Hi Crafters!

LOOK what I made the other day!  Isn't it great?

Layered DAISY #2 Bigz Die using Island Indigo cardstock and my BIG SHOT!

 I loved making it because it was  s i m p l e  but challenging enough to make the curly ends!  If you know what I mean!

You could do these watching tv, and I am all about doing some things that allow you to sit and relax beside your loved ones!  Since they endure your disappearing into your craft zone, this way you can be beside them while doing these....double the pleasure. Bring some glue, a ton of the pre-cut flowers  and grab your fav "curly tool" - mine is the paper piercer {honestly I need a flower curly tool set!}.

OK - enough babbling!

9 Layer Daisy Flower
I think its pretty self-explanatory - I glue 1 inch circles to the back of 1 daisy of each size to assist in attaching them all together. Stack 3 of each size - fill in the gaps between petals by positioning each flower slightly clockwise to the one beneath. Repeat with each set of daisies from larger to smaller sets.  In the end you should have one continuous layered 'circle' created from the 9. A very 'fringey' looking circle.

  Once I have the 9 daisies glue together - stacked largest on the bottom of course, then I set to make a center 'ball' which is nothing more than some scraps rolled tight, and a couple of daisy 'tips' glued around the ball.  You could totally do a "ribbon " center - I would have, but moi does not have this colour on hand yet!

Here it is looking down at it - luscious layers!

This is one of our newest IN COLORS called ISLAND INDIGO - and I love. love, love it !!!!   Its the blue-green range of which I can never grow tired of - seriously! Never!  A little known fact on here is that I do summer projects for my own private collection - seashells, little sea creatures, life on the coast....and so I love the water colours.

Well I will be making a group of flowers to create a wall decor project - I am using our photo on our INVITATIONS and our latest July issue of SUCCESS MAGAZINE for demos - to inspire me!  Wish me luck on finishing them soon!

Crafternoons!

The Disney Store - we just had to fall in there when out looking for birthday gifts for twins. Being that the twins in question are two adorable girls, our eyes popped when we spotted the Minnie Mouse Swimwear Collection - polka dots, bows and frills!!!  And  co-ordinating suits in different styles - the same yet different - perfect for twins, right? Right!  Then the accessories killed us!  We finally had to stop after awhile because our wallets told us to, but it sure was fun. So terribly guilty on the Disney - in fact I don't know which age is worse in there - kids or us adults?

Anyways, got home and began to think of an idea for a card. I don't think it was too long before I remembered I had a polka dot background stamp from Stampin' Up! and some recently acquired red cards with matching envelopes.....so a quick trip to the craft room, tossed around some drawers and came out victorious with white embossing powder, versamark and the aforementioned polka dot stamp.

I embossed the whole front of the red card and the polka dots are designed to be a bit grungy or distressed - looked amazing!

Next I searched the internet and saw a simple yet fabulous idea for crafting the minnie/mickey mouse head using your circle punches!  Back to the craft room, grabbed my 1-3/4 and 2-1/2 inch Stampin' Up! Circle Punches and Basic Black cardstock.....crunch, crunch, crunch. Spit out 3 circles - two smaller for the ears and one larger for the head.  A child could take it from here - glue the circles to look like the famous mouse head - ta da!

I added a red polka dot bow {retired SU! ribbon} and couldn't resist a bit of glitter and gemstones....but it's best in the most simpliest form, too much adornment seems to detract from the ' cute factor '.

Now - its a great gift combo!

I loved it so much, I made extra cards on the spot!

Minnie Mouse Card

Stampin' Up! Circle Punches and ' Dotted ' Background Stamp

The Twins Gift - Disney Minnie Swimwear Collection

Uh-huh, they're so cool!

Easy with circle punches and black cardstock = 1 Mouse Head

Add a bow between the ears for Minnie or below the head for Mickey!

Thanks for reading this post {I wrote it at nearly 3 am - don't ask!} :)

Hello crafty friends,

Today I went to our church, Glen Ayr United and it is one of our very few remaining services as this particular community church shall be closing in June. So it is with bittersweet joy that we continue to meet and share some more time together as a congregation and I am happy that we have the beautiful weather during this time. 

It is also sad that one of our own, Ruth, lost her life's partner, her husband Gordon not long ago. I made Ruth a card of sympathy last night which I am sharing here. 

I perused through some Stampin' Up! retired designer papers looking for some that were soft in nature and colour, and found a lovely white and pink paper dotted with roses and leaves from an old collection, Bella Rose. This immediately reminded me of Fifth Ave Floral, a stamp set from many moons ago that contained a large pretty rose. I chose to use Raspberry Ripple cardstock and ink to contrast with the aforementioned pink/white paper, and added some Pretty in Pink cardstock to bridge the two. I believe I achieved the softness I was hoping for.

Here is my card, and all supplies are Stampin' Up! save for the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish and the pearl accents. 

Remembrance of a Loved One - How to offer your sympathy in a card. 

