Male Cards

Hey friends,

Just a short post to let you know I'm slowly finding my way back to this wonderful world of crafting. I have done a bit of creating recently as I needed a couple of cards. However, I think my MoJo is currently still on a break - so I'm thankful ya'll are around to inspire me and get  the creative juices working.

I have a dear friend from my ol' school days who has been especially kind to me and my family during this season of grief and loss. I had lost touch with him for many, many years and we really only connected mid last year after an 18 year absence. Anywho, I missed his birthday earlier this year and then he was kind enough to host me and some of my family when we headed back to Qld for Mum's funeral, so I needed both a birthday card and a thank you card to send with his gifts recently.

The birthday card was fun - my first ever attempt at emboss-resist!! I can't believe I haven't done this before now either - but the past year I've accumulated a lot of crafting stuff (alright, hoarded) and haven't really done all that much creating. Hoping that is gonna change here on out.

This card was inspired by the final week of the recent Summer Card Class run by Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire. I had been so excited about participating that I signed up the very first moment I heard about the classes. Unfortunately, Mum was at her sickest and passed away right in the middle, so this was the only chance I got to participate. I've signed up for Jennifer's next Inspiration Showcase classes though and can't wait to begin.

The thank you card I made was CASE'd and inspired by Claire from Waltzing Mouse Stamps. As soon as I saw her card here, I knew I wanted to recreate it myself and I think I really need to have another go as this looks nothing like Claire's masterpiece. Still, I love this set and how she has given us all the elements needed to create the layers and depth to this card.

I think that's enough from me for now. :)

Catch you all again soon. I'll try and find some time to pop by all your blogs and leave some love soon. I do miss you my dear friends.

Hope you are all well.
Much love, Michey  xxx


HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARD DEETS:
Stamps: Hero Arts Lucious Ledger CG302, Happy Definition CG269 (background); Paper Smooches Birthday Buddies (sentiment)
Inks: Distress Inks: Broken China, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Old Paper (distressing); Versamark
Cardstock/Paper: SU Sage Shaddow & Whisper White
Other: PTI Banner Dies, EK Success Punch; Twinery Honeydew Twine; White EP, Misc Silver Bullet dots, Glue Dots, Ranger Blending Tools

THANK YOU CARD DEETS:
Stamps: WMS Way Out West, Back In The Saddle (sentiment)
Inks: Distress Ink Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Stormy Sky, Mustard Seed, Frayed Burlap (background text); SU Basic Grey, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock/Paper: PTI Kraft & Stampers Select White
Other: Ranger Blending Tools, Paper Snips, Dimensional Adhesive

Birthday Cards Part 2

Here are two more birthday cards I made this year.

Amy's Card:

Amy is my middle niece and is a very sporty girl. A real chip of her daddy's block (and he's my twin). I didn't think a girly girly card would fit her as well as my other niece....so hunted through my images to find the "right" one.

Rock the Farm Anya was right on the money!! Cute, but not too girly and feminine, if you know what I mean.

Amy's fav colours are purple and yellow - her football teams colours, go figure.

I didn't mind the purple - its my favourite colour too.....but the yellow, hmmmmm - well I did it - though its not in my top 10 of favourite colours or colour combos.

The photos all look a bit different in colour, I'm sorry - definitely need to think about setting myself up with some proper lighting and all for photos in the new year....can't get the right colour temp on my DSLR for night photos atm....and since that's often the only time I have to get a snap.....will have to consult my fellow photographer buddy for his opinion. :)

Jeanette's Card:

One of my Mama's dear friends needed a birthday card earlier in the year too!! She's a lovely older lady so I went with a card of lovely flowers.

I tried to remember what I had seen in Jeanette's garden when I was last there and themed my card around that. I used some of SU's past InColours. This was card was also CASE'd from someone's blog, but I can't for the life of me find the original post (if its you, please let me know so I can give credit). :)

This was also in the days before I discovered Copics....so my colouring is done by dabbing a fine paintbrush into the stamp pad and applying colour that way. Labourious and time consuming compared to my favourites, the Copics. :)

There also some razzle dazzle on this card - though its a little hard to see. I DD'd all the little blossoms on the lower panel. And made a matching envelope as well. Fancy, schmancy.

