a couple of spare minutes...

Hi All, well the weather is definitely turning it on for us for the end of term. We spent the day at Arapuni lake, waterskiing and biscuiting. So much fun watching the kids enjoying themselves. The kids had another birthday party yesterday so I had to get my thinking cap on for that one. The Under the Big Top set is always a good "go to" set for kids. So here's the 1st one.....

The framed tulips embossing folder, makes another show, along with very vanilla, pretty in pink, wisteria wonder. All very much little girl colours. The other one was a thank you card for some dear friends.

This one was using soft suede, very vanilla, cherry cobbler, with first edition DSP, pearl accents, and victoria lace with antique brads. The stamp set is creative elements, and I used the rocking technique to get the edge of the butterfly with the soft suede edge. I hope you get some inspiration from these. Yours in creating, Dee

The end is in sight

Well, the school holidays are nearly over for another summer, and life might hopefully return to normal again. It's been a wonderful 6 weeks of not doing anything constructive. However, it has also meant I haven't done anything that I should. But I now plan to remedy that situation, and I have a couple of little cards to show you that I've made recently.

I had a friend's daughter's 3rd birthday, and with being in holiday mode didn't really have too many creative juices flowing, so I ended up adapting one I had previously made, but with stronger colours. They are Pretty in Pink and Conchord Crush. I love the Big Top set and my youngest thought the dancing bear would be appropriate, so that's what we went with. The other one I made was a simple wedding card for a friend's wedding.

Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Crumb cake were used with the Elizabeth stamp set. It's simple yet elegant, and the Victoria lace and antique brad work well with the stamp, and the Framed Tulips embossing folder. So it's short and sweet, but I promise to improve on my posts.... Yours in creating Dee

a little overdue

Hi, due to the silly season and all that goes with it, I have been a little run off my feet lately. So apologies once again for not putting anything up for a while. However, I have made a couple of cards that I can share, so hopefully that will make up for it. My sister is having her birthday on Friday, and I wanted to give her something elegant. I'd found something similar to what I wanted, and I'm sorry I can't find who's blog it was on. But anyway, I've altered it considerably to become what it is now. I love the Established Elegance and Creative Elements sets, and combined they look amazing. The Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake are one of my favourite combinations, and with the use of the pearls to add a bit extra.

Mum has a thing about roosters, and the Beau Chateau paper just seemed to fit the bill. So no stamping on this one, bar the sentiment, but lots of cutting. Dad wanted this to give to Mum for her birthday. Yep, it's a busy time for birthdays in our family at the moment, and with xmas on top...

I'd seen a lot of cards made with the Creative Elements stamp used in this way, but I decided to use my old faithful Tulips Embossing Folder to border it. The Wisteria Wonder and Lucky Limeade work well with this, and finished it off with the Very Vanilla Seam Binding and Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, as well as the designer printed brad in Wisteria Wonder.

Finally, I cased this gorgeous wee reindeer off Kirsty Brown. I unfortunately didn't have any of the red glimmer paper that she used on his nose, but he's just as cute without. The kids thought he was fun, and very easy to make.

So I hope you got some inspiration from these ideas and have fun creating. Cheers, Dee

Pretty Stoked.

Good morning, today we wake as a Nation of World Cup Champions. So proud of the All Blacks they've done a fantastic job throughout the whole of the tournament, and totally deserve the win. The final was such a nail biter, and at stages I was very worried. But they came through and got the win. Yay!!!

I would like to say I've got something to show you that follows the All Black theme in some way, but today I've got a couple of pretty cards that I've done.

Firstly, the balloons are from Up, Up and Away. I've seen so many done in the landscape and bright colours theme, and I wanted to just take it to a different space. So here it is. The little lace rosette, is made by threading one edge with cotton, and pulling into a circlet. Then putting the antique brad through the middle. Once again the framed tulips make an appearance.

This one I made a few months ago, and just love it. I'd been wanting to do a card with the bevelled windows, and using the butterfly from the Nature Walk set, and the crochet ribbon. The background was stamped with leaves from the same set in Pear Pizzaz.

