Peaceful Forest

 Challenge #130 has just gone live at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and here is my DT card! My team mates have created some wonderfully inspiring Christmas cards so be sure to pop over and check them out!

I love tartan at Christmas time - it makes me feel cozy and festive at the same time!   I came across this particular tartan for the first time on my very first trip to Scotland and I instantly fell in love with it!  I returned to Australia with a rug, a skirt and a shawl in Lindsay tartan!  So you can imagine my delight at finding a 12x12 pad which contained several sheets of Lindsay tartan.  This sheet had a thread of gold running through it so I thought some gold mirri-card would be perfect.  I cut all three fir trees from this Alexandra Renke die set and used the inner and outer pieces to populate a little forest (plus another tree from a previous project).

The Peace sentiment is from this Reverse Confetti Winter Word set and I added a little gold star for good measure.

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges

Timeout Challenge #228 - Winter or Holiday Season

As You Like It Challenge December Challange - Anything Christmas Goes

Day of the Month Club Challenge #46 - Christmas Card Day

Inkspirational Chalenge #280 - Word prompt "Gold"

Happy Little Stampers December Christmas Challenge

I'm thrilled you stopped by my little corner of blogland and hope you go away a little inspired!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you so I can see what you've been up to!!!  

Kate

Fly Me to the Moon

It's time for another challenge at 613 Avenue Create!  This month, the optional twist is 

Up In The Sky 

so we'd like to see the Sun, the Moon, Stars, Sleighs, Angels, Clouds, etc.!   But it's only optional and we do love to see your projects!

 

I've gone with a rocket ship blasting off for the moon - it was actually a special request for an astrophysicist from his wife for his birthday but it could easily work for an anniversary or other significant celebration!

I have a stamp of a rocket in an old WMS set (Lil' Heroes) but the rocket image was too juvenile for him but I did use one of the sentiments from the set.  Plus, she really wanted an interactive card so I really needed to go the die route ... which I don't have so I needed to hit the Silhouette Store and see what they had available and create one digitally.

Here's a closeup of my little rocket.  Some of the pieces were tiny - the whole rocket is less than 2" long!  Anyway I managed to put them all together without losing any pieces and with a coat or two (or three) of glossy accents it was ready for blast off!

And here's a short video of the rocket in motion - flying between the earth and the moon!

I'm thrilled you stopped by my little corner of blogland and hope you go away a little inspired!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you so I can see what you've been up to!!!  

Kate

Celtic Christmas

Challenge #129 has just gone live at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and this is my DT card! My team mates have created some wonderfully inspiring Christmas cards so be sure to pop over and check them out!

I wanted some Christmas cards with a Celtic flavour for some of my Irish friends and I thought this lovely Cheery Lynn Celtic Whimsy border die could suitably ground this Tim Holtz Woodlands Tree - a kind of Celtic snowdrift!  

The sentiment is from an old WMS set stamped with Galaxy Gold Brilliance ink.  The little birds are from an Impression Obsession die set.

I’d like to join the following challenges

Allsorts Challenge #704 - wings and tails (on my birds)

As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Non-Traditional Challenge - Birds are by far my favourite non-traditional Christmas animal

Die Traumfabrik Challenge #110 - The Santa Clause

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Anything Christmas or Winter

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #68 - Trees, trees, trees!

Scrappy Mo’s November Rudolph Days 

I'm thrilled you stopped by my little corner of blogland and hope you go away a little inspired!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you so I can see what you've been up to!!!  

Kate

Hang Loose

 Challenge #128 has just gone live at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and here is my DT card - well actually four of them!

I bought some 12x12 paper pads last Christmas and included with them was a sheet of four 6x6 panels that had big, bold, gold-foiled sentiments.  I wasn't sure quite what to do with them for the longest time -  I felt like I was cheating if I didn't add something to them that I had actually made, but the sentiments were so large that nothing much fitted.

And then I had an idea!  This Lydia Ornament die from Spellbinders is one of my favourites - it’s ever so elegant in my opinion, small enough so as not to obscure too much of the sentiment, and if I were to  attach it with a magnet it could be easily removed, revealing the whole sentiment and making a little keepsake as well.

