the top of the water colour paper using a sentiment from the Mini Sentiment set. Lastly, I added some red pearls and adhered to the card using some foam dimensionals. I felt that the card needed to have an extra something to it, so I added some drawn lines and dots around the water colour paper using my black pen.

So as my blog banner says, Less is More, this card really reflects this. This card is very easy to make and uses some techniques which is always good.

I thought that I would share a couple of photos with you, on the busy working bee that I had in my garden the other day, it was that time of the year for me to get all of my pots potted up ready for Spring, so this will be the before shot and when they are in full bloom I will share another set of photos.

Here is just a couple of pots that are potted up with pansy's and primulas.







My Jonquils are out at present and the smell is so beautiful, so I took some photos to share the beauty with you.





Enjoy your day and I hope that the rest of the week is a good one.

Hugs

JOY

Soft Butterfly!

Hi Everyone! So tonight's post will be a quick post as I am just about asleep at the computer...LOL, after a late night last night working on a project that I will be sharing on my blog in the coming weeks and then having an early and I mean early morning start I am feeling rather weiry tonight. I came home from work today and did some gardening and I am quite sure that I will be feeling some muscles hurting tomorrow that I never thought that I had...LOL.

So tonight's card I wanted to share a card that I made for Purple Onion Designs.



I started with white card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using the Cuttlebug Machine I ran the front of the card through the machine, embossing the front using the Sizzix, Dots and Flowers embossing folder. Next, I cut another piece of white card stock and using the large butterfly from the Vintage Butterfly set I stamped it in the centre of the white card stock using some Hero Arts, Soft Pool ink, once this had a little time to dry I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment using some Colorbox Ink, Antique Pewter. I added some Ranger, Distress Ink, Vintage Photo, once happy with the distressed edge I adhered to the card front using some foam dimensionals. Lastly, I added some blue pearls to match.

A quick and fast card to make with some beautiful stamps.

Enjoy tonight's card and I hope you all have a wonderful evening.

Hugs.

JOY

Butterfly Clouds

Hi Everyone! So I have had a weekend of doing nothing much, in fact one could say down right lazy...LOL. But as they say that it does not hurt us sometimes. I have even struggled to craft this weekend, it seems as though the Mojo left the building. I even struggled to pull this card together, I was unhappy with one stamping section on this but hey, we cannot be perfect and as I always say they are handmade from the heart..LOL.



So today's card I started with kraft card stock, cut to size, folded in half and with the Hero Arts, Cling Dots background stamp I stamped over the entire front of the card using some Colorbox Ink, Frost White, I set this aside to dry. Next, using my Cuttlebug I cut a die cut of white card stock using a Spellbinders, Label 8, then using the Hero Arts, Clouds background stamp I stamped over the top of the die cut using some Hero Arts, Soft Pool ink. I adhered the cloud die cut onto the kraft card stock using some foam dimensionals and set aside. I took some more white card stock and stamped a butterfly from the Hero Arts, Three Butterflies stamp set two times and then coloured each stamped image in with my Copics, I cut each image out and added some Ranger, Liquid Pearls, Opal to the outer wings of the butterflies. Taking the card once again, I stamped the butterflies over the cloud section and adhered the coloured butterflies to each of the stamped images using some Glossy Accents. I added trails from each of the butterflies using Hero Arts, Bee Happy stamp set. Lastly, I added a sentiment from the Hero Arts, Everyday Sayings stamp set to the bottom of the card and some rhinestones to finish the card.

Quite a fun card that has a summery appeal to it.

Also tonight I wanted to share with you some beautiful creations that have caught my eye:

WOW! this card by Jill is truly beautiful.

How pretty are these poppies.

Lastly, a shout out for the lovely Sarah, who's card made it onto the Silhouette Blog, congrats Sarah.

Have a great night everyone! I am off to get some tea and get ready to watch Underbelly.

Hugs

JOY

Dogwood

Hi Everyone! Well we have an extremely windy day here today, so it is a day to spend inside.

So I wanted to share a card with you that I made for my Aunty to give to her sister.



