Thanks So Much...

Wow!  So many people to thank!   I received some lovely surprise cards from some wonderful Flickr friends, thank you all so very much!  Lovely cards from my family.  A gorgeous card from my special friend Lisa!  And amongst many other gifts she gave me a very special Pandora friendship charm, Lisa wears the other half!  I was and am, touched beyond words!  And thank you so much to my birthday twin  Linda for my gifts that she slipped in with the Valentine exchange card! (I'll post that one later). My hubby bought me my first Pandora bracelet and I got him and Natasha to pick out one meaningful charm each and I got to pick a few others!

Here is a little card I made using a stamp from The Greeting Farm.

I think she is sweet sitting on the die cut and embossed clouds.

Yesterday evening I quickly made a little mini album for my hubby to carry with him, especially for the times when he is away in West Africa and feeling alone.  This little album was a selfish one, it was for him, about us, and not Natasha this time!  I tend to forget about me, (I suppose as women, and mothers, we tend to do that).  I was inspired by the mini album that Alexandra had made using a manilla tag.  I used a Tim Holtz tag and some pretty papers from Basic Grey's  "Little Black Dress" pack.  I did not embellish it, (I'm not an embellishing kind of person), I just used some small alphabet stickers here and there.  And I used my new Instagram app to take the pictures and put them in a collage just for fun.

Wishing you all a really wonderful day!

I'm Sorry...

My daughter needed to apologise to one of her friends so we agreed that I would make the card and she would write the apology.

Paper: cardstock (PTI); designer paper (MME - Dilly Dally)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Copic Markers
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Hero Arts (sentiment)
Other: scallop  punch (Stampin' Up); Dimensional squares; Stickles; Glossy Accent; Corner Chomper

A simple little card with some pretty colours.  I love that Dilly Dally paper, awesome.

It's a short post today, feeling a bit under the weather.  Wishing you all a great Monday!

Celebrate Today and Every Day (and a personal share)

Tomorrow my beautiful daughter is going to be 6 years old!  It's hard to imagine when you sit down and think about it, the time does go by so fast!  I don't even want to think about her getting older, boyfriends, moving out of the house....how weird!  My card is coming up next, followed by a sad and then funny story about her birth, so stick around if you want to.

Paper: cardstock (PTI); designer paper (Echo Park)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Copics
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Paper Smooches
Other: Glossy Accents; Stickles; dimensional foam adhesive; sewing

Six years ago tomorrow was a tough day for us!  I was in South Africa, my husband was in Paris, in a taxi, driving to the airport for his normal trip home.  I had been in hospital for what seemed forever, because I went into premature labour.  I remember that Friday, the 9th of December 2005, I was sitting up in bed, feeling not quite myself, different to what I had been feeling the last month or so in hospital.  Almost like I was coming down with the flu.  I couldn't shake it off, I felt cold and "weird".  All my vital signs were the same as they had been, no fever, nothing different on the monitors.

I got out of bed and decided to pace the corridor, it was around 5h30pm.  One of the nurses came up to me, and she touched my arm, and, the floodgates just opened, tears that is, tears because I was not feeling well and I was frustrated because I did not know why!  Do you ever get like that?

Well, needless to say, by 7pm I was in the operating theatre and moments later my daughter was born.  I'll save you all the other traumatic details, save it to say that Natasha only came home from the ICU on the 1st of January 2006!

But in hindsight I can look at that last hour before going to theatre and really, really laugh!  The gynae was called, he did his thing and told me there was no time to waste, it's me or the baby, we go to theater NOW!  I proceeded to become the MOST unreasonable person on planet earth!  (And I AM a medical person!).  I refused, I screamed, I swore, I shouted....what was he thinking, my husband was in a taxi, in 13 or so hours he would be home and he could be here and witness the birth of our baby....oh no...I pulled out my cell phone and got hold of Michael, he wanted to speak to the doctor and basically told him not to listen to me and do what he needed to do!

