Path of Positivity: For You

 

Hello

 Today is the start of the February challenge at the Path of Positivity.

Our challenge is always Anything Goes with an optional theme. 

This year we are looking at the UNEXPECTED. 

Have you ever received a Valentine's card from someone totally unexpected? If you have, you'll know the joy that receiving a card like that can bring. For this month's option, make and send a handmade Valentine card to someone who won't expect it. You have the power to brighten someone's day!

***

Here is my card for a good friend. I don't normally send Valentine cards to anyone, other than my husband, so this will definitely be unexpected.

I kept my card quite simple and used kraft card for a natural look.

I was inspired by Tracy Evans, and I used her stamp and stencil. 

The stencilled heart (SS12 Heart) is coloured with Polychromo white pencil and edged with HB graphite pencil, smudged slightly to create a shadow. The flower (TE32 Alpha Florals) is stamped in pale ink, Antique Linen, and also coloured with Polychromos - resulting (I hope) in a no-line colouring technique. Some Vintage Photo inking was added to the background along with white paint splatters. I edged the kraft card with Brilliance white ink and stamped the sentiment onto white card, then adhered and added a shadow.

***

That's all for now.

We would love to see your creations! 

Just make sure that your entry is positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some way!

 The link up is here: Challenge #128 Path of Positivity.

Many thanks to Scribbles Designs for sponsoring the challenge.

I'll be back with a another Path of Positivity project in a couple of weeks time. 

***

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

Dream Valley #329 Pink or Red 06/02

PIP Challenges #2505 AG 09/02

Try it on Tuesday Romance 16/02

Crafty Calendar  Hearts 28/02

Stencil Fun Feb Pinks/Reds 01/03

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

xoxo

* Path of Positivity: Butterflies

  

Hello

Today is the smidway reminder for the October challenge at the Path of Positivity.

Our challenge is always Anything Goes with an optional theme. We have decided that our overall theme for 2024 will be THE POWER OF WORDS.

October's option is to design a project that is inspired by quotes about 

Growth and Change

***

Here is my project:

This is such a beautiful sentiment and one of my favourites as it reminds that change is good - generally, I'm not too fond of change as it causes me anxiety.

I have had a batch of these butterflies and caterpillars in a little wallet for a while and sadly can't remember where they are from. They were fussy cut, but looked a little dark, so I added some white Posca pen dots to the edges of their wings. I also added Glossy Accents to the body of the butterflies and to the caterpillar. I made the background using a stamp and Distress Oxide inks. The inks were spritzed with water, then stamped onto white card. The edges of the mandala stamped background were inked in Pistachio and Evergreen Bough. 

I added the die cut sentiment in the centre of the mandala on foam tape and attached the butterflies, also on foam tape, leaving their wings free to flutter. All was matted onto teal card and popped on a 6 x 6 inch white card base

***

Here are this month's suggested quotes, but you can choose your own:

“You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” — Dr. Seuss

“One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." — Henry Miller 

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” — Gail Sheehy

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” — Henry Ford

 

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

***

That's all for now.

We would love to see your creations! 

Just make sure that your entry is positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some way!

 The link up is here: Challenge #124 Path of Positivity.

Many thanks to Scribbles Designs for sponsoring the challenge.

I'll be back with a another Path of Positivity project in a couple of weeks time. 

***

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* PIP Challenges 2442AG 27/10

* A Perfect Time to Craft Oct AG 28/10

* Creative Fingers Challenge #287 AG 01/11

* Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #240 AG 02/11

* Classic Design Challenge Sep/Oct AG 12/11

 

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

xoxo

Path of Positivity: Keep Your Face to the Sunshine

Hello

Welcome back to the Path of Positivity Challenge..

Our challenge is always Anything Goes with an optional theme. We have decided that our overall theme for 2024 will be THE POWER OF WORDS.

September's option is to design a project that is inspired by quotes about Strength and Courage.

***

Here is my midway project:

I used the beautiful Helen Keller quote along with this quirky sunflower stamp, designed by Melia Dahl for That's Crafty, to make a bookmark.

 I coloured the sunflower with Inktense Watercolour pencils and fussy cut it. I added it to a background made by stamping Oxide Inks with a stencil. Lots of white splatters were added to the background and I inked the edges in black. The quote was typed, printed and cut into strips. Finally I added an eyelet and colour-matching ribbon.

***

Here are this month's suggested quotes, but you can, of course, use your own:

 “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” — Marcus Aurelius

“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” — Earl Nightingale

 

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” — Steve Maraboli

 

“The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” — Charles Dickens

***

That's all for now.

We would love to see your creations! 

Just make sure that your entry is positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some way!

 The link up is here: Challenge #123 Path of Positivity.

Many thanks to Scribbles Designs for sponsoring the challenge.

I'll be back with a another Path of Positivity project in a couple of weeks time.

Thanks for stopping by today!

xoxo 

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* PIP Challenges #2437 AG 22/09

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge AG 23/09

Stamps & Fun = Creativity #460 Tag 23/09

* Stamping Sensations Sept AG 31/09

* We Love Stamping Sept AG 31/09

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

xoxo

Christmas Cats In Memory of Janis

 

Hello

At last, it's here .... the Cat Lovers Christmas Challenge, organised by Jo at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

Each October for the past 8 years, our dear friend Janis Woolbright of Her Peaceful Garden blog, held a week-long Cat Lovers Hop. This week was always eagerly anticipated by kitty loving crafters world-wide and Janis made it a very special week of fun where new friendships were forged. Sadly, Janis passed away in January this year.

Jo consulted with Janis's son and they agreed upon this one -off challenge to honour and remember this truly remarkable lady.

The challenge is running until the last day of October. You can enter up to 6 cards. 

There's a whole host of generous sponsors. Winners will be chosen at random, but you have to be in it to win it, so link up your Christmas kitty cards, leave some comments or just display the above badge on your blog and other social media to be in with a chance of winning. Oh, and don't forget to sign up in the comments section of Day 1.

Jo has some helpers to showcase the companies sponsoring the challenge, so there will be plenty of eye candy and inspiration.

Head over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge blog and take a look.

The link up page for Christmas Cat cards is here.

***

Today is my day to share some cards made with stamps from one of the sponsors - Inkylicious.

At last year's Cat Lovers Hop I was lucky to win a mini pack from Inkylicious, a family run stamp company in the UK. I used the stamp set, Christmas Cats on a Branch, that I won along with a few other Inkylicious stamps to makes some cards:

I use torn paper to make the horizon and the snow hills, inking lightly with grey inks and adding glitter pen at the end. The moon was created with the Moonscape Stamp and Stencil. The twiggy branches around the card comes from the branches in the Winter Birds stamp set. I also used Bare Branches and embossed in white:. You might just see some pine trees in the distance, for this I used an old, discontinued, twinchie pine tree stamp.

Here's a close up of the Christmas cats eagerly awaiting Santa Paws:

I'd like to play in the following challenges:

Crazy for Cats #12 AG 27/10

Most Magical Time of the Year #13 28/10

Aud Sentiments Challenge #306 Ink Blending 28/10

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #79 Christmas Cats 31/10

We Love Stamping Oct AG 01/11

***

This is a similar, but more simplistic card:

The Christmas Cats on a Branch are the focal point and Bare Branches was used as a filler stamp and embossed in white.

***

On this card I used the Santa and sleigh from Christmas Cats on a Branch

I used one of the Curious Cats and the tip of the Rye Grass stamp for scrub vegetation. I also used the Sun/Moon stencils on this one.

I'd like to play in the following challenges:

* The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #149 AG 15/10

* Critter Crazy #79 Critter 24/10 DT Favourite

Crafty Animals #77 AG 26/10

SUYP #93 Furrything Goes 31/10 Winner

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

*Path of Positivity: Bright Eyes

Hello

Welcome to the April Path of Positivity Challenge.

Our challenge is always Anything Goes with an optional theme.

This month's option is to design a project that is inspired by literature.

Honours and Prizes include:

• $6 worth of images from Scribbles Designs, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all qualifying entrants.
• A badge for the following honours: Top Pick, Voter's Choice, Most Inspirational, Random Winner, DT Delight.

Where to start with literature?  

I love a good book whether it be fact or fictional and my house is a 'little bit' brimming over with them. For my first DT project I've gone with my love of rabbits in literature, mainly because I came across a lovely stamp that I've had for at least a couple of years and not yet used.. 

As a child I would read about the naughty (and now politically incorrect) Br'er Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, the Flopsy Bunnies and Benjamin Bunny from the Beatrix Potter stories , the White Rabbit and March Hare in Alice in Wonderland and, in my teens, Hazel and Fiver and their families in Watership Down.

I love this quirky 'Bunny' stamp by Melina Dahl. 

I stamped her onto card that was smooshed in Distress Oxide inks. Her collar was also stamped onto smooth white card and coloured with Copics so that it could be decoupaged. I used Posca pen to add white to the ears and eyes.

The background is a monoprint using Oxide inks on an acrylic block spritzed with water and stamped onto card. I added some background stamping and plenty paint splatters. The border and sentiment are part of the stamp set - I stamped the scalloped border onto a gelli print, fussy cut it and added to the edges of the card. I love the big 'Smile' sentiment!

That's all for now.

We would love to see your creations! 
Just make sure that your entry is positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some way!
The link up is here: Challenge #111 Path of Positivity.

 

That's all for today! 

Many thanks to Scribbles Designs for sponsoring the challenge.

I'll be back with a another Path of Positivity project in a couple of weeks time.

Thanks for stopping by today!

xoxo

                                                                                                                                            

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Krafty Chicks #657 AG 05/04

* As You Like It People or Critters 05/04

Critters - love bunnies and bunny stories (see above) 

* Allsorts Challenge #722/723 In the Spring Garden 14/04

* Critter Crazy #73 AG 25/04

* Challenge Up Your Life Cute Animals 27/04

* Pearly Sparkles All Creatures Great and Small 27/04

* Crafty Animals #71 AG 27/04

* A Perfect Time to Craft April AG 28/04

* A Place to Start April AG 30/04

* We Love Stamping April Birds/Animals 30/04 TOP PICK

Stamping Sensations AG 30/04 TOP 3

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

xoxo

* GDT for Stamping Sensations: Beauty in Simplicity

 Hello

Happy New Year!

(This is project 2 of 3 for today.) 

I was a lucky winner at Stamping Sensations in November and was delighted to be invited to be GDT for January.

The theme for January is 'Add some Sparkle' and that's exactly what I did:

I stamped a scene using beautiful Lavinia Stamps (the swirls and trees are new to me) and inked the sky and snow with Elements inks. 

I added some WOW White Tinsel embossing powders on the swirl stamp and then added Glimmer Dust on the horizon and on the snow banks.  I finished with chunky holographic glitter dotted about randomly.

I flicked some white ink to represent snowfall and edged the card with sparkle. I chose a sticker sentiment from the Idea-ology Small Talk set.

Thank you to Stamping Sensations for having me as a GDT.

I hope you'll pop over to their challenge blog and enter your sparkly projects.

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by today!

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

*Creatalicious Challenges #250 AG/Use something new 14/01 Top 3

* MMM Challenge #191 Something New 15/01

* Critter Crazy Challenge #70 25/01

* The Four Seasons Challenge Jan Winter 25/01

* A Perfect Time to Craft #1 AG 27/01 DT Favourite

* Crafty Animals #68 27/01

* 613 Avenue Create Jan AG/Winter 31/01 TOP ROCKER

* We Love Stamping January Favourite Colours 31/01 Top 3

(Any bright colours, but particularly oranges & greens)

* Once Upon a Time Challenges #6 Snowy Day 31/01

The book title is what inspired me.

* NBUS Challenge #46 Jan 31/01