I didn't have quite enough to make up four ornaments in red and gold so the last was made up in red and green.  I also ran out of red ribbon!  On the backs of each of the ornaments I adhered a magnet and covered it with a small star cut from gold paper.  

The sentiment panels were cut with a stitched square die so they’d fit onto bases that fitted the square envelopes I had in my stash.   I adhered magnets to the panels such that they covered as little of the sentiments as possible and then covered these also with gold stars cut from gold paper. 

Et voila - I had four fairly quick Christmas cards with a little keepsake!  And I used up stash that I had no idea what to do with, so I was feeling pretty chuffed!

And doesn’t the little ornament look lovely in the tree! 

I’d also like to enter the following challenges

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #620

Peace on Earth Challenge #27

Crafty Chick Challenge #637

Snippets Playground #441 - I’m hoping these panels are considered “snippet” enough in any case, the gold  on the ornaments is definitely from any little snippets left from previous projects!

Die Traumfabrik Challenge #110 - Santa Clause is this month’s movie but anything Christmas will do!

I'm thrilled you stopped by my little corner of blog land and hope you go away a little inspired!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you so I can see what you've been up to!!!  

Kate

God Jul

It's time for another challenge at 613 Avenue Create!  This month, the optional twist is 

Fancy Folds and Cuts 

I've created a Flip Card.  There are dies available for this and yes I did buy them but I then realized that they're not necessary!  All you really need is a frame die which is symmetrical.  I have loads of Spellbinders Label dies which could have worked but in the end I went with a circle!

Unfortunately, I didn't take step by step photos and I don't believe in measurements so I'll just describe the basic idea behind this card - that way you can make them up in any size you like and you can make your flipping frame any shape you want!   If you have any questions, leave them in the comments box and I'll do my best to answer them.  

1. Fold your base card in half as you would normally if the card base didn't come pre-folded;
2. Fold one of the halves in half again so that you have a short flap - this will be the front;
3. Choose a symmetrical frame die such that half of it will fit on this front flap;
4. I find it useful to mark on the die where the mid point is (for the circle I cut a circle from scrap paper, folded it in half and lay the folded circle back into to the die, turned it over and marked the places at the top and bottom of the die where the fold line was);
5. Open up your card base and lay it on your die cutting plate face up, making sure it's square with the front flap to the top 
6. Place your frame die over the front flap so that the centre of the frame die lines up with the fold line;
7. Place the edge of your top cutting plate so that it does NOT go past this midline;
8. Run it though the machine.
9. You're left with a semi circular cut-out - there's a foldline right down the middle of your circle but that's ok, you won't see this fold line once you placed a decorated circle of the same size on either side;
10. Decorate the various panels

Here's the card in its various stages of opening

For this card I've chosen an image and sentiments from one of my favourite Christmas stamp sets - Waltzing Mouse Alpine Christmas.  I've also tried to create an Edelwyss flower using the MFT Sunflower.  I had a snippet left over of a background I had stamped previously using WMS Cabin Plaid in redand teamed it with this spotted blue DP to try for a Swiss/Nordic vibe!

I’d like to enter the following challenges

Happy Little Stampers November Christmas Challenge without the optional Santa;

 Krafty Chicks Challenge #636 - Stamp Act;

Crafty Hazelnut’s Challenge #619

Why not give this fancy fold or another, and enter your card in the 613 Avenue Create!  Or just play along without the twist!  We love to see your creations!

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Gingerbread Wishes

The Holly and Ivy Challenge #127 has just gone live and we would love to see your Anything Christmas Goes creations.  I hope to inspire you and in turn look forward to being inspired by your Christmas creations and I know my fellow design team members feel the same way!  As we are now on the slippery slope towards Christmas, I appreciate how fortunate I am to be part of this great team and to have my Christmas cards done well beforehand so that I can enjoy this precious time with my family.

This was a difficult one for me!  Attempt after attempt ended in dead ends!  And at one stage, this one was headed for the same fate!  My gingerbreadmen were stamped and coloured with markers and Derwent inktense pencils - originally on a much larger panel but a smudge here and a dropped marker there meant I had to cut it down to size.  If I hadn't (stupidly in hindsight) coated them with glossy accents before the accidents occurred I would have had more options - I was attempting a CAS design initially!  Anyhoo, I eventually went with a very simple sketch, a piece of patterned paper, snippets of lace and Kraft and a Kraft card base.  Yes the lower left corner of the panel is a little bare and if I'd had more time, I could have fixed it but I was ever so keen to put it on the "done" pile as opposed to my ever-growing "maybe I can do something with this later" pile - it had been one of those weeks!

