December 31, 2014

CAS(E) this Sketch #104

We are just hours away from a saying a big cheers and launching us into a new year. I love the idea of a reset, but I don’t have a resolution. I will be glad when all that extra food (mostly treats) don’t seem to be on every surface though, I will admit to over indulging a bit.

I have a goal though for this year, as I try this only a handful of hrs from midnight. That is to meet my best blog post number this year, I want to do one over but truthfully I was a little lazy. So for 2014 I will have (when I hit the publish button) have posted 221 times this year not exceptional but pretty darn good considering that most of those posts had a card attached.




Anyhoo, enough rah rah me...I have a card  :). I am playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch, I did easy peasy and cute.


Supplies: White and brown cardstock, Designer Paper – Teresa Collins, Paper Smooches-Salutations, Simon Says – Highlight Frames, misc punch

Happy New Year everyone, thanks so much to taking the time to stop by my blog,
Nina

December 29, 2014

Blue Thank You

I have another card and some more pictures to share. I used lots of layers with my card, including the three layers for the sentiment. I added in some rustic twine to finish.


Supplies: White and kraft cardstock, Designer Paper – Teresa Collins, The Stamps of Life-thanks2u, twine.
 
Boxing day has a cloudy start on the mountain but no less beautiful. We only were out for about 90 min because we were going to do a little shopping in Nanaimo on the way home and it is a 3.5 hr drive back to Victoria from the Mt.

 
 It felt a little chillier too, the trees has some pretty frost on them.


There has not been a lot of snow on the Mt yet and you could tell that it has not been a cold either with lots of the marshy sections not frozen.



Little Mr. Blue Jay trying to get some the good eats. For anyone concerned we were feeding them non-salted trail mix that consisted of cashews, raisins, peanuts and almonds. I did not really get a good picture of the jays, they were jumpy and the jacks kept landing on my phone whenever I tried to take a picture, I have some great shots of bird bottoms.



Another picture from Christmas day and a pretty stream.


Thanks for visiting,
Nina


December 28, 2014

Chalkboard Thanks

I hope that everyone is having a lovely holiday season, I know I am. My husband and I spend Christmas morning up on Mt Washington snowshoeing, the snow sparkled in the sunlight and
there was no one around but some greedy little friends and I don’t think we could have asked for a more pretty morning. 

I have a card to share then I will post a couple of the images from our beautiful walk.


Tis the season for thank you cards to follow behind all those generous gifts that arrived on my door step. This one is CAS, made with one of those gifts. The DP is all about chalkboard, I did a simple sentiment and fussy cut the flower, there is a small strip of sheer ribbon in behind.

Supplies: White and black card stock, Designer Paper- We R, Fiskars - Petals from Scratch, Paper Smooches-Salutations.

*****

Clear and beautiful with the snow all glittery in the sun. I love how pristine the snow is.


The walk up to the lake was not very far, maybe 7-8K round trip but two small mountain sides and the snowshoes may it feel much longer.


I will admit seeing the Whiskey jacks is what makes every visit fabulous, greedy little things :). For the first year a couple of Blue Jays came to visit too, they are not as brave though so I did not get any great pictures of them.



Heading back, we have still not encountered anyone else the whole morning. It wasn't till the last 30 mins that we started to see a few others enjoying the day. Over all we were out for about 4hrs most of that moving pretty steady.


We were out Boxing day too for a short time, I will share some pictures from walk tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.
Nina





December 23, 2014

Tuesday Morning Sketches #240

Happy December 23rd :), we have the last Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge of 2014 for you this week and it will run into the new year.  Melissa is our hostess and the challenge is an easy one with Anything Goes so have fun and play along.

I have been having fun with the coloured Doodle Pantry images, I was browsing through the store this weekend and could not resist trying this one out. So so cute.

I printed off the DP image that comes with the kit and backed each panel with black cardstock, I added some foam tape to the sentiment and finished with some flat black sequins.



Supplies: White and black cardstock, Doodle Pantry - Birdie Pirate, sequins.