I started with pink card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using the Hero Arts, Birthday Sayings stamp set, I stamped the sentiment happy birthday over the entire card front using some Hero Arts, Shadow Ink, Soft Blossom, I set this aside to dry. Next, I stamped the Hero Arts, Dogwood stamp onto some white card stock twice and coloured one image totally and the other image just the flowers with my Copics and then cut each coloured image out. I adhered the single flowers onto the matching flowers on the dogwood with some foam dimensionals, I added some Glossy Accents to the centres of the flower and set aside to dry. I took some more white card stock and using a Spellbinders, Label 8 die I cut a die running it through my Cuttlebug. Once the die was cut I added some shading to the edges of the die cut using the same Soft Blossom ink, next, I adhered the dogwood image onto the die cut using some more foam dimensionals and then adhered the die cut to the card using more dimensionals. Lastly, I added some pink rhinestones to the card and corner rounded the corners to finish the card.

Here is another view of the card.



I hope everyone has a great day.

Hugs

JOY

Colour Layering!

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to say thank you to the wonderful girls on Twitter that sent me thoughtful wishes yesterday, you ladies know who you are and thank you for your wonderful support.

So onto today's card, I wanted to try out the Colour Layering idea, Hero Arts June competition is running currently.

I also just wanted to say sorry, had a little issue with today's blogging, it went out last night by mistake, I had to make some more adjustments, so it is now correct and ready to read away.



I started with white card stock, cut to size, folded in half, I stamped a sentiment to the base of the card front using Hero Arts, Essential Messages, then using the Cuttlebug, I ran the front of the card through the machine embossing the front using the Sizzix, Dots and Flowers embossing folder, I set this aside. Next, I cut another piece of white card stock and using Hero Arts, Antique Engravings I stamped a butterfly from this stamp set using Hero Arts, Soft Pool ink, I stamped this butterfly all over the white card stock until totally covered, using the same soft pool ink I blended the edges of the card stock to soften the look. Onto some more white card stock I stamped another butterfly from the same stamp set and coloured the image in with my Copics, I cut the image out and adhered to the stamped card stock using some Glossy Accents, I set this aside to dry. Taking some coloured card stock to match the stamped butterflies I used my Ek Success, Scallop Diamond punch and punched a strip, I then adhered this to the base of the stamped card stock. Next, I cut a thin strip of black card stock and also adhered this to the stamped card stock. Once all the pieces were adhered I then adhered this to the card front. Lastly, I added some matching rhinestones to the card to finish the card.

Here are some more views of the card.







I also just wanted to share with you a fabulous link to the wonderful Jennifer McGuire's blog, she is having a fantastic giveaway, so why not stop over there and take a peek.

I hope you enjoy today's card and that your day is a fun day.

Hugs.

JOY

Ice Cream Anyone?

Hi Everyone! So today I return to work, but at least it will be an easy week as I only work 3 days this week, so hopefully more time for crafting and hopefully gardening.

So I wanted to share another card that I designed for Purple Onion Designs.



I started with bone card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using my Cuttlebug, I ran the front of the card through the machine embossing it with Swiss Dot embossing folder. I then took some white card stock and using the stamp set called What's the Scoop? I cut the card stock to the size that I wanted and onto some more white card stock I stamped the ice creams again and cut the tops of the images out and adhered them to the other ice creams using some foam dimensionals. Next, I took some patterned paper and punched a strip of pink card stock using my Fiskars, Upper Crest border punch, I adhered each of these to the white card stock. I added a sentiment from the same stamp set to the punched pink card stock and some rhinestones either side of the sentiment. I corner rounded the top of the white card stock and added some stitching to the top of the white card stock using my Pink Copic Spica pen. Lastly, I adhered the card stock to the front of the card with some foam dimensionals.

Here are some more views of the card.





A really fun set to colour, check out Purple Onion Designs, such a wonderful company.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Hugs

JOY

Prince Charming!

Afternoon Everyone! Well this is my last day of my mini break and I am back to work tomorrow, so sad that it has come to an end.

So I have decided to share with you today a card that I designed for Scrapbook Boutique and also made for my friend, this is one of the 10 cards that I am currently making for her, this was her favourite out of the first 6 that she has already.



I started with kraft card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using my Hero Arts, Cling Dots background stamp I stamped with some Colorbox Ink, Frost White over the front of the card and set aside to dry. Next, using some white card stock I stamped the prince from the Hero Arts, Prince Charming stamp set and also some balloons from the Monster Fun stamp set and coloured them in with my Copics, once coloured in I cut around each image. Taking another piece of white card stock I cut a strip the length of the card stock and stamped a sentiment from the Hero Arts, Birthday Sayings. I also cut a strip of patterned paper and adhered both strips together and then adhered to the card. I then added the cut out images to the card using some foam dimensionals. Once all the images were adhered to the card I drew some string lines from the balloons to prince charming to finish the card off.

Cute card for any little prince charming in someone's life.