I'm in Australia at the moment, catching up with friends and family!  One of my aunts said something to me and I think I might adopt it as my new mantra - "It is what it is"!  There are things in life over which we have no control, it's best to accept "it is what it is" rather than fret over what might have happened had a different course of action been taken or what we believe should be.  So this card "is what it is".

I’d like to enter my card in the Snippets Challenge 440 (I think snippets of lace count in any case I also used snippets of kraft)!  I think I’ll even be complying with the optional theme of Halloween/Autumn or just their colours (as is the case with the autumnal colours in this Christmas card of mine)!

I'm thrilled you stopped by my little corner of blogland and hope you go away a little inspired!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you so I can see what you've been up to!!!  

Kate

Royal Mail Christmas Wishes

 The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #126 is now live!   As always Anything Christmas Goes so I hope you'll join us!  We love to see your cards and be inspired by you and I hope I can inspire you a little!

This is my latest creation, a small token of respect to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  Say what you like about the British Royal Family (and plenty of people have been saying quite a lot lately) -  Queen Elizabeth II was a remarkable woman who dedicated her entire life to public service and always with grace and dignity.  Her grace and dignity will be sadly missed in today's world!

 With all the talk about the changes that will be made now there is a change of monarch - the coins, the stamps, etc. - my mind wandered to the little red mail boxes populating kerbsides up and down the length of Britain which are all emblazoned with the monongram of the late queen.  Will they be replaced?   "Royal Mail" was privatised a while back as I understand it so would they replace them with ones bearing the monogram of the new king?  I doubt it!

But it got me thinking that with a few tweaks, this "Briefkasten" die from Charlie & Paulchen could be used to make a Christmas card and pay my respects to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the same time!  I'd been meaning to break out this die anyway in the run-up to Christmas because sending and receiving Christmas cards has always been one of the delights of Christmas for me - I would write our family's Christmas cards from my early teenage years (mum bought me a "calligraphy" pen just for the purpose - what a clever mum)!

I cut three mailboxes and stacked them up for dimension. and ran around the edges with Black Soot DI!  I just cut out a gold "E" and and "R" from the smallest alphabet die set in my collection.  The II in the middle were negative pieces left over from the "R".  It really should have had a crown above the II but I didn't have anything that small.  However the top of the mailbox has a sort of crown which I cut again from gold, trimmed and added to the top.  

The "queue" of letters trying to get to the mailbox were cut from two dies from the same set.  They have little heart and star cutouts so I backed them with a piece of red card and popped on foam tape.

My biggest problem was finding a sentiment to go with it - "Merry Christmas" seemed too trite!  I decided on this sentiment from Waltzing Mouse Seasonal Flourish which seemed to strike the right tone given the sombreness I was trying to convey - though it is very large and quite tricky to accommodate!  I suppose a sentiment isn't always necessary but I like to add them!

I'm entering my card in NBUS Challenge #43 because I used this NBUS "Briefkasten" die.

I'm so glad you visisted my little corner of the internet and I do hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you take the time to leave a comment I am especially grateful - not only will it brighten my day, but it will also let me know you were here and how to find you! 

Kate

Comfort

 

I needed one of those cards we all dread making - a sympathy card.  Luckily I had a container filled with flowers and leaves I'd cut previously so this card came together quickly.  

The leaves and flowers were cut using the Tim Holtz Funky Foliage die set, the Sentiment was cut from off-white card stock using the Winnie and Walter Big, Bold and Comfort set and coloured with Orange and Purple Alcohol Markers and I used the Tim Holtz 3D Woodgrain Texture Fades Folder to emboss a piece of Kraft card stock which I then lightly distressed with Gathered Twigs DI.  The more I use this embossing folder, the more I love it!