Be sure to stop by the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and take a look at the sample cards created by the design team.

Thanks for visiting,
Nina

December 22, 2014

The Challenge #21 - Coffee Lovers Birthday

Happy Monday, the last stretch is upon us.. are you ready :).

I have a card for the current The Challenge this morning and I went with a coffee lovers birthday. I think I even managed all the colours.




I used a coffee background added in a fussy cut coffee mug. I love all the layers and added in some foam tape to make some areas pop a little. I finished by added an embossed heart with a pretty shimmer.



Supplies: White brown and craft cardstock,  Designer Paper - Carta Bella, TPC Studio- Happy Birthday, The Alley Way - Breakfast Club, Stampendous-Coffee Background, embossing folder.

Thanks for stopping by,
Nina

December 21, 2014

Seize the Birthday - Silver and Gold

Winter storms in Victoria are usually high winds and rain, and boy was it a good storm again last night, it also means that it will translate into snow up on Mt Washington. I can't wait to try out the snowshoes I brought last year and never used, we will be spending Christmas morning trying them out and I am very excited.

In the mean time, I am loving the time I had in my craft room this week. I am all ready for Christmas and it is very low key for us this year .




I made pretty card for the current challenge over at Seize the Birthday, toppings for the challenge are Silver and Gold.  I decided to pull out my goodies from the December kit from Simon Says.
I used gold and silver embossing powder and sequins.

Supplies: White, navy and light blue card stock, Simon Says Stamps - Sparkle and Shine, die cut, sequins.

Thanks for stopping by,
Nina

December 20, 2014

Best Day Ever

We were out at Costco today and boy was it crazy, I guess it has something to do with it being the last weekend before Christmas.

I also spent some quality time in my craft room today and even managed to put together a card or two.  I have a few never been used items sitting on the side of my desk so I decided to play a little.

 I layered the sentiment and also cut out a few of the small sentiment squares and popped them up with foam tape. I finished with some twine and gems.

Supplies: White and black cardstock, Designer Paper – Teresa Collins, Studio G-Best Day Ever, twine, gems.

Thanks for stopping by,
Nina

December 18, 2014

Sharing some Happy

What a crazy week I have had at work, coming home to my craft room to wind down a little has been wonderful.

I will admit to being really really addicted to my 6x6 paper pad collection, I can't seem to help myself when I see new ones. This means I have small stacks of them all over my desk.. I tell no lie :).

So with this card is was a eeny meeny miney moe scenario, with the DP pad which one was picked was the one I made a card with. I think it working out ok, soft colours and a touch of glamour.


I used lots of layers, then die cut the sentiment and chose a panel die cut to use around it. I finished with some sequins. I did add a little clear star pen to the happy to cover up my generous glue application.

Supplies: White and light aqua cardstock, Designer Paper-Teresa Collins, Technique Tuesday-Say it Happy, Simon Says –Happy, sequins.

Thank you for stopping by,
Nina

December 17, 2014

Need a little oil?

I created this card for a friend of ours who is getting hip replacement surgery this week, they are going to replace a recalled hip he had put in about 6 years ago. The current hip actually squeaks or so I am told. Being as this gent is handy around the house I tried for a play on words.



I used a pre-coloured image from Doodle Pantry and used MS Word for my sentiments. I added in a trio of buttons shaped like screws, some twine and popped up the focal image with foam tape.

Supplies: White and brown card stock, Designer Paper-Echo Park, Doodle Pantry-Classic Tools, brads, twine.

Thank you for stopping by,
Nina

December 16, 2014

Tuesday Morning Sketches #239

We have a new Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge which means we have a new sketch for you. Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo.



I used Window Santa on my card, I printed it out three time so that I could layer it to created a 3D style card. I used my watercolour pencils for adding colour and my Wink of Stella for the shimmery snow. Santa has some sparse Flower Soft for the cuffs on his hat and sleeves, I did not want it so thick to hid the image underneath.
I added a stitched snowflake in behind and added a small sentiment, I finished with some silver sequins.



