March Is Crafting Month

Did you know that the month of March is celebrated as Crafting Month? Well, I know that this is the later part of the month, but I did want to share some projects that I made for this special event.

Card creations are something that you often see on my blog and today is no different. So here is my card for today. It was actually made for the challenges at Hero Arts, Simon Says, and Lily Pad. I am also submitting my other project as well.

Close up of background stamping.

The colours look more like this second pic than the first. I tried to tone down the brightness of the first picture, but no such luck. Sorry about that!

Now this next project was a joy to make! I will be sharing a Tutorial soon on how you can make this same project, to share as a gift, for those special people in your life. I made this set for my sister Janice and I am hoping that she will like it! Now I will admit that it did take me some time to get it completed. First time I tried it, was a while ago and I made some colouring mistakes, but I wasn't giving up that easily. So here is the finish product.

I took at plain white note pad and stamped this Hero Arts flower image on it, coloured and added distress ink all around. And can you remember the Fimo Flower I made using the same Hero Arts stamp, will I used the same flower to embellish my gift once it was wrapped. I love how this set turned out and will be doing it again.

Close up of Fimo Flower

Be sure to check out the following challenges at:

 

The Flower Challenge

Hero Arts Fabulous Flower Challenge

Anything Goes Challenge

Now be sure to check out the button on my sidebar regarding a Birthday celebration that is coming up soon for Lily Pad. I can't wait to see what all the fun will be and of course there must be prizes to win right?! Lol. Hope your all doing well and that you have enjoyed your visit today.

Blessings

Dana

Hero Arts Happy Birthday Wood Stamp	Classic Bloom	Designblock: Old Letter Writing	HeroArts Pearls-Blue
Ink Blending Tool & 2 Foams	Bazzill Earthtones	STAEDTLER® karat® aquarell Watercolour crayons	Vintage Photo Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger Industries
American Crafts - Ribbon Value Pack - 24 Spools - Solid Grosgrain -	Scotch ATG - Adhesive Applicator Gun - Pink - Uses One Fourth Inch Adhesive	STAEDTLER Pigment Liner	E-Z Runner Combo Permanent Adhesive
STAEDTLER Triplus Fineliner	STAEDTLER - karat aquarell	Glue Dots

InLinkz.com

Accepting the Liebster Blog Award

Hello, friends! I am stopping by to say a big THANK YOU to the lovely Judy at http://judyscardcorner.blogspot.ca  for choosing me as one of her five recipients of the Liebster Blog Award! This is my second "blog award" ever, thank you so much, Judy!

I met Judy about 3 years ago when I first started hanging out with the Hero Arts Flickr Group. She was one of the ladies who provided so much support to me during a difficult time and her love & concern meant so much. I am sorry to say that I am late in sharing this award with you today, but it is because I  haven't been feeling well. I have been having migraine headaches, but I didn't want to put this off any longer. Judy is such a great friend and I wanted to show her that I am truly honoured that she would think my blog was a great blog. Thanks so much sweetie. It means so much to me.  

This is what this Award is all about:

"Liebster" is German for 'dearest.' The award is a 'share-the-love' arrangement, given to inspirational bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (based on Google followers).

Here's the to-do list of any Liebster award recipient:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you
2. Reveal your five blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog (see above)4. Hope that those you award forward it to their favorite bloggers

So thanks again Judy for awarding me with this and now is the tough decision! Lol. What 5 amazing bloggers do I chose! Lol. So here are 5 bloggers in no particular order who leave lots of love and encouragement for me each time I post.

1. Maureen Morton: Maureen is one of those ladies that leaves comments that would melt butter. Her geniune care and concern for you really shines through in her words and her creations are just beautiful. I met her through Hero Arts Flickr group and I am so happy that she became a friend of mine. Thanks sweetie for being you and for being in this big paper crafting world.

2. Susanne:  Now this is one lady who's work will make you long for many days filled with romance and love. Her cards are just that! Romantic to a fault! With soft muted tones, stamped images of roses, and touches of lace, your sure to fall in love with her work too. My only regret is that I haven't been leaving her so much love on her blog has I should but I do try my best to leave her some comments on her work in our Hero Arts Flickr group. Thanks for inspiring me to step outside of my comfort zone and step into a world of romance and delight. Hugs.