I'd like to enter the following challenges

Four Season Challenge

Let's Squash it Challenge #25

The Card Concept #181

SSSWednesday Challenge - Fall Colours

CYHTP  - no twist

Fab'n'Funky Challenge #557 - Autumn Colours

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Christmas Cheers

This card is one of a set I'm making for some Australian friends!  They would meet up on Friday evenings for zoom cocktail meetings during the pandemic.  We joined them a few times but unfortunately it was Friday morning here so a little too early for cocktails!  But we enjoyed a coffee and their company - especially as everything seemed so uncertain at that time!  

So, I thought Christmas cocktail cards would make a change from the snowy themed cards I usually send them - after all it is summer in December down under!  This set only arrived a few days ago and I've spent many "Happy Hours" since then preparing these little cocktails.  My fingers were a right mess but fortunately distress inks wash off fairly easily!   

The "glasses" were cut from scraps of acetate packaging and stacked for stability.  I used glossy accents to adhere the stacks and I added a coat to the top as well.  This set comes with the most adorable cocktail accessories - citric slice and segment, olive, cherry mint and what cocktail would be complete without a little paper umbrella!  Initially I kept the martini simple but it looked too plain so I added a little holly from Tim Holtz Winter Foliage (though it would probably taste awful)!

The "bar" was just a scrap of kraft card stock which I used a deckle edged die to cut the sides and then ran it through the "Lumber" 3-D Texture Fades folder.  I then ran come gilding wax over the top.

The first half of the sentiment was computer generated and a stacked "cheers" die cut was added to complete it with the top layer in gold!  I wanted to foil the computer generated part but I guess the finish on this paper was too rough and because the sentiment was quite small, the foil was barely discernible.  I decided to foil the whole panel (using a cheaper brand of foil) in a last ditch effort to make the sentiment more golden because that had worked on a previous occasion.  The whole panel now has lovely gold flecks through it!

Here's the inside!  I was going to stamp "from our house to yours" to continue the sentiment but the font was too elegant for such a light-hearted card and then "from our bar to yours" popped into my head so I generated that on the computer instead!

Instead of attaching the glasses to the panel with adhesive, I thought it would be fun to create fridge magnets.  I added magnets to the back of the "glasses" and corresponding magnets behind the front panel.   

Here's a video so you can see what I mean!  You'll also get a better sense of the golden finish!

I'd like to to enter the following challenges

Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge #614 - for someone special!

Peace on Earth Challenge #25 - Anything Christmas Goes

The Holly and Ivy Challenge #125 - Anything Christmas Goes

NBUS Challenge #43 - The Happy Hours set is new and had it's first "Use"

SOS Challenge #480 - Leaf Me Alone (Holly and Mint leaves on my cocktails)

Snippet's Playground Challenge #438 - I collect snippets of acetate from packaging and used these for the "glasses" as well as other snippets (especially that gold, it's too expensive not to save the snippets)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes this week!

Just us Girls Challenge #652 - "Scraps" - Scraps of acetate were used for the "glasses"!

Cheers, thanks for stopping by!  I hope you go away with some ideas for creating special Christmas cards for the special people in your life!  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and can then return the favour!  

Kate

Ok, but First Coffee

 

I am really excited to bring you October’s challenge over at 613 Avenue Create where the twist this month is  But First…Your Favourite Beverage!  We'd  love to see your beverage inspired projects but if you'd prefer to play without the twist, that's fine too!

Our sponsor this month is Mirtillamente and I’m using her But First Coffee image because for me, it has to be coffee!   

I’ve printed the image onto some off-white card and die cut it with the Lil’ Inker Coffee Talk 2 die.   What you see is actually three mugs stacked.  I removed the handle from the top one so the mug stood higher than the handle.  Removing the handle also made it easier to distress all the edges.   I removed all but one of the mug contents and coloured that with Distress Inks and then reinserted it into the mug!

Then I applied versa mark and Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel to make my mug look more authentic!  Because the coffee was at a lower level, applying the Versamark was difficult, so I ended up finishing this off with Glossy Accents.  I add a few gold beads to the coffee because they remind me of Demerara Sugar.

I created a simple little scene with a brick embossing folder, a snippet of red gingham and a doily!  I don’t normally make square cards - they cost twice as much to send!  However they are nice format to work with, especially a small one like this!  

I’ve used an embossing folder to create the brick wall background so I’d like to enter the Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge!