Enjoy your day. Yours in creating.
Dee

Male Inspiration

Just a quick one today, Sunday morning and all. However I can see that by next week, when the kids are back at school, that daily posting may not happen. Never mind, I will endeavour to do my best.

I thought I might show you a couple of male cards. They tend to be the ones that require a bit more thought. I appreciate that Father's Day is passed, but the sentiments could easily be changed. The framed tulips embossing folder is used on the first, but unfortunately doesn't show too well in the photo. The clock is from Forever Young, and I just love that it's quite elegant but strong enough to suit an older man.

The Motorcycle was in the last mini catalogue, and my Father'n Law loves cruising on his motorbike, so this one seemed to just fit. The colours are basic black, crumb cake and very vanilla. The DSP is one that is now retired. The easel card is a great alternative to your standard card. It's so simple to make too. I'll get around to putting up instructions or connections to easy instructions for these sorts of things.

This card reflects my Dad totally. He had rebuilt his father's Bedford truck a couple years back, and understandably it's his pride and joy. He's got the ultimate "Man's Shed", and is very meticulous about where and how everything is kept. So when I saw these sets, I knew I just had to put them together. The end result is here to see. He was quite taken with it, so to get that reaction, it's always a compliment. It's always nice when people understand and appreciate the time and effort that we crafty's put into our creations. I used the Stampin' writes to colour the truck and tools. The colours are real red, basic grey, basic black, crumb cake and so saffron. The DSP used is from the Neutrals Patterns DSP pack. These packs are a great way to get the co-ordinating colours for your projects in patterns.

I see that at the start of this, that it would be a quick one. I think it's progressed a little, but that's all good. I hope you've got some inspiration from these today.
Yours in creating,
Dee

Birthday Wishes

Good morning, well after a day of running around doing a few end of holiday jobs, my children decided we needed a kids class on Sunday. So I'm preparing that one today. I try to keep the kids classes under a dozen, usually because of my limited space, and so that I can dedicate my time to them as they need it. They are a lot of fun, and the children all seem to enjoy themselves.

I wanted to share a couple of birthday cards for you today.

This lovely set is Nature Walk, and it's simple but effective.

For something a bit different, I used my Owl punch. He's so versatile, and I made this one for my husband's birthday. He loves playing the piano, and I wanted to make something for him that reflects him. Which is generally what I do for all my cards I make people, and try to make them personal. Punch art's a lot of fun, and you can do so much with it.

I made this for my daughter's friends birthday. The Pony Party set is very cute, and can be used to do two step stamping if you wish, or leave it simple.

There are a lot of flowerpot cards around, but this is my take on it. These are quite cute, and when you pull up the flowers, the card comes out of the pot, for you to put your message on. Vintage Vogue, is the set I used to make the flowers. It's been around for a couple of years now, and is still one of my favourites to use.

Well, a little inspiration I hope to start your day. I'm endeavouring to get the connections up that I need to finish off my blog, but I'm not that tech-savvy. So I have to wait for a little help from my friends.
Enjoy your day, Dee

Something Elegant

Well, I'm back at again early this morning before the day begins. I wanted to share a couple of cards and easy gifts to make. I've seen these candles around a lot, and wanted to give it a go. They end up being quite a striking gift, and so easy.

This is done with the Forever Young set, and embellished with Butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslits, with pearls and the Victoria Crochet trim. The Framed Tulips embossing folder adds a simple but elegant surround.

The other one I did was for my parents anniversary. The set is Artistic Etchings and Baroque Motifs.

The candles are very easy to do. Stamp you image onto some tissue paper, then place it onto the candle. Use a Heat Tool, and slowly the wax will melt into the tissue paper, and the image is left. Let it cool, then embellish. When I gave it as a present, I wrapped the candle in cellophane and tied with a ribbon.

Enjoy your day. Only a few more days of the school holidays, then it's all go again.
Thanks for looking,
Dee