Hop to Stop - cards for Domestic Violence Month

Today I'm sharing a few cards I made in response to a blog post by Becca Cruger

at Hop to Stop about Domestic Violence.

I was alerted to this very worthy cause by Lizzy Hill and also Margaret Mifsud, 

both of whom have made cards.  

I started off with some water colour paper and just played
with stencils, paint, inks without being too invested in the outcome.

Great to use some older stash and some pretty ribbon from my friend Chris.

Purple, is the colour of Domestic Violence Awareness month.
There is a blog hop and a chance to make cards to donate to Becca's local shelter.
They can use thank you, birthday, encouragement and all occasion cards,
with the centres left blank to make them more versatile.

Thanks for calling in to say hello; I love it when you leave a comment 

and appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Kraft + Retro Challenge - Dream

Thanks for visiting my blog today, on this wet and wild "Spr-i-nter" day,

Spring is missing in action, Winter reigns and I hope we don't leap straight into Summer.

The up side however, is it's perfect for crafting.

Here is the Kraft+ challenge for October.

The challenge is to use any one or more of the retro things listed, 

things we may have abandoned in search of new papers and techniques.

My starting point was the hair style on the woman and I went in search of this photo of my Aunt.

It's a different era of retro, but when one is older, retro is a bit further back in history!

The Prima paper is about six years old - it's from the Madeleine collection, "Ste. Marie"

The tatted doily was made by my Mother, as was Aunty Rita's gown.

I tried to glam it up with some Liquitex Glass Beads through a Prima stencil,

then added Walnut Gold Glimmer mist, when the texture paste was dry.

Can you see the tiny gold ribbon bow?   Another item from the retro list.

It was fun using the flower and border punches and not so fun trying to find my eyelet setter.

It's still missing in action, so they got bashed in with a meat tenderiser.

I did locate my vellum and using an idea from Lizzy Hill, 

I stamped and embossed it before cutting it out with flower and leaf dies.

Love how that turned out.  Thanks Lizzy.

The journalling is on the back of the page and it reads:-

Auntie Rita, was my Mother's youngest Sister; the Baby in a family of nine.

She, along with three of her Sisters, studied Nursing and worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital when she completed her training.  Sadly, she suffered from mental health issues in later life and was unable to work, as a result of the medication she was on.  As she never married, nor had children, my Mother and another Sister, became her carers. When I see this beautiful young woman making her debut, with her whole life ahead of her, no one could have predicted 

her sad, sick and lonely life as an older woman.  

Thanks for calling in today and for any comments you may care to leave.

They are so much appreciated.

Happy go Lucky - Stuck?! sketches October 15 2016

Hello Scrappy friends - today I’m sharing a sketch challenge for Stuck!? sketches,
a fun sketch if you have a series of photos to scrap.

I’ve been hoarding this paper and it seemed just right for a boy on his field of dreams. It’s by Webster’s pages, Strawberry fields, “Fields of gold”. I love the bokeh effect in the background.





I rotated the sketch 45 degrees to the right, to better suit the portrait shaped photos.



The super Star flair is from my stash - sorry, I don't know it's origin.



Scrapmatts products used:-

CB1048 Soccer Balls 03
CB 1196 Silhouettes 04
CB1237 Scrap words 23

The journalling is on the back of the page and it reads:-

We came to watch you play Grasshopper soccer one chilly morning in September. We were all gathering for Daddy’s Birthday brunch after your match. It was fun watching you do the exercises; trying to “catch” other players with the soccer ball; evaluating the play from the back before putting on a turn of speed and racing away to the front. You love to be goalie and we saw you stop a couple of certain goals from the opposition. You try, try and keep trying, so your skills have improved enormously as a result.

Love Granny. 18 Sept 2016

We have two generous sponsors for this challenge.

Are offering two large pieces of chipboard.

Are donating a $20.00 gift voucher.


Thanks for calling in to say hello.

I truly appreciate any comments you may care to leave.

Scrapmatts October projects - Love and two Christmas cards

Hello, hello, welcome to my blog.

It's my turn to share some projects for
SCRAPMATTS
I've been eager to use the large circles as a photo mat;
to do so, I had to cut into them and rearrange the pieces.
I'm really happy with the result. CB5152 Circles 02
They were heat embossed with Stampendous Aged Teal.




The floral paper is from Cocoa Vanilla, Make a Wish, "Fresh cut"
and the spotty papers are from a Lawn Fawn 6x6 pad,
"Polka dots in the meadow."
For the Mixed media, I applied texture paste through

ST1004 Stencil Bubbles

before splashing some acrylic paint over the bubbles.
Just realised I forgot to acknowledge Laura Whitaker
when I used her wonderful sketch from June 2016 My apologies Laura.





The love title was lightly brushed with Pearl paint.

CB6115 Assorted Words 28



The sub title - You and Me arrow, is from a pack of eleven.
CB6105 Assorted Words 23
I love the little heart foliage tucked into the cluster.
Heart Spray 01
This is one of my favourite photos of you with Pa.
The journalling is on the back of the page and it reads:-

You were perched on Pa’s knee in your special Elsa dress and helping him to blow out his Birthday candles. The look between you two clearly shows the unconditional love you have for each other. This year in Pa’s Father's day card, you dictated your words to Mummy to write for you. You said “Thank you for taking me to the cafe with you. We hope you had a very good Father’s day, we treat you and keep you and don’t let you die. I love you”

Photo 5th April 2015, your words September 2016 - love Granny

When I spotted the Vintage children at Christmas SC007 in my happy mail from Sophie, I thought they deserved a very special card. I had seen a video by Collette Mitrega on her You Tube channel and this is my version.

I had to adjust the size to fit the images.
I challenged myself to use some older papers to make a Christmas card.
My thoughts were that that the great range of Scrapmatts goodies
would transform the papers into something special.

I'm love the way it turned out. What do you think?



The PEACE title CB6111 Assorted Words 27, was wet embossed;
CB5144 Layered Poinsettias 01 on the belly band were
painted with distress inksand topped with dimensional magic.



This photo trying to show the way the card opens.



The Christmas Tree CB1060 Christmas Trees 02
was wet embossed too and trimmed with Kaisercraft pearls.
The Merry Christmas ornament comes in a pack of fifteen.

The final project is also a Christmas card with a pop out centre.
I found many different versions on Pinterest.



The Joy title was wet embossed, CB6111 Assorted words 27
The Merry Christmas Ornament is from the same pack of fifteen.

The hanging stars were created with texture paste
and gold paint through a Star stencil



The stars and the tree on the presents are from
Assorted Words pack
Well that's all for me, I hope you've found something to inspire you.

All the SCRAPMATTS products are available direct.
I'd love to see you upload your projects to the gallery.

Until next time - Happy Crafting.

Thanks for calling in to say hello.
I truly appreciate any comments you may care to leave.

Christmas Cards

Just a quick post today to share some Christmas Cards.

I’ve been galvanised into action by two super organised and talented crafters, both of whom started their cards months ago.

You might like to take a look at their blogs
 

Lizzy Hill
Margaret Mifsud

They are a constant source of inspiration for me.



The cards are all C&S - this one using a Spellbinder die.


 

Using some Grosgrain ribbon form my Mother's stash.

Adding a little wooden star from a dollar store.



Combining some decade old paper with some newer embellies.



Whoops this one is photographed on a lean!



Road testing my new dies from Lawn Fawn. 

I'd love you to let me know which one/s you like the best.


Thanks for calling in to say hello.
I truly appreciate any comments you may care to leave.

Stuck?! Creative Team - Smile

Thanks for joining me today as I share a page for the
Stuck Sketches Creative Team.



The background paper is from Blue Fern,
Ombre dreams collection, “Ginger’s dreams”
The gold striped vellum at the back, is an older piece
by Crate Paper, “Open book”


I found the angle a little challenging to begin with,
but love the finished look of the off centre page.







The embossed heart is by Scrapmatts CB1071 Hearts 04
The little kitty flair is an oldie from October Afternoon.




The chipboard word is from Scrapmatts, CB6115 Assorted Words 28  

and the flair is from Studio Fourteen 40.

The journalling is on the back of the page and it reads:-

When you come to spend the day with us, you are always in a happy mood; eager to get into my craft supplies and make "Art". This can be anything from cutting and pasting, punching, splashing water colours around, misting through stencils, or experimenting with texture paste. You have a good eye for detail and design, often combining your favourite colours; pink, purple and silver, to make pretty cards for Mummy. You especially like anything sparkly and glittery, so I like to be well stocked up with Rhinestones and Pearls.
 

I enjoy our play times together and will miss you
when you have to go to school everyday.
 

Love Granny. Photo 16th November 2015

I hope you will be inspired with this versatile sketch and join in at Stuck?! There are great prizes to be won from these generous sponsors.
 

May Arts Ribbon https://www.ribbonresource.com/ Prize = $25.00 gift certificate to their online store.

Heartfelt Creations www.heartfeltcreations.us Prize = $25.00 gift certificate to their online store.

Thanks for calling in to say hello.

I truly appreciate any comments you may care to leave.