3. Natalie: Meeting this lady was such a wonderful experience because not only is she a Canadian like myself but she makes vintage style cards like it's no body's business. Her style is totally out of this world and her distressing is so amazing. Her collection of all things antique, especially her Christmas bulbs are stunning and then she makes ATC's to match. Just pure delight to see and even better to own. I know because I have some of her creations on my crafting shelf. Just love her work so much. Thanks for the inspiration.

4. Emily:  Now this lady is someone who started following my blog when I was a Designer for Scraptacular Images. I met her in the scrapbooking store forum and she is a real sweetheart. She lives in this area and is someone who I really need to meet soon. Her big heart and giving ways really is something to be rewarded. I remember her winning one of my blog give-aways and then next thing I knew, I had a packaged delivered to me. And it was from Emily. Just some Happy Mail that she wanted to send to me. Now isn't that sweet. Her blog shares many Cricuit creations and some yummy recipes as well. Make sure to check it out.

5. Deedee Anderson: This is the lady who was my boss and I am happy to say that she was my friend first. Being on her design team for Deedee's Digis was one of the best experiences that I had has a card crafter. Her friendship meant so much to me, but her encouragment, prayers and love meant even more. Whenever I was having a down day in my creating she was always that voice whispering in my ear that I could do it and remind me of what I have already accomplished. Her faith in Christ and love for family really blessed me. It made me want to try to be a better Mom, Wife, & friend.  Her work as a digital designer is totally amazing and her skill of design is truly a gift from above. Her willingness to provide the crafting world with wholesome images and sentiments of encouragement is what really drew me to her work and company. I am honoured to call you "Friend" Love you sweetie.

Now there are many others who I could have listed here as friends with less than 200 followers. And there are others who I could less just because they are always so supportive and have many followers like my good friend Dorcas. My first blogging buddy! Lol. But there might not be enough time in your day to read them all. So now that I have listed only 5, why not go and visit them and sign up to follow their blogs. You will love their work and really find yourself being amongst good friends. Please check out Judy's blog as well and see her many creations. You won't be sorry that you did.

That's it for now folks. I do have 4 projects to share but I haven't been able to feel well enough to wrap my head around taking pics, editing, and making a post. Sorry. Well try again tomorrow.

Take Care & Happy Creating

Dana

Well the sun is shining and the wind is cool. A beautiful day here in my little part of the world. Believe it or not things are starting to look green and just in time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Though I am not from a Catholic background or boast to know much of the Saints, I am of Irish desendants/ancestory and love the fact that some of my Newfie dialect and slang come from Ireland.  Ever since I can remember I have always dreamed of going away on a trip to Ireland. I can remember during the Christmas season there would be a commercial on the t.v. showing cruises with Anna McGoldrick. I would always tell my Mom, " I would love to go to Ireland and kiss the Blarney Stone." She would just laugh at me. Lol. I loved the "Irish Rovers" and loved their song "Black Velvet Band" And I could belt out the words to "Danny Boy" like there was no tomorrow. Lol. Yes, to go to Ireland that was the dream of a 10 year old girl! Lol. Wow how things change. At that age my kid was only thinking about if he would be getting a new Nintendo DS! Lol. I'll be 40 in a few months and I still have that same dream. And why would I not? Just look at these pics I found on Google Images. They are stunning!

This is just breath taking! To be able to walk the cobblestone path along the stone walls and just enjoy the beauty. Now what a walk that would be. I always loved those thatched roof homes and to be able to visit one would be amazing.

Oh my!  Just imagine having breakfast overlooking these beautiful grounds with that country breeze on your face and the smell of those stunning flowers tickling your noise. This would really be a dream come true.   Oh to be able to share this with my hubby and to just have the time to explore & enjoy each other's company would be so romantic and a dream come true! Sorry I am gettting all sentimental now. Well you can't go to a place like this without sharing it with someone you love, and he's the one for me! Lol.

I always loved the movie "P.S. I love you!" and to be able to see Ireland for the majestic views and to go fishing with all of those lush green hills around me! Yes, that would be astounding. Sorry, but this Newfie gal still likes to fish and being raised in a fishing community, having a Dad who was a fisherman, only makes me love it even more. It is in my blood I guess! Some gals would wrinkle up their nose just thinking about fishing, but not me. I miss it soooo much. I really loved the days when my hubby and I use to go ice fishing. Oh my! The fun and the laughter! Always a great time. That movie always makes me want to visit Ireland even more.