I've also used some snippets in the card so I'm off to the Snippets Playground for challenge #438

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Hello Beautiful

 

Just over 2 weeks to go till I travel down under and catch up with family members and I've just fnished this card is for one of my sisters-in-law.  

A while back I found some rolls of coloured aluminium hidden away on the bottom shelf at a craft shop.  This pink one is a perfect match for the pink highlights in this lovely DP -  I love surprise finds like this!   I cut a track in the background panel to make a path for a spinning butterfly.  The aluminium is rather soft so I cut a second butterfly from cardstock to make it more stable!

At the current As You Like it Challenge, we're asked to use our favourite metallic or glitter and to explain why it's our favourite.  Well I love a bit of glitter, but I have found several glitter card stocks difficult to cut with etched dies.  This aluminium cuts like butter, even if I apply double sided tape to the back of it.

At the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, we are challenged to decorate the envelope.  I used this very old rubber mounted butterfly stamp to decorate the envelope.   I also created a notelet for the inside stamped with the same image - it must be lovely to get a pretty envelope in the post!

I would also like to enter the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies Challenge for September.

Here's a short video of the butterfly in action

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Carrrots for Candles

 

A choir friend had his birthday this week and I made a card for the occasion.  He's a farmer and loves his vegetables and had a funny story to tell about carrots a few weeks ago!  I was going to make him something church or music related but couldn't find the die I wanted!  During my search, I came across this NBUS Gummiapan Carrot die set which I think I bought in late 2019 (or maybe earlier) and had forgotten I had!

What you see on the front of the card is not the carrots in question! To get to the carrots you have to dig - well lift the flap to be precise!  And ta da!

I masked off the bottom of this card panel and coloured it brown then lay the carrots on this.  Folded a small piece of green card stock and slipped the back behind the panel to create this liftable flap.  Behind the front panel is a small magnet and behind the dig button is another to make sure the flap stays closed.  I added his name to the inside of the flap and some candles to the front of the flap.  This morning it was so cold and windy I decided to add some autumn leaves to complete the scene - don't tell anyone but they're actually some holly leaves from Tim Holtz's Winter Foliage which I've been using for Christmas cards! This SSS Happy Birthday sentiment finished off the card!

Challenges:

Four Seasons September Anything Fall Goes - they're celebrating their first anniversary this week!

Seize the Birthday Challenge #247 - Food Glorious Food;

Inspiration Station Challenge #37 - I was inspired by the autumn leaves lying on the green grass

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies

NBUS Challenge #42 - the carrots were NBUS;

Alphabet Challenge Challenge - L is for Leaves

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Hey Now, You're a Rockstar

 Get your game on, go play!

I have the honor to be guest designing for the Dream Factory/Traumfabrik challenge this month. Each month we are given a movie title as a prompt to inspire us to create something - and the movie this month is Stardust. 

I haven't seen this movie but it looks interesting and it has a "stellar" cast so it should be good (Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Cavill, David Walliams and Ricky Gervais to name a few).  Here is the Official Trailer  on YouTube.  Of course you don't have to watch the movie or even the trailer!  You might be inspired by the movie title, the movie poster or any of these key words - Witches, fairies, wizards, fantasy, stars and a Halloween theme is also welcome!

My project is based on the key word "Star".  A good friend of mine had his birthday recently and I wanted to make him a guitar based card - he's a brilliant blues guitarist!  I used this unbranded die to create an electric guitar which resembled his guitar as closely as possible.  Using WordArt in MS Word, I printed his name on kraft card so that it resembled the Fender trademark.  A little distressing to darken the neck and a few highlights with a white Posco pen et voila!

I stamped these half-tone stars  (Waltzing Mouse Stamps Kaboom) in various distress colours to create a backdrop for the guitar!  I knew I wanted to use this "rockstar" sentiment from a very old Inkadinkadoo set, because he is!  As well as being a brilliant guitarist, he also sets up our mikes, handles the sound check and puts everything away afterwards!   He also set up the sound system and played at my son's 18th birthday party!  I double stamped the Rockstar (using the stamping platform) in versafine to make sure it was bold and clear!

I hope you are inspired by this month's movie and hope to see your "Stardust" inspired creations in the Gallery soon!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Poinsettia and Foiled Foliage

 It's always Anything Goes at 613 Avenue Create Challenge but this month we have the optional twist of Foliage - Leaves or Paper!   Do come and hang out on our front porch, we love to see your work!