Remember if you need to do a Sympathy Card, and find writing the message a bit difficult, here's one way: after expressing your sorrow, try to recall a personal memory you have of the departed. I think your card then helps the recipient to feel a bond beyond their own memories or even discover something new of their loved one. Just keep it to the point though, you don't want to overwhelm someone who is going through something that is already taxing them. You may even wish to offer some form of support by extending an invitation to go out for lunch, or accompany them when they need to attend a matter, no offer of help can be too small.  

****

SUPPLIES

STAMPIN' Up! =  Raspberry Ripple, Pretty in Pink, White Cardstock and Bella Rose Designer Paper (retired)/ Fifth Ave Floral Stamp Set (retired)/ Scallop Trim Punch/ Raspberry Ripple Ink/ Dazzling Diamonds

OTHER = Fanciful Flourish Die (Cheery Lynn)/Copic Pink marker/ pearls (Dollarama)/tape & glue.

Happy Easter,

Here's a quick Easter centerpiece using a cake stand {minus the dome}....and it only takes minutes to make!

You need:

A cake stand
small basket
faux leaves (3 large or about 5 medium)
faux spring flowers
straw grass (plain or coloured)
Easter decorations = eggs, small nests, bunnies or similar objects.
Optional
A can and something to help anchor it down [tape, marbles, pennies, etc]
doily or paper to decorate can lid [or use the straw grass]
ribbons

INSTRUCTIONS
Decide on your decorations and which will be the main features.
Then arrange the leaves and grass around the plate - much like a wreath.

Situate a can in the center of a small basket. You should weigh the can down with marbles, pennies or something so it isn't easily knocked over. Hide the lid/can with a doily or straw.

Next place your small basket in the center of the cake plate nestled in your leaves/straw arrangement. Add your main decoration in the basket situated on the hidden can - I used a ceramic Bunny. This raises the decoration among its surrounding, which adds ' visual interest'.

Now sprinkle the flowers and other decorations amongst the leaves, straw and center basket. I used eggs, a small nest, and another ceramic bunny. I also added a couple of butterflies!  You could also do some ribbons somewhere - pretty!

That's it!  This is only a guideline - feel free as a bird to design an arrangement - it looks great no matter how you arrange it.....like having a small piece of Nature adorning your home!

Happy Easter :)

I started this card by staring at some green/cream plaid cardstock.  In trying to be experimental, I decided to "add" a little extra to this cardstock and chose STAMPIN' UP!'s " MUSIC NOTES " Wheel Stamp because it's always a compatible element - much like ' script text ' is when layered over another design. 

I also love lilac and green together - and I LUV SU's Lucky Limeade colour!!!  I'm really into greens, and because this colour will be gone by June 1 because its a temporary IN COLOR, I may have to order packs and packs of it!!!  I am really hoping SU adds it to the regular line-up {they DID say they would from time to time} because its one of those nice lemony-green shades I am drawn to most of all greens. 

Anyways this card is pretty self-explanatory - lots of punching going on. Oh - I "dyed" my twine using SU chalks, that was messy but fun as I used my fingers, ha ha! 

OK, thanks for dropping by!

**Hey, remember me?  It has been awhile since my last post featuring Stampin' Up! projects but I've been a'craftin', I just have been a bad blogger!  So here I am with a little idea I had and have decided to share :)

Ever get a pack of Stampin' Up!'s beautiful Designer Series Papers and just don't know which patterned paper you want to start with?  And you hum and haw, and  basically stall? Well, I have that happen all the time!

So this time when my friend Maria shared some of her SYCAMORE STREET DSP [ since during SAB I went with 'other' freebies ]....I looked at the patterns and just decided to play ball with them or put them down!!! LOL - I mean, I decided to be fierce!

Here is what I was looking at:*

* And looking over them, I was really intrigued with these two...

So I decided to do this....cut along the exotic floral, blue-lined shapes and attach them to the fish-scale light blue pattern and flip over the "in-between bits" and attach those to the raspberry chevron pattern!  Then I cut both into strips. Have a look.....in other words, transfer one design ontop of another! 

Play around with the patterns and be just that - playful.  Or you might miss out on a really pleasing result, like I said ' play ball! '

Next, take your newly-created "strips" and play around with those on more patterns!  

I decided to start with a white 12 inch paper, and cover it with strip after strip - like quilting in a way. 

I juxtaposed colours I liked, and the paper patterns all seem to work well together {SU! does that for you!}

 And before you know it, I had MY OWN ALTERED DESIGN....TA DA! 

 I LIKE IT ! 

And I will use some solid colour mats or frames to add my photo lay-out later on, plus I really am looking forward to embellishing it - flowers, charms, who knows what goodies will follow!

MAKE A CARD

You can do this in a simple fashion too.  Yes, just add strips of different patterns, and even of different widths, and it makes a great card.  Here is mine without final adjustments like a greeting or embellishment, but you can see what I mean.

I HOPE YOU GIVE THIS A TRY WITH YOUR OWN DESIGNER PAPERS!

CHEERS AS ALWAYS!