Lavinia Stamps Druid's Inn Welcome to your New Home Card

 

Hi everyone 😀

Today I am sharing a mixed media Welcome to your New Home Card that I made for my niece and her partner who have moved into a new home and were having a Housewarming Get-together to celebrate.  

This is also my card for the following Challenge:

• Crafty Catz Challenge #694 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Make Us Smile.  My card did make the recipients smile so I hope this qualifies for that part of the Challenge.  Click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge.

Anyway, into my card:  I looked in my stash for anything that I could use.   I don't think I have ever made a Housewarming Card and I was quite stumped 😐  The only house types of stamps that I had were really only suited to someone who was retiring to the country and they looked too old-fashioned for people in their 20s.  And then it hit me:  I had a Lavinia stamp called Druid's Inn which had a door on it so I decided I could make a whimsical scene instead.  I can honestly say that this is one of the HARDEST cards I have ever made because it was really taking me out of my comfort-zone and using products that I have never used before.  However, as my year is all about challenging myself with new techniques and styles of card, I was up for the challenge and was very determined to keep going despite nearly binning it at one stage. 

I have a pad of 8" x 8" Lavinia Dreamscape Papers and picked one of the sheets that was quite light as I knew I wanted to able to have a moon in the scene.

Firstly, I stamped The Druid's Inn using Versafine Clair Fallen Leaves which is a lovely brown ink.  I stamped the two hares using Versafine Clair Nocturne then left the paper to sit overnight so the images dried and didn't smear once I started adding my colouring mediums.

I have never coloured on these Dreamscape Papers before and it isn't watercolour paper so I had to be super-careful with how much water I added.  For the Druid's Inn:  I coloured it using multiple products:  Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils in brown tones + black, an Albrecht-Durer Watercolour Pencil in the colour Indian Red, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in the colours Mid-Brown 065 + Dark Oatmeal 066 + Red Ochre 604.  I added white highlights using a White Gel Pen and Titanium White Pan Pastel.  This is my first time using Pan Pastels.

To make the moon, I diecut a circle from acetate in the size I wanted using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Circles Dies - then placed that where the moon was going to be and lightly sponged around the edge with my Ink Blending Tool using Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink.

I sponged underneath the hares to ground them using the Weathered Wood Ink then added some shadow behind them where they would be casting a shadow from the light of the moon.  I used a White Gel Pen to add highlights to the hares but smeared it with my finger to make it look more natural.

I used ALOT of stamps to add the foliage and mushrooms.  Some were stamped with Versafine Clair Twilight - others with Rainforest and Fallen Leaves.  Some are 1st generation - some are 2nd or 3rd generation.  I again used my White Gel Pen to add some highlights to the mushrooms smearing them to again make them look more natural.

I stamped some text on the LHS and RHS using Versafine Clair Twilight Ink in 1st and 2nd generation then went around the edges of the card with the same ink.  I darkened the edges a little more with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.

To brighten the moon, I added Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil and Titanium White Pan Pastel.  This was also my first time using a Pastel Pencil.

I used a Sunshine Yellow Posca Paint Pen to add yellow to the window so it looked like the lights were on and casting light on the vines of the tree and on the stones below it.  I added dots here and there around the images using other Posca Pens in the colours Light Pink, Metallic Pink, Apricot and White.

I drew a red heart between the hares using a Red Fine-Point Sharpie then added Candy Cane Stickles to make it sparkle.

Of course, the card needed MORE glitter and it's amazing how much it brightens your card and makes it more special; it just seems to come alive somehow.  I added dots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen around the moon then just added dots here and there around the scene - then sprinkled on some Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter.  It's just a shame that you can't see it on my photo but it does look lovely. 

Once I had finished the scene, I ran it through my Big Shot with fresh plates and a couple of shims to flatten it which worked surprisingly well.

I added some coloured cardstock layers to the scene using Kaisercraft Ivory, Forest and Cinnamon and trimmed the ivory to 1/16" and the others to 1/8" using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides.  I then glued it to a White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Finished size is 5-7/8" x 5-7/8" or 149mm x 149mm.

Phew, that was a marathon!  Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far - and for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia - Leaf Creeper LAV742, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Quirky Mushrooms LAV413, Forest Mushrooms Mini LAV564, Berry Leaves LAV577, Druid's Inn LAV572, Wild Hares Set Small LAV614, Uniquely Creative Longhand UC1832

Ink:  Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves, Twilight, Rainforest and Nocturne + Ranger Distress Weathered Wood

Designer Paper:  Lavinia Dreamscape - Colourburst Collection 8" x 8"

Accessories:  Big Shot, Acetate, #4 Round Paintbrush, Pan Pastel - Titanium White, Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil, Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils - Brown Tones + Black, Albrecht-Durer Indian Red Watercolour Pencil, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers - 065 Mid Brown + 066 Dark Oatmeal + 604 Red Ochre, Posca Paint Pens - White + Sunshine Yellow + Metallic Pink + Apricot, Red Fine-point Sharpie, Candy Cane Stickles, White Uniball Signo Gel Pen, Quickie Glue Pen, Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter, Ink Blending Tool + Domed Pad, Square White Card Base, Kaisercraft Cardstock - Ivory + Forest + Cinnamon

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles (retired)

Uniquely Creative Drive and Fly Masculine Birthday Card

 

Hi everyone 😊

I made another masculine birthday card for my stash whilst I still had the Uniquely Creative Drive and Fly Papers and Creative Cuts out on my desk:

Because I am still learning how to make these types of layering cards, I used a somewhat similar layout that Maria Aloisi did on her card in the matching Uniquely Creative magazine - however, I put on my own spin on it and you probably wouldn't recognise the layout unless I pointed it out.  I think that it is important to acknowledge where our inspiration comes from even if the card turns out significantly different to the original.  Maria's card has a car and car elements on it but I wanted to use plane elements.

The card base is Kraft Cardstock by Kaisercraft.  I used a Uniquely Creative Checker Plate Stencil and Weathered Wood Distress Ink to stencil the top left and bottom right.  Another thing in my Craft Room that I am determined to use more is stencils.  The blue cardstock on the card base is by Kaisercraft - Dusty Blue.

The writing is a stamp by Uniquely Creative called Longhand.  I stamped it onto one of the designer papers using Stampin' Up Lost Lagoon Ink then cut it up into three pieces then went around the edges with my Ink Blending Tool and the same ink.

The Kraft Cardstock underneath the writing was dry embossed using my Big Shot and Uniquely Creative Tiny Stars Embossing Folder.  I swiped over the top of the panel using Weathered Wood Ink in a fairly haphazard way to make it look a bit distressed

The main image panel is another piece of designer Paper.  I went around the edges using Weathered Wood Ink.  The plane is from the Creative Cuts and all the other bits and pieces are either Creative Cuts or images trimmed from the Designer Paper.  I popped up the main image panel on scraps of white cardstock but there isn't a huge amount of dimension on the rest of the card which you can see in this photo:

I added some subtle glitter to the pale green, orange and blue stars using my Uniquely Creative Clear Glitter Brush which gave a bit of life to the card.  I did pop up those stars on 0.5mm dimensionals.

Hope you like my card!  Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Uniquely Creative Longhand UC1832

Ink:  Ranger Weathered Wood Distress, Stampin' Up! Lost Lagoon

Designer Paper:  Uniquely Creative Drive and Fly 12" x 12" and 6" x 6" - including Creative Cuts

Accessories:  Big Shot, Ink Blending Tool and Foam Pad, Uniquely Creative Tiny Stars Embossing Folder UCEF2002, Uniquely Creative Checker Plate Stencil UCMM1736, 0.5mm Dimensionals, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Uniquely Creative Clear Glitter Brush, Cardstock:  Kaisercraft Kraft + Dusty Blue, Scraps of White Cardstock

Uniquely Creative Drive and Fly + Country Roads Birthday Card

 

Hi everyone 😊

I made a card for my Nephew's Birthday.  He is into cars so I wanted to make a car-themed card:

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

• Cut it Up Challenge - #328 - Starts with a C - Must include a diecut:  my diecut is the grid in 3 of the corners as well as the car and of course my car starts with C

• Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A792 - Tilt - Where you need to tilt something on your card or are using items/techniques or colors that spell the word tilt.  I tilted my car as well as the three elements next to the main sentiment plus the black and white checkered star in the top RH corner.

This is another card that is out of my comfort-zone as I challenged myself to do more of a collage style of card.  I have been looking at ALOT of cards on Pinterest that use this style of card and other than using the Uniquely Creative Card Kits where they have done all the hard work for you, I am not confident with making this style.  I am very keen to learn to make this style of card more often - I just need to dive in and not overthink it which isn't easy for me.

My card uses a mix of products from Uniquely Creative.  The designer papers on the card base are from their Country Roads 6" x 6" papers.  The 'Happy Happy Happy' sentiment was trimmed from one of the Country Roads papers and popped up on dimensionals.  I also used other pieces from their Drive and Fly 6" x 6" papers plus the matching Creative Cuts.  I also used the Country Roads Creative Cuts.  Some elements are glued flat and others up on dimensionals.

The bottom LHS cogs and the individual stars scattered over the card are all Creative Cuts.  I added some subtle sparkle on the stars using my Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush - alas, not captured by the camera - but it did add some life to the card.

The grid on the top and bottom LHS + bottom RHS is a Uniquely Creative die called Urban Grunge.  I diecut a neutral sheet of designer paper then roughly blended on a mix of Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks.  I cut up the diecut and glued it around the card using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.  

The car is another Uniquely Creative die called Mustang.  I diecut it twice using Kaisercraft Shadow Cardstock then glued them together to add a bit of height.  It looked a bit flat by just having one layer.  I tilted the car on an angle to simulate a car doing a bit of a wheelie.

The stop-watch was fussy-cut from one of the designer papers.  I added some Glossy Accents to the face to make it look like glass.  Here is close-up:

Finished size is 5-5/16" x 5-5/16" or 135mm x 135mm.

Hope you like my card!  Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  None

Ink:  Ranger Distress Inks - Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke

Designer Paper:  Uniquely Creative Country Roads 6" x 6" + Drive and Fly 6" x 6" and co-ordinating Creative Cuts

Accessories:  Ranger Ink Blending Tool + Foam Pad, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Glossy Accents, Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush, Uniquely Creative White Card Base, Kaisercraft Lost Shadow Cardstock

Dies:  Uniquely Creative Mustang UCD1998 + Urban Grunge UCD2034

Lavinia Stamps Scene-Scape Fairy Couple Card

Hi everyone 😄

I am really enjoying trying new techniques and different styles of cards as part of my New Year's Resolution of getting out of my comfort-zone.  Today I am sharing a card that really took me out of my comfort-zone and I absolutely loved creating it.

I have watched many, MANY Lavinia Stamps You-Tube videos by Tracey (the owner and creator) so based my card on Tracey's style:

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

• Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A791 - Use more than one stamp set

• A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge - April #4-2025 - Anything Goes

I used a Lavinia SceneScapes background called Star Dust so this made things alot easier than creating my own background.  I love that you can build on something that has done the hard work for you and particularly, if you want to make a quicker card.  This is another thing on my list to do:  create backgrounds and learning to drive my Gel Press.  I have seen Tracey make some amazing backgrounds using her Gel Press so I can't wait to have a go!

First up, I stamped the Tree of Courage (LHS tree) using Altenew Obsidian (Black) Pigment Ink then the Tree of Hope (RHS tree).  The tendrils hanging from both trees are from the Tree of Courage set and were stamped using Versafine Clair Monarch Ink.  I then stamped the Fairy Couple in Obsidian Ink.

The foliage along the bottom is numerous Lavinia Stamps:  Slender Mushroom, Mini Forest Mushroom, Fairy Buttercups and Lavender.  Some were stamped in the Obsidian Ink using 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation - others were stamped using the Monarch Ink - again 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation - which was to add some depth to the scene.

I ink-blended around the whole scene using Monarch Ink and darkened the 2 bottom corners and along the base using Obsidian ink.

I used my Gold, Yellow and White Posca Pens to add dots on the bottom half of the panel then added more dots using an Anko (KMart) brand Purple Paint Marker to match the Monarch Ink used on my card.

I added dots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen and sprinkled on Gold Glitter and waited for it to dry - then added more dots of glue and sprinkled on Diamond Glitter.  The image looks very sparkly in real life.  Here is an angled photo to give you some idea but you can't really see all of the sparkle at the same time:

The image panel was glued to Kaisercraft Amethyst Cardstock with an 1/8" border using Tombow Mono Multi Glue - then onto Black Cardstock with a 3/16" border.   I know the black cardstock doesn't look black in the first photo but trust me, it is.

Lastly, I glued the panel to a White Card Base.

I didn't add a sentiment as I didn't want to cover-up the scene but my intention is to use it as a Birthday Card.

Finished size is 4-7/8" x 4-7/8" or 123mm x 123mm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia - Tree of Courage LAV657, Tree of Hope LAV658, Fairy Couple LAV029, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Mini Forest Mushroom LAV564, Fairy Buttercups LAV375, Lavender LAV093

Designer Paper:  Lavinia Scene-Scapes Star Dust

Ink:  Altenew Obsidian Pigment, Versafine Clair Monarch

Accessories:  Ranger Round Ink Blending Tool + Foam Pads, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Quickie Glue Pen, We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides, Posca Pens - Gold + Yellow + White, Anko (KMart) Purple Paint Pen, Superfine .008 Light Gold Glitter, Bellbird Paperarts .008 Diamond Glitter, Kaisercraft Cardstock - Amethyst + Black, Square White Card Base

Studio 73 A Country Spring Collection Easter Card

Hi everyone 😊

Happy Easter!  

I made an Easter Card to give to my beautiful sister-in-law as we were going over to her home to spend the afternoon with her and her son + daughter-in-law + their 2 young children - our great-nieces.  It was full of joy and fun as we watched our great-nieces run around the garden excitedly finding all the Easter Eggs that the Easter Bunny had left for them.  It was lovely to hear their squeals of delight as they discovered another egg and then another.  You couldn't help but smile!

My card is a simple one because I was a bit short on time:

I photographed the card this morning and the weather was quite dreary so it isn't a great photo but it was the best that I could do under the circumstances.

The main image and the designer papers are by Studio 73 - A Country Spring Collection - which comes with a bunch of images and sentiments + matching papers.  The Rose and Buttercream Cardstock were trimmed to 1/16" using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides.  The Olive Cardstock on the card base was trimmed to 1/8".

I popped the sentiment up on dimensionals then diecut some tiny butterflies using a Memory Box Beloved Butterflies Die and my Big Shot.  I added some Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue to the butterflies.  You can't tell from the photo but I added some sparkle to the basket of Easter eggs using my Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush.

Here is a close-up of the main image:

Once I had finished the card front, I popped it onto a Uniquely Creative White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

And here is pic of the inside:

I added the designer paper border to some Rose Cardstock and trimmed it to 1/16" on the top and the bottom was punched with an EK Success Scalloped Scallops Border Punch.

The sentiment is a sticker that I recently bought from KMart (Australia).  I added the same diecut butterfly that I have on the card front and added Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps and Ink:  None

Designer Paper:  Studio 73 - A Country Spring 12" x 12" (released 2022)

Accessories:  We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides, Big Shot, Happy Easter Sticker - KMart,  Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue, Uniquely Creative Clear Glitter Brush, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Dimensionals, Uniquely Creative White Card Base, Cardstock - Rose, Buttercream, Olive

Dies:  Memory Box Beloved Butterflies #99136 (retired)

Punches:  EK Success Scalloped Scallop Border

Penny Black Garden Friends Easter Card + Easter Egg Holder

 

Hi everyone 

My Craft Room has been a real hive of activity lately and I am loving being able to have more time to create.

I made this card for my daughter for Easter:

This is also my card for the following Challenges (click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge):

• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PBSC April - Anything Goes with Optional Easter

• Shopping our Stash - SOS545 - Hippity Hop - Make an Easter Card or a Card featuring a Rabbit or Chick 

• Critter Crazy Challenges #97 - Anything Goes Featured Critter Theme

The main image is by Penny Black - Garden Friends - and was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Ranger Watercolour Cardstock.  I coloured the image with Watercolour Pencils then went over the black lines with a Black Copic Multi-liner to darken the lines up.

