Is This Me?!

Saw this and just had to post it here! This is so me this year! I have a Black Belt in "Partial Arts"! I have so many half finished crafts it's no wonder my desk is full of unfinished cards and things!! Deep sigh!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

No! You're Not Seeing Double!

 Oh darn. These photos have loaded up in the wrong order. The cards (at the bottom) were supposed to be first! Oh well, "iiwii" - It Is What It Is!  So one of my neighbours , who is a professional photographer, gave me a new lens for my camera the the other day! So I thought I would take a few close up shots of one of the Agapanthus flowers that are in full bloom right now. Oh, and a Dandelion dead head. There is small breeze blowing, so it wasn't easy to get a good in focus shot, but I gave it a go! Darn that little bit of wind!

I have always loved the colour of these Agapanthus, ad these were not actually 'planted'. My stamping friend Margaret, who at the time, lived 2 houses around the corner from me, had asked if I cold dig some out of her garden, as they were taking over. She only had a small area of garden. So I dug some out took them home.  As I said, I didn't actually 'plant' them.  All I did was dig a slit into the soil, wiggle the spade sideways  and placed the Agapanthus plants on top. Every single one of them grew! They will not take over the garden as there is plenty of room for  them to spread out  as much as they like. 

So here's the  same cards I posted yesterday. The only difference is, I have layered them and finished them off properly. So NO! You are not seeing double! Although you cannot see it, I have added glitter to the center of each of the stars on here. It sparkles in real life!

For the card below I stamped LS stars around the white and black layers of card before I stuck each layer on. And yes I used my new Layering Rulers! I am still learning how to use them properly. This card too has some glitter on it!

That's it for today, its beginning to get vey hot and humid these days, and the humidity is making me 'wilt'! Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Two Cards!

Both of these cards were made after I watched video tutorials by Amanda Branston from Lavinia Stamps. For the top card, I used one of the Sticker Stencils to make the star. I rushed on some Milled Lavender Distress Oxide ink.  I then made the wavy lines using the same ink, and one of the LS Hill Masks, brushing the ink in an upwards motion. I inked a narrow black line across the star, and then stamped (in black ink) the tiny Pixi Houses, and the tiny tree ,all from LS. I then stamped the word "Peace" under the houses etc. Once I stamped the snowflakes (also in Milled Lavender ink) I hand drew the stitching lines around the card using a white Posca pen.

I also added some sparkle - gotta have some glitz! I will mat it onto a white card, nd then once again onto a black card.

I used a LS Hill mask, and various coloured ink pads to make the coloured swirl, making sure it was fairly even in the center. It crossed over as I went around the card. Then I stamped the word stamp. then the tree and finally the little stars! This was a lot of fun to make!

Ok I think that's it for me. "Santa" comes tight, and I hope he has an umbrella and raincoats for his Reindeer, because it is raining! It's very humid and the rain is not making it any cooler. Have a wonderful Holiday Season, however you celebrate! Be safe, be kind and have fun!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Another LS Christmas Card!

 I used my Dinkles to colour the baubles, and red gel pen for Eve's hat. There is glitter on her wings, but it doesn't show on here. I have  another three Christmas cards to finish and that is the end of my Christmas cards for 2023!  Of course, that may change, as there is often a card or two I have forgotten about! It was my Birthday yesterday, and I bought myself a set of the beautiful Mondeluz water colour pencils. I hope to try them out soon. I will post here when I do!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Christmas Card for a Friend!

 I'm really pleased how this card turned out. It's very colourful and very sparkly with Judi-kins Diamond glitter on parts of it. I used my new Layering Rulers for the layers, but mucked up the last (glitter card) layer. It was thicker than I had expected and the ruler moved.  Uff da, things happen! To be often I am finding this Christmas really stressful. So many things have happened, such as being in hospital eight times, and not being well. On top of that, trying to get a small loan from WINZ (who pay my pension)to get a heat pump installed, and being told 'no' at every step. I've done everything they have asked, from getting a letter from my Doctor confirming my health issues and how living in a cold damp moldy home is detrimental to my health, and now they want copies of the Family Trust as this house is in a Family Trust with my brother and I. Firstly, I don't have all the papers because the Lawyer holds those. To get copies from him would mean I have to pay around $500 plus, which I refuse to pay. I cannot afford to pay that much. WINZ have accused me of financially gaining from the Trust, which is not true. The only thing I have 'gained' is a roof over my head. They have not been pleasant at all to deal with. I'm giving you the polite version here. I have jumped through so many hoops with Winz that I am sure I am now a qualified Circus performer! It's been going on since June and it has given me  SO much stress. I have made and sent cards to a few people who are special to me, but have not sent as many as usual. I'm just too stressed. My case about the loan has now gone from WINZ to a disputes tribunal, so now I have to wait and see what happens from there. I cannot do anymore with WINZ, so the Disputes Tribunal is now advocating on my behalf. Sorry about all this, but I am stressed! While I LOVE making and sending cards, this year I just can't do it.  However if you are reading this, then you are on my  card list and WILL receive a card from me!  Don't panic! Some people I care about more than others. Apologies for all this! Hope you enjoy my card! Thanks for listening! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Christmas Tree's and More!

These two photos are of Pohutakawa Trees growing nearby.  They are commonly known as New Zealand's Christmas Tree, because they flower around this time of year. They also grow close to some of our beaches as they quite like the sandy soil.  If they flower early in the season, it means that we are going to get a nice long dry hot summer - fingers crossed! These tree's are huge, think of an old Oak tree that's been there for a hundred years and that's the size of these. They have some yellow stamens in the middle of the flowers. Our beautiful Native bird, the Tui, loves these tree's and you can often hear them early in the morning calling to one another. 

I just wish I had been somewhere high up because I had to take these shots looking up to the tree's. 

Below are the new Layering Rulers from WRMK that I got recently. They help you make even spaced mats for your cards. Something I struggled with before I had these. Each ruler has a raised line that you hold against your card, so you can cut using a scalpel or exacto knife. I hope my explanation doesn't confuse you, I am not good at explaining things. I am much better at showing you. Below is the finished card with 2 layers of matting. (I need to finish colouring it)

The next photo show how I have matted it onto the pink card, and I'm now going to mat it onto the lavender card. The bonus is, if you put the card on to the lavender card, and it is crooked, it doesn't matter because when you place the ruler against it, and cut, you get a straight line.

The photo below shows my hand holding the ruler about to cut. There are raised lines on each side of each ruler, giving you different measurements so you can choose how wide you want each mat. Each raised line is there to hold the card from moving while you cut.

Below are the three rulers that you get in a pack. Each one has different measurements so you can decide how wide you want each mat. Apologies for the terrible photo, I should have turned the rulers over so you can actually read the numbers! Each ruler is 12 inches long. Oh gee, I am hopeless at explaining things in writing! I hope you can follow my explanation! Ask me for more details if you need to!  I absolutely LOVE these rulers, and fond them oh-so-easy to use! They have made my crafting a lot easier - no more crooked layering!

 Thank you for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Birthday Card!

This is a 5x5 inch card I made. There's some sparkle on it which doesn't show up in this photo. There's also some colored sequins. I'm happy how this turned out! Sometimes you get a picture in your mind of how you want the card to be, and then it doesn't turn out how you imagined. Luckily, this one turned out right! I've had some cluster migraines lately, which has stopped me doing craft work. I am off to get an eye test just to check it isn't something more serious. Hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas?! Oh my gosh, how can it be almost Christmas?! Time has gone quickly i the last month. Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

"Eve"

I stamped "Eve", and the tree's, on another of the Stamp Scape's cards I have. These cards have such beautiful backgrounds, and all you need to do is stamp your scene on it and bingo, you have a card! I added some snow and glitter to the images, and three snowflakes and the card was done! So quick and easy! 

I have challenges doing layers, I never seem to get them even. So I just ordered the WRMK Perfect Rulers to help get perfect layers. Have you used these?? What did you think about them? Would love to know! Let me know in the comments section. I ordered mine from Amazon in Australia, and they should be here by Dec 10. I am looking forward to using them!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Christmas Wishes.