Ok, so now, I capitulate, but I am not going through this alone, oh no....I need to round up some support....my sister lived a 20 minutes drive away, my best friend was 5 minutes drive away but was entertaining business guests from India for dinner at her house...I just told them that probably only one of them would be allowed in theatre with me, so first come, first serve.

Now I am in theatre, waiting to see who would win this race!  My friend makes it first, yippee, at least I am not on my own.  About ten minutes later, after the epidural, a green garbed "person" with glasses comes in. I have no idea who this is, they are greeting me so sweetly and I say, "and who are you?"!  Umh, it's my sister!  Double yippee!  One on each side.

If you are still with me, this is the funny part.  The C-section barely begins and my friend says she is feeling light headed, so I, round up some forces and shout instructions to bring a chair, let her sit down, take some deep breaths, and I am rubbing her hand gently in the hope she feels better soon, not 2 seconds later, on my other side, my sister says, "oh gosh, I think I am going to faint, I feel sick"....ok, another chair please, breathe through your nose, nice deep breaths sis, just keep breathing.....

You see, there is always another side to things.  I was so glad to be with people I love. Natasha is as perfect as any child out there.  My husband was at the hospital within an hour of landing.  All is good!

Thank you for sticking around.  I'm trying to think of why I decided to share this today....I think that it's because when I think about my Natasha I beleive in miracles...and I just wanted you to know that miracles do happen!

Warm hugs!

Wish

My niece's birthday is coming up in early December (just two days before my daughter).  She lives in South Africa and we are going to see them for the Christmas holidays! I wanted to get a card in the post to her.  It's been a while since I used any of my Greeting Farm stamps, so here is the little girl I coloured:

Paper: cardstock (PTI); Neenah; designer paper (DCWV)
Ink: Copic Markers; various Memento inks
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Hero Arts; PTI; Stampin 'Up
Other: Tiny Tags die (PTI); Large Scalloped Die (PTI)

I am not totally sold on it yet, but perhaps it will grow on me over the weekend, if not, then I'll just need to make something different.  I used quite a few different stamps to make the graph background, to stamp the little tags etc...

Now I am off to make a boy birthday card as my daughter has a party to go to on Sunday!

Whilst you are reading this post, (if you are up around 5am that is) I will be out trying to run a 15 mile training run with my running group.  We run in a big park about 25 minutes away.  The path is made mostly of asphalt so it is a bit more giving on the feet, we'll see how I manage.

The weather has been awesome, and I am hoping it stays cool for the run to set the stage for an enjoyable long run with a great bunch of people!

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Halloween Farm Fresh Challenge

The challenge over on the TGF Farm Fresh Challenge blog is to create a Halloween card and since I have the Hallo Witch digital image I thought I would give it a try.  I kept it very simple as I found this patterned paper that my wonderful friend Lisa had given to me some time ago from My Mind's Eye, and you'll see why I did not really add anything else other than the Witch!

Paper: cardstock (PTI); Neenah; My Mind's Eye
Ink: Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: TGF (digital); Hero Arts (sentiment)
Other: Glossy Accents; Glitter; Dimensional squares

I matted the patterned paper on black cardstock and adhered that with dimensional squares to the purple note card.  I also popped up the sentiment and the witch image.  I pieced the pumpkin which I had added glossy accents and some glitter to for a bit of sparkle to match the sparkle in the patterned paper.  It is hard to capture on camera, but that owl is all glittery in real life.

I love that huge owl looking at the witch flying away in fear! 

Thank you for taking a peek!  Wishing you a wonderful Monday!

Sassy Birthday

Whilst we are away, Grandma is taking my little one to her friend's birthday party and so I made a card for her.  My dear friend Lisa stamped this gorgeous image for me and I had to colour her up and use her straight away!  This cutie is named CC Tuesday and you can find her at The Greeting Farm.

When making this card I thought I would use a sketch I came across at i{heart}2stamp.com, mostly because I really, really need to use up all this patterned paper that seems to have collected itself in my craft room, but also because I liked the sketch. 

I was quite literal in my application!

Paper: cardstock (PTI); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); Neenah
Ink: Memento; Copic Markers; CTMH Juniper Dye Ink
Stamps: TGF; Lawn Fawn (Sophie's Sentiments)
Other: Stickles; Glossy Accents; Dimensional Squares; paper flower; corner chomper

So, first the patterned paper got cut to size and rounded on all the corners.  Then I had fun colouring CC with matching Copic markers.  I added some glossy accents to her hair clip, boots and the lacing on her dress.  Some stickles on her crown and frills and then I popped her up on some dimensional squares. 

I hope a 6 year old will appreciate it, she's quite fun with her frilly dress and eye shadow!  Princess for a day!

Have a glorious day!

Fairy Tink

Just playing around with a cute little stamp from The Greeting Farm called Fairy Tink.  Isn't she sweet?

Paper: cardstock (PTI); patterned paper (unknown); Neenah
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; CTMH; Copic Markers
Stamps: The Greeting Farm (Fairy Tink); Hero Arts (Cloud Background); PTI (Butterfly Dreams - sentiment)
Other: Oval Nestabilitie; Hand stitching; Stickles

Every now and then I actually do try to match my colouring to the patterned paper I choose, it somehow looks so "together". 

Today is a special day, my daughter and us parents get to meet her Kindergarten teacher before she starts school on Monday.  I just hope Natasha is as excited as I am!

Have a wonderful day, I hope to be back later.

Howdy!

I was wanting to colour with my Copics, and there is nothing better than to tackle a stamp from The Greeting Farm when you are in that kind of mood!  This is Cafe Ian.

Paper: cardstock (PTI); patterned paper (unknown); Neenah
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers; Color Box white
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Hero Arts
Other: Dimensional squares; Glossy accents

After cutting up all my 12 X 12 sheets of very old patterned papers I am on a mission to try and use them, so you will have to forgive me but some are so old, more than 5 years, that I have no idea of the manufacturer!  I really like this paper for a boy card.  My friend Lisa actually gave me a stamped copy of this little guy so that I could colour him in (thanks Lisa!).  The sentiment is made using a Hero Arts alphabet stamp.

Thank you for letting me share with you!  Have an incredible day!

Grunge Me Chevron!

I know, weird title hey?!  Have no idea what to call this post so I just used the names of the PTI stamp sets I used to make the card.  I adore both of these sets, just filled with possibilities.

Paper: Neenah Solar White; Notecard (Hobby Loby)
Ink: Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade & Broken China Distress Inks; Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: PTI; The Greeting Farm
Other: Corner Chomper; Glossy Accents

Not much to explain really.  I simply wanted to play with my stamps and I love colouring in images from The Greeting Farm.

Off to take my daughter to gymnastics and then swimming class. Thank you for looking at my blog!  Wishing you a wonderful day.

Play Date at the Cafe

The current Play Date Cafe challenge is to use green, white and brown/kraft.  Here is the beautiful inspiration photo:

I love the freshness of this photo, and what an awesome colour combination.

I have a special friend whose daughter is turning 12 tomorrow and I thought I would make this card for her as she is quite a spunky modern girl with a great taste in clothes and an awesome eye for colour just like her Mom.

I decided to use one of my Greeting Farm stamps as they are the sponsors this week for this challenge!

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers; Soft Leaf chalk ink (HA); Memento Tuxedo Black;
Stamps: Hero Arts; The Greeting Farm; Lawn Fawn (sentiment)
Other: Stickles; Paper Flowers (stash), Gem (Hero Arts); EK Success Punch

I stamped the background with the Hero Arts Magical background stamp in the soft green ink also from Hero Arts. I then assembled the rest of the card.  I coloured the little paper flowers using the matching Copic markers and added a little Latte gem in the centre.

For added effect I added some diamond stickles to parts of the background.

Thank you for looking, I hope you enjoy my card! Sorry it's short and sweet tonight, but I have food cooking on the stove!

Farm Fresh Friday

The challenge over at the Farm Fresh Challenge Blog is to make something using a distressing technique of any kind.  I went basic, some distress ink, some paper distressing.

Paper: PTI cardstock
Ink: Vintage Photo, Dusty COncord & Spiced Marmalade DI; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Markers; Adirondack White Paint Dabber
Stamps: TGF; PTI
Other: Pearl (Recollections); Tim Holtz Distressing Tool; Glossy Accents

I stamped and coloured my image with Copics and then cut her out and added some glossy accents on her sunglasses and a bit on the edge of her shirt. I adhered this lovely girl from the Rain Snow Shine  set onto a piece of Kraft cardstock whose edges  I had distressed a little and also inked with some Vintage Photo Distress ink.

The Purple and Orange panels were stamped with a little flower from a PTI set using co-ordinating distress inks. I also inked those edges up with some Vintage Photo distress ink.

After adhering everything to the Rustic Cream notecard whose edges I also inked with more Vintage Photo DI, I inked up the edges with some white paint from my Adirondack paint dabber to soften the whole look a bit.

I really adore these beautiful images from The Greeting Farm.  They are so beautiful to colour and they have such a nice selection.

Not sure what we are doing today, just going to try and spend as much quality time together as hubby leaves again tomorrow for another 3 weeks or so, not fun.

Wishing you all a very happy Sunday.

Believe!

Ok, another masculine card, but for the younger generation this time.  I used one of the boy images from The Greeting Farm called "My Guy Ian".  And I am going to enter this into the current Simon Says Stamp Challenge whose theme this week is "For a Child".  If I had a son, I would love to send him this encouraging card.

Paper: Hero Arts notecard; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers; CTMH Dye ink; Memento Tuxedo Black; Memento Brown ink
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Unity; Lawn Fawn
Other: PTI Edgers Die #1

I first used the Teeny Tiny Backdrop  stamp from Lawn Fawn to stamp the notecard.  I used the PTI dye to create the edge on the white cardstock before stamping it with the butterfly from a Unity KOM set.  I stamped and coloured the boy seperately and then cut him out and adhered him to the white cardstock.  I finally added the sentiment in brown ink.

I love that sentiment, it really goes hand in hand with the title of my blog, it's about believing in infinite-possibilities! Wishing you an awesomely great day!

Cutie Pie Megan

This is actually my second post of the day, so scroll down if you want to see more.

There are so many crafters out there that inspire me.  Today I want to mention Tiffany whose work I adore mostly because of the exquisite colours she combines, the beautiful use of the most gorgeous patterned papers and I find that she does not over embellish her cards, which I love, she adds just enough and she is capable of many different styles!  Go on over and look at her work, it's totally amazing, every single piece of art she showcases is beautiful.

So today I tried to be more colourful, and I was thinking about my niece Megan in South Africa.  So, what better time to actually colour in an image from The Greeting Farm called Megan!

Paper: Cardstock (PTI); Patterned Paper (stash)
Ink: Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black; Soft Pool Shadow Ink (Hero Arts)
Stamps: The Greeting Farm; Lawn Fawn
Other: Gems ( from my friend Tiffany); Border punch (Stampin' Up)

I really loved colouring in this cute image!  I just love her wild curly hair!  The blue strip of paper was actually a piece from a Hero Arts notecard which I stamped with a tiny heart I found in one of my Lawn Fawn sets.  The sentiment is also from Lawn Fawn.

She looks very bossy!

Have an awesome day!

Copic Challenges!

Today my friend Lisa stamped off the image of Daisy from The Greeting Farm so that I could see what I could do about colouring her hair!  Well, it was a challenge and the result is less than pleasing!  I have no idea where to put the dark bits or the light bits!  I have watched tons of tutorials and it still does not look right. Ok, I have to admit that if I don't have the exact colour, or maybe there is one shade missing then I tweak it a little but my colours are never far off.  I find that when it's a huge mop of hair, or any largish open area to be coloured then I struggle.  Is it just me?

Paper: Neenah Solar White; PTI Cardstock: White Notecard (Hobby Lobby)
Ink: Shabby Shutters DI; Petal Dye Ink (CTMH); Copic Markers
Stamps: Hero Arts; The Greeting Farm; PTI
Other: EK Success border punch; Glossy Accents

Practice, practice, practice.... that is what I will have to continue doing!  After battling with the hair for at least, if not more, than 30 minutes, the rest was fairly straight forward.  I applied some glossy accents on her shoes, jacket and the flower in her hair.

You see that background, it was made with a circular stamp from one of Hero Arts' sets from quite a while ago, I like it.  I am enjoying more and more creating my own backgrounds.

Thank you for coming by to take a look.  Any advice on colouring that hair would be greatly appreciated!  Wishing you a great evening (or day depending on where you are)!

Wee Memories Colour Inspiration

(Second post of the day).This is my second entry for the current 50th Challenge over at Wee Memories.  I am  probably a person of extremes, so where my previous card was composed of very soft colours, it's also true to say that I like some rather bold colours.

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers; Black Soot DI
Stamps: The Greeting Farm (My Guy Ian); Hero Arts
Other: Corner Chomper; Glossy Accent

And black, white and red are some of those bolder colours.

What to do when you do not own the fabulous "Magical Background" stamp by Hero Arts?  Well, you improvise!  I bought a stamp set from HA a long time ago that has lots of retro circular designs on it (CL124), and I used one of the designs to create the background!  I really like it a lot.

The "dude" is coloured in with copics, and I applied some Glossy Accents to the peak part of his cap and also to his shoes.  He looks really serious!  If you enjoy colouring and "people" images then I highly recommend these stamps, there is such a huge variety and so many to fall in love with, you can find all of them HERE at The Greeting Farm.

I am off to the movies with my friend Lisa, we are going to see the "Lincoln Lawyer".  I hope you are all having a great day so far!  The weather here is superb today!

Playing with Copics

So, I have collected a few Copics along the way, and I wanted to practice some colouring.  So I got out some stamps from The Greeting Farm which are great for colouring and here is one of the little people I coloured in.

Paper: Unknown patterned paper from stash; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Stamps: Snuggle (The Greeting Farm); Sentiment (PTI - Way To Go Kiddo)
Other: Nestabilitie dies

When I first saw this stamp I just knew I had to get it, simply because it reminds me of my daughter.  I am totally in love with my little girl, nothing can come between her and I.  I will protect her to "infinity and beyond"!  I could never have imagined this type of love before I had her.  And of course we left having Natasha until I was already in my 40's.  And then without going into the details, the pregnancy was not as it should be, you know, those picture perfect pregnancies you read about when you are about to become a new Mom.  Let's say that I basically have no idea what it feels like to be fully pregnant, with this huge protruding belly, and rosy cheeks, BUT, I definitely know what it feels like to be in hospital!  I remember recording Natasha's intra-uterine heart beat on my cellphone, and I still have it!

And then my little angel really struggled during her first month on earth, and I never imagined that my husband and I would have had to go through that tough journey so early on, BUT, we are all here, as healthy as can be!  And I am in love with my daughter! (Ok, enough mushiness!)

So yes, this card now makes me think of beautiful Natasha who clings on to her teddy for dear life when she is tired or sad, or when she is just pensive, thinking about her cousins, her aunties, her uncles, her grandma and grandpa and her Nana, or just some friends back in South Africa whom she misses very much.

Back to this card, I struggled to decide how and where to put a sentiment because of the size of the card.  And I did not want to put this image on a standard A2 card, I wanted the card squarish.  I basically just bent the sentiment from PTI and stamped it inside the circle.  I think it's ok.

I hope you are having a great day! Thank you for putting up with my stories from time to time, I am just in a pensive mood today.