Supplies: White and bluecardstock, Designer Paper – Echo Park, Verve-, Lawn Fawn-Stitched Snowflake, sequins, Flower Soft.

Be sure to stop by the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and take a look at the wonderful card created by the design team.

Thanks for visiting,


Nina

December 15, 2014

Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge #139

It is only 10 short days till Christmas. I have everything in the mail that should be whisked away by Canada Post and any new Christmas cards I make will now be for next year, today's card included.  

There is new challenge for you today over at Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge. It’s Karren's Challenge this week - Create a Winter themed Christmas card.




I love these soft wintry designer papers, I will also admit to using a very CAS design. I stamped the sentiment and then used a tag die, I added some white twine with silver filament and finished with some sequins.



Supplies: White and light auqa card stock, Designer Paper-Echo Park, KaiserCraft-Yuletide, Lawn Fawn-Tag, sequins, twine

The Merry Monday Design team has some fabulous inspiration waiting for you over on the challenge blog. Stop by, play along and don't forget to leave some comments.

Thanks for visiting,
Nina

December 14, 2014

Stitched Snowflakes

It is a weekend of Christmas gatherings for us this weekend, but I did get some quality time in my craft room today.

This card has actually been sitting on my desk for over a week unfinished, I kept changing it over and over because I was not happy with it. I am glad I have it finished and I like how it turned out.

Simple layers, stitched snowflakes and sequins, sounds so simple.

Supplies: White and red cardstock, Designer Paper – Authentique, Verve-Joyous Noel, Lawn Fawn-Stitched Snowflake, sequins.

Thanks for visiting,
Nina

December 10, 2014

Christmas Ornaments

I have lost two stamps in the creative mess I have going on. Of course one of them being my current favorite birthday stamp, the second being a small pair of shears. I think I have searched for them both over and over again 15 times over, where the heck have they scuttled off too…probably with all those missing socks...Sigh.

 Anyway, the missing shears put me into a crafty funk as I was halfway through a card for my hairdresser. I have since put that project aside in case a miracle occurs and I miraculously find the shears.

I am mostly over my funk but decided to case one of my own cards. I made this card in blue a few weeks back for Merry Monday.The creation of these cards just added to the mess I have and leaving a glitter shimmer to everything. No glitter was harmed in the making of these cards :).


Supplies: White, red and brown card stock, KaiserCraft-Yuletide, Memory Box die cuts, glitter.

Thanks for stopping by,
Nina

December 9, 2014

Tuesday Morning Sketches #238

December is speeding along at a quick rate, can you believe it is already the 9th and only a couple short weeks to Christmas.

We have a new Tuesday Morning Sketches for you, not only do we have a great sketch but it is also twist week and you will be playing from a bingo card. Our sponsor this week is Doodle Pantry.

 
I used the Snowman Cheer for my card, I love the pre-coloured images and my new steal of a deal printer does a fantastic job with them. For the twist this week I went diagonal with glitter, embossing and brads. Ok Ok may a single brad but it counts J.
 

I love all these fantastic layers, I used designer paper that reminded me of one of patterns you see on the knitted Christmas sweaters. All those little reindeers are so cute, and I flipped the DP for the top and bottom sections.  I backed it with navy cardstock, which I also used for the embossed cross section.

I used a die cut for the snowman and popped it up with foam tape. The button for his vest is a small brad, and I added some iridescent glitter with warm blue highlights for the snow.  I added in some twine with a die cut button and the sentiment to finish.
 
Supplies: White and navy card stock, Designer Paper-Echo Park, Doodle Panty-Snowman Cheer, Spellbinder and misc button die cut, embossing folder, twine, glitter, brad.
 
Be sure to stop by the TuesdayMorning Sketches blog to see all the design team creations.
 
Thanks for visiting,
Nina




December 8, 2014

Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge #138

We are right back around to Monday again, that means we have a new Merry Monday challenge for you. Debbie is our hostess this week and her challenge is to Use Silver, gold and white on a card which one other colour.
 