So I wanted to share a couple of links for you to feast you eyes on:

This is one beautiful card, lovely shabby chic look.....Check out Michelle's card.

Also how about these beautiful cards from Kathy, so summery and warm. Also don't forget to check out Kathy's blog candy, what a loot!

Lastly, how about this sweet little gift idea from Carly, just so cute and simple.

Just a little reminder, I have had a couple of people ask me questions through my comments, but some people I cannot reply to so if you wish to ask me questions, which I love to answer, then you can contact me via Form Spring or email which are both on the side bar of my blog.

Also don't forget to keep checking out my Etsy store, I will be adding more cards and a couple of surprises in the next few weeks to come.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of your day and I hope to be able to catch you all back here tomorrow.

Hugs

JOY

Monochromatic Birthday Card!

Hi Everyone! How is everyone's weekend going? Well after a rocky start to my 5 days off work, today finally has been a good and productive day, the sad thing is, is that my 5 days off is coming to an end as of tomorrow, I will be back at work again on Tuesday, so hoping to make the most of tomorrow.

I have been in the craft room all afternoon, creating cards for my Aunt and Uncle, they put in an order with me when they first arrived and one of those cards I will be sharing with you tonight, they needed a birthday card for their Daughter in Law.

I decided to use some Papertrey Ink stamps to create a monochromatic feel.



I used white card stock for the card. Then using some more white card stock I stamped the Damask Design stamp from the Papertrey Ink stamp set using some Papertrey Ink, Aqua Mist ink, using the same ink I inked lightly around the edges of the stamped card stock. Next, I cut some Papertrey Ink, Aqua Mist card stock slightly larger then the stamped card stock and adhered both pieces of card stock together using some foam dimensionals, and then onto the card front with more foam dimensionals. With another piece of white card stock I stamped a sentiment from the Papertrey Ink, Through the Trees stamp set and set this aside. Using some more Aqua Mist card stock I punched a strip using the Fiskars, Upper Crest border punch, I adhered each the white sentiment card stock and the punched border strip together and then adhered to the damask stamped card stock. Lastly, I added some rhinestones to either side of the sentiment.

Here is another view of the card.



I very pretty yet elegant and simple card for a loved one.

Have a wonderful night and I will catch you all tomorrow, off to craft again before Underbelly comes on.

Hugs

JOY

Fun in the Sun

Hi Everyone! So I officially started my mini break and today was not a good day, they say things always comes in three's, well that was the day I had today. First, went to spend the day with my Mum and celebrate my Aunties Birthday and when I went to leave the key to the garage snapped off and half stayed in the lock, so that was the end to going to my Mum's. The next thing to happen, the DVD player would not open so that I could put a DVD in, so that has now gone on us. Finally, I had to install my old printer onto my new computer and well I spent several hours trying to install new drivers, this finally did happen, but heck what a day, not the start to my mini break I was hoping.

So after a horrible day, I decided to make myself a cheery card that ended up with some Summery colours, although I am not a fan of our Summer here, I do like the colours.



I started with kraft card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using the Hero Arts, Cling Dots I stamped over the front of the kraft card stock using Colorbox Ink, Frost White and set aside to dry. Next, I used a Spellbinders, Label 8 die and cut a die using my Cuttlebug Machine. Using some Stampin Up, Bashful Blue ink I blended the ink over the die cut. Onto some more white card stock I stamped a flower from the Hero Arts, Color Me Flowers three times, I then coloured the images in, making sure that I coloured three different levels of the flower, I cut each of the coloured images out and mounted together with some foam dimensionals. Next, I stamped the stem from the Hero Arts, Big and Small Flowers onto the die cut and coloured it in using my Copics. I added some grass from the Hero Arts, Be Happy stamp set and coloured this also in with my Copics. I added the flower to the top of the stem with some foam dimensionals. I stamped a sentiment from the Hero Arts, Huge Hugs stamp set above the grass, for a little added extra I stamped butterfly from the Hero Arts, Good Fortune stamp set and the trail from the Hero Arts, Be Happy stamp set. Lastly, I added some yellow rhinestones to the centre of the flower and under the sentiment and attached the die cut to the front of the card with some foam dimensionals.

Here is more views of the card.





Also a close up view of the flower.



Enjoy this summery card today and I hope that it brings a smile to your face today.

Hugs

JOY

Summer Flower

Hi Everyone! So I back again today to share a card that I have created for my Aunty who is having a birthday tomorrow and I wanted to create a card that had a summery feel to it as we are in the colder months of the year.



