Displaying Cards

I believe that presentation is half the attraction when wanting to selling any item. With this in mind, I purchased three of these letter holders and gave them the paint, paper and 'pretty' treatment. These boxes will hold cards of mine that are for sale at various shops. I made the paper flowers, spritzed them with some Moonglow shimmer, added lace, bling, ribbons and pearls, with a few little roses to balance it out. I just love doing things like this ~ not the painting, nor gluing, but the embellishing I love! Almost sad to part with them!!

Thanks for the visit!

Beaded Cross

I started this project about a year or more ago (blush!) It is actually a bible cover, but I am converting it into a zipped up folio case. Don't quite know what they are called, but it zips around three sides and opens up like a book. Into this I will be able to place my Mass Missal together with my Rosary and anything relevant to my religious commitments. Hopefully, it will stop me leaving goodies behind in church, dropping loose goodies on the floor and worse still, walking out with someone elses Rosary as it was on the pew next to mine (Double blush!!)
It is a kit I bought from Hazel Blomkamp who is an extremely talented embroidery/beading teacher and we all are lucky to have her in Pietermaritzburg. It is worked in both embroidery and beading and stitched onto a suede type fabric. I have chosen different colours to the kit as shown below, as I am a 'burgundy' girl and have been working on this project this last week. Making great progress and hoping, before too long to finish the stitching/beading and making it up.

I will post another picture of this project, WHEN I finish it!

Thanks for the visit......

Email & Feed links

Hi everyone!
I have added an Email and Feed link to my side bar.
I find this a great help following my favorite blogs, receiving notification
via Email and or Feeds of updates to these blogs.
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Hugz
Moz

Vintage Postcard Card

I really enjoyed making this card!

If you have been following my creative endeavors via my blog, you will know how I so wanted to get into the 'Vintage' mode. I found this postcard via an Etsy shop - it was a digital download.

Here is the list of products used:

• Distress Inks - Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, Walnut Stain
• Spellbindes dies - Lacey Circles, Circle Nestability and Fancy Tags
• Marianne Dies - Butterfly LR0115 Flourish from LR0112
• Distress Stickles - Rock Candy
• DP - from Stash
• Seam binding - Eggshell, stained with above Inks
• Lace from stash also stained with above Inks
• Charm, Pearl pin, pearls & shaggy trim from stash.
• Tag stamp, unknown

~~I absolutely love this card~~

New Background Technique

I love background techniques and am

always keen to try new ones out.

Not all are successful, but this one I love!

You paint the base of your card with Gesso. Don't be too particular about getting it smooth as a slight roughness adds to the texture. When it is dry, take Airondack Alcohol Inks - here I used Lettuce and below, Cranberry and ponce it onto the Gesso with the applicator. It comes out splotchy because of the Gesso. When the ink is dry, run it through the Cuttlebug. Here I used the Stylized Flowers folder. Swipe the raised embossing with a Versamark pad, again don't be too particular about covering it all. Apply embossing powder to the inked areas. it will stick to the card in places as well, so remove with a soft brush. If some stays behind, no problem, it will add to the overall effect. Heat set the ep.

Here I cut and mounted the background onto a plain white card. The sentiment is a Verve one again - they have lovely verses - cut out using a Marriane die. These verses I bought from Sharon Johnson as Verve do not ship to South Africa (again!). Sharon has lovely goodies in her store. Visit her, you will be surprised and she is so obliging and very efficient, never mind inspirational on top of it all.

This is the Cranberry version.

I used two lots of ribbon. The base ribbon is plain white organza ribbon and the top scalloped one is from Paola. Added a pearl to each strip end.

I love this background technique and will use it again.

Not for everyone as it has several steps and some messy, but all part of the fun!

Try it and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by!

La Blanche

I fell in love with this image when I saw it on Sharon Johnson's blog. She linked to Deb and I cased this card from hers. I stamped using Memento black ink and coloured with Copic's. Using the Labels Eight nestie, cut it out and mounted onto dark green. Another one of Paola's lovely selection of papers attached to a white card base, a few flourishes from Mairanne dies, a button and flower and a sentiment from Verve completes it all!

And below........










As always, have to make two cards!
This image was cut out using the Labels Ten nestie and the Fancy Tags, which I cut in half and added to each side of the label. A pearl coloured with Copics as placed onto the label flourish.
Mounted onto a soft green ( not grey as it appears in this photo) that had been swiped with Distress ink Walnut Stain and the same Verve sentiment, but mounted onto a label that had been trimmed to an oval, completed this card.
So much better in real life.
Photos and lighting is another issue in my life! Perhaps I will address the problem some time this year (?).....

Inspired by Tilly

I was the lucky recipient of a gorgeous card from Tilly in New Zealand, using this bird stamp from Memory Box. Tilly does the most amazing background techniques. Although I was not able to mimic her background, I found that using the Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain stamp with Sepia ink pad, created this lovely soft background that I could build on. I used another Hero Arts cling stamp, I think it is Branches, (all Hero Arts from Niki) that I stamped in Hunter Green to the left on the card. The bird stamp was inked up with Memories Soft Wheat on the top and then Hunter Green on the bottom and stamped onto white card. This was mounted onto a dark green board and placed to the top right of the card. The sentiment is from Papertrey, stamped in Hunter Green. All mounted onto a dark green background and onto the white card. Love the clean lines ~ Thanks for the inspiration Tilly!

Bambino

The minute I saw this image, I was smitten! Must be the inner yearning to become a Granny, or maybe the thought of some pink in my life?

This is a digi from Funky Kits. I coloured with Copic's and cut out with a Beaded Ovals nestie and mounted onto a plain Oval nestie. Note, I managed to use some ribbon and flowers on this card ~ making progress in the adornment department! Lovely ribbon and flowers from Paola, who also supplied the pearls!

The sentiment is one from Papertrey. Love the simplicity of these sentiments.

One is never enough, so I created this one!

When I saw this dp, Annes Geddes and her clever use of flowers with babies flashed through my mind. I found these flowers in my stash, snipped them up and glued them down with Bambino on top. The sentiment is one of a set from LOTV - a great addition the one's collection. I coloured the flowers with Spica's to co-ordinate with the card's colours and mounted onto a scalloped circle nestie and then onto a silk flower from the stash.

Note the flowers!! I am working on it..........

I really battle to 'over dress' my cards. Must be the very staid Virgo nature - who knows, but am trying to break the mould, in my old age. Lovely to be able to say, to hell with what people say and think, I'll do it my way ~ having said that, the inner voice expressing concern and caution is always chirping! I may be deaf, but those inner voices are still 'heard'!

Hope you like Bambino!

Easter Card

I signed up for updates from the Flower Soft blog. They give away prizes every week and I was the lucky recipient of an Easter Decoupage pack containing several images, with instructions on how to assemble them.
This is one of the sets. I cut all the pieces out and reassembled as per instructions, using silicone glue to raise the levels.

A closeup of the main Image.

I then coloured the sky and grass, using Distress inks and the blending tool. I mounted it onto a piece of dp I bought from Paola (she makes up packs, which is so great as I don't have access to an assortment of smaller pieces suitable for card making.) I also used some gorgeous lace I bought from her to frame the oval. The sentiment is part of the page kit. I painted it with a gloss that is used in traditional decoupage. It does not show up too clearly in the photo's.

I thought of entering it into the Flowersoft Challenge on SCS, but need to work out the process!

More Bunnies!

Please click on the Moz Bears page above and visit my newest creations!

Meet Max!

How cute is this fella???

In my previous post, I mentioned Wendy, who lives in Nashville in the States. In the parcel with the card I showcased, I included a Sharks jersey for Max. Now tell me, is he not the cutest, most handsome fella you have seen in a long while?

