16/11 - Happy Anniversary..

Hey,

If you have been visiting my blog for a while you know a) my wedding anniversary is Halloween and b) I always celebrate the anniversary of our first date - 30th October.

This year it's 16 years together and 11 years married!! 

The photo is from our anniversary early morning boat ride through the water park/conservation area last year in Cancun.

Being a cardmaker, I use these x2 anniversaries as an excuse to make Hubby elaborate cards. 

First up the 16 year card.

I love the 'Bacon' set by AALL & Create - a brand that I discovered earlier this year, whilst I was at home in London and they have been such a great find. I blended Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry distress oxides to create my background and then stamped the awesome bacon stamp from 'Bacon Break' by Sweet Stamp Shop. I added a few hearts for fun.

I mean how can he not love a card with a bacon background?! AND not a pun in sight (he very much dislikes a pun card, and I give them to him to wind him up - hee hee).

And here is the 11th Wedding Anniversary card! It's not strictly a pun, but it is kind of because it's Halloween...

I love all the amazing cloud blending I am seeing and I need MUCH more practice at it. But I am SO happy with how this came out and now I need a black blender brush..

I used an MFT Cloud stencil, Crate Paper 'After Dark' stamps and Papertrey Ink 'Keep It Simple: Anniversary' stamps. The inks are distress oxides in Black Soot, Carved Pumpkin and Wilted Violet.

We would normally be in Mexico right now celebrating, but you know global pandemic.. So we are going to our fave restaurant in NYC instead (hoping we don't freeze to death outside). 

I would just like to say that even though the last 7 months have been very strange, there isn't anyone else I could have been trapped in a small apartment with. Hubby and I have had so much fun at home, watching random crap, eating our body weight in cake, perfecting our fave recipes, and hanging with Clint Catwood. 

If you choose your life partner carefully, all storms can be weathered with humor.

I love you Mr G, you are my man, love, thing for life and beyond.

Cx

One stamp four ways...

Hey,

Every now and then I like to choose a stamp, stencil or die and spend a couple of hours making things with that item as the focus.

This time I chose the Brushstrokes background stamp by Stampin' Up.

I wanted the background on the main card to look like the sea, so I applied a variety of blue distress inks directly to the stamp and spritzed it with water, then I laid my cardstock on the stamp and hoped for the best :) The anchor is a new punch I got in a closeout sale and the sentiment I have had for nearly 7 years!

I made four quite different cards -

Kaleidacolor ink, SSS Sentiment, Lawn Fawn wood star, painted with distress paints and glitter

Distress Ink, Studio Calico wooden words, Lawn Fawn wooden stars, painted with Hero Arts paint dauber 

Distress Ink, Avery Elle pineapple die, Poppy Stamps glasses die, Crate Paper sentiment, Paper scrap

I'm pleased with how they have all come out, I think I like the background on the pineapple card the best. I like the faded out feel of the yellow.

Cx

Eat, Drink and Be Merry...

Hi,

I'll be heading to D-Town later on today to Celebrate Thanksgiving with JT's amazing parents and her godparents..

Today I am showing some more of my Christmas card makes.

I have been a bit obsessed with 'Eat, Drink and be Merry' as a greeting..

So I bought a couple of stamp sets that had good Christmas sentiments and included 'Eat, Drink and be Merry'

For the headline card, I stamped the sentiment by Papermania and used a spotty stamp by Crate Paper for the cupcake background. The cupcake is by Crate Paper and I stamped it, fussy cut it and then added liquid applique for the icing - yums...

Icing close-up

 Liquid applique is the BOMB..if you haven't used it try it out.

The second version of the card uses the same sentiment, but by Crafter's Companion. I love this version, its so modern. I added some wine / martini glasses by Studio G and a snowflake.

Both versions are on stitched die-cuts (Simon Says Stamp and MFT) and are mounted onto American Craft patterned card blanks.

Again super simple, but effective Christmas makes.

Cx

Happy Labor Day!

Today is Ma and Amy's last day here, we are off to Coney Island..weather permitting.

On Friday a friend asked me to make a card to accompany her Thank You gift for her Cousin. Whilst playing in my new improved craft area (more about that later in the week) last night I stumbled across this great blog - Passion For Promarkers.

They have a challenge and their current challenge is a recipe - x3 papers, x1 image, x3 embellishments and x1 sentiment.

My main photo is my entry - using a Bugaboo Flower Mouse stamp as my image - coloured using Caramel, Tan, Pink Carnation, Moss, Honeycomb and Cocoa Promarkers, a Pink Petticoat sentiment, x3 papers - the x2 patterned ones are new and by DCWV and Crate Paper, my x3 embellishments are x2 brads and x1 button from my stash. I added a bit of twine for fun.

I love this card, it came out so well and I love the idea of a 'recipe' for a challenge, might have to do this remotely with JT.

Hope my friend's Cousin loves it too.

Cx