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

What a week!

Woohoo!!! What a week!

On Saturday, my family went to see Cirque de Soleil - Ovo, that my husband had bought tickets for us for my birthday. What an incredible show. My son, Alex, said it was the best show he's ever seen and he especially liked the slinky-type character. It contains such talented acrobats, etc that it kept me spell bound for the entire show. On Tuesday it was our 13th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we didn't do much to celebrate, but at least we remembered.

I finished my commission for Practical Publishing and sent it off. I then made 60 cards and 45 gift tags for my son's "Father's Day" stall at school (photos below). 

These are just a selection of the total made. Each design was copied a number of times (so much easier when making mass numbers). The cards I made were very simple as I relied on the colourful papers to add appeal and just added the sentiments that I cut out using my eCraft machine (as well as the car die-cuts that were from an old embellishment kit.) They are totally different to the Mother's Day cards I usually make ( a lot more fancy with stamping, lace, ribbon etc used).

I'm pleased to say that they all sold. I haven't included a copy of the label made. I'll post one in the next few days.

Yesterday I found I had been selected as a winner in the Scrapbook Boutique bloghop competition for August and won a set of fairy stamps. Yaay! Many thanks to Evelyn at Scrapbook Boutique and I'm awaiting anxiously for them to arrive so I can play.

Just to finish the week, my husband is working on Saturday night/Sunday noon (yep - Father's Day!). He's spent the last few months planning and organising the roadworks for the annual Bridge to Brisbane fun run and so this weekend he will be working flat out making sure that the roads are ready for the runners in the morning and then making sure that the roads are right for traffic once the fun run is over. It involves over 50 workers, 22 semitrailers, and 3 cranes to place and then remove 176 Ironman barriers going the full length of the Gateway Bridge. Quite a feat. He loves it because he gets to boss around everyone (including police staff and the people in charge of the bridge). If I'm lucky he will take some photos I can post.

That's time!

Janelle

I've been busy...

I been busy lately trying to complete a commission for Practical Publishing. I've had to create 15 cards from one kit - a task that seemed easy to start with but has proven to be more difficult than I thought. I hope they like them. It's a shame you can't see them yet - you'll all have to wait until they've been published. (Insert beaming smile here)

Once I finish these cards I also have to do a rush job on the Father's Day cards for my son's school stall. I'll post photos of these soon.

Anyway, bye for now.
Janelle

A doily card

I'm posting a card made with one of my mum's mini doilies. It's for my niece's 19th birthday, so I wanted it to be bright and cheerful, feminine without being too fussy, but still modern. I hope she likes it. I made it a while ago and held off posting on my blog until I gave it to her, but I haven't seen her for ages (and if she's reading this - I know it's late but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

I used some free Raspberry Road Designs paper from the English Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine (can't remember which issue) which was a lovely set with pretty floral designs and fresh colours. The FabScraps Journal Tags are fast becoming a favourite with their range of colours and designs in the book. I also tried out my Papermania Brad Making kit which allowed me to personalise the brad using one of the blooms on the paper.  The embossing powder used on the sentiment is Stampendous Shabby Pink and I love the glitter bits in it as well as the slightly chunky white and copper bits. While it doesn't give a defined result, it sure is interesting and fun. The stamp comes from the Hot Off The Press Birthday Greetings set. 

I also made a card for my nephew (the twin of my niece) which was a variation on the masculine card I made for my last post.

Bye for now,

Janelle

Masculine Cards

I don't know about you, but I always find it difficult to create interesting cards for the men in my life. I saw an interesting idea by Kristina Werner for using washi tape and since I'd just got some from Paper Wishes, thought I'd give it a shot.

I made two - one for a friend and the other for a brother-in-law. I love the strong lines in it and masculine colours - but it's not boring because the circles on the paper and the big wooden buttons add extra dimension.
Materials used:  10.5x14cm cream card blank
                        cre8tiv 12x12" Specialty paper - dark brown
                        We R Memory Keepers Vintage Blue collection - Sugar Plum
                             Cloud 9 Design Sparkle Celebration Bubbles paper - Cinnamon Stick
                        We R Memory Keepers washi Tape - black, blue, brown, aqua and red
                             Martha Stewart Diamond Fence Deep Couble Edge punch
                        FabScraps and Prima wooden buttons
                        Fundamentals alphabet stickers

July is always a really busy season for birthdays, so I've got a lot more cards to make.

Bye for now,
Janelle

PS Check out Kristina's blog as she has some delightful cards and her how-to videos are interesting and informative.