New Cat Stamps

These (above) are  new stamp set I just got.  Below is how I have coloured them, using  Copic markers.  I'm not happy with the colouring and want to sponge them.  The challenge is, all my sponges are way too big. The cats measure about 1 inch by 1 inch, so the sponges I have (even the tiny ones) are too big and chunky.

Below is how I want them to look, but how do I get that soft blended look??  This picture below is one I found on the internet.  I am not good with water colour pencils, I just never get a good look.  My Copics don't quite give me the look I want.  Does anyone have any ideas of what to use to get the soft blended look??  Please help!!

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a SUNSHINE day!  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)

Christmas Cards

When I got up this morning, my goals for the day were to make at least one Christmas card using this new stamp and die set I just got.  My other goal was to re-pot six small Griselinia shrubs I had, that were too small to be planted in the ground yet, but needed to be in bigger pots as they were root bound. Making the card below meant that I achieved goal number one before breakfast!  Yay!

I believe this stamp and die set is an Avery Elle one, called, "Dear Santa".  I like it. Alot!  I liked the first card so much I made another one - below!  I wasn't sure how to colour the cat at first, then decided to outline her with a pale grey copic marker, then lightly shade her with a grey water colour pencil. On both cards I added some gems and sequins - got to have sequins!  On the card below I have stamped a mouse which is from an old SU stamp set.

Below is the stamp set.  Since I got my Stamp Perfect tool, I now buy lots more clear stamps as they are soooo easy to use with the SP tool.  No more missed patches of where there wasn't enough ink on the stamp:-)  And I get my stamps positioned perfectly every time:-)  HOW did I manage without it??!  I have asked myself that question many times!  

 I also achieved my second goal of re-potting the Griselinia shrubs, so I am happy!  It's a lovely sunny day today and the neighbourhood is fairly quiet.  The school holidays have started for the next two weeks and I was expecting it to be a lot noisier today.  I was up at 6 am and it was so peaceful, sunny and serene.  I sat and listened to the birds while I had my first cup of tea.  It was just so nice:-)  Well, thanks for dropping by, I hope you have a SUNSHINE day:-)  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)

Christmas Card and Other Stuff!

From this... 

To this... finally my Cotton Palm has been put back upright again:-)  In the photo below the Palm is being held upright by the digger.  They had cemented around the bottom of the Palm, and while the cement dried and hardened, the digger was holding the Palm in place.  It has taken over four months to get it done:-(

 Below is another white Christmas card I made.  I used a new circle die, and a Poinsettia die for the flower.  If you look closely you can see there is a branch of berries hanging from under the Poinsettia.  It is a bit easier to see if you enlarge the photo.

 The photo below is what I see out of my kitchen window in the morning.  I live in  a valley between two hills, so when the sun rises (behind me in this photo) in the morning, it lights up the bush at the top of the hill first.  The higher in the sky the sun gets, the more of the bush it lights up.  So pretty to see in real life!

The flowers below are some of what is flowering in my garden right now.  These are a type of Orchid, and multiply profusely.  So delicate and pretty!

And here is "Miss Bella-Rosa" having a roll in the sun! She loves being outside when it is fine and sunny, and enjoys it even more if I am sitting outside with her!

Below is a card I made the other day, using some new stamps and dies I got.  The circle die is also a new one.  

 The flowers have some Glossy Accents on parts of them, as well as the leaves.  Below is the stamp and die set.  I ordered them on the 21st of September (2018), They were being shipped from China.  I received them on the 22nd of September (2018).  I was stunned when they arrived the very next day after ordering them!!  I can only assume that the company I bought them from has a warehouse here in Auckland and they had these in stock here in NZ.  There is no way they came from China to NZ in less than 24 hours!  

I can't even get a letter across Auckland within 24 hours, let alone across the other side of thee world! If only the mail service was that quick all the time!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)

More Christmas Cards!

I've had a productive afternoon and have made 3 more Christmas cards since I did my first post earlier today!  This is what happens when I am inspired by something I see on Pinterest!  The first two cards were fairly quick and easy to make.  The cards are much brighter in real life, sadly white cards are challenging to photograph so often don't show the real beauty of the card. To make the card, I first flipped the card over and scored the lines where I wanted them.  Then I turned the card over to the front of the card and glued the snowflakes on.

Once I had done that I added some embellishments to each snowflake, then stamped a simple Christmas greeting in the bottom right hand corner of each card.  Bingo!!  They were done!  Nice and simple.  I like clean and simple (quick and easy) cards, but I struggle with them.  I am a "bling" kind of girl and love my glitter and glitz, so to NOT put that on a card is a challenge for me!

The card below was going to be one of those "quick and easy" kind of cards, but it turned into a bit more than that somehow.  This elf is from a new set from Avery Elle and has the matching dies as well.  I like Elves!  There is some glitter and glitz on this card, but it's not easy to see.  Oh yes, and not forgetting my beloved sequins!  I managed to sneak a few of those in too:-)

Ok, I am done for today!  Thanks for dropping by!  Have a SUNSHINE day!  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)

Decorated Clipboard, and a Christmas Card.

I found some smallish clipboards the other day and decided to decorate them for gifts, and to sell for Christmas.  The clipboard measures 8 1/2 inches in height by 5 3/4 inch wide. I placed the clipboard on some patterned paper and drew around the outline in pencil.  I then carefully cut the paper out and glued it to the clipboard.  Once the glue was dry I added a block of post-it notes and a small 2019 calendar as well as a paper flower.  Once the calendar is finished you can just replace it with a new one.  The clipboard also has a hanger thing so you can hang it on the wall.

These two cards are made using some new stamps and dies I got recently.  Since posting this, I have realized that I forgot to draw in some ice for the girl to skate on!  Oh well, you will just have to imagine that there is some nice sparkly crisp ice under her ice skates!

Okay, that's me for today!  Thanks for dropping by! Hope you have a SUNSHINE day!  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)

Christmas Card

 Here's a Christmas card I made during the week.  I used scraps of card to make the different red and green layers, and stamped the ski-ing Santa onto a small piece of white card that I had cut using a die with stitching on it.  (Love those stitched dies!)  

The pom pom on Santa's hat it s small blob of white Nuvo Crystal drops.  (Love that stuff too!)  I have ordered some Christmas Elf stamps and am hoping some of them arrive next week.  

This is "Bluey-the-Tui" in my Camellia tree. He loves this tree, and has been here every day for weeks.  His calls can be heard from around 4 am in the morning, until late at night!  They are a big bird and have pretty blue/green feathers, with two prominent fluffy white feathers under his chin.  I love these birds and enjoy having them in my garden.  He wasn't at all concerned about me being so close to him, and he wasn't bothered at all by Miss Bella-Rosa sitting under the tree watching him!

My only concern was, if he fell out of the tree and landed n me he would have knocked me out! 

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!  {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)