My friend Maureen makes these jersey, under licence, for the Sharks franchise. She makes all sizes and supplies outlets locally in Kwa-Zulu Natal. I cannot think of a nicer gift for pooch lovers. If you are interested in purchasing one, please contact me via email and I will give you contact details for Maureen, who will direct you to her outlets.

Now, I need to gaze a little longer at this handsome young pooch!

Meet Buzz & Sally!

Please visit my Moz Bearz page above,

to find out about these adorable bearz.

Grace - From the Heart!

The kindness given, without expected reciprocation, by crafters is amazing!

I enquired through a crafting friend, Sheilagh, details of some products she had used on a RAK card she sent me, and she told me that it was via a friend in the USA, as the company who supplied the goods will not deal with South Africa. Sheilagh then suggested I contact Wendy to find out if she would help me. Well, Wendy went out of her way to get my order, not without complication from a very unfriendly company, and it arrived in the post, safe and sound.

We have continued to communicate and I enjoy her newsy emails. Having lived in Durban, she relates to all my updates and her new country of residence is a none ending source of interest to me. To hear about the snow blizzards whilst I am ready the email, with sweat running down my brow, sweltering in the February weather in Pietermaritzburg, is incomprehensible!

I made this card for Wendy to thank her for her kindness. It is a digital image called Grace, from Funkykits in the UK. So totally adorable, I could not resist her. I coloured her with my FC Polychromos pencils and blended it with the Lyra blending pencil. Cut her out using the Marianne Die LR0117, which you can now buy from Paola, mounted this onto some matching paper from a pad I had been hoarding from Sizzex - always so nice to find co-ordinating paper in one place! I used a Spellbinders Fancy tag and stamped the sentiment - I think a WOJ that Paola sent me awhile ago. Added some roses from Paola and some Seam Binding from Ameila that I had coloured using my Copic markers and the blending marker. Came together rather nicely. You can see I am working on being able to put together a girly cute card, but it does not come easy to me!

Thank you so much Wendy, for your kindness! I do so appreciate it.

Toe Up Socks

At last, I have made a start on this new sock knitting venture. I bought this book by

Cat Bordhi so that I could learn her version of toe up socks. You create a personal footprint pattern, as you can see on the side. You draw around your foot and at certain stages of your knitting the proto type you place marks on the footprint. This becomes your personal pattern and you can knit any sock pattern using this as your base sock.

Fascinating! I really bought this book so that I could knit a sock that fits my DH properly. He wears a size 12/13 shoe and has a broad foot. I have never managed to get the sizing right for his feet. Next problem is to find thin enough yarn, that he will enjoy wearing. He hates the sock wool available here in South Africa, so will have to bring in a skein from the States to try out. Wow, do they have awesome yarn available there. Mind boggling! Will keep you updated on my progress.

Thanks for visiting.

Bracelets

I have had a change of creativity!

A multi talented friend showed me how to make these bracelets and I had a go last night. What fun I had. It is contagious and I could not stop until I had used up all my stocks! DH had to grab me by my big toe and drag me off to bed!

All in all, made 6 bracelets, the 2 not shown had been snatched by my neighbour before I could take a photo.

Great fun to make!

Thank you Debbie for shopping for me and your never ending inspiration and sharing. You are special!

Sympathy Card

One of our new members of the RSA Stamping Group lost her husband suddenly last week. A card was all I could offer together with my prayers.

I had just been visiting 'Curt's World' blog and loved a sympathy card he had just turned out. I did not have the same stamps and changed the colour, but the layout and theme is cased from him. The background was a stamp called Starburst from CHF and the foremost image is Dark Room Door. Both were stamped with Versamark and embossed using white ep. The sentiment - no name brand,was stamped in black, rounded the corners and attached side on - new one for me and I like it! I wrapped the top image with white seam binding from dear Amelia, who so kindly sent me some to play with. She will be selling seam binding in several colours, so do pop over and pay her a visit.

I astounded myself with this card. It only took me 1 hour instead of one day!