Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

It was my gorgeous husband's birthday on the weekend which gave me the chance to play with one of the new sets from The SU Spring Mini Catty. unfortunately withthe extra layers it hasn't scanned up too well but hopefully you get the gist of it all.

Contact me if you'd like any information about what was used.

Thanks for dropping by,
Nardi

Choo Choo!

Nope - I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth.... :o) Thanks to those who've been checking back and asking how things are going.

August has meant the release of the new Stampin' Up! Spring mini catalogue. Yes, I realise it is not yet Spring :o) but am so excited to see some of the new things Stampin' Up has to offer. Contact me if you'd like to see a hard copy of the catalogue or click here to see online.

One of the new stamp sets that has been released is one that has a train with carriages and caboose. It is soo cute and there is even a matching wheel so that you can lay some tracks for the train to go on. Here is a card that I made recently for a swap. The brief was to make it using something from the new Spring mini catty. I hope you like it.


I've used Choo Choo and On Track for my feature stamps/wheel and also used a bit of the new Ski Slope DSP which has some lovely papers that I can't wait to use.

Drop me a comment and I'll see you back here soon.

Nardi

A Quick Post

Just quickly popping in between shopping and picking up my dd from a birthday party but wanted to keep with my aim of regular posting.

I've been trying to work on creating a few cards for my stash. This is one of the cards I created with an adult male in mind. [It looks better IRL - struggling to get a good photo.]

What do you think?

Nardi

Blast off!

Having two sons and five nephews, I am always needing cards for boys whether for family or friends. This card was for my eldest son's friend who turned 6 recently.
I think you can't really go wrong with rockets. :o) What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by - don't forget to say "hi"!

Aaarrrgggghhhhh!

A little while back we went through an avalance of children's birthday parties to attend. (For all those with children I'm sure you understand that "If it doesn't rain, it pours!?!") So here is one that my 6 year old son was quite happy to take along as part of his gift.

Thankfully I was a little prepared and had watercoloured the map for another card at the same time as a week later the same son had a "pirate's party" to go to. This time he wanted the ship, not the pirate as the feature. It doesn't grab me as much but that might be more due to the choice of materials rather than the images. Regardless of my critical opinon both my son and his friends enjoyed their cards.

So what do you think? Arrrrrrgggghhh you a pirate lover or a lover of the pirate's ship? ;o)

Until next time - thanks for stopping by.
Nardi

It's been a while...

It has been quite a while since I have been here and I have been extremely touched by those of you who keep coming back to see me, have contacted me by email, leaving a comment or have even sent me cards. It has really been encouraging in the midst of everything that has been happening. So a BIG thank you to my lovely Blogging friends. (((HUGS)))

No matter what is thrown at you in life, things continue to push on regardless of whther you are ready or not!?! ;o) One practical example of this is the need for cards for various occassions. Hopefully over time I will be able to share a little of what has kept me sane over the past months. :o)

Here is one that I made during my blogging absence for my DH's supervisor. He is in the Navy Reserves and is also an avid ornithologist (bird watcher) and so was happy with the reference to both interests in his card. I have a long way to go in water colouring but I at last giving it a go and hope to one day see some improvement...(she says with fingers crossed.)



Thanks for dropping by!
Nardi

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Boatloads of Love; Ahoy, Matey;
Inks: Basic Black;
Cardstock: Blue Bayou; Night of Navy; Watercolour paper;
Extras: Crop-A-Dile; Round Tab punch; blender pen; mounting tape; eyelets; watercolour pencils;

Ahoy There - it's a new card technique!

As previously mentioned - I learnt a new card technique at my monthly stamp club. And as one of my nephews turns five at the end of this month I thought it was the perfect way to meld the two together.

I'm not sure if it has a name for this technique but it does remind me of a Jacob's ladder. To try and show you how it works I have taken a few photos which will hopefully show the card for what it is (though sadly I admit it is better IRL). So here goes with trying to team my photos with corresponding comments.

At first you are presented with a gate fold card. Here I have added a picture to cover over the fold. (This is the first time I've used the pirate but it definitely won't be the last!)

This is the inside of the card when you first open it. (Sadly the lighting today wasn't so great but hopefully you can get the gist of it all.)

This photo is attempting to show how the "secret" message is revealed as you can pull the middle layers apart to reveal an inner message.

And here is the second message. A few of us did ponder what if the person receiving didn't open it all the way up to get to this layer. One idea was to tuck some money in this layer and either tell the recipient so they had an added incentive or else check a little later and if it was still there it was the 'penalty' for not exploring the card properly. ;o) hee hee

This is such a fab card style that my kids are very excited about and I can't wait to hear what my nephew thinks. I think the next one I will try with more of a neutral card woven through so that I can colour my images more and have more choice but I do like the Close to Cocoa and Ruby Red together none the less.

What about you? Any thoughts?

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Ahoy, Matey; Matey's Map;
Inks: Basic Black; assorted coloured markers;
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa; Ruby Red; Whisper White;
Extras: mounting tape;

Card Kit Swap

Hello!? - Perhaps I may be rambling to myself!?! Well, that's probably not so new so I will forge on. ;o) -

Things have been very crazy in our household but I finally completed my card for a card kit swap through an online stamping forum. (Hopefully all those who joined in are happy with it.) I was wanting to create somethinga little different and so chose the theme of a masculine birthday as I have recently acquired brads that look like screws. They are soo cool! Team that with the twine and I set out to play.

I'm reasonably happy with the result. What do you think? I'd love to hear your feedback as I love to grow and be challenged.

Until next time, keep smiling!