Wee Little Baby

Hello dear friends. It's Waltzing Mouse's Blog Party time! My first blog party...ever! This month the theme is "New Beginnings" and I'm going with a baby card which I made for a friend. Can't give it to her yet since Mr Stork is only scheduled to fly by with his precious cargo sometime early next week. In the meantime, being the impatient so-and-so that I am, I've gone ahead and made a card. If you're the superstitious sort, then I suggest you cross your fingers, knock on wood and tie nine knots as you read the rest of this post. But, if you're anything like me, go ahead and grab a glass of wine, sit back and take a peek at all the fabulous creations on display at the party. For my card I am using the sketch from this week's WMSC #93 and the colours are from CR8FN #52.

I decided on a 4.5" square card. The papers are from Daisy and Dandelion "Candy floss and Marshmallow" A4 pack. 

The sentiment is from WMS Compact Sentiments set. I stamped it with Memento Rich Cocoa onto pink CS and cut with Spellbinders Eyelet Circles die. Then I layered it on cream CS cut with Spellbinders Heart Circles.

Finally, I stuck it all down with plenty of pop dots.

For embellishments I went with all things girlie: lace, pearls and ribbons. When this wee baby grows up she'll know exactly what's what! ;-) 

I kept it simple on the inside, with plenty of room for me to scribble my words of wisdom  a message.

That's my card for today. Thanks for taking the time to drop in on me. Hope to see you soon!

Beijinhos.



  Blogged to:
  Snoopy's rhythmic snoring, mint tea and

"Carry Me to the Cross" 
awesome closing track.

You Make All The Diffrence

Hello again, dear friends. What can I say? It's Monday again... a full week <sigh!> Hope your week is off to a cracking start. Over here, we have sun! Yay! That's some consolation. We had quite a bit of rain over the weekend. It's nice to be able to walk out and not worry about being soaked to the undies. (I hate it when that happens, don't you?) As its Monday, it's time for my Mojo card. I must admit this card put me in a thunderous mood. It just wasn't happening: couldn't decide on the paper nor the embellishments. I was this close to blaming it all on the sketch. It had to be the sketch's fault I couldn't get my act together...certainly not me, I'm always right! ;-) Here's a card made for a friend, from a bunch of us, to say thank you for her role in a charity fund raising we had recently.

The colours... that was the beginning of my troubles. She is not a big fan of bright colours, stays away from yellow, orange, green... basically anything that could be construed as joyful. Blues and black are fine. Red... well, only if its subdued and not scream vitality or energy. You see why I struggled with this card?!

I used some cherry red CS, ran it through the BigShot with Cuttlebug's D'Vine Swirls folder.  I cut & embossed a piece of pink CS with Spellbinder's Edgabilities die. Layered it over some glitter light blue CS, and added some blue satin ribbon.

For embellishments, I used 4 white mulberry paper roses, layered on blue flowers cut with a die from Spellbinders Floral Doily Accents set. 

The sentiment is from WMS Say It Loud set, which I heat embossed on blue CS.  Then I cut it out with Spellbinders Ribbon Tag die.

Here's the inside, some layering a strip of patterned paper I used on the front of the card. It's from  Daisy & Dandelion's "Candy floss and  Marshmallow" A4 pack.

I hope she'll like the card more than I do. Hard to explain... I'm not terribly enthusiastic about this card. The important thing is that she likes it. She should because I've steered clear of any offensive colours!

Do take a peek at the great cards at Make It Monday #85 - you won't be disappointed. Over at Cute Card Thursday #212 they're playing with Spring Flowers - check it out.

Thanks for dropping by and I'll see you in a bit with another card. Take care now!

Beijinhos.

Masculine Birthday

Happy Saturday, dear friends! The weekend is finally here. It felt like a very looong week. Weather-wise we've had all sorts, very peculiar. Enough small talk, I've got a card to show: a masculine card for a one of our bridge-buddies. I never seem to have any masculine cards in my stash. Need to work on that. But for now, here's one I made using Skipping Stones Designs Sketch #123 and the bright and cheery Colour Q #132.

Square card base. The papers are from Crafts Too "Line & Dots" pack.

As always, I did some stitching. (Still haven't figured out the addiction)

The sentiment is by Dovecraft. I stamped with Versamark, applied Stampendous Fine White EP and heat set it. The tag is a die from Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio. 2 black brads, Spades and Clubs by Woodware complete the embellishments. I would have put the Diamonds and Hearts but simply wasn't enough room. Probably use it for the wife's birthday which is coming up next month.

To match the black tag, I used black check ribbon. Since it's a masculine card, I resisted the compulsion to tie a bow.  