To be able to stay in a quaint little village like this and to mingle with the folks, to explore and to shop in the markets. Oh it would be an amazing adventure.

This really reminds me of some parts of Newfoundland really. Like the colours of the houses and the rolling hills. Maybe I just miss home too. Lol. Dont' think that I would be painting my house pink any time soon. Lol. This really looks like an inviting place to visit that's for sure.

Hopefully my dream will come true some day and I will get to show you my very own pictures of my trip. Until then I will just keep dreaming and trying to reach this goal. Praying that today is a day filled with much love & happiness. Wishing you all the happiest of St.Patrick Days'.

Hugs & Blessings

Dana

Fimo Flower Embellishment & Fimo Winners!

Hi Everyone:

Just wanted to share with you an handmade Fimo flower embellishment that I made using a Hero Arts stamp  (Classic Bloom) and Fimo clay. This was super easy and it was not an oven bake project, but air dry. I just rolled out the white fimo clay then stamped it with my flower stamp. I trimmed away the excess clay and then set it on an acrylic block to let it dry. Next day I colored it with my Marsgraphic Jr. Markers and shaded with distress inks around the center petals but in an outward motion. You can see what I mean by looking at this picture.

Now this embellishment needed some extra depth, so I stamped out the center again and then coloured it with various shades of green. Just the center was cut out and it was then glued to the first flower to give more dimension. I love how the purple really pops against the bold & vibrant orange. Now this can be used as a necklace piece, a brooch, or as a flower tag to add to a present. Now I am going to be sharing some more projects a little later this month, to show how I used this embellishment in one of my projects.

Now this close up shot gives you some idea of how well the stamp actually pressed into the clay. The design of the flower came out perfect and I was surprised myself! Not because these stamps don't always give a perfect stamped image, but because I didn't know it could perform like this even in clay.  Sending a round of applause to Hero Arts right now! And the Marsgraphic Jr. Markers were amazing because they are water based and was so easy to use. So I added the colour full strength at first on the flower and then used my aqua/water brush to remove some of the colour towards the tips of each petal.

I must admit that I am having a field day with PicNik ( a picture editing place) right now. The fact that you can play for free until closing day, which is in April, is really great. So sad that it is closing though! I so love this reflection option that you can use on your pics. Really cool!

Now I have to share that the flower was covered with Fimo Gloss Varnish once it was completely dried. Now you may notice that at the top of the flower is a little hole and this really should have been created before drying. But I forgot! So I had to be very gentle in doing this, so has to not crack the flower and break it. I needed to place a hole in it because I am adding jute/twine to use it in my next project. I hope that you enjoy this so much as I did making it.

Now on to the winners of my STAEDTLER Fimo Give-away! The following 3 people are the winners of this contest and here is their winning comments:

1. Barb:

oh my...he is adorable! i love his little face. so cute. i was so excited to find my staedtler pencil crayons...would love to spend some crafty time with you to learn some cool techniques! :) i'm going to link this up on my blog now. thanks for the chance to win!

February 1, 2012 10:38 PM

2. Deedee Anderson:

Oh my goodness, what a darling little mouse you have made, Dana! We are HUGE Fimo fans in this house -- our little Jessie makes batch after batch of cuties with this stuff. Wait until I show you her mouse -- she's going to want to make one of her own. Thanks for sharing this!

February 3, 2012 2:25 PM

3. Auntie Em:You are so artistic! I am so impressed with your little mouse and this is just your first try!!! Awesome.
My SIL does Fimo and makes it look so easy. It's not!lol
Can't wait to see what else you create! :)

February 3, 2012 10:29 AM

Big Congrats to all 3 winners. And thanks to those who played along with this contest/give-away. Please email me at ad(dot)colbourne(at)hotmail(dot)com with your addresses and I will get this out to you next week. Look forward to seeing what you do with your winning prize. You can share it with everyone at our STAEDLER Facebook page for all to see if you like.

Well that is it for me folks! I will be back again with the remaining projects using this flower theme. Just wanted to let you know that the new monthly Hero Arts contest is up and it is a real goody this month. My Flower Embellishment would fit in great with their new challenge. Lol. So I will be submitting it this month. Hope that you can play along too.

Until next time, take care of yourself & each other.

Hugs

Dana