Kaisercraft "Sweet Nothings" cards

Last year I entered a competition for Kaisercraft where we had to design a project created using the "Sweet Nothings" range. I created the selection of cards below. Unfortunately I didn't win anything - but as I'm always telling Alex (my son) - we can't win everything.

Everything used in these cards was from Kaisercraft, from cardstock, ribbons, stamps, inks, die-cuts, papers, rub-ons, stickers, rhinestones, etc.

  

I'm intending on taking some of these (the ones without too much bulk) along with some others I have to Photo Continental, as they are collecting cards to be sent to our forces overseas, so our soldiers etc have cards to send home for their loved ones. What a great idea and it's really the least we can do for our members of the armed forces. If you're interested in helping out with cards of your own, check out the Photo Continental blog for details. Just make sure you include envelopes as well.

Yes, this is the second entry for today - I had a frenzy of photographing my cards.

For those of you with kids on holidays - have a great time with your kids, and I'll write again soon.

Cheers,

Janelle

Annabelle Stamps Challenge - Late but I still like it!

A fortnight ago, Annabelle Stamps had a challenge called "Lime, Mango, Orange and White". I made this card for it, but owing to life intervening, I didn't get it posted in time. Anyway, I'm doing it now.

 I used the Darkroom Door Background stamp "French Script" that Rachel Greig sent to me after my card was published on the cover of "Australian Simply Cards", and I also used the Katy Sue Designs "Fairies" stamps that I won on the Scrapbook Boutique blog hop.

I used an embossed resist technique to create the background, by stamping in Versamark then embossing in white.  I then masked a circle on the page before sponging with Distress inkpads to create the sunset design. I then stamped the fairies and sentiment in black Staz-On so that it would cover the previous embossing.

For the butterfly I used an acrylic die-cut shape from HOTP and an outline sticker from Anita's that I coloured with a Copic marker.

This photo shows the sheen from the Perfect Pearls I brushed over the edges.

 

The big green flower was a cheapie I bought from a discount store and is from the Little Birdie company. They are similar to some of the new flowers from Couture Creations, at a fraction of the price. BARGAIN!!!

 Well, it's bye for now.

Janelle

New Blog Design

I have been promising myself that I would spend some time to create a more interesting blog design and today I finally got around to it. I hope you like it. The background was my own creation, but the heading was made with the cluster designed by Carolyn Rose Kite. I find the process of designing and managing my blogsite both frustrating and enriching. I'm relatively happy with this design, so I think this will be it for a while (at least).

By for now,
Janelle

A Birthday Card for Jacqueline

I recently made a birthday card for my step-daughter, Jacqueline, who lives in Melbourne as she was turning 22. I had to wait until she had received it before I could post it. She lives far too far away and we all miss her terribly throughout the year.

I used a new stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink called "Rosie Posie" and the "Signature Greetings" stamp set, as well as some pages from a free paper pad from Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. I also used a Beauty Label from HOTP, vellum, Swiss Dots embossing folder, rhinestones and a variety of inks and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. The pencils were applied after the stamping to create shading on the die cuts.

I wanted to have a card that reflected the vibrant colours of the papers, but wasn't too overpowering. This card was inspired by a card made by Susan Cobb who designs for Paper Wishes. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it with the Rosie Posie stamps.

Today I also visited the Annabelle Stamps blog. If you haven't had a chance to view this site, you should as the designer team are so innovative and creative - it was wonderful to discover it. It's also nice to see an Australian company creating and supplying quality products to crafters.

Anyway, bye for now.
Janelle

Check Out My Cards!

Just picked up the latest issue of Cardmaking in Easy Steps (Issue 5) and I've got a really nice layout displaying my vintage-style Christmas cards. I've even got a small photo of one of my cards on the cover. Yay!

I'm also posting a quick card I made for a friend just to say hello. Truth be told, I had some scraps still on the table and I was cleaning them up when I thought, "I could make a card with this piece and this piece and I could use my new Spellbinders Shapeabilities Persian Accents border die and put it here and then send it to Jayne." Needless to say the rest of the table did not get cleaned off!

I really like how the ribbon, pearlescent card stock used for the borders and the rhinestone flourish work to lift the design. The tag is from FabScraps Travel Journal book which is a terrific collection of tags, postcard blanks, ticket shapes, etc and I find just perfect for vintage style cards. (Not that this card really has much vintage style to it.) The Persian Accents die collection is gorgeous. I'm sure you'll see more of it used in the next couple of months. Next time I use the border, though, I won't be extending the design past the base of the card, it makes it too difficult to stand up for display.

Bye for now,

Janelle