Here's the inside: layering, stitching and more ribbon!

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you a happy a restful weekend with family and friends. It looks like we might have a sunny day...hopefully... maybe...hard to tell. See you soon for another weather update.

Beijinhos!

Wishing You A ... Happy Birthday

Well, hello there! Glad to see you back. I've got a quickie for you, a super simple card. I need to get this in the mail pronto. So let's get down to it: My inspiration came from Retro Sketch #6 and Color Throwdown #187.

I must admit that Mr Lavender and Miss Green ... I don't see them two having a good marriage. Chocolate Chip and Saffron ... they just look like meddling foster children. Here we have the ingredients for a perfectly dysfunctional family, or so I thought. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the end result. There's harmony, wouldn't you say? A picture of marital bliss, familial euphoria. And yes, I have an unbelievably wild imagination. Last night's Cosmo still causing chaos is my cranium! Hah! Say that fast 3 times! ;-) Ok ok, I'm leaving now... enjoy!

Standard sized card. I embossed Lavender with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots folder.  The papers are from WRMK's Travel Light pack.

This really is a very simple card to put together. I didn't have to wield my craft-sword ... much.  But I used my BigShot to cut the Chocolate Chip layer with Spellbinders Round Eyelet die.... and kept my fingers safely in my pocket.

The sentiment is by Personal Impressions, stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa. Quite a coincidence that the flowers on the stamp should match those on the patterned paper. If only I could channel that fortuity into say... winning the lottery... alas!

If you have vertigo... look away now. Here is an ariel view because I enjoy teasing the faint of heart. But seriously, I just wanted to show you the squiggly-wiggly banner.  I attached it to the die-cut with a purple Lavender eyelet.

And finally, (yes I hear you sigh!), we get to the end: the inside.  I layered and stitched and still left room for a hand-written message. 

The end of today's tour. Thank you for sticking around. If you are feeling dizzy, please grab a paper-bag on your way out. If not, I sure hope you'll be back soon!

Beijinhos!

Thanks a bunch!

Hello there, dear friends! Its back to work / school day for most of us. The weather here has not been very accommodating and the traffic - a nightmare! All is as it should be! Which also means I have a card to show you. When I started this card, I didn't have a definite plan or purpose; it kinda evolved into what it is. I have all these bits of scrap paper, which as a budding paper hoarder, I could not bear to throw away. Some of those lonely pieces found their way onto my MojoMonday #236 card. It's a "Thank You" card, which wasn't easy to do. An hour in crawling traffic tends to put me in a decidedly uncharitable mood but I figured I have much to be thankful for. For starters, I am grateful for the 8 Ferrero Rocher I gobbled up while I sat simmering in traffic. Of course, tomorrow I'll be consumed by guilt and shame, but that's a story for a different card... perhaps even a different blog!

The papers are from Basic Grey's "Pyrus" pack.

It's quite a simple card. I didn't add much to it, some stitching, ribbon and liquid pearls.

The sentiment is from WMS "Compact Sentiment" set, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. I  cut it out with Spellbinders Reverse Wonkey Rectangles die and inked with TH's Rusty Hinge. I layered it on blue CS cut with Spellbinders Beaded Oval die. I inked the edges with Glaxy Gold Dew Drop and went to town with the Gold Liquid Pearl.  

Some foam tape for height. Maybe its because I'm a shorty I feel the need to give everything a boost.

I simply will not let go of that last piece of paper!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to do 100 push-ups...at least I'm going to think about it. A couple of Nuggets usually help me think better. Until next time ... <burp!>

Beijinhos.

Rejoice!

Happy Easter, dear friends. Hope you had a peaceful day, feasting with family and friends, not forgetting of course, He who made it all possible. We spent most of the weekend in Church ... at least it felt that way! The weather was glorious, perfect spring day, perfect Easter and, for a change, devoid of drama! All limbs intact! Today I have a card to share with you; an Easter card, with a bit of a twist. The sketch came from Sunday Sketch & Stamp #101 and the colour inspiration came from Just Add Ink #112. I know the colours are soft and lovey-dovey etc and would be perfect for your bog standard "I love you" token. But that got me thinking.... Easter is the perfect opportunity to scream out "I love You!" So here it is: my card of Love and Gratitude:

Just Add Ink #112

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #101

The patterned papers are from Papermania's "Confetti" collection.

Few embellishments were called into action: pink satin ribbon, 6 light pink blings and 3 vanilla eyelets. 

The sentiment is from "Everlasting Life" by Verve, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa. I couldn't resist using some Liquid Pearls on the pink die cut.   

For the die cuts, I used Spellbinders Label 14 and 23. Sponged the edges with TH's  Vintage Photo and hoisted it all up with foam tape.

 Here's the inside. 

That's my first card this Easter Week. Thanks for stopping by. If you can, swing by Make It Monday #84 for some really cute cards. See you later!

Beijinhos.

80 Years Old!

Good day, dear friends. My first post this week. I'm taking a break, albeit a forced one, no thanks to my slice and dice adventure involving a cat, coffee, craft knife and Kung Pao chicken. (The alliteration is rather pitiful!) While the digit in question is healing nicely, visions of Norman Bates and the shower has kept me out of my craft room ... until today. Need a birthday card and it couldn't wait any longer. The sketch is from MojoMonday #235 and the card came together with minimal fuss. Phew! As soon as I'm done here, the card will begin its 8500-mile journey across the ocean and continent, and, hopefully, make it in time for the big celebration. Since air travel is pricey, I'm holding back on my usual extravagant and, sometimes, mindless embellishments. Here's the card:

The patterned papers are from Basic Grey "Hello Luscious" pack. I stuck to a very simple colour palette - red and cream. I wanted to do something bright and bold but not too shocking. The poor dear is 80, after all!

See that sentiment? Its from WMS Asian Gardens Additions set. The same one I struggled with a few days ago. It was still there on the acrylic block, mocking me. So I grabbed it by the throat and stamped it. Take that!
The usual "happy birthday" is hackneyed, kinda boring. Getting to 80 with all your faculties intact is reason enough to celebrate!  

For the the die cut pieces I used Spellbinders Eyelet Circle and Flower Doily Accents. "80" is from Anita's sticker sheet by Papermania.  

Finally some gold ribbon and a little bow to finish the card. Simple is growing on me. I'm hoping my next CAS session won't be as harrowing as the last! 

Here's the inside. I did some layering and stitching to jazz the card up. It's looking kinda naked without my usual bells and whistles! 

I'm also linking this card to Paper Take Weekly where its "Anything Goes" this week.  Divas by Design is celebrating their FIRST birthday! Woohoo, ladies! I'm linking this card for their Challenge#29.

That's all from me today. Thanks for taking a peek at my card. I'm off to the post office and I'll see you later!

Beijinhos!

Celebrate!

Hello again, my friends. Late night post from me. I've had a busy Sunday morning and I thought the most relaxing way to end the day would be to make a simple no nonsense one layer card for Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #91. 15 minutes, nay 20, tops and I'd be done, all zen-ed up to face the start of another week. But what transpired was quite a different story: a 3 hour calamitous adventure. So, what happened? Just about everything.

Take 1: Crisp clean white card base. Stamp image & sentiment straight on card base. Cat jumps on table. Knocks over mug of hot coffee. *"%$!& Chuck card, clean mess, start over.

Take 2: New card base. Image & sentiment as before. Use craft knife to make slits on card base for ribbon. Slice finger. *%*#@&! Bloody mess! Chuck card, start over.

Take 3: New card base. Plaster on finger. Stamping done. Liking the look. Feeling smug. Leaning forward. Inky stamp falls off acrylic block onto card! %*@#%"!&*$@&$"!!!

Take 4: On warpath with self. Grab scrap white CS. Stamp. Stitch. Ink. Still seething. Attach ribbon. Adhere to same card base from Take 3. But wait! Tiny spot of something on centre lantern! Blood? Sweat? Coffee? Last night's Kung Pao chicken? Now smouldering (me, not the chicken). Rummage bin. Cut out good lantern from previous out-take. Pop dots. Storm out. Slam door.

Meet my nemesis!

The stamps are from WMS Asian Garden Additions set.

Look carefully.  Can you see those teeny tiny blossoms? It's a stamp from the WMS Big Blooms (!) set, stamped randomly with TH's Spun Sugar.

I stitched the twiney cordy thingy for the lanterns to choke dangle on. 

I inked the edges of the white CS with TH's Tattered Rose and adhered the red ribbon.  Celebrate, indeed! Not what was on my mind at the time, I tell ya!

See that seemingly benign middle lantern? It proved to be the straw that broke this camel's back. 

That's it! I'm done. I should find a less hazardous hobby like chain-saw juggling. Cannot thank you enough for patiently sitting through my cantankerous ranter. I hope tomorrow is a boring mundane day for me... and yours is as exciting as you would like it to be.

As always, stop by Make It Monday #83 where you're sure to find gorgeous cards and such to put a smile on your face. And it's safe, trust me!

Good night, my friends. Today I was knocked out by a one layer card. <sniff>

Beijinhos.