Pewter Card

 

Good Afternoon

 

I want to share a birthday card with you today that I made for my Sister-in-law.  She is a no frilly person, she loves the plain and the no nonsense and for me that is quite a challenge as I love to make cards with a stamped image and lots of bling and embellishments.  But seeing that I love her so much and that she has been so good to us, especially since we have moved down to Cape Town, I just had to make her something that I felt was still something very "me".  Some of you might know that I love to work with Pewter. So I made her this card with a Pewter topper, very plain and no "nonsency" (not sure if you get a word like that).

 

So here it is, I also used a background paper that is not to busy and the silvery flowers went very well with the Pewter. Very plain and simple.

 

A close-up of the Pewter topper.

I have made only one New Years resolution (I do not tend to make any, not because I do not keep them, but I usually forget about them), well my New Years resolution that I made is that I will be posting at least once a week.  That will force me to make more "me-time" for crafting and since we have settled in nicely into the house, I do not have any more excuses to not do more crafting (that is except for the fact that I am trying my hand at renovating our place myself - and that is precisely the reason that I have not been blog so frequently, but that is another story for another day).

So seeing as I will be chatting and posting more frequently from next year, I will say goodbye for now and "see" you later.

Hugs,
Marika

Cute Chunky Book Challange

Good Afternoon

Recently I participated in a challenge on a stamping group that I belong to.  The challenge was to make a cute page that could then be binded together with the other participants creations.  In the end we had to make 17 pages and that in itself was a challenge as I have never made so many of the same layouts.  I did however use different stamps on each page, but kept all the rest the same.

Now that we have received back our binded book, I can finally share my pages that I made.  I will not go into detail about each page.  I have used Magnolia stamps on all my pages as I do think that Tilda and Edwin are just the cutest.

So here are my pages. 

The first 2 photo'sare of all the pages together.

Some close-ups.

This was my favourite one.

Thank you for coming over for a visit.  Please leave a comment, I so love to hear what you have to say and if you have never before visited me, please become a follower.

Have a great day.

Hugs,
Marika

My Birthday

Good Morning

This morning I am not going to do a post about any of my cards, today I want to show the lovely cards that I received on my Birthday which was on Saturday the 3rd of November.  I was fortunate enough to spend the morning with some very talented craft ladies at the monthly open day that is hosted by Amanda Harrod.  These ladies made me feel so special and I really enjoyed the morning.

I just wanted to thank each and every one of these ladies.  Here are a photo of their cards, in no specific order.

  Amanda Harrod

 

  Debbie Harris

 

  Gail Grant

 

  Lee-Ann Teale

 

  Lynn Cupido

 

  Shamela

 

 

As you can see these ladies are very talented, I have not been making cards for so long and they all have something to teach me.  Now I just have to find a way to keep these together as I would like to have them displayed.

 

Have a great day and keep safe.

 

Hugs,

Marika

Just a quick one

Good Morning

Today I am just going to share a quick post with you.  We are in the proses of moving to our new house and I am not sure when I will be able to craft again. 

I made this card a while ago and I used a card topper that I received as a freebie with a magazine.

A close-up of the topper.

Thank you for the quick pop-in, I do appreciate it.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

Have an awesome week and I hope to post soon.

Hugs,
Marika

Birthday Card

Good Morning

It looks like our spring has arrived, at least partially.  Apparently we will still have some cold and rainy days, but I must say that the days that the sun is shinning, I am just over the moon.  As you can probably guess, I do not like the winter very much. 

On the other hand I feel that my "mojo" have taken a walk about.  If you pass it, please be sure to send it back to me.  I am not really feeling inspired to do anything at the moment, but that might have something to do with the fact that, after living with family for the past 5 months, we are almost ready to move into our own house.  Yes eventually the documents were handed in and we are expecting to be able to move by next weekend, that is the weekend of the 21st of September.  The excitement of moving into our own house has me so doing other stuff, like planning were all the furniture etc will go........ 

Sorry, sorry, sorry, you see what I mean, I am sure that you are not really here to read about my excitement to move.

So here it is.  This is a card that I made a while ago and only realised now that I did not do a post about it.  And for a change my card has a sentiment on it.

I can not tell you how many time I have made a card only to realise when I have finished it that I put it together the wrong way, meaning that it does not open up the right way. So yes with this card it happened again, luckily it is not so difficult to fix it, so when I fixed this one I decided to "sommer" make it a easel card.