When I started out it was a simple card, but in typical Nina fashion I made it a little more complicated.  I decided on a square card using a white base. I layers thin silver and gold vellum for thin borders, then added another layer of white card stock. I created the snowflake out of the same vellum and cardstock and layered it. I added a small sentiment and silver and gold sequins then finished with some blue crystals.

It is not the best picture, all that white and shimmery goodness played tricks with my camera.


 
Supplies: White card stock, Designer Paper – Silver and gold vellum, Verve-Holiday Phrases, Lawnfawn due cuts, sequins, crystals.
 
Be sure to stop by the Merry Monday challenge blog to see all the design team creations.
 
Thanks for visiting,
Nina


December 5, 2014

The Challenge #20

True story, I am usually a pretty organized person. So when I was planning time off work for my vacation to  Mexico last week I made sure that I would have an extra day to get back on track after returning home well after midnight on Saturday. I mean Sunday would be a bust with unpacking, laundry and such. Only thing is, come Monday I totally forgot I have booked the day off. Sooo, Monday morning and off I go to work ( I am early shift so an early start). My co-worker walks in a couple hrs later and says hey aren’t you off today…. Right.

So in place of the my silly mistake I have today off, and I have to say it worked out better.  Today is all about getting Christmas shopping done, prepping and mailing Christmas cards and having a Nina day.  Of course a Nina day always included making a card or two.



I am playing along with The Challenge over at Always Playing with Paper, I think I have missed the last couple :(. I am playing along with the sketch and the colour combo, I used a navy layer for the border the rest of the colours are taken care of with the DP. I added a die cut flower, some crystal gems and some twine.


Supplies: Navy and white card stock, Designer Paper – Teresa Collins, Inspired by Stamping – Small Fancy labels, misc die cuts, crystal gems, twine.

Thanks for visiting,
Nina

December 2, 2014

Tuesday Morning Sketches #278

Happy Tuesday, we have a new Tuesday Morning Sketches Challenge for you, Jessi has created this fabulous sketch and our sponsor this week is Craft Classes Online.



I had some fun with this card,  this is a Christmas card for my husband the hunter.  I love this paper by Echo Park, it has that rustic winter look to it and I helped it along by inking the edges.  I did use a little artist freedom with the elements, the moose in place of the large flag and snowflakes in place of circles but I am pretty happy with the results.


The sentiment is simple stamped and popped up with foam tape, I added in some twine and wood grain sequins. I also added a little heart to one of the snowflakes and added some glossy accents.

Some additional details is that the moose is popped up with foam tape and the snowflakes have a fabulous stitched look.

Supplies: White and black cardstock, Designer Paper  Echo Park,  Lawn Fawn-stamps and die cuts,, ribbon, ribbon guide.

Be sure to visit the Tuesday Morning Sketches Challenge blog to see what the design team has created. It is always fun to play along.

Thank you for stopping by,
Nina

December 1, 2014

Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge #137

Happy December 1st and I am mourning the end to my fabulous Mexican vacation, a week in the sun and sand is recommended anytime of the year to recharge your inner battery. Now into the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas.

Welcome to a new Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge. Deanne's challenge is to Use a bird on your Christmas card.


My card started out as a simple layer then I made it difficult.. again. I seem to do this to myself all the time.
I used  quick layers for the background, adding a little snowy texture. Then I used a paintbrush with white craft ink to flick some snow onto a craft panel, then stamped a layer of trees and then did the same thing a second time and die cut that out and layered it with foam tape.

I added a few smudges of white ink along the branches. I then die cut a small snow bank and heat embossed it in white and silver and popped it up with foam tape. I die cut the ribbon guide and then heat embossed the sentiment on it and also used foam tape behind it and added some twine.  I finished with a head embossed and die cut cardinal.



Supplies: White and craft card stock, Lawn Fawn stamps and die cuts, Stampendous-Joy, Cuttlebug die cut, twine.

The Merry Monday design team has some fabulous cards created as inspiration.. Stop by, and play along.

Thanks for visiting,
Nina