Thanks for taking a peek-a-boo.

Hugs, Michey xxx

THE DEETS:

Amy's Card:

Stamps: The Greeting Farm "Rock the Farm", Misc Alphabet stamps

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Perfect Plum, Barely Banana

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Perfect Plum, Barely Banana

Others: Spellbinders Embossing Plate, SU Perfect Plum + Very Vanilla Ribbon, Copics

Jeanette's Card:

Stamps: SU Embrace Life

Inks: SU Basic Black, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Old Olive, Regal Rose

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Ginger Blossom, River Rock, Groovy Guava

Others: Paintbrush, Dazzling Diamonds, Random Brads, Groovy Guava Grosgrain

Several Birthday cards....

Since its already been a wee while since I've been able to find the time needed to post.....I thought I'd upload a few of my creations in one post.

I'll try keep the chatter to a minimum with this one too (though I may find it a wee bit difficult). :) These were all cards I made for various birthdays.

Dave's Card:

Here's a card I made in May for my Pastor. His birthday is the day after mine and he and his wife have been great friends of mine for several years now. I first met them when they were just pregnant with their first bubba, and she's now a stunning girl of sixteen. You really see how the years have gone by when you see the little ones you used to babysit grow up, hey!!

I tried my hand at creating a graduated background for this card - a little challenging without a brayer (which I now have) and required lots of daubing. Again, the photos aren't so great - but my previous apartment was very light challenged. :)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Here's a card I made for my Mama to send to her oldest sister, who also happens to be my Godmother.

Not that I see her very often at all these days and she is no longer required to be my legal guardian should something happen to my folks.

Anyway, I really wanted to use Bella Rose DSP for her card and used that as my starting point.

The ideas sort of flowed from there and I played around with the layout for a little

bit until I was happy.

My Mama loved it and was more than willing to send it on to her sister. :)

Lesley's Card:

One of the longest and dearest friendships in my adult life has been with a treasure called Lesley. We met during my first year in Sydney and became firm friends. We just about did everything together even though she is just a year or two younger/older than my parents.

She got married to a lovely chappy 12 years ago and we've managed to keep the friendship alive over the years. She had a big birthday this year - 60!! And I wanted to make her a spesh card - trying not to resort to her favourite colours - being a Kiwi that means Black and White. I used this lovely set that I had just received from Verve and also used Julee Tilman's sneak peek card for the layout and design.

Fereen's B'day:

My dear Fijian friend Fereen (try saying that ten times fast) was seconded to Canada for the first seven months of this year and I missed her dreadfully. She's just a whole bunch of fun to be around. I was late in getting a birthday care package in the post for her, but when she did receive it she was very, very happy.

A box full of many different types of Tim Tams and some yummy, yummy tea from T2 (or so she said. I wouldn't know as I really don't like black tea at all).

The parcel arrived just as she was starting to pack up all the things in readiness for being sent back to us who love her here in Sydney. She had accumulated quite a bit of stuff during her stay and the Tim Tams got her through the trauma of packing (though most of it will be of no use here - we just don't have the same winters that you Northeners do). :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Michey xxx

RECIPES:

Dave's Card:

Cardstock: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Inks: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy

Others: Misc White Brads, SU Slit Punch (to make scallop border on sentiment), Clear Embossing Powder & Heat Gun (on flowers)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive (sentiment); Versamark + Versacolour Gold (on presents)

Stamps: Verve Birthday Surprise

Others: SU Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Curly Square Punches x 2, Kaisercraft Rhinestones (coloured with Copics to match cardstock)

Lesley's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Kraft & Old Olive DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive, Baja Breeze, VersaColour White

Stamps: Verve Just For You, SU Oval All

Others: SU Hodgepodge, White Taffeta Ribbon, Kaisercraft Pearls

Fereen's Card:

Cardstock: SU Riding Hood Red (I know it looks quite orange, more poor lighting); Kiwi Kiss & Kiwi Kiss DSP

Inks: SU Riding Hood Red & Kiwi Kiss, Versamark

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy & Verve Thankful Blossoms

Others: SU Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Random Red Brads, Embossing Powder and Heat Gun

Mama's B'day

My darling Mama had a birthday in March and since she's not really well, we decided to have a wee party for her and not wait on her birthday 'til my brother returned. She wasn't seriously ill or anything but her health is precarious at the best of times and life is fairly unstimulating ho-hum day in, day out for her - so some spice and a family-time moment was decided as essential. (Plus it gave me more Auntie time with little Cambo, lol.)

She lives in a low level care nursing home and we all put in to buy her a fridge for her room as her birthday pressie. This was delivered the day before her birthday and the delivery guys beat me to her place by about 15mins. She was surprised and almost managed to convince the guys they had the wrong person and wrong room - until they showed her the delivery docket which had her name and my phone number on it!!!

She's a fussy eater at the best of times, so it helps to have her own fridge so we can keep it somewhat stocked with the food she will eat. Plus it has a decent freezer so we can take over some "extra" meals for standby if necessary.

I searched through the blog list I had at the time and found this card by Carolyn King (I'm still learning how to use blogger and haven't quite mastered embedding the html code behind a word yet.....sorry).

http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/search/label/Verve%20Visual

I loved the idea and the layout and since I actually had these stamps from Verve - I launched right into it.

Anywho....she's been loving my adventures with card making this year and has commissioned me to make several for her to send to her friends/family throughout the year. I wanted to make something spesh for her and knew her favourite colours were green and red (I had made a memory board for her last year incorporating these colours). How to make a card with these colours, yet not have it look all Christmassy & festive.

It took me a while to colour all the flower layers as my only form of colouring in my early days was with a paintbrush and stamp pads. Long and labourious colouring and not too much blendability on my part. I now have my ever handy and much adored Copics for such work.

Still Mama loved it and it sat in pride of place until Mother's Day when my next card replaced it (but that card is for another post, lol).

Recipe:

Stamps: Verve's Abundant Blessings, Birthday Surprise

Cardstock: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive DSP, Random Dark Green Bazzill Textured Card

Ink: Old Olive, Real Red, Certainly Celery.... Plus many various shades of SU's pink/red/coral to colour the petals :)

Other: Purely Pomegranate Grosgrain, Dazzling Diamonds + 2-Way Glue, Dimensionals and Sponge Daubers.

Thanks for taking a peek.

Michey xxx

Another Early Card

This is another card made early in 2009 for a dear friend's birthday. My friend is Chinese and so I took my inspiration from that. Looking back now.....I'm not really that happy with the card, but in the early days it seemed fantastic!! It could have something to do with the dreadful photo though. I had a tendency to forget to take a photo of my cards before I gave them away and remembered to grab a shot just before I left for the birthday girl's dinner. Its taken with my iPhone in a bad lighting situation - so that makes it even worse.

I think I must have used some red bazzill cardstock as the base and then some basic black/black card stock for the card body. I've used the embrace life image and stamped it in Versacolour Gold and then coloured in the outline using a paintbrush dipped in the stamp pad

Happy Birthday hasn't stamped very well. The ribbon is actually a beautiful maroon/burgundy colour but looks a dreadful pinky/red in this shot. I've used some Kaiser rhinestones in each corner.

Definitely would try something different for her birthday next year. She'll have the physical proof of how much I've grown with if she keeps each card I make.

Recipe:

Card Stock: Red Bazzill Textured base, Basic Black/Black Bazzil

Ink: Versa Colour Gold

Ribbon: Random Maroon from my collection

Others: Kaiser Rhinestones - Clear, Dimensionals

Will definitely need to add another post tomorrow so this one makes it a little further down the list.

Blessings,

Michey