My close up of the image.  This is a  Lilly of the Valley stamp and it is the first time that I have coloured a teddy, not so sure that I have gotten the teddy's colouring right yet, but I will just have to keep at it until I am satisfied.

I also made this flower from scratch, and my little girl picked out the ribbon, she said that it goes perfectly with the red polka dots paper.

So thank you for staying and reading to the end of my post, I really would love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day and please excuse all the ramblings at the beginning, but I am sure that you will understand all the excitement of moving into your own home. 

I might not be posting for a while as I will have to pack-up everything here to get ready for the move and the I will also need to unpack everything at the new house.

Hugs,
Marika

Leaning Tilda with swirl

Good Morning

Today my card is with a beautiful Magnolia Stamp, Leaning Tilda, is she just not to cute?  A friend stamped her for me.

A close-up of Tilda.  She was coloured with my trusted Copic's.  I am not to happy with the hair, I will need to stock-up on some more Copic's to make sure that I can get the desired results.

This swirl was cut out on plain white card stock, I then used a Copic to colour it to go with my back ground paper and then I also covered it with Glossy Accent.  I just love the gloss that is added when you use it, makes the swirl looks so fancy.

Today is Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend.  My wish for you this day is, that you will have an awesome weekend filled with fun activities with your loved ones and that you will have lots of time to craft.

Please leave a comment and if you like what you see, please become a follower.

Hugs,
Marika

Cathy Lee's Summer Blog Candy

Good Morning

Please head on over to Cathy's Blog and go and look at the lovely Blog Candy that she has to give away.



Thank you and enjoy your Sunday.

Hugs,
Marika

Edwin wants a hug

Good Afternoon

From a cold and windy Cape Town.  The mountain is covered by either low hanging clouds or mist, it is a lovely sight.  My kids always say that Table Mountain has its beanie on.  It is overcast and the rain is probably on it's way - just the kind of weather that make crafting so much more fun.

I made this card during the week and have only had time to upload the card now.  The stamp was coloured, for a change, with my watercolour pencils. 

A close up of my handsome Edwin.

I made this card to go into my growing stash, there is always somebody that needs a card for some or other occasion.  I have order myself some new Magnolia stamps - only 4 - but I am so excited, cannot wait for them to arrive.  My husband is having some difficulty understanding my addiction to the Magnolia stamps, but what can I say, they are just so adorable.

I will probably receive them next week some time.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the time spent with family and friends.

Hugs,
Marika

Card Candy

Good Afternoon

Please go and visit the ABC Craft's website.  There is some lovely Card Candy for sale.  As far as I know Charlie is the only person in South Africa selling these.  I have bought lots from her and they are fast becoming a favourite of mine to use on my cards.  No wonder they call them "candy', they look good enough to eat.

Thank you,

Marika

Your day

Good Morning

We have been very luck here in Cape Town, we have had 8 days of sun shine and I am just so happy about that.  Usually it is overcast and rainy.  But I have been "reassured" many times that the summer is still a long way off. I am so looking forward to the summer.

I am also very excited to announce that we have bought a house and that all the paper work and stuff is now at the lawyers.  Now we are only waiting for the transfer, hopefully it will be done by mid September.  There is a lovely room that I have put my name on, it will need lots of TLC, but I will, for the first time ever, have a room that will be my room and that I will be able to do in what I want and as I please in.

I had so much fun with my previous card that I really wanted to make another card that do not have a stamped image as it's main focus.  My son's best friend, Rauben's mom had her birthday last week Friday and I made this card to give to her.

I have had this piece of paper in my stash for such a long time, I just love the colour and the overall theme of the paper, for a long time I have felt sorry to use the pretty papers in my stash, but I have come to realise that there will always be pretty papers and I can just buy some more.  As the lady that received this card is not one for to many details, I kept it clean and simple.

I only used a part of the paper, so I will be able to make a few more cards with this paper.  I think it is a paper from Basic Grey, but I might be wrong.

The sentiment just say "your day", clean and simple.

I used this piece of the paper and made a bookmark for her as she loves to read. 

I traced the flower on some parchment paper and just made a hole at the bottom and I then put a piece of ribbon through.  I only realised this morning that I did not take a photo of the finished bookmark.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  If it is your first time to visit, please become a follower and leave a comment.

Have a great week as it is only Monday today.

Hugs,
Marika

Forever Grateful

Good Morning

I am not a crafter that often put a sentiment on a card, I prefer to leave my cards without a sentiment and then add the sentiment to the card as soon as I know who it is for and for what the occasion is.

But today's card is different, I made the card and kept on thinking that something is missing and then when I went through my stamps I found some sentiment stamps that I have not even used yet.  The "forever grateful" stamp with the curls looked just right for what was missing on my card.

So here is my card.  It has been a long time since I made a card without a stamped image, but my friend Sharon posted a post with just such a card not to long ago.  She reminded me that it is nice to make a change from what we regularly do.  Sharon's blog is one of the blog's where I find so much inspiration and she is also the person that helped me to start my own blog.

A close up of the sentiment.  The stamp is from Kaisercraft.  I do not own a lot of sentiment stamps, so maybe it is time I rectify that.

The paper is from First Edition Paper - Family Ties.  I added some gems to the centre of the flowers.

I am busy working on a Christmas card (for the past 2 weeks), but I am finding it difficult to get it done, it seems that there are some stuff missing (maybe I need some Christmas mojo), so I keep on moving it back, to the side.  I really hope that I can finish it this weekend.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you will all have a very pleasant weekend.

Hugs,
Marika.

Design Team

Good Morning

I am so very excited this morning.  I have been asked to be on a Design Team.  I am just over the moon.

Charlie from ABC Crafts is not just a lady that sells craft goods at very, very good prices, she is also a very dear friend.  I miss her so much as she is living in Pretoria, where I used to live before I moved down to Cape Town, I used to visit her at least once a month to see all the new craft goods she got in as well as to escape from the hectic live of full time work, being a wife and mom to 2 pre-schoolers.  My visit to her used to be my one day that I shifted all my responsibilities on to my dear hubby and I could spend a day chatting and doing what I absolutely love, just for myself.  But ever since my move to Cape Town, end March 2012, I have not seen her again.  We do chat over the phone ever so often, but it is still not the same. 

Charlie, I miss you very, very much!!!!

And now I have been asked to be on her Design Team, it is such a honour, not just because it is for her but also because this is the first time I have been asked to be on a Design Team.

So watch this space.

Please visit her Shop to see the goodies that she sells.

Thank you and have a very nice day.

Hugs,
Marika

Christmas in July

Good Morning

A warm welcome to my new followers, I do appreciate the fact that you have decided to follow me.

Today I would like to share my Christmas in July card that I made.  This is the first time ever that I have made a Christmas card this early in the year, maybe that is a sign that I will be making some more and that this year I will send all my friends and family cards that I have made myself.

Because most of our belongings are still stored, I could not find one piece of paper in the stash that I have with me that had a Christmas feel, so here is my improvised card. I used traditional red and green to bring the Christmas feel over.

I have also used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the green paper, I have actually forgotten how much fun embossing can be.

This is a close-up of Tilda with Hellebore's.

I have just Googled the flower Hellebore's and found that the flower is mostly white and then in shades of pinks, purples, greens and maroon.  Now I am wondering, is it okay to colour them in the colour of our choice, to suite our colour theme of our card?

I would love to know what your comment about the above question is, so please leave me a comment.

I will be entering this card in the following challenges:

1.  Simply Magnolia - Embossing challenge
2.  Totally Gorjuss Challenge - Christmas
3.  Rubber Stamping in South Africa July Challenge - Chrismas

Thank you and have a great day.

Hugs,
Marika

Cards made with a freebie

Good Afternoon

I love buying card making magazines especially if they have a freebie that comes with the magazine.  Now in South Africa we do not have a magazines that focuses on card making alone (not any that I now of in any case), there are however very nice magazines that is "imported" to South Africa from other countries.  They do however only arrive about 2 months after they have been released in the country of origin.  Now the specific magazines I am talking about is the British magazines like Papercraft Inspirations, Papercraft Essentials, Simply Cards and Papercrafts etc.

So like I mentioned, I love these magazines as there is always a free gift with the magazine.  Today I want to show you some cards that I made with my freebie that I received with the latest
Papercraft Inspiration  (June issue here in South Africa - the August issue is already available offer there) issue that I bought about a week ago.  I just fell in love with the "Me to You" chipboard collection and paper stack.  The first few cards that I made I stuck to their suggestions.

Sorry about the amount of photo's, but I so enjoyed making these. 

Have a fabulous day.
Hugs,
Marika