Crafting with Dragonflies second challenge for 2018.

Hello all

Remember I said in my last post for Crafting with Dragonflies that I had made the background by pressing a second sheet of water colour paper over my first sheet, after using Brusho's on the first?

Well, this card has the original piece of water colour paper where I tried out the new Brusho's from Stampin' Up with some others I already had. I had a lot of water on it so I had to wait for it to dry before using it.

It was our 34th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday so I made this for hubby - he gave me a charity card!We went to lunch at a fancy restaurant though so he made up for it! The theme for the challenge is:

Romantic or Valentine Card

I used the same SU stamp set Sure Do Love You but the heart is a die from Apple Blossom.

Different effects in different lights

This die comes from the set that goes with the stamps

I stamped it in Versamark and embossed with a glittery red EP so it sparkles

The heart was cut from gold card. 

What will you do for your Romantic Card or Valentines Card?

You can enter it at Crafting with Dragonflies for the next two weeks. 

Tidying Up - look what I found!

Hello Peeps,

In the hubbub of Christmas I received three cards from overseas for Christmas. My family were very impressed. So was I - so thank you to

Wynn

Janis

Jardea(?) handwriting hard to read, sorry

Thank you for these beautiful cards which will now go in my special card book!

So different and yet so alike in the good wishes they bring!

Off and Running with Eclectic Ellapu

Hello Peeps - hope you are all fit and well and managing all this climate change!

It really has been a little mad this season. 

On the weekend we had over 32 degrees (36 one day) and only dropping to low 20's at night and today is it max 14 and I have the heater on! I did sleep well last night though - got to 9! Even the kitten was willing to settle down and sleep! Apparently it is snowing in the highlands this morning.

Hot days and nights makes you want to head to the beach for a swim. Unfortunately haven't had one this year yet, despite the weather - just not the opportunity.

This is my childhood beach - Marion Bay. The land on the right and in the background is the bottom end of Maria Island. It was obviously a bit breezy the day this was taken. When I saw this on FB it bought back so many happy memories for me I had to share it. Our farm looked down over this beach and Hellfire Bluff (Cape Bernier) with Mercury Passage between it and the island.

Marion Bay beach and it’s fantastic view of Cape Bernier. Named after the astronomer on Baudins 1802 expedition and featured on his early maps of the area it is also known to early settlers as Hellfire Bluff referring to the red coloured cliffs

Photo courtesy of Cape Bernier Winery

On to what is happening at Eclectic Ellapu:

To start the year off we are going with the traditional 

'Anything Goes'

Remember, that means anything to do with paper - off the page, mixed media, journals, scrap pages, cards, tags - whatever.

I made several boxes to house some cards I made with a Colour Me Happy kit I purchased from Stampin' Up last year when the new alcohol pens came out. The kit was excellent and made up 16 cards  (4 x 4) of varying sizes and with various sayings; the cards were pre-cut; and all embellishments provided. There was also an instruction sheet provided. Each card also had an envelope. They are coloured using the new markers.

I made them up with the full intention of giving them away and just ran out of oomph to prepare them -  when cleaning up the Christmas mess last week I found them again and decided to make some  boxes. Each box has a selection of the four styles. The fourth set has a bellyband but was not ready for the photographs! I used some old SU DP (out of stock now) that I had in my stash and some old ribbon.

The sentiment is a foil die and I used my new foiling machine and some luscious pink foil to add this to card and on one occasion, a paper doily.

The base card is SU - each set has a plain base.

I just used my SU craft board to make the necessary folds and they quickly came together.

So, used up some stash - used my new foiler - cleaned up some space - and made some gifts!

Let's see what you have made lately

See you over at Eclectic Ellapu!

New Year for Crafting with Dragonflies!

Hi Everyone - this is the first 2018 challenge #96: Crafting with Dragonflies and as usual across the crafting world, it is

"Anything Goes"

with the exception that it MUST be a card!

This is mine:

I made the background when I was playing with the new Brusho's from Stampin Up.

This is in fact the second edition piece-- the one I laid on top of the first one to mop up some paint and water. It all looked so pretty and suited the idea of the line of glitter flakes across the middle and the simple sentimental heart message. 

This is embossed in gold onto some card and a bit of ink smeared across the white to make it stand out a bit more

I loved how the paint had melded into the water and then the paper - except the gold; it clumped a bit.

The glitter flakes were added using double sided tape and careful pushing or mooshing with my fingers to get them to stick - still some occasionally falling off but they are mostly stuck down well now. It just looks luxurious with them on the card. Imagine them in a shaker card - yummy!

You have a fortnight to create!

Hello Peeps! Welcome to 2018!

And a Happy New Year to you all as well! 

I have several things to share with you  - including some craft work - and one of them is currently racing around my craft space like a Dementor from Harry Potter's world - it is small and ginger and fast and it is called Weasley; I must say it is sometimes called other things too but they are unprintable, especially when he crawls under the bedclothes and bites some vulnerably part of me! Some days I think he thinks his name is "No - Naughty Cat!"

You can see how much work I can manage!

I scored well in the Christmas Present stakes with a GoFoil Me machine and foils and some stamps.

Thanks Hubby!

So, I made this!

I was given a small box of chocolates in a beautiful box and had to copy it - after several false starts, I did manage to make it. I foiled the 'Thanks' onto the SU DP 'Painted with Love'.

The box has about a dozen small toffees inside it at the moment but it could hold chocolates or similar - it is basically an open box folded over - if that makes sense - easy to make once you know how! As this was a prototype, please forgive the mistakes evident.

I have also taken advantage of the new Occasions Catty from Stampin' Up plus the freebies that come with Sale-A-Bration at this time of the year to get some new products.

Did you now that SU have now got some Brusho's!

They also have a lovely bundle called 'Sure Do Love You' 

The DP has foiled splashes of gold on it in delicious brushstrokes and there is some gorgeous glitter flakes and vinyl stickers too to go with the stamp set and the die set.....

yes, I got all of them........

This is what I made with them.....

Several cards but this one was so quick and easy

Cut DP and card - cut strip - die cut heart - stamp and emboss sentiment - smudge some ink and all done!

I made a  matching box for a gift. You can make tags or small cards to fit this; it fits a gift voucher or cash; or some tickets to the theatre perhaps.......or to Paris??? Some jewelry or a scarf........

This was so easy to make with the die - cut two; flip on upside down and stick together......then decorate!

I made another card too - but that is for another day!

I so love those rich colours.

See you soon......

Tags, tags, tags......

I always run out of tags! Just had to run up a few for the final last lot of presents before Santa arrives....

Turkey is finally cooked, ham is ready, stuffing is done, salads are nearly organised, lists are done, table is set.....not! Family are here and the table is needed but it will be set by lunch time!

Merry Christmas folks!

Hope it's a good one for you

Unstampabelles is running the last week of its challenge to 

#75: Zentangle your way to Christmas.... 

TWIST make a non-traditional item

Prize

Emboss folder, diecut and some sparkle

I grabbed some waste cardboard from packaging and some dies from SU

You can see one side was a dull white - the other brown: I didn't even paint it

A sharp pen, some quick scribbles and a piece of string and hey presto, four tags!

You too can Zentangle!

It does not have to be a Christmas card or tag - anything can be drawn on with a tangle!

You have a week to enter

Please - not stamps. 

One Week !

What happens then? The big man in the red suit rides into town on a sleigh filled with presents and starts handing them out to people. Meanwhile his reindeer, who have pulled the sleigh, eat up the goodies left for them by the eager girls and boys. When the big man has finally wedged his way back out of the chimney - I did mention he climbs down your chimney.... they fly away for another year. If you have been naughty - he only leaves you a lump of coal under the Christmas Tree you have so beautifully decorated and put up in the main room; if you have been good, you get a present......

BUT.....you have to BELIEVE IN SANTA! Otherwise all of the above is obsolete. I did mention that I have been very good and I BELIEVE didn't I? (There is a big box with my name on it hidden in hubby's workshop and I think it is a Foiling Machine so I definitely believe!) Hopefully, it will not snow that night.......at least not here, as we are in the middle of summer and climate change is strange but not that strange please.

OK, I have been rambling, but as I cannot talk about the Ashes I had to talk about something.....

We are still midway through the challenge at Unstampabelles to

#75 Zentangle your way to Christmas.... 

TWIST make a non-traditional item

Prize: Random Number Draw

Emboss folder, diecut and some sparkle

I always need gift bags so that is what I ended up doing: putting a Zentangle I made onto a paper bag I had acquired whilst at the Dentist! It has the name of the practice underneath the drawing.

I saw the tangle on Pinterest and sort-off copied it a bit - as best I could

I used gold pens and pink and yellow pens with the fine black.

My stars are wobbly and my sweeps and swoops and swags are clunky and don't flow as well as they should but I was still quite pleased with my work so took the page out of my workbook and added to it a Christmas sentiment sticker - not a stamp!

Hubby was impressed. 

It will hold a medium sized parcel/present

I have a back issue so standing and wrapping really puts me under pressure. I like using the bags as not only do they look good, I get rid of them, people often reuse them and they are easier to pack. People also have something to take the loot home with as well! Or, if you are the Grandson, take the loot to the bedroom and hide the candy!!!!

You have until the end of December to enter the challenge and it does not have to be a Christmas item!

You can enter 

HERE

Hello Peeps - week two in December and week two into the challenge at Unstampabelles

#75 Zentangle your way to Christmas.... 

TWIST make a non-traditional item

Random Number Prize

This is not my photo but I cannot find where I got it from now

I know it was taken only a couple of weeks ago

It is the Derwent Valley this river flows past our house but it's a lot wider and bigger than this stream!

Since the month began and Summer officially began we have had rain and cold weather - the river would be running a bunker here now!

I made another card out of a tangle I copied from one in Pinterest

I drew my star tangles onto watercolour paper

I then spritzed it with water and sprinkled Colour Burst paints onto the wet surface
 I lay a sheet of card over this and pressed to pickup some of the excess and then dried it off

I will use this sheet for a background for another project

The wooden word was first painted white and then had some layers of Smooch indifferent colours added - I think it started off light blue!

I cut the card to fit a gold blank and then raised the word

I think it looks OK

My stars are a bit wonky though - I am  never good with symmetry

This could be a Christmas card or it could just be a card for inspiration 

Why not tangle yourself something and enter it in the challenge at 

Unstampabelles for December!

Trying Zentangling again.

Weather Report: after a record hot November, the first day of summer was heralded in by rain and cold weather - floods and major storms in some places of the mainland. We got rain - lots of lovely, wanted rain.

Outside the craft room door just a while ago - poor orchids are drenched!

I am sitting here wearing my mother's old cardigan to keep warm.

(She died a long time ago and this cardi is the last one she knitted - I love it)

Oh well - good for crafting!

At Unstampabelles this month, the challenge is to create something using a Zentangle pattern  - whoa, Zentangle! "What is that," you cry.

Can you remember we did this last Christmas too?  Here is a reminder of one of my past attempts are using the Zen Tangles to decorate.....

Well, I like to think I have improved since then!

I have been practicing -  at random intervals - and feel a bit more confident

I found I like adding pencil colour

The twist at Unstampabelles this month is to

Make a Non-Traditional item

This could mean many things but I chose to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colours and themes.

I used a wooded word for my sentiment -sprayed it white and then added some Starlight Metallic paints but it was still too light so I added a blue spray and dried it with the Embosser - it bubbled and I loved the effect!

This photo was taken in the doorway of the workshop, out of the rain  - slightly different colours out of the direct light too!

By itself in the middle of my tangle the sentiment got lost so I backed it with the same card I used to back my tangle. To create the tangle, I used a bit of  Dyon, Chainging and Keeko -no, they are not errors in naming; it seems zentangling uses weird names for each tangle type. 

This was a practice piece but I cut it from my book to make this card. 

It is a sort-of copy of one of Beckah Krahula's and comes from her book 

One Zentangle a Day -a 6 week course

Well worth purchasing if you are interested. 

You can make a card, a tag, a bookmark, a cover for a book, a present (a set of cards?) , zentangle onto an ornament or a any surface that is suitable. Just don't use a stamp please. 

Happy tangling!

December Challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies

Hello Again Peeps!

How busy are you all? Yep - me too!!! This post will be short and sweet!

Don't want to boast too much, but this place is 20 minutes away from us:

One can always stop for a drop, eh?

Riversdale Estate offers a warm and unforgettable experience, with the family the sixth generation to work and contribute to the property. Enjoy the magnificent views, European interiors, cellar door, and superb French Restaurant.

More tips: 
http://hobartandbeyond.com.au/news-posts/winery-tastings-tours-cellar-doors-southern-tasmania/

Image: instagram.com/riversdaleestate

Ok, what is next?  Well, in fact: Hilde at 

Crafting with Dragonflies has asked us to make a last minute quick card  - 

but to glam it up a bit - 

all done that on the the 24th, right?

Kaiserkraft St Nicholas paper pad

A SU icicle in gold and some bling.

Gold always glams things up doesn't it - plus bling of course!

Hope all is going well with you and yours

Cheers,