Our Trip to Australia March/April '26

Hi everybody.  I thought it would be best to do a separate post to show some photos of our recent holiday to see our son in Sydney Austalia.  We had a wonderful time, certainly a holiday to remember!  If you want to see my latest card post you will find it here.

This is a day or so after we arrived in a park down by the water where our son lives which is in a suburb quite close to the city (a fifteen or twenty minute bus ride).

This typifies Sydney Harbour..the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and of course a visiting cruise ship.  This one is a Cunard ship called the Queen Anne...abour two years old, and no, we didn't just arrive on it.

Just a week or so afer we arrived we went about 3 to 4 hrs up the New South Wales coast to a place called Port Macquarie and whilst there we went on a boat trip on the Hastings River and were lucky enough to see these beautiful dolphins which came right up next to the boat.  The first time I have been so close to wild dolphins.

About an hour up the coast from Port Macquarie we stopped at a place called Nambucca Heads and had a walk by the river before driving to the beach.

Here is one of the local inhabitants.  There were quite a few swimming around, but this one came in close to the shore.  I'm sure it was hoping we might have a fish or two...no such luck.

The next day we carried on moving inland and stopped the night at a place alled Bellingen, and this was the pretty view from our room with the Dorrigo Mountain in the distance.

During the day we visited the Dorrigo National Park and whilst there walked on their sky walk platform high amongst the tree tops.

....and this was the beautiful view.  We didn't have that long there but it is renowned for its wonderful walks and waterfalls.  On the twisty road  up what they call the 'Waterfall Way' there were several small waterfalls coming down right next to the road.  Unfortunately it was impossible to stop to take a photo.

After our week away we briefly returned to Sydney and then we flew to the Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland coast for a memorable few days arranged courtesy of our son as a special birthday treat which was supposed to happen when I was 70 but not possible in 2021..as you can see a proper tropical group of islands.  

Whilst there we went on a boat trip to a neighbouring island to visit this beautiful beach called Whitehaven with the whitest and finest sand.  All those that wished to go swimming were advised to wear a 'stinger suit' to protect from Box Jellyfish stings.  They get stingrays which come in quite close to the shore too.  I only paddled!

During our last week we went on a boat trip from Sydney harbour to a place called Paramatta and whilst there we visited a large local park where we were amazed to see an area where the trees were absolutely covered in fruit bats.  I have read up about them and they are Grey-Headed Flying Foxes which are one of the largest species of bat and are said to be quite endangered.   Apparently the park has about 15,000 of them.  It was quite late in the afternoon and they were beginning to stir.  It must be quite a sight when they all take off at dusk. 

During our last week we also went to see Phantom of the Opera taking place in a more distant part of the Botanical Gardens beyond the Opera House.  It was all in the open air and the seating was on land and the stage itself was set over the water.  It was a brilliant performance and it was really surreal to see the harbour as the backdrop with the boats coming and going in the distance.

I hope you've managed to stay awake during this whirlwind tour of our holiday..certainly one we won't forget.

Lovebirds Anniversary

Hi all.  I recently bought the latest Crafter's Inspiration premium magazine featuring some lovebirds and a pretty leafy/floral stencil as well as some dies and an embossing folder, and I have used one of the stamps and the stencil for this anniversary card. 

I started with a snippet of white card to fit a 6" square card and smooshed some different green brushos over it and then when dry I used some texture paste through the stencil over the top, colouring it green using some alcohol inks to get a slightly darker green than the background.  I then found another snippet of white card and stamped the birds using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I coloured the birds with Distress Inks and a waterbrush using Abandoned Coral for the heads, and Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron and a little bit of Pine Needles to shade their bodies and wings, and also the first two greens on the leaves, and then the branch itself was Brushed Corduroy.  I cut them out and finished it by adding them over the stencilled heart and also added the sentiment using the Nocturne Ink.

I used the coral and green meaning to add it over at the Color Hues Challenge but I was too slow in finishing it and I missed the deadline...drat!  Anyway thanks for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon. 

Shortly I will be adding a post which will just be photos of our trip to Australia...you might need a large coffee to sustain you as I have chosen about a dozen photos.  Please feel free to skip it..lol.

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 531 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 848 Anything but Square/Anything Goes.

Stencil Fun Challenge - May '26 Anything goes/See Thru It.

We Love Stamping Challenge - May '26 All Creatures Great and Small/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - May '26 Cute Creatures/Anything Goes.  (sad to say this is their last challenge).

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make It Colourful.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 516 Make Your Mark.

Triple B Challenge - May '26 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using 1, 2 or all 3).

NBUS Challenge - No 86 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Long Eared Owl Birthday

Hi all.  The reason I have been absent for so long is we have been away for just over a month visiting our son in Australia and we had a great time.  I did take my laptop and fully intended to at least put a couple of cards up and do some commenting, but we were so busy with all the lovely things our son had planned for us to do that it fell by the wayside.  When hubby has sorted out the photos I will put a few up to show you.  I have been back for almost a week but it is taking a bit of time to sort things out here before I turn my attention back to cardmaking, so here is one of the cards I intended to put up whilst I was away.  I love owls and I always think there is a bit of mystery about them as they are not commonly seen being nocturnal.  I have had this stamp for a long time and its a Crafty Individuals one..sad to say they are not around now.  I also used a postage ephemera type stamp one of several which came with Sentimentally Yours Box Kit No. 12.

I decided to use a 5" x 7" card and found a piece of card amongst my bits and pieces which luckily was the right size for the owl stamp.  I got out a couple of Distress Inks, namely Dried Marigold and Vintage Photo and I blended the piece of card with the Dried Marigold using a brush, making the outside darker and then I stamped the owl using Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink.  I decided for a bit more interest I would use just a small part of the postage stamp and added it using the Vintage Photo around the edges.  I thought I would soften it using a waterbrush but still wasn't totally happy as the ink cubes are beginning to dry up and I wanted to darken the edges more so I used the Dried Marigold rubbed straight onto the card which I liked better.  I then backed this with a black mat and added it to the card finishing with a black stamped sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - April '26 Spring/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - April'26 Inspired by Nature/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 847 In the Garden/Anything Goes.

Triple B Challenge - April '26 Using Birds, Butterflies or Blooms (1, 2 or all 3).

Group of Cardmakers - Bleaching (with Bleach or Water)

Hi everybody.  This month's Group of Cardmakers technique is Bleaching which can be done either with bleach or using water, and I have opted for water.  I used a set of stamps which came with Crafter's Companion Premium Magazine No. 11 which has some lovely flowers and sentiments, and I used one of the two larger sprays of flowers, and I also used a set of Clarity Crafts Nested Square Doodle Frame- Its dies which has cut into the card frames and a set of stitched square dies bought a long time ago from The Works.  Sorry the photo is not quite as bright as it might be but I used a daylight lamp and I realise now that I didn't turn the overhead light off and that is a more yellow light. 

After cutting a stitched square using the largest die in the set I ink blended it using three Distress Inks - Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn.  Unfortunately the Peacock Feathers in the centre doesn't show up very well as blending the colours took away some of the brightness and the green tends to have taken over rather so probably a lighter tone of green would have work better.  Making sure it was perfectly dry I stamped the flowers with Versamark and heat set using WOW Metallic Rich Gold Embossing Powder.  I then used a small water brush and started to take the colour out of the stamping.  It only lifts a certain amount of it but it shows up quite well as I did blend the ink quite heavily.  I finished by adding a sentiment embossed with the same gold embossing powder, and then used the Frame-Its die around the edge of the 6" square card base and added the flower topper in the middle of it.

This is a fun technique and looks quite effective.  You can keep going and perhaps lift more of the colour than I did, but as I didn't want to add any more of a different colour to the flowers I think it works well.  There are more wonderful examples of this technique on the blog from the other ladies, and if you do make any cards using this technique there is a Linky where you can add them and we would love you to do that.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll be back soon.  

Group of Cardmakers - Faux Cyanotypes

Hi all.  This is the start of another month over at the Group of Cardmakers, and this month we are doing a faux cyanotype technique.  The original technique uses chemicals to coat paper or fabric kept in dim light to dry, and then part of it being masked with something and then moved into sunlight, and it develops the typical deep blue leaving the masked part white.  I have made this one larger so you can perhaps see it better.

This first card uses a stamp from Stampscapes, Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and Hero Arts Unicorn White Ink, and also a Clarity Crafts set of Embedders, the first time I have used these.  This look here is the closest to the actual Cyanotype technique being a blue background with the white image featuring a 5" x 7" card as a landscape and I used one of the embedders with rounded corners to add the line around to give the image a frame.  For anyone interested in seeing how you do this Barbara Gray is seen doing the technique here.  Go to 26.13 mts and it finishes about 29.13mts.  I ink blended the background with the blue and then when dry I added the image using the white ink.  Perhaps this image was not the best to use as I felt it wasn't very easy to see the cabin amongst the trees even after stamping it quite a few times, and making sure I cleaned the stamp in between each application.  I decided to try heat setting it with Clear Gloss Embossing Powder which I think made it look brighter and perhaps a touch clearer.  

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge - No. 383 Monochrome.

The Male Room Challenge - No. 207 CAS (Clean and Simple.

The next two cards come away from the blue and white, and the first uses Peacock Feathers DI and the magnolia flowers which is a fairly old Penny Black stamp called Summer Dream, and a Creative Craft Products set of Torn Edge Hearts.  I cut a piece of white card to fit behind the aperture and blended the ink over it and then stamped the flowers onto it to best fit inside the aperture.  I placed the aperture a little above the centre to leave room for the sentiment which was stamped with the same ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder. 

I am entering the above card into the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Mood Board No. 38.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Feb. 26 Anything Goes/Romance.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 321 Anything with Wings/Anything Goes.

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 511 Make Your Mark.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Countdown 3-2-1 (three, two or just one of something).

The last card was made using a circle die to cut a mask and again a piece of white card to fit a 6" square card.  I used a fox image from a Texture set of stamps by Lou Collins called Wildlife, and this time I used Ripe Persimmon DI to ink blend the masked circle and then added the fox to it, and I added a few leafy foliage branches using a set by Inkylicious called Mini Branches and Twigs to give it a bit more interest.  I finished with a sentiment also using the same orange ink and the Clear Gloss EP.

This is a lovely technique and looks quite effective I think and I hope that you will join in with it and if you do there is a Linky at the bottom of the GOC's post and we would love to see your cards.  There are also some beautiful cards to see from the other ladies.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.  

Painted Snowdrops

Hi everybody.  Unfortunately I have been quite busy with other things recently and have been remiss in not getting to comment or put anything up, but I am back showing this card with snowdrops using a Chocolate Baroque Stamp from way back and which I haven't used at all before I think as when I was a guest designer I was sent quite a few stamps each month and didn't always get around to using them all.  I also used a NBUS Spellbinders Embossing Folder called Autumn Chevron, and I cut the frame around the flowers using a stitched die I got a few years ago from The Works.

I started with the snowdrops and stamped them with Versafine Smokey Gray Ink onto grey card, and I decided to use the acrylic paint technique I used for this card here, and also this card here.  I coloured the snowdrops with a couple of greens and then white on the flowers.  I did use a very small amount of water as the lines were rather thin on the foliage and it was easier to spread the paint.  I then shaded the little centres of two of the flowers.  With this technique you paint over the lines and when the paint is dry you restamp..obviously you do need a stamp positioner as you leave the stamp in it so that you can place the card back into a corner and get it to match exactly.  I decided with the restamping to use Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to get a nice strong outline.  I then used the shaped die to cut it out to make it more interesting.  I finished the card by cutting the Chevron EF from white card and cut it to fit this 5" x 7" card and I took the whiteness off it with a little added Tumbled Glass Distress Ink applied with a brush, and I also added the birthday sentiment again using the Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and cut it into a fishtail banner shape.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Feb. '26 Hearts/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Feb. '26 Favourite Stamps/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 843 Embossing/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 511 Make Your Mark.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Using Embossing Goes/With Die Cuts.

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Mood Board No. 38.

Triple B Challenge - Feb. 26 Using Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (one, two or all three).

A Fruity Card

Hi all.  Tut tut! To those that thought this might be something other than a card with some fruit on..lol, in this case strawberries, using a very old but never used set from Stamping Sensations which The Range used to sell many years ago so not available now.  I thought I should have a dig through some old stamps and I suddenly remembered this set and perfect for the Addicted to CAS Challenge which this time has the theme of food.  I also used some papers which I got a while ago from The Works.  I don't very often buy papers but these caught my eye and I have used a few of the different coloured alcohol ink inspired ones but not the striped ones which are in different colours to go with the the all over mixed colour ones, and there are a few other patterns which coordinate too.

I was inspired by a few cards online that I have seen using torn papers for backgrounds and I chose these two and I tore them with the stripes and a piece of the all over coloured one and then more of the stripes so that they filled a corner of a snippet of white card a bit smaller than the 5" x 7" card base.  I then found a snippet of white card and stamped the bunch of strawberries using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then coloured them using a set of Lyra Graduate Pencils which I haven't used lately.  I then cut them out..a bit fiddly but I got their with a minor snip in the wrong place but luckily it was easily rectified when stuck down.  I used some Pinflair Glue Gel to give them a bit of dimension and stuck them over the paper, and all it needed was a sentiment also stamped in Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Embossing Powder.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No.  525 where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Feb. '26 Hearts/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Feb. '26 Favourite Stamps/Anything Goes.
Allsorts Challenge - No. 842 Create Your Own Background/Anything Goes.

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge - No. 722 A Sketch by Kim.

NBUS Challenge - No. 83 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. and this is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.