I diecut the panel using my Big Shot and Nesting Card Templates - and then things went awry!  You see the square designer paper on the base?  I measured my designer paper wrongly and cut it into a square instead of a rectangle as I was going to put the chicks onto a rectangular card.  Oh well, I thought - I will just cut another piece of that designer paper - but I had none of that particular one left in the 6" x 6" pad - and I really, REALLY wanted to use that one.  So, pivot I thought and don't waste the square of designer paper - use it instead and I did - but then couldn't figure out a good layout for my card.  I know in the end, it is a simple layout but it just frustrated me no end and I couldn't figure out whether I wanted the blue cardstock or pink - or should I go yellow?  I just kept changing my mind and couldn't settle on what I wanted so I left it on my desk until the next day.

The next day, I finally decided to go with the Blue Cardstock and then struggled with the layout again as I tried this and that and nothing seemed to look right.  It was just one of those frustrating cards that just seems to be hard work!  Eventually I settled on what other designer papers to add to my card so I had my main panel finished.  Here is a close-up of those cute little chicks:

And then couldn't make up my mind whether I should put the finished panel on a plain white card base or not.  In the end, I thought adding some dry embossing to the white card base looked better than plain so used my Crafter's Companion EF6 Embossalicious Embossing Folder and I like how it complemented the original square of the designer paper as well as the tiny flowers on the stamped image.  Of course, my frustrations continued as the embossing folder slipped the first time when I put it through my Big Shot so it embossed all crooked and I had to get another card base and redo it.  

I rounded the corners of the Kaisercraft White Card Base using my We R Memory Keepers 1/2" Corner Chomper.  All the blue cardstock layers were trimmed to 1/8" using my Perfect Layers Guides.

And then the ribbon - ohhhh, that ribbon gave me so much grief.  I struggled with what colour and type - and then eventually settled on the organza ribbon because it was so hard to match the blue colour with a solid blue coloured ribbon from my stash - I could not find the right shade.  This particular organza ribbon seemed to have a mind of its own and I gave up tying a bow because it wouldn't sit flat and looked totally weird.  Well, just knot it instead I told myself but do you think it would sit flat as well?  Nope!  It did NOT want to play nicely!  And ultimately, I used a tiny glue dot to hold the RHS of the ribbon down because it insisted on sticking up at 90 degrees.  

The sentiment is the same sentiment set I have used on my last couple of cards and I decided to cut out the sentiment and pop it up on dimensionals.  Even trying to figure out where to put the sentiment was driving me bonkers!  I added some Tiny Pink Cardstock Hearts around the main image panel by using my EK Success Arrows Border Punch (the leftover punchies look like tiny hearts).  I glued them on using a Uniquely Creative Fine Glue Pen.

Of course, I had to add glitter to the hearts and flowers using Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue.  I needed some sparkle to bring a bit of life to the card.

Ultimately, this card took 1000 times longer to make than it should have, however, I am happy with the end result.  And I like the layout and will definitely store this layout in my Card Sketches Folder as it is great for smaller, more vertical images.  

Sticking to my New Year's Resolution to try new crafty things, I decided to make an Easter Egg Holder which was certainly a challenge - but that's why I am trying new things that take me out of my comfort-zone.  Here is what I came up with:

Last year, I was doing an order with Scrapbook.Com (in the USA in case you don't know) and they always have free things you can add to your cart - and they had these really cute Nesting Bunnies which they call "Nested Peeps".  So when I received them, I was actually surprised how big the largest die was:

They retail for US$35 (although they are on special at the moment) so it really was an amazing free gift.  Scrapbook.com are the only US Company that I buy from because their postage to Australia is very reasonable - but I don't buy from them all that often because when you factor in the exchange rate between Australia and the USA, it does start to add up. 

