Spring birds #1

Rather than share another card (wedding cards that I made a few weeks ago) I decided to share some of my photographs from this spring.  I had mentioned a few weeks ago that Bill is teaching me how to process my pictures.  It's not easy, and lots to learn, but slowly getting there. 

The first 4 pictures were taken at Pt Pelee National Park in May. Love these warblers, but they are very hard to photograph as they never sit still. So lots of pictures are taken but good thing for digital as you can just delete the bad ones!

(click on the picture to enlarge)

 

The next two were taken up north as this is where more of them head for breeding. Bill and I took a day trip up just south of Tobermory ON (4.5 hrs each way) and we did this in a day. Let around 3:30am and left to come home around 4 pm.  It's a long day but so worth it.  I took many more pictures up there but just don't have them all processed yet. One of my favourites was this cute little wren. I have the wrong name on the border which I need to change. This is actually a house wren not a winter wren.

Hope you enjoyed these.  I'll have more soon to share.
Have a wonderful day!

Pauline

Masculine thanks

I have 2 cards to share with you today.  Nothing special, just working on some extra cards for my basket. I'm trying to work on cards that I don't already have or cards where I've been asked if I have them and usually don't.

I made a couple of masculine thank you cards.  Love how quickly these worked up.

For my first card was so simple, just one die and cardstock.  I saw a card like this made by Laura Bassen over on the Simon Says blog last year.  The triangle die is from SSS - stripes card wrap (SSSD111781). I used coordinating papers from Papertrey Ink and SU.  Thanks (SSS - Big Thanks Words) was embossed with white EP onto some black cardstock then trimmed.  I added some enamel dots to finish this off.

 

For my second card, I started with some watercolour paper, added a couple of sprinkles of  Nuvo shimmer powder - golden sparkler, then spritzed with water.  This powder has gold mica powder in it so has a lot of shimmer, just gorgeous.  I then used MFT wonky rectangle die to cut it out, layered it onto some gold shimmer c/s then SU navy cardstock for the base.

The triangle layer on top is from SSS - stacked diamonds.  I cut this from cream flecked c/s, also cut it from some of the scraps left over from the background once I trimmed it down, so I could use the diamond centers to fill back in here and there.  The 'thanks' was cut from SSS die using navy c/s.  I cut this 3 times then adhered them together. To finish off  I added some enamel dots as well.

Well that's it for me.  I'm off today, good thing because it is suppose to reach 91F feeling like 115F with the humidex. and for Saturday too. Way too hot for outside, but have lots to do inside (like making cards - wink!)

Thanks for visiting, wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Pauline

Wedding wishes

It's been a while since my last post I thought I best post something.  I haven't been doing too munch in the line of stamping the last few weeks, weekends have been busy as well as work.  I try to squeeze a bit of crafting when I can.  I find summers are hard to work on cards as I enjoy the outdoors, so spend time outdoors when the weather is good.  Although it has been extremely hot, the evenings aren't too bad once the sun goes down.  Looks like we are in for another rough few days of extreme heat middle to end of the week, with temps around the 40C (104F) mark. This coming friday it is suppose to feel like 46C (115F), thank goodness for air conditioning!

Okay, on with my card for today.  I mentioned that I was working on wedding cards for my basket. I hope you don't get too bored with them as I have another one to share today.

Not a lot of explaining on this, so will list the supplies below.

Paper - white cougar 100lb, bazzill light blue, Prima Marketing - Fairy Belle
Die - Creative Expressions - Scandinavian Collection - Stockholm
Stamps - Verve - Wishful Elegance
Misc - Wild Orchid flowers, Prima Flowers,  pearls, dollar store glittery rhinestones,  Nuvo aqua shimmer glimmer gloss, foam tape, versamark, Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder

PS - I've been working on  some of my spring/summer bird photos.  Bill has been teaching me. I hope to have some to post very shortly.

Wishing you a fabulous day!

Pauline

Best wishes

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted.  I haven't been doing much in the line of stamping lately. Bill and I went away for the long weekend, then it's back to work.  Work has been really busy, so when I get home I'm not in the mood to work on cards.  Just exhausted, along with this terrible heat wave we are having, leaves you feeling drained. Temperatures are feeling like 40- 41C (102 - 104 F), and looks like it will continue until at least Sunday, then a tad cooler but not much for the next week.

It's that time of year  - wedding time! I've had lots of requests for wedding cards, so last week I have been trying to get a couple done for my basket.  My card today was inspired by a card my good friend Carla (known as cardsbycarla on SCS) posted on her instagram page. I changed it up somewhat, but just love her layout don't you?

The wedding gown is an embossing folder by Darice.  Oval die cut  layer is from Creative Expressions - Austrian collection - Innsbruck.  Scallop bottom is from Spellbinders A2 scalloped borders one. The hexagon die is from Aliexpress.  Sentiment is from Verve, embossed on vellum with white ep.

To finish off I added a floral arrangement, ribbon and gold beads.

I took this one into work, and it just happened that someone downstairs emailed me to see if I had any wedding cards in my basket, so needless to say I didn't have this one very long.  I need to make a couple more like this. It is very pretty IRL.  Thanks Carla for the inspiration! :)

I hope all my American follows are enjoying their July 4th long weekend. Take care and keep cool!

Pauline

Curvy girl eats cake

Hi there! TGIF and not only that a 4 day weekend for me as us Canadian's celebrate Canada day on July 1.
The weather has been wonderful all week, although a bit too hot for my liking - it's been reaching 100-104F during the afternoons this past week and the same for the weekend. But hey, it's summer right?

Today I'm sharing a Stamping Bella image called Curvy girl eats cake. 

 

I used polychromos pencils to colour her. To make the curve on the right side I used Spellbinders AS curved borders one.

Designer paper is from Piatek Trzynastego  called Hello Beautiful. Another beautiful line of papers I have discovered along with  Mintay Papers.

Sentiment was white embossed onto some black cardstock. Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink

To finish off I added a small silk bow, clear sequins, some glitter to the flowers along with using my white gel pen, I added some small polka dots to her pocket and on the icing.

That's it for me today, enjoy your weekend whatever you are doing. Have fun, be safe!

Pauline

Dreams of Love

Hello everyone.  I hope you had a great weekend.  No complaints from me, the weather was absolutely fabulous, lots of sunshine and no humidity. Managed to get some yard work done (weeding) and just enjoy the outdoors.

Last week I was playing around with some new Penny Black stamps.  This one is called Dreams of Love and I also purchased the matching die.  I don't always by the die, but did this time around. Sometimes it just makes life easier.

I placed the stamp and Strathmore Mixed Media vellum surface paper in my Misti..  I used several distress inks to colour this. Once done, I used the matching die to cut it out.

Designer paper is by Glitz - french kiss -(this paper pack is very old).  I used a die from Aliexpress for the white layer, then sponged some distress ink for a bit of shading.

To finish off I added a little tag (spellbinders), and stamped 'for you' from Simon Says Stamps - tiny words. The sentiment actually says 'just for you' I just masked off the 'just'. I then added a little wooded butterfly, which I sponged on some distress oxide ink and then used my wink of stella clear pen for a bit of shimmer.
I added some Tim Holtz distress clear rock candy glitter to the center of the flower, a couple of rhinestones and a pearl.

The flower really isn't that dark, it's much softer.  The camera picked it this way and I had a hard time trying to adjust the colour to make it look like the actual image.

Well that's it for me for today, wishing you a fabulous day!

Pauline

Cardinal #3

I hope you are not bored with me sharing another Cardinal card.  My co-worker is using my cardinal cards to send to those who have lost a loved one.  I told her a few months ago about what they say about cardinals - When one shows up in your yard, it is a sign of a 'loved' one looking down on you, and she fell in love with this idea.

Not a whole lot of explaining on this one - digital image resized and printed then coloured using copics.
I cut the cardinal using a Spellbinder circle die, then layered this onto another white layer cut using spellbinder scallop die.  The bottom white layer is a die cut using Papertrey Ink - Shape shifters circle #4.