I started with white card stock, cut to size, folded in half and using the Hero Arts, Flourish Background stamp I stamped with some Hero Arts, Soft Sand over the front of the card and set aside. Next, I took some more white card stock and stamped the Hero Arts, Engraved Daisy and coloured the flower in with my Copics, once coloured in I cut the image out and added some Copic, Pink Spica to the flower, I adhered the flower to the card with some foam dimensionals. I added some more Copic, Clear Spica to the flourish stamped card, lastly, I added a Hero Arts, Huge Hugs sentiment and some pearls to match and corner rounded the corners of the card.

Here are some more views of the card.





I tried to take a photo to show the Copic Spica.



Well today is my last day of work for 5 days, and I am so looking forward to catching up with family and just relaxing.

Hugs

JOY

Monsters First Birthday

Hello Everyone! I have 2 more days of work and then I finally get my mini break of 5 days off, can you tell that I am excited :)

So tonight I have another first birthday card to share with you, my friend asked me to make a few cards for her and this is one of them.



I started with blue card stock, cut to size, folded in half and set aside. I took a white piece of card stock and stamped polka dots using Papertrey Ink, Polka Dot Basics 2 stamp and stamped over the entire white card stock using some Papertrey Ink, Aqua Mist ink, I corner rounded the corners of the stamped card stock and set this aside. With another piece of white card stock, I stamped a monster and balloons from the Hero Arts, Monster Fun stamp set and coloured them in with my Copics, once coloured in I cut each image out and adhered to the polka dot background using some foam dimensionals. I added some strings from the balloons to the hand of the monster and added a sentiment from the same stamp set above the monster. Lastly, I added an American Crafts, Black Thicker, 1 to the bottom right hand corner of the polka dot background, then adhered this to the blue card and corner rounded the corners of the card.

Here is another view of the card.



Hope you enjoy tonight's card and that you also enjoy the rest of your night. I am off to watch Desperate House Wives and Brothers and Sisters.

Hugs

JOY

Wonderful Friend

Hi Everyone! Well after a much needed sleep and having a wonderful day with my family today I feel a little bit more energised. I also have this weekend off along with only another 3 days left of work next week and I can have a mini break, 5 days off, so this will be a good time for me to try and straighten a few things out in my life...hopefully...LOL.

So I just wanted to share a wonderful card that arrived in the mail to me a couple of days ago, from what I call a truly wonderful friend, Kathy Racoosin.

This card is so beautiful and with Kathy's signature dot work on this wonderful card who could ask for more, this really made my day when this arrived and placed a big smile across my face.

So thank you my sweet friend Kathy, you are such a beautiful, talented and inspiring friend to have in ones life, thank you for making my day.

Here are some views of my lovely card.







So I hope that your weekend is off to a great start and that someone makes you smile today.

Hugs.

JOY

Embossed Vellum Flower

Hi Everyone! My absence seems to becoming more frequent at the moment, life is one big whirlwind at present. I am hoping to be able to sort somethings out over the next couple of weeks. So if I am away from the blog, please be patient with me, things will return to normal again soon.

So tonight I wanted to share a card that I made for Scrapbook Boutique a few weeks ago, this was my first try at using vellum and embossing onto it. I have seen quite a few talented ladies over at Flickr using this technique and loved it so much I had to give it a try.



I started with bone card stock, cut to size, folded in half and set aside. I took some white card stock and cut a piece slightly smaller then the front of the card, I stamped Hero Arts, Flourish Background stamp over the top using some Versamark Ink and embossed with some white embossing powder. I then took some Ranger, Distress Ink, Victorian Velvet and covered the entire embossed card stock, causing an embossed resist look, I set this aside to dry. I took a piece of vellum and stamped the Hero Arts, Large Flower and stamped 2 flowers with some Versamark Ink and embossed the flowers with some American Crafts, Zing, White embossing powder. I cut each flower out and placed a K & Company stitched brad, from the Margo collection through the centre of the flower to hold the two 2 flowers together, I then adhered the flower to the embossed card stock with some foam dimensionals. I cut a small white strip of card stock to form a tag and stamped a Hero Arts, Valentine Sayings sentiment and attached to the embossed card stock, lastly, I added some pink rhinestones to each side of the sentiment and adhered this to the front of the card with some foam dimensionals.

Here is another view of the card.



So I hope enjoy viewing the card and I thank you all for being patient and still continuing to visit my blog, I will endeavor to do regular posts.

Hugs to you all and have a wonderful night.

JOY