I had this idea in my head when I was trying to get to sleep the other night that I might be able to diecut the bunny twice and have some cardstock at the bottom between the back and front to allow for the size of the egg.  Here is a side view so you know what I mean:

I then came up with the idea to diecut the bunny's tummy with one of my Spellbinders Nested Eggs Dies to accommodate the Easter Egg - holding it in place.  It took quite a bit of fiddling around and I did a prototype first to see if it would work - and then I realised that I would have to diecut the back of the bunny as well or the Easter Egg wouldn't stay in place:

I used some older papers by Echo Park - Happy Easter 12" x 12" - first released in 2015.  I diecut the Orange Cardstock using the Spellbinders Nested Eggs Nestabilities and then diecut the centre where the Easter Egg fitted it.

I used the same paper range to diecut the bunny to put on the inside just to pretty it up instead of just having the white cardstock.  You can just see the paper from the side view photo but it is actually green in real life.

I tied some Orange Ribbon around the bunny's neck to hold it all together and added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.

I was really happy with how it turned out and it was great to see it all come together as I envisioned it after struggling with the card so much!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Garden Friends 30-021 Clear Set, Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16 (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  American Crafts Hello Spring #320548 (from 2016 - retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Dimensionals, Watercolour Pencils, #4 Round Paintbrush, Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue, WRMK Perfect Layers Guides, Ranger Watercolour Cardstock, Black Copic Multi-liner, American Crafts Organza Ribbon 3/8" or 9mm wide, Fray Stop, Crafter's Companion Die'Sire Embossalicious EF6 Embossing Folder, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Uniquely Creative Fine Glue Pen, Mini Glue Dot, Cardstock - Scrap of Pink + Blue, Kaisercraft White Card Base

Dies:  Lifestyle Crafts Quickutz Nesting Card Templates DC0431

Punches:  WRMK 1/2" Corner Chomper, EK Success Arrows Border

Easter Egg Holder Recipe:

Designer Paper:  Echo Park Happy Easter 12" x 12" (from 2015 - retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Orange Ribbon 3/8" or 9mm wide (stash), Fray Stop, Cardstock - White + Orange

Dies:  Scrapbook.com Nesting Peeps sbc-shapes-19, Spellbinder Nested Eggs Nestabilities S4-264

Penny Back So Loved Wedding Anniversary Card

 

Hi everyone 😃

My husband and I just celebrated our 36th Wedding Anniversary.  It hardly seems that we have been married that long - yet we have - and I am so lucky to be married to such a great guy.  We went out for our evening meal to our local RSL and had a lovely, quiet day at home otherwise.  I received 2 gorgeous bunches of pink roses and a beautiful card.  Our daughter made us the most-amazing mini scrapbook album with photos of us from the last 10 years.   We aren't ones for big celebrations and prefer to keep things low-key.  I am definitely not one for dressing up and going to a fancy restaurant because (a) I like simple foods like Roast of the Day, and (b) it's too expensive, and (c) they have white tablecloths and I am so incredibly clumsy.  I am also clumsy when I cook and are known as Messy Chef - a play on Masterchef - hee hee 😆

And now for story time:  around 24 years ago, my boss gave me an $80 voucher for Christmas to a local and very fancy restaurant.  We booked for 6.00 pm and we were the only ones there till about 7.30 pm.  And then people started arriving really, REALLY dressed up - so much so that I felt more than a little underdressed - but I wasn't wearing jeans and was actually dressed up so I thought!  I guess we were naive and honestly didn't realise that it was a fancy restaurant till we got there (pre-internet days for us) and saw the decor and then the menu and went, uh oh.  The glasses of House Wine turned out to be $25 each as we mistook the menu for meaning $25 for a bottle of House Wine because it said:  "House Wine $25" - and then realised our mistake - so that was $50 of the voucher used already!  We got the cheapest food on the menu and were still over $100 out-of-pocket.  It was just as well that we were both working at the time and it was pre-kids!  And to be honest, I really had no idea what I was eating as the description was completely lost on me - food I was completely unfamiliar with.  I am not taking anything away from the Chef of course - it's just not my scene - and having pub fare like a Garlic Bread Entree and a banging Roast of the Day makes me very happy and you are in and out within an hour.  Suits me just fine 😃

Anyway, onto the card I made for my husband:

This is also my card for the following Challenges (click on the underlined links to take you to the Challenges):

• Crafty Catz Challenge - #691 - Anything Goes with No Optional Twist

• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PBSC April - Anything Goes with Optional Easter

• Crazy Critter Challenges - Challenge #97 - Anything Goes with a Featured Critter

The main image is by Penny Black from their So Loved Set.  I stamped the cat with Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Bellbird Paperarts 210gsm Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper and coloured it using various brands of Watercolour Pencils and a #4 Round Paintbrush.  I went over the black lines using an Anko Black 0.3 Pen to darken up the lines on the image.