Paper is from Memory Box, sorry don't know the exact collection these are from. I added a piece of gold washi tape along the bottom edge of the red, added some white silk ribbon, and two gold skeleton leaves.

To finish off I added a small little sequin flower to the center of the bow, pearls around the outside edge of the white and glitter to the flowers.

Next time I have to make a cardinal card, I'm going to try going 'outside the box' and colour the cherry blossoms another colour other than pink.

Well that's it for me today. Wishing you a happy day!

Pauline

Happy moments

June is a very busy month in our family as far as birthdays. Last weekend we celebrated at my sister's place the June 'guy' birthdays (4 of them) and fathers day.

This is one of the cards I made, this one went to my Brother Steve.

I started out with some Penny Black Script foil paper and stamped a Magenta leaf branch (sorry no name on the package) using Archival ink - potting soil.  I then added a couple of strips of washi tape (Tim Holtz Ideo-ology tape) along the bottom, then adhered this to some dark brown c/s.

For the copper background, I used some copper shimmer c/s and Creative Expressions Diamond Illusions embossing folder.

The sentiment is from Penny Black - Smile Today set - stamped onto some cream c/s, cut using Spellbinders Hexagon die and then I sponged (using my brushes, similar to Picket Fence life changing brushes - bought mine from Aliexpress - and I love them, they blend so perfectly) potting soil ink around the edges, adhered to brown c/s and then added some diamond copper brads. I added some craft foam behind the sentiment for some dimension, and ran a piece of ribbon behind.

I ended up making 2 of these cards, one for my stash.

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

Pauline

Floral border

Hello! Sorry it's been a while since I posted, seems like forever.  Just been busy, and working overtime the last few weeks.  We are back to normal hours for a bit, so trying to catch up on things.

My card today is one that I had made a while ago.  Someone at work requested a Good Luck card for a co-worker who was moving to another job role.

I had the background already done, sitting in my spare parts basket just waiting to be used. I die cut the Memory Box Antilles Floral Border from white c/s and adhered to the coloured background.

I have a little package of labels, and there just happened to be a 'good luck' tag in there which worked perfectly for my card.  I added a green silk bow and some pretty rhinestones to the centers of the flowers.

Enjoy your weekend, see you again real soon!

Pauline

Mr. C

Hi! Remember last month when I shared a cardinal card (here), well I ended up making 2 cardinal cards.  This was a digital image I found on line.  I enlarged this one a bit bigger than the first.  We have cardinals all year around here, many more in the winter months.  We call the cardinals Mr. C and Mrs. C here at home, just a quirky saying!

After printing this onto some cougar white c/s, I used copics to colour.  Square frame is from MFT stitched square frames.  The fancy swirl border in pink is from Aliexpress. 

To finish off I cut a small flourish from the same pink paper for the decorative corner and added a lime green silk bow. Also added some crystal gems in white and soft pink.

Thanks for your visit, have a wonderful day!

Pauline

Live for the moments....

Hello there.  Hope your week is going well. 

Today's card features another image from the Tim Holtz Theories collection.  I think these images are fabulous for those 'masculine' cards.

I started by spraying some distress oxide inks onto some canson watercolour paper.  Drying with a heat gun in between, and then adding more ink.  Once completely dry, I stamped some background images using distress oxide inks, and also used a 'sun ray' stencil in the left upper corner.  I then placed the paper into my misti, then stamped the image using black archival ink - I believe I stamped a couple of times to get a nice dark impression.

I then added some washi tap along the bottom, used a PTI die to cut the circles at the top using some brown shimmer c/s, stamped the sentiment onto some black c/s, and embossed with white ep, I then trimmed the edges.

For the turquoise background, I took my distress oxide ink pads and ran them across my turquoise c/s to give it added colour, then layered this onto a piece of brown shimmer c/s. I also cut 3 little banners and lined them up the left side of my main piece (used scraps from my main background).

To finish off I added some enamel dots.

I'm always a bit hesitant to make cards like this, not sure what it is about it, but once I get moving along I really enjoy doing these types of cards. You will never get 2 the same as inks always blend differently each time.

Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a happy and safe weekend!

Pauline

Birthday wishes

Hello! Well today marks my last day of my 11 day vacation (insert sad face).  It was a great week, Bill and I did a lot of traveling for the spring migration, captured some great photos, which I will soon share. For the most part the weather was great.  We even did a lot of yard work as well, gardens have been weeded and most of my flower pots are planted (annuals).  I admit, I did not even make one card in over 2 weeks - tsk, tsk, but you know sometimes you just need to take a break once in a while.

My card today is one that I made a while ago for my 10 birthday card order.  I know this is a SU set which cost just over $80 + shipping (CDN) which includes stamp set & matching die, but I found it on Aliexpress for less than $10 cdn! A great bargin for sure.

So, this is what I made using the set and die.  I also added a couple of extra leaves from the die set cut them from green c/s, then added some copic markers to kind of match the leaves in the main image.

Sentiment was from PB snippits, which was stamped in black versafine, then I die cut it was a Spellbinders label die.

To finish off I added some sequins and a little peach heart sequin on the sentiment piece.

I just might decide to make a card today depending on the weather.  I thought it was suppose to be sunny/cloud mix, but looks like it could actually rain. Wishing you a wonderful day, see you back here soon!

Pauline

Aviary

Hello everyone! Today's card is one I did a while ago, but never got around to posting it.  The stamp is from Penny Black called Aviary. When this was released I knew I just had to have it being it had both florals and birds!

I started by stamping this onto some watercolour paper and then used my Zig markers to colour.

When I was done colouring I pulled out my Polychromos pencils to add some shading especially on the birdhouse. This was actually my second attempt of this image, the first one I ruined by trying to watercolour the ground area and it was a disaster, so in the garbage it went.  For this one, which was my 2nd attempt, I decided to pull out my MFT brick stencil and sponged some distress antique linen, walnut stain and frayed burlap, for the ground area.  I did mask off the flower pots before doing so. I then sponged around the sides and top with some distress peacock feathers.

To finish off I added a couple of banner tags in the corner, silk ribbon, and some clear sequins.

Hope you're having a good week so far.  Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon.

Pauline

Mixed Bouquet

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, work has been busy, and when Im not at work Bill and I have been out photography birds as the spring migration has begun. Today I have a  Mother's Day card to share I made for my basket at work.

I used Papertrey Ink's Mixed Bouquet flower set, stamped the flowers in PTI inks and then sponged some spring moss ink along the bottom.  I cut this out using MFT stitched rectangle die.

I was going to sponge some clouds in the sky, but saw this piece of white already die cut on my table, so laid that on top and loved the look. This die is from Aliexpress.  I did sponge some SU soft sky ink along the top just so it would make the lacy die cut pop a bit.

I added some silk ribbon and I also made a couple of banners from the left over paper from my card base which is from Prima Marketing - Firefly collection.  Added a small white flower, pearls and Tim Holtz clear distress glitter to finish this off.

It does look a bit blurry as I look at this now.  Maybe it's just my eyes - I hope so.

Have a wonderful day, and as always I appreciate you stopping by.

Pauline

Beautiful day

Hello everyone.  I'm back today to share another birthday card I made for my friends order.

I'm using Altenew's Handpicked Bouquet and matching die.

I started by stamping and embossing with platinum the floral onto some watercolour paper.  I then used my Zig markers to watercolour.  Once done I used the coordinating die to cut it out.

For my background I smooshed some distress oxide inks onto my glass mat, spritzed and then dabbed my paper into the inks until I liked what I saw.  I also splattered some distress ink on top once it was dry.  I then used an MFT die to cut out the background.  Some foam tape was added behind the scallop layer then I adhered this to my card base.

The sentiment is from Altenew - Beautiful Day and is embossed in white onto some black c/s.  I then cut it down to make a banner tag and adhered it to the bottom.  I was going to add some dimension in behind the flowers, but didn't want to make this card to thick as I already had some foam tape behind the background layer, so just adhered this flat. 

To finish off I added some enamel dots!

Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate when you do.  Have yourself a fabulous weekend!

Paline