I saw a card like this on the LS Challenge page on their website. I liked it so much that I made one this morning! It has some Diamond glitter dotted on it ad it looks very sparkly in real life. You don't think I am addicted to Lavinia Stamps do you?! I just love the new Winter Whispers release, and cannot get enough of them! Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Christmas Card

I made this card using the LS Leaf Bouquet stamp - one of the new stamps. I coloured it using Gansai Tambi Gem Colour paints. I love these paints! One I had painted the image, and stamped the word (another new LS stamp) I dotted on some glue and sprinkled some Diamond glitter on. It looks stunning in real life! So sparkly! I am loving the new stamps from Lavinia Stamps (Winter Whispers). To see some more beautiful Lavinia Stamps cards, hop over to my friend Andrea's blog, she has some gorgeous cards she made. She won the entire new Winter Whispers range on Instagram!!  I was so happy for her!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Drum Roll Please!

 

 

Finally my new Lavinia Stamps have arrived!! It's taken a long time, because Royal Mail in the UK put the wrong tracking label on my parcel after picking it up from Lavinia Stamps. For a week or so I was unable to track the parcel and kept getting a weird message. I got in touch with LS, and after many phone calls back and forth to Royal Mail, they admitted to LS that they had put  the wrong tracking label on my parcel and it was going nowhere and was unable to be tracked. The lovely, and very efficient Annja from LS sorted it out for me and sent me a new parcel of stamps. They finally arrived late yesterday! Sorry for the long explanation! Any how, these are the first two cards I made late yesterday. The image on the card above is a bit of a challenge as the background is quite dark. The card below is quite sparkly, as I used a clear glitter pen on most of the image.

These are a few of the new LS stamps which were released at the end of October. I think there are 13 stamps which include some beautiful Christmas words. This is by far my most favourite range of stamps that LS have released! I made the backgrounds on these two cards using a gel press and different ink colours and a few drops of water. Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Christmas Card

 A quick Christmas card made yesterday. The Berry Branch and small snowflakes are both from LS. The sentiment and large snowflake are both Suzanne Canon stamps. Her calligraphy is stunning! There's lots of sparkle on here, trust me! I brushed ink from 3 different coloured ink pads across the top of the card, then applied a wet brush over the top to blend the colours.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and everyday!

"Mooch in The Moonlight"

I have done a pictorial to show how I made this card, I hope you can follow it! I have used all Lavinia Stamps products. I started with a piece of white card. I have also used the LS Sticker Stencil 5, Arch.

Any questions, please ask! Thanks for dropping by on this gorjuss warm sunny day! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Blizzard

This is a tall card, 7 1/2 by 3 inches. Even though it is not finished, I decided to post it anyway. I am waiting on some stamps to arrive that have Christmas words.  I used one of Lavinia Stamps Scene Scape's cards for the background, and stamped the sign, bird, holly and foliage on to that card. These Scene Scape's cards make awesome backgrounds, and make it quicker to make a card. There's lots of different designs and sizes too. I love them! I added some snow on the sign and Holly, using a white Signo gel pen.  Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Snow Bunnies!

Here's a quick Christmas card I made. All Lavinia Stamps products. There's plenty of sparkle on it, but the flash on my camera cancels it out. Not much to say about this card, except it was quick and easy. I made the snowy hills using a torn piece of paper, a stencil brush and a grey ink pad.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

New Cards!

I've been out of action for a couple of weeks and in that time Blogger has changed- frustrating:-( 

I've been in and out of hospital a couple of times, again, and they still don' really know what's going on. Anyhow, here are a couple of cards I made the other day. The one above is a big card, it measures 7x7 inches. All Lavinia stamps on both cards. There's a lot of elements in the top card and it took me several hours to complete. I made it the day after I came out of hospital as I wanted something to do that was both fun and relaxing. And it took my mind off my ongoing health issues. I am very happy how it turned out!

For this card above, I used a new sticker stencil from Lavinia to make the arch. I know the image is rather pale, something is going on with my laptop as it is changing the colours on everything I post. Uff da, I can't do anything about it at the moment.

Both cards have tons of sparkle on them, especially the first card.

Ok just a quick post today as I am still feeling tired and exhausted. 

Andrea B, I hope your Lavinia Stamps you won have arrived and you are having loads of fun with them! I'm still waiting on my order too arrive.

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

New Cards!

The card above has been re-posted because I have added some birds on it. All these  cards are 6x6 inches square.  I stamped on Lavinia tamps Multifarious card, which is such good quality card stock.

My laptop is doing weird things and changing the colours. It's making the cards look much lighter in colour than they really are. Frustrating:-( In this one above, you can barely see the suns ray's on the card. It's driving me crazy at the moment, and I need to check how to fix it. 

I used a Holly stamp around the corners on this card. I was supposed to use the Mistletoe stamp, but inadvertently picked up the Holly one! Oh well, too late now! Because these photos are showing up so pale, you cannot really see the details, such as the lumpy-bumpy snow which is on this card. I have noticed the colours are more pale than they really are. As I sad, my laptop is doing crazy things to my photo's at the moment.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Funky Design Hand Made Earrings!

I recently purchased some "My Little Pony" figures, and have turned them into earrings!

They measure around 2 1/2 by 1 /2 inches, and are light to wear. I have been selling them and everyone seems to like them! So much fun to make and wear!

These last two pairs (above and below) are mine, I just  loved the colours so much I had to keep them! I also make them into a necklace, with just the one Pony. I do have a card almost ready to post.  I'm waiting on the card to dry as it has some Nuvo Crystal Drops on. There isn't a lot of sun today, so it might take awhile to dry. I will post it once it's dry.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Druids Inn - Lavinia Stamps Card.

I am not doing much crafting lately, due to being in and out of hospital five times in the last five months. I was back in hospital again last week. However I have made this card over the last few days.  It is a 6x6 inch square card.  I used the Druids Inn stamp, as well as a few other LS stamps. I also used pink and white posca pens, as well as Copic's, and various Elements ink pads. It was tiring because it took so long to finish, but I am happy with the results! Oh yes, I also used some clear Nuvo Drops on parts of the card. Hope you enjoy my card!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Two New Cards!

Both these cards measure 7 3/4 inches by 4 inches. ON the card above I stamped Lavinia Stamps Creeping Vine stamp (the tree branch) on the left hand side of the card. I then stamped "Everlee" the fairy, making it look as if she is sitting on the branch. I stamped the single star, then the 2 clusters of stars in the top right hand corner. Lastly I stamped "Christmas Blessings", which is two separate word stamps. I added some sparkly gel pen on her wings and hair.

I pretty much did the same on the card below, using  a different LS fairy (Layla) stamps. I stamped the lamp after stamping the fairy, making it look as if she is holding the lamp. Once again I added the two separate words, masking the letter "s" on the word 'Angel'. The words are  a set of eight words, but they all come as one stamp. I carefully cut each word out so I can mix nd match the words as I like instead of having one big stamp with all the words on. The lamp has some yellow pan pastel around it to make it look as if it is glowing. As before, there is some sparkly gel pen on Layla's wings and hair, as well as the foliage. I also added some Star Dust  Stickles on the stars. These cards were fun to make, and I think I will make some more as Christmas cards.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE  day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

New Cards!

Finally I am back, with a few things to post! It's taken me awhile because of health issues, and now I have a very painful neck injury:-(  I cannot lift my proper camera, so have taken these shots using my mobile phone camera. Once my neck is not so sore I can get  back to using my Canon again. So, onto the photos! The little wooden star, above, is around 2 1/2 inches in size. I used some yellow pan pastel for the circle, then stamped the words on top. The word stamps and the stars are from Lavinia Stamps. I dotted on some "Star Dust" Stickles on the stars, and once they were dry, I sprayed the star with some cheap hairspray to seal it, and to stop the pan pastel from rubbing off. A very quick and easy little gift to make, and fits into a normal size envelope for posting. I always put a piece of strong cardstock in the envelope to keep the star from breaking once it has been posted.

On the card above, I have once again made a circle using some blue pan pastel. I then stamped in the card, and sprayed it with hair spray. The word sentiment is an old one from Stampin' Up!, and the main stamp and star are  Lavinia Stamps.

This card above has some of the new release stamps from Lavinia Stamps. 

I used a cloud stencil to make the clouds on the card above. I placed the cloud stencil on the card, then run a wet paint brush over the curves on the stencil. (this is just to slightly wet the card) Then I dipped  a smaller paint brush into the Dinkles and brushed it across the stencil. I kept doing this, as well as moving the stencil down the card each time, so I eventually had the clouds all over the card. (Bear with me, I am hopeless at instructions unless I am actually demonstrating in real time!) Once the clouds were dry I then stamped the fairy, the trees, the stars and the birds. By the way, Dinkles come as a powder. I put a tiny amount of each colour into small plastic bottles that have a very fine needle point tip. I add some water and shake well. To use them on this card, I squeezed a drop onto and old plate and used them like water colour paints. But onto the card below! I used the same technique as I did on the first card in this post.  The pan pastels are SO quick and easy to create with!

So that is all I have to share today. My sore neck is stopping me from doing much unfortunately. And these photos are not top quality either. So, thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Always remember to be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Lavinia Stamps New Release!

Oh I have been so naughty!!  These are the latest release from Lavinia stamps, and I purchased them yesterday! They are coming form the UK, so will take a little bit of time to get to me. You can check them out and see what the DT's have made with them on the LS face book pages, or on the LS store page. I can't wait for them to arrive! I will post what I make with them on here......keep watching!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Frolicking On The Lawn!

These are not my cats. They belong to one of my neighbours over my back fence. They visit me often. Above is "Teddy", and he is tossing a mouse (not a real one!) in the air and having a great time! Below is "Wookie", and she is shadow boxing! Either that or she is dancing?! 

And below is "Teddy" again, this time with a rat - definitely not a real one!

In this photo below, it looks like "Teddy" has little white boxing gloves on his front paws!

And this photo below would have been awesome if I hadn't chopped "Wookie's" tail off:-( She was moving at speed! There is a long ribbon tied to my clothesline and she was having a great time with it as it blew around in the wind!  I think she is practicing how to levitate! 

And "Teddy"!! Here he is below,  practicing how to be a Witches cat ready for Halloween!

This, below is the whole photo. He was having a bit of a hiss a "Wookie" who had dared to play with the ribbon!

 I had fun, the cats had fun, and I managed to get a few candid photo's.  It was a relaxing afternoon, not a lot of sun, but enough that it wasn't too cold. Unfortunately, once again, I have been back in hospital last week. OMG, they took me to a different hospital which was about 50 minutes from home!  This is not usual. Mostly I end up in the local Hospital, which is about 15 minutes away. However, I ended up in a different hospital this time, due to the ambulance crew not knowing too much about my health issues. Thankfully, once I was discharged, the hospital gave me a Taxi chit so I could get home. I had no other way of getting home, and the chit means the DHB cover the cost of the taxi. This is their policy for people like me, who are a long way from home and have no other way to get home. I am very grateful to the DHB for this! Had I paid for the Taxi, it would have been at least $100 or more! That could buy a lot of craft things! So I have no new cards to share at the moment. While I am well enough to be home, I am still recovering and just taking things one day at a time, and getting back to a normal routine. Hopefully that is the last of my hospital trips for awhile because I am over it! That's four hospital trips since the end of June = enough!!

On  positive note, I have some new neighbours, whom came to introduce themselves recently. A lovely young couple in their 20's, and they bought me some yummy chocolate muffins he had just baked! What a lovely gesture! Sadly, I knew I was not well and was going to end up in hospital, so I put the muffins in the freezer to keep them fresh. I wasn't sure how long I would be in hospital and didn't want the muffins to go to waste. I took a muffin out of the freezer and put it into the microwave for  a few seconds and OMG they tasted soooooo yummy!

Then sometime later I had an email from them asking if I was ok, as they had seen the ambulance here a few nights back. They are so thoughtful, and their concern is really appreciated! And as a 'bonus', they have a beautiful champagne and white cat called "Danny", who sometimes visits. He is very shy and doesn't know me yet. When I call his name he looks at me as if to say, "I don't know you, how do you know my name?! Hopefully he will get to know I am ok and will not hurt him, and I might be lucky to be able to  pat  him! I love being visited by all the neighbours cats! And Romeo likes seeing them all too! Ok, that's it for today, it's been a somewhat sunny day, but we just had a nasty shower of rain and the sun has gone behind the clouds and it is getting cold again. Hurry up Summer! Spring arrives on the 1st of September! (Tell that to my Daffodils that flowered in April, and have just flowered again!!) Thank you for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!