I re-stamped the image onto a piece of the designer paper lining up the 'One True Love' from the paper to be the centre of the heart cushion then fussy-cut it out.  I re-stamped the image again onto Watercolour Paper and fussy-cut the paws that are holding the cushion.  I went around the edges with an Anko Black Brush Pen to hide any imperfections with my cutting.  I glued the cushion and paws on using Tombow Mono Multi Glue and it looks really cool in real life because you can see a bit of dimension.  I side-loaded a flat paintbrush with Folk Art Burgundy Acrylic Paint and went around the edge of the cushion to make it look a bit more rounded.  

Here is a close-up:

The sentiment is by Impression Obsession - Sentiments 1 - which I have had forever and is retired.  I used my Stamping Platform to ensure perfect placement and to stamp it a couple of times to darken it up.  

I used my EK Success Arrows Border Punch to punch out some Burgundy Cardstock Hearts (the leftover punchies look like tiny hearts) and glued them on using Tombow Mono Aqua Glue then added some Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush to them for a bit sparkle.

The main image was diecut using a Lifestyle Nesting Circle Die.  I diecut some Dark Teal Cardstock using a My Favorite Things Pierced Stax Circle Die then diecut Burgundy Cardstock using a Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle Die.

All the designer papers are by Bo Bunny - Love Letters - which are really old and are from around 2012.  I wish that I had bought more of this collection as I just adore the colour palette and have used it alot over the years.  

The bottom panel was punched using a Fiskars Scallop Border Punch.  The Dark Teal and Burgundy Cardstock layers were trimmed to 1/16" using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides.  I attached the Cream Ribbon in two separate elements then popped the panel up a little on scraps of white cardstock.

The Black Cardstock on the card base was trimmed to 1/8" and the Dark Teal + Burgundy Cardstock to 1/16" using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides.

Once I had finished my card front, I glued it to a White Card Base.

And now here is a pic of the card inside:

The sentiment is by Avery Elle - Lots of Love - which was released in 2012 so long-retired.  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and then promptly smeared it......grrrrr!  So I re-stamped it onto a separate piece of white cardstock and heat-set it using my heat-gun before I had a chance to smear it - then diecut it using a Lifestyle Nesting Oval.  I layered that onto a Dark Teal Cardstock diecut oval.  

I punched two hearts from Burgundy Cardstock using an Anko Heart Punch.  I bought this punch in a set of 4 different punches from KMart.  These punches punch beautifully and I am really impressed with them.  I added some sparkle with my Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush.

I added the strips of designer paper just to tie everything together.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe - Front:

Stamps:  Penny Black So Loved 30-457 clear set, Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Back

Designer Paper:  Bo Bunny Love Letters #13517517 6" x 6" Pad (retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Layers Tools, Kaisercraft Trimmer, Stamping Platform, Bellbird Paperarts 210gsm Cotton Blend Watercolour Paper, Watercolour Pencils, #4 Round + Flat Paintbrush, Folk Art Burgundy Acrylic Paint, Anko Black Pen 0.3 + Brush, Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush, WRMK Perfect Layers Guides, Cream Ribbon 1/2" or 12.5mm wide, Cardstock - Burgundy + Dark Teal + Black + Scraps of White, Square White Card Base

Dies:  My Favorite Things Pierced Stax Die-namics, Lifestyle Nesting Circles, Spellbinder Classic Scalloped Circles Small S4-125

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border, Fiskars Scallop Border

Card Recipe - Inside:

Stamps:  Avery Elle Lots of Love clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Bo Bunny Love Letters #13517517 6" x 6" Pad (retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, WRMK Perfect Layers Guides, Heat-Gun Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush, Cardstock - White, Dark Teal, Burgundy, Black

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Ovals

Punches:  Anko Heart Punch #68775858