The sponsor this month is Conie Fong Art!

 For this card I've used her Holly Poinsettia image. I coloured her with watercolour pencils with just a few highlights in red marker because I wanted a more vivid red.   I added a layered mini Poinsettia die cut (Marianne Design) to the image for some dimension and a little gold for sparkle.  

I cut a rectangle from the front panel using a double stitched frame to frame the image and the front panel is attached to the card base with foam tape.  I had this sentiment already on the stamping platform so I stamped it on a scrap of ivory cardstock and cut it with a small stitched rectangle. 

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #610 - optional twist "S" for scarf ;

Peace on Earth Challenge #23 - inspired by the winter foliage

NBUS Challenge #42 - the poinsettia is NBUS ;

As You Like It Challenge - My favourite cardbase is A6 - just cut an A4 in half and fold in half, and no additional postage!

Time Out Challenge 221 - Festive

*****

I've been wanting to try out foiling for a while now!   Seeing this sentiment of  Conie’s - I immediately thought it would be perfect for foiling - bold with some lovely loops and curls!  And being digital I could make it as big or as small as I wanted - I went big!

Just a quick explanation of foiling for those who haven't heard of it.  You print something on your laser printer - yes it has to be a laser printer but there is no time limit so you could take your documents to Office Works or the equivalent and print them there!  Then you put it through a Minc machine or equivalent and the heat makes the foil to stick to wherever the toner is - i.e. your printed image!  Easy, peasy right!  

Well I don’t own a Minc machine, but a friend gave me a cheap knock off and I understand that a laminator will also work!  I found this video on Youtube which filled me with enough confidence to give it a go!   I ordered some Heidi Swapp foil on Amazon but it took ages to arrive.  In the meantime, I found some cheap rolls in Action and bought about 10 a few!  I have to say, I was underwhelmed - the foil stuck to everything not just what I had printed on the laser printer!  Well, I decided to take advantage of this "feature" and cut the foil the same size as my card panel and ran that through the laminator!  There was a fine gold layer over the entire panel, but I quite liked the effect and the sentiment was definitely readable!  

I also ran a die-cut leaf (CraftEmotions Fern) which had NO toner on it through the machine and achieved a lovely shimmery effect.  I took this photo in the sunshine, so you could see the mottled gold effect!

But as you can see from this photo, the leafy pattern on this background panel is still visible when the light isn't shining directly on it!

And here's a short video I took because this effect is very hard to photograph! 

The genuine Minc Foil finally arrived and I'm happy to report the problem with the background foil is gone!  I made these place cards for my friend's daughter's wedding and the gold only stuck to the printed parts - a lovely thistle image and the names!  And it made no difference with the cheap foiling machine or the laminator!  So foiling with a laminator does work!   Why not give it a try for yourself!

****

A few weeks ago I posted a card I made for a friend who joined our choir after being forced to flee from Ukraine.  She has just released a beautiful song on YouTube and though it's in Ukrainian, you can easily get the gist of the anti-war story she tells!  If you have the time, listen to it and drop her a like if you enjoy it -"Тополя"Olena Afanasyeva "Poplar"

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Twiggy Deer

I saw a few challenges around with a deer prompt so I thought I'd dust off this old Movers and Shakers reindeer die.  I cut and layered him three times for sturdiness, coloured him with Picked Raspberry and Dusty Concord Distress Inks, and applied a few coats of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel sprinkled with a little Pastel Pink embossing powder and some gold Tempera Powder.  It's always a surprise when I use UTEE - but I'm rarely disappointed!  I just love the glossy finish and the way the colours move around in the molten UTEE.  It's very therapeutic (unless I burn a finger or two)!

I already had an aperture panel cut with this sentiment embossed in gold, so I paired it with matching watercolored panel embossed with gold twigs and used it to frame the deer.

I'd like to enter the following challenges

Christmas Crafts All Year Round August Challenge - Reindeer or Deer

Winter Wonderland Challenge August Challenge - Reindeer

ABC Christmas Challenge - P for Pink, R for Reindeer

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #122 - Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #609 - (wet) embossing

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate