Pixel Adventures

All about love… & a Facebook Giveaway!

Published February 6, 2012 | By Rhonda

Since it’s Valentine’s Day next week, I decided to make a couple of cards around the theme ‘LOVE’ using the December 2011 Unity Company KOTM (Kit of the Month) Stamp Set ‘Filled With Love’. If you have joined the monthly Unity Stamp Club at Craft-A-Lot, you will have received this set by now. This stamp set is definately filled with all things love and I can’t wait to use more of it in the coming cards this week. By the time friday comes, I will have a set of 10 notecards and envelopes to giveaway to one of my lucky Facebook likers.

NOTECARD 1:

These are not the average c6 sized cards I normally make. They measure 14cm x 8.5cm, so they’re just a little smaller. I have used patterned paper by Bella! and stamped the Love sentiment onto the yellow paper in Whispers Port Wine dye ink. It was included in this set of 30…

…which I bought at Kmart about 6-7 years ago and have only really been using it the last year and a half. It’s one of my favourite sets of inks and I’m going to be sad when all the pads dry out (some have started to), because I don’t think it can be bought anymore and it has been my go to ink in the past when none other’s will ‘stick’ to my stamps how I’d like. I’m quite surprised they’re still able to ink my stamps but I’m happy about that :)

Instead of decorating the sweet little flowers with pearls, I decided to sew french knots in the middle of them, just to tie in with the sentiment you will see further down the post, not to mention that I find hand stitching therapeutic and I certainly have needed a little therapy lately lol (short version of a long story… 2 boys (3yr old & 10yr old), stubborn in-denial partner, his family history of adhd & austism = therapy needed for me ;) )

I think these are the neatest French Knots I’ve ever done and I love how they’ve turned out.

I have handstitched the bottom of this sentiment in DMC floss and as much as I love hand sewing on paper, I wasn’t in the mood at the time to handstitch the outside so I drew pen lines instead (forgive my laziness).

I made a matching handmade envelope which I have painted the flap with envelope gum (took me forever to find an online shop in Australia that sold it).

NOTECARD 2:

Also in the latest KOTM stamp set was the word LOVE in big, bold letters so I have used that as a focal point for this simple card. Just remember (if you win the giveaway), these notecards can be used in other ways than just be given as a valentine’s card.

I have used my latest die purchase from Craft-A-Lot which I really love (and have probably mentioned that already), some pearls and punched hearts.

Again I have made a matching envelope from pretty Bella! paper. I am finding that making envelopes is a good way of using up my patterned paper and I really need to make a lot more envelopes to reduce the size of my paper stash. I can’t believe I have bought so much in the past *blush*.

That’s it for today but each day this week, I will have another 2 notecards to show you, so I will see you tomorrow!!

Posted in Cards | Tagged Craft-A-Lot, feminine cards, general cards, KOTM Stamp Set, valentines day cards | Leave a comment

Congratulations…

Published February 1, 2012 | By Rhonda

Ever since I bought this die from Craft-A-Lot, I wanted to use it and what better way to try it out, then on a wedding card that was requested again by Jess (see previous post). Appologies for the blurry photos… I was multi-tasking at the same time, not a good thing to do when you want clear photos :)

I’m absolutely in love with this border die and didn’t even mind when it took me half an hour to poke out all the little diecut pieces!

I chose a chipboard heart and covered it in Picket Fence Distress crackle paint, inked the edges with a little Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink then covered it in Kindyglitz glitter glue.

The pretty ribbon is Stampin Up’s seam binding and the paper flowers, which are Kindyglitz’d as well, are from Kaisercraft.

The beautiful patterned paper is from the 6×6 Portrait paper pad by Crate Paper. Rhinestones are from Kaisercraft and I’ve used a Martha Stewart punch to cut the leaf branches.

Don’t forget, we are having a Unity Company stamp sale at Craft-A-Lot, so pop on over because you may find a stamp or set you just can’t live without :)

Thanks for visiting xx

Posted in Cards | Leave a comment

3 Thank You’s

Published January 29, 2012 | By Rhonda

Thought I would do a quick little post on 3 Thank You cards I was asked to do by a lovely lady called Jess.

For Jess’s Mum:

Made from beautiful Bella! paper from the 8×8 Heritage paper stack. I bought mine from Spotlight.

After diecutting the roses, there was a tiny scrap of paper left which had this cute little butterfly on it so I thought it would make a nice edition to the card. I couldn’t resist making a handmade envelope to match.

Envelope Back:

Envelope Front:

I always find it hard to come up with male cards so I kept this one more or less plain (but bright/happy).

For Jess’s Dad:

For Jess’s In-Laws:

I bought this beautiful flower trim ages ago (also from Spotlight) so thought I would use it to accent this card. I love how it turned out.

I glued a few large Little Yellow Bicycle pearls to the trim to make it even more pretty.

I’ve finished with a pretty Prima Flower… who doesn’t love Prima :)

I know I haven’t talked about every supply I used, but if you really want to know about something, ask me and I will list the supplies.

Thanks for visiting xx

Posted in Cards | Tagged feminine cards, general cards, handmade cards, male cards | Leave a comment

Card and Matching Envelope

Published January 26, 2012 | By Rhonda

A quick post showing you a 13cm square card and matching 14cm envelope I made last night at midnight. Couldn’t sleep… too much coffee I think!!

I’ve used a sentiment stamp out of the Unity November 2011 Kit of the Month stamp set found at Craft-A-Lot.

All other supplies, I’ve used from my stash. Did a little machine stitching and finished with a few drops of Platinum Pearl Liquid Pearls.

I also made a matching envelope and if you’d like a short tutorial showing how I made it, leave me a comment. All you need is a paper trimmer, bone folder, scissors and some double-sided tape. The decorative punch is optional.

Thanks for visiting xx

Posted in Cards | Tagged Craft-A-Lot, handmade cards, handmade envelope, KOTM Stamp Set | 1 Comment

Just Like Dad…

Published January 16, 2012 | By Rhonda

Another digital layout using photos of my handsome 3 yr old son, Kody, as the main theme for my layout.

Ever since I can remember, Kody has always followed his dad Scott around the house… where ever he went, Kody was not too far behind (he was walking by 9 and a half months). These days, they love getting down in the garage/shed together – Kody playing with some old fishing rods and Scott being kept busy by a bombarding of questions about fishing, the army, hunting and guns. In the beginning, I did everything I could to try and take the focus off of army/guns/hunting talk because I was an overly-protected mother who couldn’t see any other side of guns but the dangerous side… these days, I’d prefer to spend my energy doing other things because believe me when I say, try to curb Kody out of liking the same things (gun wise) as Dad, was more than a fulltime job.

When dad’s not looking, I like to throw in a makeup/beauty session occassionally and Kody just loves days when my daughter and I try and teach him how to walk in stilettos :)

I’ve used the ‘Sweet Heart‘ Digital Scrapbook Kit by Jodie Lee purchased from www.jessicasprague.com. You can also find her beautiful blog here.

Thanks for visiting! xx

Posted in Digital Scrap Layouts | Leave a comment

Scruffy Twill Flower Tutorial

Published January 5, 2012 | By Rhonda

Just thought I’d share a little tutorial with you about a scruffy flower that has been made from twill tape/ribbon. It came about after I was trying to stop the fraying of a cut end of tape and it wasn’t working so I cracked a 2yr old tantrum lol (as some of us do when things aren’t going to plan) and ended up unravelling the whole piece. This is my first craft tutorial, so please be gentle on me if you can’t understand a step!!

I hope you like it and if there’s any questions, don’t hessitate to contact me.

TOOLS:

Starting off with a couple of basic craft items, you will need a punch, some twill tape, a button, a piece of string or jute, a scrap piece of cardstock and some glue of your choice. Mine isn’t shown, but I have used Helmar Quick Dry 450. It’s my favourite glue for adhering most things to my cards and tags.

Start by cutting a 25cm piece of twill tape and pull on one end until your hearts content. You will notice that it will unravel quite easily. Once you have pulled it all, there will be 2 quite distinct piles of what once was your twill tape. Both will be used as I am using this flower on a tag so put the pile that looks like plaited hair to the side. I’ve used white twill tape because that’s the colour I was using at the time but you can also buy it in other colours or you can colour it with distress inks or copic markers and let the twill dry before you make your flower.

This is the part I will be using next. As I have a 2 inch scallop punch, I then punched out a scallop from a piece of white cardstock, covered it in glue and adhered this pile of ‘formally-know-as-twill-tape’ making sure that the edges were covered as well. If you wanted more scruffiness, you would use a longer length of twill tape but I found 25cm was a good size for a 2 inch scallop. It’s totally up to you what sizes you use.

It’s looking a little neater but there will be a few loose ends which I don’t mind but if they bother you, either cut them off or add a little more glue in hidden spots and try to tame their wild behaviour!

The last step is to add a tied button. You could also add a big brad or other things… it’s totally up to you how you want to decorate the middle.

This is my end result. If you notice, I have used the ‘plaited hair’ part of the twill in my punched tag so nothing really was wasted. I adhered the flower to a chipboard piece which I have glittered and then heat embossed with clear embossing. I don’t think I quite heated the embossing powder enough because it looks like raindrops but I like that anyhow. I have used a sentiment from the November Unity Kit of the Month stamp set which you can get at Craft-A-Lot. I finished the tag with a few rhinestones from Kaisercraft….

Thanks for visiting xx

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged Craft-A-Lot, scruffy twill flower, tutorials, Unity KOTM stamp set | 1 Comment

Home is where…

Published January 2, 2012 | By Rhonda

Just a quick post today showing a card I made with the November 2011 Kit of the Month stamp set by Unity called ‘Take Your Time’. You can join the KOTM stamp club at Craft-A-Lot. (sorry about the photos… I was mucking with the settings on my new camera at 5am this morning)

Paper used are from the 6×6 paper pad by My Mind’s Eye from the Lost & Found range called Sunshine.

I made the mistake of thinking these cute little houses would be easy to paper piece but when it came to cutting the grass, I struggled. As you can see, I still can’t seem to stamp straight lol…

The last thing I did was add some punched hearts, glued them together down the middle and ‘fluffed’ them to give a little dimension.

This last photo was taken last night (early afternoon) when my partner walked into the lounge and found our beautiful son like this :)

Thanks for visiting xx

Posted in Cards | Tagged Craft-A-Lot, general cards, Kody, KOTM Stamp Set | Leave a comment

A little bling with lunch…

Published December 29, 2011 | By Rhonda

If you have joined the Unity Kit of the Month club at Craft-A-Lot, you would have received your November KOTM stamp set called ‘Take Your Time’. A great range of stamps this month and so I chose the ladies and the matching sentiment.

Haven’t we all had days like these where nothing seems to be going right… I know I have had plenty of those in 2011… hurry up 2012 :)

I made the rolled roses from wool felt (unsure of brand) using a MFT die and added some Kaisercraft pearls to the centre. The paper is from the A Botanical Christmas/Winter Fairy Tales paper pad from Craft-A-Lot. The ribbon was sent to me in my design kit from Colleen.

The rhinestones are from Kaisercraft, ink from Stampin Up and Memento and the diecut was cut from a cheap $10 set of dies… there’s 4 in this set and when they came in the post, I was a little worried because of the cheapness (yes I’m a scrouge :) ) but they cut and emboss beautifully.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great Christmas because I know I did. This year I decided to cook a baked lunch because we were having it at home and there were just the 3 of us (well only 2 who eats baked dinners). The last 3 years we have either travelled interstate or had it at my parents-in-laws but this year we decided to have it on our own. Last time I cooked christmas lunch it was over done and really not very edible (heavily pregnant with Kody, decided to have a nap and leave it in my partner’s capable hands (or so I thought lol))and apart from the fact that my 3yr old son woke up with a bad case of spoilt-brat-itis (although he did behave at grandma’s house for tea), we had a wonderful day ;-)

Thanks for visiting!!

Posted in Card Gallery | Tagged Craft-A-Lot, feminine cards, handmade cards, KOTM Stamp Set | 1 Comment

Merry Christmas!

Published December 25, 2011 | By Rhonda

Wherever you are in the world today,

from my family to yours,

I hope life is treating you kindly

and you have a very safe and

Merry Christmas!!!

Posted in Updates | Leave a comment

2 more cards…

Published December 16, 2011 | By Rhonda

I was asked today by my sweet 15 year old daughter Renee if I could make 2 christmas cards for her dad and his family and of course couldn’t refuse (but was going to because I only had a couple of hours to make them and wasn’t feeling great). Enough time you would think but if anyone has seen me craft, I am up, down, here, there and I would be in the ‘very slow’ crafter category. It doesn’t help when I have a very demanding 3 year old son (a younger version of his Dad). Mum this, mum that, mum I want a cuddle (awww), mum I want a kiss (double awww), mum look at this, mum can you build me this, mum I can’t find ______ etc, etc… (I know you will understand if you are a parent) and by the time I have a card put together, it often has been a long road getting there but I wouldn’t have it any other way my partner always tells me :) Umm, yes sometimes I would lol

Anyway, here’s the first one….

The first thing my 3 year old son Kody said when he saw me doodling the frame was ‘Mum! why can’t I scribble on the card too’ LOL. ‘Oh sweety, yes you can call it a form of scribbling in a neater kind of way but only mummy’s know how to do it’ I replied to him. I don’t think he quite understood going by the bewildered frowning look he gave me :)

I have used paper and a diecut by Bo Bunny from the Blitzen range, seam binding ribbon from Stampin Up, a button from my stash, jute twine from May Arts, rhinestones from Kaisercraft, scallop punch from Fiskars, Brushed Corduroy distress ink, Lipstick Red chalk ink from Colorbox and the sentiment stamp was sent to me from the lovely Colleen at Craft-A-Lot and it’s from a set called Christmas Sparkles by Crafty Sentiments Designs.

…and here’s the second card.

The paper, alpha stickers, tag cutout and the little flower sticker is from the Seasons Greetings collection pack by Echo Park. I love buying paper this way because of the extras you get with it to match the papers you are using. It’s also a more economical way of trying paper ranges.

More seam binding ribbon from Stampin up, jute twine by May Arts, button from my stash and ice blue Rhinestones from Kaisercraft. I aged the edges of both cards with Brushed Corduroy distress ink.