Hearty Hugs

 

These gals are out to have Fun.  

These cute Ewes are stamped and shaded with Copics, partial fussy cut with paperpieced balloons stamped on patt. paper.  The 3D EF is We Are Memory Keepers, hugs stacked die is Simon Says Stamp.  Designer paper cut in wedge.  Also heart sequins for pretty.

Shared on challenges:    

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colorfuloptions-february-pink purple

pearlysparkles-116-hearts 

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Remember to Play

 

No matter what the weather, if you feature a creature you can join us here: crittercrazy

We would like to see what you can create

I stamped, coloured and masked a stamped bunny from Colorado Stamps, then made a watery background using metallic watercolour paints.  With some lovely splatters and puddles, and a bright paper pieced umbrella, I finished off with rounded corners and droplets of Stickles.

The Colorado bunny stamps are some of my favourite characters to work with.

Shared on challenges:    

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thefourseasonschallenge-winter-season-february 

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and inside...

Boy Girl Twins

 

I am so pleased to be a guest designer on  Ellibelle's I Spy Challenge: I Spy... new beginnings.

Check it out here: simplyellibelle and select I SPY.

We'd love you to join us with your new beginnings!  

Babies are wonderful new beginnings.  My friend asked me for a twin card that had blue and pink on it (guess what the grandbabies are?).

So I knitted these teeny, tiny bootees in 3ply wool from a pattern for cardmaking by Sue Corbin that I've had for years.  I used a Cuttlebug EF, yarn, ribbon, gems.      

Shared on challenges

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Feline Better

 

A card to make someone smile I hope.

Stencilled background using DI's, cat stamped.  Also stamped onto kraft card and fussy cut.  The sentiment & paw is also stamped and cut out, edged with ink, set onto orange card.  Stickles on eyes and white pen.

Shared on challenges:    

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Love Lives Here

 

A bit of colour blending, paperpiecing, diecutting, stamping, heat embossing.  What more could you want?  Stacked geese... watchgeese.

The background card is sponged & colour blended with DOxI's, splattered with water, dried and diecut with a stamp frame (...), then subtly stamped with stars (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous)and embossed with sparkly clear EP.  Houses stamped and fussy cut from snippets of scrap patterned paper.  Geese (TimHoltz) diecut and stacked from snippets of white card.  Sentiment stamp is magazine freebie.

Shared on challenges:    

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Sympathy Butterflies

 

I love to see things with wings on sympathy cards.  It aways feels like such a lovely symbol of freedom and release.  

Here I let the EF do the work, adding Stickles and pearls (which symbolise tears).  Stamped sentiment on strip with a row of pearls. EF is Craft Concepts Flutterby.  I like the white on white too, although it is quite difficult to get something interesting.  I use texture and dimension to make shadows and I like to make it so people want to touch.

Shared on challenges:    

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Split-Colour Robin

 

Made for a NZ cardswap; theme is using the split-colour technique or spotlight technique.  I chose the split colour.  Check it out, lots of fun but really need a stamping tool of some kind.  It gives a two-fer, because you have two pieces of card (white and coloured), stamp and clear emboss one, and stamp and colour the other, then slice them and swap them over to reassemble.  

You really need a biggish stamp and probably best to keep it fairly simple.  I screwed up my first attempt as it was too fussy and then I smudged it ... started over with this new stamp.   SO new stamp, new technique.

This is a statement stamp and worked well.  Colouring with Copics, gold heat embossed sentiment, gold pearls to embellish.  I made a coordinating envelope.

Shared on challenges:    

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dd-tripleb/january-birdsbloomsbutterflies bird

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and the envelope:

Happy Geese

 

Start the new year with a critter creation!  We'd love to see what you make.

Come and join us here to celebrate: crittercrazy, all you need is a critter as the focal point!

Did you know geese eat as much grass as a sheep? and apparently they make good watchdogs alarm systems (does that make them watchgeese?)

A bit of ink blending with Distress Inks, spritzed with water and also silver Shimmer mist, layered onto brushed silver card.  I stamped (I think it's Kaisercraft) the sentiment in two colours to match the background and layered with silver too.  Diecut geese with a touch of Copics, and pearls to complete.  I do love pearls.

Shared on Challenges:   

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Find Joy

 

This is a totally free card.  A cardmaking friend sent me a couple of the gold diecut borders and some extra pieces of the gold card to play with.   The strips are leftover patterned paper strips collected in my strippy bin over time.  I diecut the sentiment from the extra bits and matted in black from the scrap bin.  I think the monochrome green snippets make a great background for the bright gold borders.

Shared on challenges:    

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Beary Special

 

I made this for a NZ cardswap.

The background  is made using DI's as watercolours,  smooshing and blowing - it's the aurora!  A diecut bear complete with cosy scarf, popped up.  Shadows made with Copics.  A bit of stamping and some bubbly embellys.  And a peek inside...

Shared on challenges:    

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My own best of 2024

 

January 2024, its a sun umbrella, not a rain umbrella!  We celebrate summer in NZ.

February 2024  You know I love to get inky.

March 2024  a special birthday deserves recognition.

April 2024  sometimes a little sweet & pretty is necessary.

May 2024  I had such fun with this one.

June 2024 A mid-winter holiday in Samoa.  I really enjoy making strippy layers.

July 2024  I'm so glad I made this for Peter when he was having treatment and feeling rotten.  He loved it and kept it on display.  He died in September.

August 2024  This one is filled with joy - it made me happy making it, and I hope it brought joy in the receiving.

September 2024  I like the twist of the message not being words but music.  It was for the Simon Says Stamp Stamptember design team.

October 2024  I like the lush colouring and the fragility of the leafy stamp.

November 2024  I do like using patterned paper and liked the layering effect as well as the cheery bright colours.

December 2024  I liked making this because it has stamping, diecutting, some paper piecing... and is fun!

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Shared with i-spy-with-my-little-eye-crafty-year

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Tell me what is your fave?

I hope to see you all in 2026 with your creations, and I hope you'll check in to see what I am up to.

Happy crafting whatever kind it is!!

CarolG

Pengi Wishes

 

A simple card.  Background blue card stamped with HeroArts unicorn ink, AALL & Create stamped penguin coloured with Copics.  Sentiment stamped, punched & framed with Stickles.  Of course we don't have a cold Christmas we had over 28 deg C yesterday.  We celebrate in the shade with a cool glass of something.  This is for one of my northern hemisphere buddies, but I reckon a kid would love to get this cute penguin all cosied up in hat and scarf.

NZ is home to 13 of the 18 penguin species in the world and we often used to see the fairy penguins swim by when we were out fishing.  

Shared on challenges:    

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thecraftingchallenge-christmas

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Pohutukawa Christmas

 A New Zealand Christmas!  The pohutukawa is known as the NZ Christmas tree as it is out in flower now!  A sight to see - greyish dark green foliage with bright red fluffy flowers all over, flowering throughout December, while it grows in large gardens it is particularly a beach tree which is why I chose the turquoise background.  

A large background stamp with Hero Arts Unicorn ink, a diecut pohutukawa flower (Craft Creations), gold Stickles, and a matte gold strip for sunshine.

Shared on challenges:    

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creativeknockouts-561-december-18-tis-season-polkadoodles

Pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree