At last my first cards for 2026

 Well I bet you weren't expecting to see me any time soooooon....   well yesterday I made myself stay away from the garden and not pick up a crochet hook but to try and find my love of card making mojo... it's been absent since mid December - I can't believe this...  I could rave on but I'm just happy to be back.  And I had some fun, and went to my old favorite blogs for some inspiration.

Firstly I started easy with this gorgeous 3D embossed image - lightly sponged with a deeper shade of green Distress Ink to highlight the lovely flower images.  Stay simple I think and not cover over those flowers so I just added a small stamped/diecut Thanks.   

And as it's the third week of Darnell's Weekly prompt - 'E' = Embossing - this is perfect.

Next I thought I try this months technique over at 

Group of Cardmakers  --   Faux Cyanotypes

I used purple Distress Ink instead of the blue and a simple no fuss solid stamp featuring tulips for the image and finished with a stamped and silver embossed sentiment.

On a roll ... so I kept going after lunch... and have my first Christmas card for my stash.

Joining in with Christmas Kickstart challenge #108 - Out of the Woods

And a Never Before Used Stash set made it easy to put together this card... for the NBUS challenge #84

Embossed the snowglobe image which handily included the sentiment and the stamped on the little dear scene and watercoloured it with Distress Inks...  mounted it with a red border to highlight the bow around her neck

And lastly because stamping and watercolouring flowers is the favourite part of my cardmaking I dug out this lovely old PSX Waterlily stamp... thankfully it still works.

Stamped in grey ink and watercoloured with Distress Inks and finished with a stamped silver embossed sentiment.

It features a small dragonfly which I glitzed up with some glitter glue... so I joining in also at 

Just Add Ink challenge 781 - Just Add Wings 

Thanks for stopping by my blog....  have a most wonderful day,   Cheers Robyn

I made my Thanks card for a lovely lady who this week gifted me this cat teatowel with a crocheted topper... and it is so cool as one of our cats Henry - is a ginger.

And these are some of the smaller crochet projects I've been making lately ... as coasters or to hang at my windows.

And Very Hungry Caterpillars from the Children's story book

Two cards using the stencil and mica powders technique

Recently celebrated my mum 95th birthday, but our visit also coincided with my brothers 70th, so I made him a fishing card as that's his favorite pastime - he doesn't look to happy with what he found on his hook though.

I used this months technique over at Group of Cardmakers - Stenciling with Mica Powders ...  created the background using different shades of blue Distress Inks, then applying embossing ink and dusting over matching colours of Magical Micas - spritzed lightly with water and heat set... then stamped, coloured and fussy cut my fisherman and die cut at big 70

I love to make floral cards for Christmas and this one is inspired by the gorgeous Poinciana trees flowering over our back fence at the moment and the carpet of red flowers strewn over our lawn and paths.  I used the same technique with a stencil and Magical Micas (a little bit messy today) and white embossed the sentiment of the red card.

I'm joining in with Jo at 

Christmas Kickstart challenge #105 - If it's Christmassy, Link It Up.

Thanks for stopping by my blog...

and have yourselves and families 

a Very Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Year

Cheers Robyn

Guest Designer for Group of Cardmakers.

I'm always up for a challenge and 

Group of Cardmakers have some fabulous techniques to stir up your mojo - this month as their Guest Designer I've been challenged with --

  "Stenciling with Mica Powders".

For my first card I used this large stencil - Tumbling Leaves by Simon Says.

First I blended a range of Distress Inks colours through the stencil, then applied some Embossing Ink and then sprinkled on Magical Micas in matching colours (blue, b=green, yellow) - a fine spritz of water helps set them.  Clean your stencil between applications and it helps to have it in place when your add the pigment powder.  Finished with a stamped sentiment

Wanted to try something a little different with the stencil instead of using it as a background... so I die cut a circle and used this to create a bauble - blending Distress Oxide ink (seedless preserves), then covering the bauble with the die cut circle to add some depth with blue Distress Ink (stormy sky).  Place the negative die cut again over the bauble and used a flourish stencil and then blended the same colour in Distress Ink for my flourish, followed by Embossing Ink and the Pearl Gold Powdered Pigment (Paper Mill) - this doesn't work as well nor with the water spritzing to set it.  Stamped on my bauble hanger (masked off this from an ornament stamp) and gold embossed the sentiment.

I've had loads of fun with some long forgotten products in my stash - thanks to Loll and her GoC team - pop over to the blog and check their cards too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.... have a wonderful day,

Cheers Robyn

A special Birthday Card

 Of course when your mum turns 95 you have to make a Special Birthday Card -  and she loved it.

A friend loaned me her gorgeous floral 3D embossing folder and I teamed it with a couple of die cut flowers and sentiment.

I'm joining Just Add Ink Challenge #774 - Stencils or Dies 

and 

Darnell's IDEAS prompt - week 3 = Embossing

Thanks for stopping by my blog --- have a wonderful weekend,  Cheers Robyn

Thinking of You

 

Good to find some time this morning to put together a card inspired by this month's technique over at 

Group of Cardmakers... Textured Tissue Paper with Dry Embossing, 

and to find my mojo wasn't still on holiday - we've just returned from a trip south to celebrate my mums 95th birthday - catching up with family and friends too -- an awful lot of chatting and laughs at memories ----  but oh is so good to be home.

I thought this technique might be a bit messy BUT it was quite easy and quick --- reading the method - the brayer had me digging out some very old inks.. it's a wonder they still work.  Brayered the Kaleidacolour over some scrunched tissue paper I just happened to have handy and the used the brayer also to spread a thin layer of glue to attach it to white card.... didn't take long to dry so embossed it and brayered Fossilized Amber Distress Ink followed by Gold Brilliance ink... which gave it a bit of a sparkle (no metallic ink on hand).  Finished off with a couple of die cut foliage pieces and a sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, have a wonderful day, Cheers Robyn

And away overseas go my Christmas cards this week..

... and it's a relief to have enough cards for this year and to be organised enough and be sending off my OS ones.

Two more cards similar to my last post but with a simple stitched die cut circle as a frame... I die cut the flower and foliaged and watercoloured them with Distress Inks... finished of with a lovely 'Joy' sentiment.

I'm continuing to use 

Darnells IDEAS to prompt my card making... this week 1 is 'I' = Inks

Thanks for stopping by my blog... I'm having a few weeks off to visit with my mum to celebrate her 95th birthday... enjoy your day,   Cheers Robyn

Joy for Christmas

Today I'm sharing some more Christmas cards I've been working on...  think I maybe nearly have enough and yesterday I started addressing my overseas envelopes....yeah.

So I'm joining the fun for the October Rudolph Days challenge 

and I'm still following along with Darnells IDEAS prompt which is 'S' = Stencils

A couple more floral Christmas cards... using flowers/foliage I die cut and then watercoloured with Distress Ink and arranged these over a die cut frame cut in matt gold card with a matching sentiment.

Created my Stencil card from pieces in my stash...  a stenciled background of flowers made with Gesso I coloured with Distress Ink and finished off with some die cuts

Thanks for stopping by my blog, have a wonderful day

Cheers Robyn

Creative ways with Inlaid Diecutting

A couple more cards I put together ---  while I join in with the

  Group of Cardmarkers technique this month - Inlaid Diecutting....  

and as I try to do each week - join Darnell with her 

IDEAS prompt - this week 'A' = Anything Goes.

 ---- one with one my more intricate dies 

I die cut the piece in black card so it sort of looks like a stained glass window... even put a blue cloudy sky as the background and filled in all the flower and butterflies with the pieces die cut from metallic card.

I really liked what Loll at GofCM did with one of her cards and so I die cut the gum blossom out of a marbly piece and then die cut the leaves from green and flowers from pink and inset them into the patterned paper.

Thanks for stopping by my blog... have a wonderful day, Cheers Robyn