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May 29, 2021

A Handmade Graduation Card in a Z- Fold Card Style

Hello and welcome!

It's Saturday again and that means a new theme at Allsorts challenge! Mervi is hosting and she would like to see "Any Celebration but Birthday". Hope you'll play along with us. 


This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!


This was the perfect challenge at the perfect time for me as my son is graduating from Highschool. He told me a few years ago that he prefers receiving my handmade cards more than a store bought one, so I definitely wanted to make one. And for a special occasion such as this one I decided to make a "fun fold" card.


The inspiration for this card came from one of our Allsorts entrants from a challenge last year. You can see it here. I did use different images and colors, but the main idea came from that card. She had used a SVG file, but I searched for card fold in a similar style (I don't own an electronic cutter) and found a Z-Fold tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. 

I had this idea of using an eagle in flight image but had no stamp, so google came to the rescue and I found this gorgeous eagle coloring page which I sized down and printed on Neenah 80lb card stock. Colored with Copic markers and fussy cut using my Cutterbee scissors. 


This is how the card looks when closed. 


I used an old script type background stamp from Whimsy Stamps (no longer available) with white craft ink (options) on the black card stock. The stars are all die cuts.


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The brushed gold paper was part of a Hero Arts stamp kit. The graduation cap is by Stampin Up, another oldie. A wire which I had in my small jewelry making stash was used to make it stand up. 

Sentiments were typed up on the computer and printed out. "Embrace your Journey" came from Tim Holtz' Quotations sticker set



I feel like there is too much going on for my personal normal card style, but I do like to occasionally step out of my comfort zone.

Thanks so much for visiting!


Recent Posts You May Have Missed:


I'm sharing with these challenges: 

Color Throwdown

Creative Creases - Fun Fold // C.R.A.F.T. - Shaped Card // Creative Knockouts - For the Boys (C8) // Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes // Krafty Chicks - All Occasions // Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // Path of Positivity - Anything Positive // Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Congratulations // International Art & Soul - Graduation 

May 28, 2021

Follow by Email Function: News Update!

As some of you may know, in July Google/Blogger is discontinuing their "Follow by Email" function and therefore those of you currently following my blog via email will no longer receive any updates.

If you would like to continue receiving my blog post updates, please consider re-subscribing using the new Subscribe function issued by Follow.it  which you can find on the side bar or simply click the logo below. 



In order to protect everyone's privacy and GDPR, I will not import the current subscriber list into the new follow feature, instead will leave it up to each subscriber to do this on their own, should they wish to continue following my blog. Of course, anyone else, not currently subscribed via email may also sign up for email delivery in this way.


You may need to confirm the follow request after registering your email address. Once confirmed you will be able to select in which way you would like to receive post updates.  And you will always have the option to unfollow by clicking the same logo. 


Thanks so much for following along my blogging journey, whichever way you do! It is so appreciated!

May 22, 2021

Allsorts 12th Birthday Celebration Challenge with Lots of Prizes and Happy, Bright and Sunny Colors

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. It's a special week this week as we are celebrating Allsorts' 12th Birthday, how wonderful is that!! And we are also introducing two new design team members, Lolo and Lorraine, both long time crafters and bloggers so you may already be familiar with their wonderful work and you can take a look at their first Allsorts DT creations in todays Allsorts blog post! 

For our 12th birthday we are giving away 12 prizes this week so there will be 12 lucky winners but you do have to join in our challenge in order to be entered into the drawing. Our theme this week is "Happy, Bright and Sunny Colors". And remember you may enter up to 3 times for more chances to win!


You can take a look at the prizes below, the first photo (Heartfelt Creations lot) is the grand prize, and the goodies in the second photo will be divided into 11 additional prizes, all coming from this wonderful group of sponsors: Craft Stash, Chloes CardsTattered LaceCrafting.co.ukSizzix and Bee Crafty.

 



This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!


I decided to use yellow and green for my bright, happy and sunny card, these colors always make me happy, and I chose a pretty rose stamp from Penny Black's set All Abloom.

Distress inks were used to make the background,  I used a technique referred to "Splash Watercolor", I've mentioned it before here, but if you've missed those posts, then you can take a peek at Loll's super short video and see how this is done. 

This background was actually done a while ago but haven't used it then, so I don't remember the exact inks, probably Mustard Stain and the green looks a lot like Mowed Lawn and then some sort of a darker yellow?

Related Products (Roses):


So after discovering the background in the box, I decided to make it a floral card keeping the flower yellow as well following an inspiration photo from the The Card Concept , and I chose this rose from the Penny Black set All Abloom. It was stamped directly on this background using Versafine Onyx ink, then stamped again on a separate piece of Bristol Vellum paper, colored with Zig Clean Color markers and I cut out just the blossoms to adhere to the card with foam tape. The butterfly is also part of the same stamp set by Penny Black.

Next I used a chicken wire stencil by TCW and Mustard Stain ink to add some more interest to the card and once again I used my Stampin Up French Script (long retired) randomly as well. For the script I used Twisted Citron Distress ink. 


Related Products (Stencils):



The black faux stitching was done with a retired set by Whimsy Stamps and the sentiment is from Penny Black's set Sprinkles and Smiles, both stamped using Versafine Onyx ink. 

To finish off the card I added some parrot green jute twine (I had purchased it from May Arts but it's no longer listed on their site, some colors are available via Amazon unfortunately not this shade of green but you may like this alternative) to the card and adhered to a heavy weight white card base. 





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Linking up here:

Inspiration Photo:
The Card Concept - Garden Pleasures (Inspired by the yellow flowers, my card style this time is Freestyle Collage)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Use PB stamps // Stamping Sensations - Blooming Beautiful // We Love Chocolate Baroque Challenge - Bright Sunny Colors //  
Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Aud Sentiments Challenge - For the Girls // Cardz 4 Galz - Things with Wings // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // Ike's World - Butterflies // Addicted to Stamps and More - Stencils // Crafty Gals Corner - For the Ladies // The Paper Funday - Flowers // 
Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:





May 15, 2021

"Jazzy Cats" and Yellow Polka Dots - Handmade Card

Hello and welcome! 

It's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge, this week we're making it very easy and it's simply "Anything Goes" so hope you'll play along with us for your chance to win a wonderful prize from WOWVOW

As a side note, next week Allsorts is celebrating 12 years of challenges, there is some info about that at the end of this post, along with some DT search info for Allsorts challenge, so do scroll down to the end of the post to find out more!


This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!


For this week's card I decided to use one of the cute stamps from Penny Black's "Jazzy Cats" along with the stencil Circle Explosion by TCW





I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo ink on Neenah 80lb card stock then colored with a mix of Copic markers. I stamped the image a second time on a post-it note, fussy cut and placed over the colored image to use as a mask. 

Next I stenciled the dots onto the background using distress inks Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey with an ink blending tool


The black sequins were part of a Monthly Hero kit, the February 2019 kit to be exact.

Before adhering the card front to the base, I ran it through my big shot machine using one of the "Wonky Stitches" dies. The card base is from Michael's, their 110lb heavy weight card stock by Recollections.

Below is a closeup, unfortunately it's a little blurry...




The sentiment is part of this cute cat set, it's been stamped using Versamark ink and then heat embossed using detail white embossing powder. I glued the sentiment onto the card but also used a stapler on the side and put some yellow ribbon through it.  




Next week, May 22nd Allsorts is turning 12 and we're celebrating by giving away 12 wonderful prizes, so do mark your calendars and we'd love for you to share our logo on your blogs too to help us spread the word! There will be a main prize which is the Heartfelt lot, and then the other products in the logo below will be divided into 11 prizes for a total of 12.



Next week we will also be introducing 2 new design team members and we are still looking to add one more DT member! To be considered, all you have to do is join our "anything goes" challenge this week and mark your entry with DT behind your name when linking up your project. Since we are a blogging challenge, you do need to have a blog in order to be considered. 

Note: We are a weekly challenge and some weeks can be very busy. As a DT you will be expected to create something for each weeks challenge using your own products, comment on entries of the numbers allotted to you and write a challenge and winners post approximately every ten weeks.



Thanks so much for visiting!!

Recent posts you may have missed:




I'm linking up here:

Themes:
Penny Black Saturday Challenge  - use PB stamps opt. CAS // Just Add Ink  - Just Add "G" (Gray Cats) // Fab n Funky - Embellish it (sequins and ribbon used) // House That Stamps Built - Sew Special // Simon Says Stamp - Stencil It // The Paper Funday  - Anything Goes // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // A Place To Start - Anything Goes // Path of Positivity - Anything Goes w/Twist "your own Environment" (my environment include 2 cats but sadly no piano!!) // Use Your Stuff - Stencils // 


May 8, 2021

A Lavinia Stamps Monochromatic Fairy Scene

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. This week it's Lynn's turn to host and she wants to see a "Landscape or Scene". We're having a wonderful stamp set to give away this week by Rare Earth so why not join us for a chance to win!


I love Lavinia stamps and have collected quite a few of them but unfortunately I seem to be neglecting them. However, they were my first choice for today's challenge and I created a monochromatic scene. 


Although I usually struggle when I begin with these types of cards (which is the reason why I don't make them more often) they are usually quite easy once I get going. I think my problem is overthinking, something I really need to work on. And maybe watching a few Lavinia Stamps videos on YouTube would help too!!

On this card I used the Lavinia Fairy Josie along with the Lavinia stamps Moon Pods, Fern Leaf and Creeping Vine.



I started out with some torn printer paper and a circle die cut used as masks, then simply inked up the areas with the masks in place using Victorian Velvet Distress ink. After removing the masks I stamped the beautiful fairy and the sentiment (from the Penny Black set Happy Wishes - also on Amazon) using Versafine Onyx ink. I do need to use a stamp platform when stamping Lavinia (or any other solid stamps) as I never get a full impression the first time. 

To add to the scene I selected a few botanical stamps from my Lavinia stamp box (all linked above), all stamped using the same ink. If you look closely you may also notice my Stampin Up French Script on parts of the background.

Exact sentiment set used:




Finally, to complete the card I thought it needed something else black in the top left corner to tie it all together, so I stamped the tiny hearts from the Penny Black set Posted with Love and at the same time used the postage and cancellation mark from the same Penny Black set in that corner. Before adhering to a white card base I ran my Victorian Velvet ink pad along the edges to darken them just a little bit. 

Thanks so much for visiting!!


Please note this post may include some affilate links meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links, but as always at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog.



Recent posts you may have missed:



I'm linking up here:
Themes:
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes this week // Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act // Stinkin' Inkers - Girls just Wanna have Fun // Simon Says Stamp - Feminine // 
Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:


May 7, 2021

What I Wore Walking in Indianapolis and Some Pictures

Happy Friday! I'm not sure that this post qualifies as an "outfit post" as we haven't really taken blog pictures while in Indianapolis, but I did find a few of photos to share so I decided to do the post anyway.

We can't take many weekend overnight trips during Spring (and Fall) as my daughter has several hours of dance lessons on most Saturdays leading up to their performances, but this past weekend the studio was closed and the forecast called for nice weather so I decided to plan a weekend trip to Indianapolis, which is just a few hours drive away from us. 

While we've driven through Indianapolis on several occasions, we never actually visited the city (besides taking a few pictures at the Indy500 race track many years ago) so I looked up what there is to do and see and thought it was perfect for a quick weekend getaway. White River State Park is right there in downtown Indianapolis, so we walked along the Canal, visited the Zoo and Botanical Garden as well as walked to see the state capitol building. Yes, lots of walking!! There are also several Museums located in the area but we didn't visit any as the weather was beautiful and I wanted to enjoy the sunshine outside. 


This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!



I had planned to visit the zoo first thing in the morning the next day, so I made sure to book a hotel room very close by, and we were within walking distance of White River State Park and the zoo. We didn't stay at the Marriot, but the Fairfield Inn which you can see next to the Marriot. We had a top floor room and had a nice view of the Museums and Museum grounds across the street. 



It was a  warm (but windy) day so I decided to wear a navy blue tank top and a thin button down shirt over it. Everything I'm wearing has been in my closet for some time, the only thing new-ish are my AG Prima jeans. 

Shirt Jackets have been a big trend here in the States this spring, while I'm personally not a huge fan of those because they all seem oversized and a bit more masculine than I like them, I do like this button down as it's cut more feminine and is not actually a jacket but just a thin shirt. There are snaps on the sleeves so you can fold them up a bit and snap into place and that's the way I like to wear it. This button down was a  hand-me-down from my dear sister from Germany. 



The tank top was picked up at Marshall's a couple of years ago, and one of my favorites. It's by Rachel Zoe. It's the same one I've worn hiking on this occasion


My crossbody bag is by Baggialini, this bag is so perfect for travel with plenty of zippers and there was even room for my knit cardigan in it which I threw on the next morning when we went to the zoo (it was chilly in the morning.) 



My slip-on sneakers are the Taos Rubber Soul in Charcoal Wash and I've worn these on both days. Thought I might develop a blister but did not even after all these hours of walking. That said, I kind of wished I had brought my Taos Star lace up sneakers, as I have those in the wide width and they may have been a smarter choice. I could have definitely just thrown them into the duffle bag "just in case" but ended up not bringing them along. 



Above is what I had worn to the zoo the next day, same jeans, sneakers and bag, I just switched out the shirt with a linen top I had purchased from LOFT last year and (not shown) a knit cardigan which I had stuffed into the bag. 

For those of you interested, I'm linking similar pieces below.


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And here are a few more snapshots:


White River. A great place to enjoy the sunshine! This is a pedestrian/bicycle only bridge and the zoo is at the other end of it. 


Lots of turtles on the river. 

We did not walk down this beautiful alley, as it was in the opposite direction of the Canal Walk, and I wanted to walk along the Canal then towards to State Capitol. The building on the left side is part of the Indianapolis Zoo and on the right side is the river down below. 


The beginning parts of the Canal. On the left side you can rent canoes or paddle boats and the right side houses one of the museums. 



We love touring State Capitol buildings but didn't go inside this one. It was probably closed at this time on a Saturday.  


I would have loved to take a closer look at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument but too much was going on with some sort of gatherings so I didn't get a chance to. Maybe that's something to visit on a weekday instead of a Saturday evening. 


A pretty area in the botanical garden.


I always love visiting butterfly gardens, this one is called Butterfly Kaleidoscope. Both the botanical garden and butterfly garden are included in the price of the Zoo admission. 

Note: As with most places at the moment, advance tickets are required when visiting the zoo/gardens.


Another beautiful butterfly on an equally beautiful flower.



And then a few animal photos from the zoo.




We did also see their Dolphin Show but in my opinion it wasn't comparable to the one at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago or the Chicago Brookfield Zoo. If you do plan on viewing the Dolphin show, make sure to arrive early as these tickets are gone quickly (due to a restricted amount of people allowed to be inside the building at a time). You don't have to pay extra to see the dolphins, but you do need the tickets you pick up at the desk, and those can't be purchased online.


My thoughts about the city:

We enjoyed the walk along the canal. I wasn't a fan of all the scooters driving around everywhere downtown as I almost was run over twice during the short time we were there. Sometimes it really felt like they came out of nowhere! 

The zoo and botanical garden (which was the actual purpose of the visit) unfortunately left me a bit underwhelmed. They were ok, but I've visited some pretty amazing zoos and gardens in my life and these were just ok. Maybe because some parts were under some sort of construction/repair. Surely worth a visit when you are in town, but maybe not worth it for the main reason of a visit if you live 4 hours away. 

Thanks so much for visiting!


I'm linking up here:

Saturday: Dare to Share

Sunday: Style Splash linkup // Sunday Showcase (first Sunday) //  You're the Star Blog Hop Link Up @ Stonecottage Adventures



Wednesday: What's Up Wednesday? (last wed. of month) // The Queen in Between Style Six // Straight A Style // Jersey Girl, Texan Heart // Fashion Frenzy at Seeking Sunshine and Rosy Outlook // Is This Mutton? Wow on Wednesday // Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday //  Welcome Wednesdays //  Classy Flamingos 

Thursday: Fashion Files at Doused in Pink and Curly Crafty Mom // Your Own Twist Linkup with Shelbee and Monica (3rd Thursday/month) // Elegance and Mommyhood // High Latitude Style // Mummabstylish // Thirty Minus One // Mutton Style // Thursday Favorite Things //  Little Things Thursday // Traffic Jam Weekend @Being a Wordsmith // Slices of Life (Encouraging Hearts and Home)