WOYWW, ATCs and colorful spring!

Good morning my dear bloggy friends!

Are you having a lovely bright and sunny morning like we are??? I hope you are...
I have been doing my spring cleaning - so far I have managed to do the big terrace, lounge and kitchen - the bedroom is not a problem but the craftroom - that is a BIG problem! Huh!! But I have a plan and I will tackle it! 
I will soon reveal my lovely new order! :-))
At the moment there is no order - a big mess I should say - I have been making ATCs for the WOYWW swap - I will show some of them as I am giving away loads - I guess it will still be a surprise to the person who recieves the ATC as what she/he sees on my desk might not be what she /he gets.
So the desk of today....I was too early taking the picture to be able to catch a ray of sun on it.....

What you can see are a few ATCs in the front,  my special sequins container 
( I store sequins that are unusual shapes - like leaves, flowers, shells - by the way if any of you know of an online store in England that sells this sort of stuff please let me know), a big bunch of precut ATCs - they are all different sizes - I guess there is a confusion because some places use inches for the size of them and some use milimeters...the fact and the matter is that they should be 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches or 64mm x 89mm but people who sell them obviosly don't know that! Hmm what else can you see - two pairs of scissors, TH DI Vintage photo and a Stampin up stamping pad in olive, oh yes and my ATC stamps, and a little plastic box where I keep my Cut n Dry foams for my distress inks,  also a jar of flowers! If you see anything else - good for you! Ha, ha...
I still haven't started on the Gelli plate! The reason is I want to have time to play and I am putting together a selection of homemade "tools" to use on the Gelli plates! Julia Fei-Fan Balzer gives some excellant advise!
Of course I can't walk away without a few colorful spring photos! Enjoy!
A lovely pink....

two different purples....

and yellow and red....

That's it for today....have a good snoop and expect me to come and have a snoop at your desk too!
It is all the idea of a certain nosey  lady at Stamping Ground - go over there and find out!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
Cardarian

WOYWW, Ally Pally haul!

Hello my dear friends!

I hope you are all well and happy enjoying the spring that has finally sprung! We went from -5 deg C just last week to +23 deg C yesterday! Lovely change! Still I didn't feel it straight away as I was in England where we had rain and not very warm - quite windy! I did have a good time with my DBF, we went to Ally Pally on Saturday so that made me very happy! My knee didn't like the walking around and standing in queus but it was worth it as I have seen a lot of new stuff and of course I left  a lot of money there!Huh!
So to say something about the show - I think it was good that it was in one of the big rooms -  a lot easier to breath! As always there were queus everywhere - all the stands must have made a lot of money! 
I think the biggest sale belonged to Clarity Stamps - they were promoting the Gelli Plates - you could either buy the gelli plate and the brayer or a kit they put together that had some acrylic paint and some other things with it! Unfortunatly the demoing of Barbara Gray was very hard to see as there was such a crowd - she did have a demo in the dedicated area but that was full too so I didn't see much of that but I did buy the gelli plate and brayer!  
I spent some time at the Paperartsy stand and some at Creative impressions and of course I tried to see as much as I could at the Gelli Plates..
I met Helen from Stamping by H, Sam from Hettiecraft and Darcy from Art and Sole - they are or used to be WOYWWers.....I was really happy to meet Darcy as we have been in contact before but never met in person so that was really nice! I didn't meet any other WOYWWers but honestly it is hard to find people in that crowd! 
So finally here is my Ally Pally haul..... lots of stuff - let me show you some of it in detail...

  Gelli plate, brayer  and Panpastels.....

Paperartsy stamps, Fresco paints, Grunge paste and Treasure gold.....also you can see Gilding flakes and guilding glue from Cosmic Shimmer....

 

 I also bought a load of dies that I wanted for a long time - Memory box and some other ones...

As you can see there are also other bits and bobs - I got some rubons, glitterations and stickers - all comes in handy and it was at a good price! 
I haven't done anything much since I came home from England - I think the travelling and all that walking around has worn me out a bit so I am having a rest from crafting! I will probably be back in the swing next week when I will be showing you some of the ATCs I am making for the swap and I will try out this Gelli plate - see how that goes!
Have a lovely week - enjoy your weekly snoop and if you don't know what I am talking about go to Stamping Ground where you can find all the info about this world wide madness!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
Cardarian

 

WOYWW, Spring has sprung!

Hello my dear friends!

I hope you are having a lovely sunny spring morning as we are! Finally!!! It was a long wait for this sun but it did come eventually! I was getting really depressed as there was no end to the winter! I am looking forward to the next days when we are supposed to have around 20 deg C! YIPPEE! But first I am travelling to England tomorrow to visit my DBF and also to attend the Ally Pally! I hope to meet a few WOYWWers there! We will have a quick cup of coffee and a chat and then run around to see what is new in the world of crafting and also spend a bit of dosh no doubt! Oh I am looking forward to this event!
But at the moment it is time to show our desks to all of the world! What??? You haven't heard about this mad thing??? Well if you haven't then I recommend you go over to Stamping Ground where our leader Queen Julia has all the info for you!
Soo without further ado here is my desk - still sort of tidy well not really....I haven't had much time this week to do crafty stuff but I did manage to make a card and some backgrounds for ATCs - that will be for our WOYWW swap!

There are a few empty boxes and a pill box which I intend to decorate and use for various crafty things like buttons, thin dies and stuff like that! He, he a bag of jellies, a few sprays and yes those eggs are still there...
Here is another shot of my desk where you can see more of the mess...

In front there are my Dylusions sprays, my Big shot and some digital downloads I intend to use for my ATCs..Also my ATG and lots of other junk - he, he have a snoop you might find something I don't even know about! 
Here is the card that is sitting on my desk but for the purpose of the photo I took it to the kitchen where the light is much better!

This card will be put in for our Slovene challenge CRAFT-alnica  where they have a color challenge - the card was made with dry embossing and then I used the Faber Castell PITT markers to color the embossed bits, added a Donna Downey tag, stamped the sentiment and added a few other bits! 
So thats the crafty bit of my post today and now comes the spring bit! 
A few primroses flowering away on our faculty grass...

And a crocus in full bloom....

Thats all folks! Have a lovely week - I will be away but I will try to visit some of you this week! And I hope to meet some of you at Ally Pally!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
Cardarian

WOYWW, I have a clear desk but.......

Good morning my dear bloggy friends!

How are you all today??? Some of you are basking in the morning sun - some of you swimming in the endless rain! Well we have snow and rain happily married together for the last few weeks! I think my eyes have a membrane over them so if we ever see sun again I won't be able to look at it!! Still there is one thing we can not make to suit us - that is the weather so I guess we will have to deal with it whatever it is like!
I visited my mom over the weekend and since I came back home I haven't done much crafting. Before I left I made some Faberge eggs which you can see here. 
Now here is my desk for once clear! Nothing on there except 2 eggs that have been colored but not decorated....to me this is as clean as my desk ever gets but I am sure to a lot of you it still looks a mess....

I need to get up to making ATCs for the WOYWW anniversary plus other projects are pending....
He, he but don't be fooled by this photo.....the desk might be clear but my couch that is on the side of the desk is one big mess....haven't had time yet to sort that mess out....

Lots of stuff on there - stamps, cardstock, sizzixs plates, embossing foulders, ribbon,  stickers.....and on the right hand side a bunch of Christmas cards I have started to make ( one a week) but stopped making them as I was busy with other stuff - I better get back on track with that!
So there enjoy the snoop and join in as the world snoop is on at Stamping ground where our Queen Julia reigns! 
Have a lovely week - I will have time this week and will try to visit as much of you as possible!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
CARDARIAN

Faberge eggs

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I am still doing the rounds from last weeks WOYWW - huh! Well Easter was inbetween and I have been away so there is a bit of an excuse! Still I hope I at least visit people who have visited me....
I have something to show you - I always thought one of the most beautiful Easter art were the Faberge eggs! These amazing detailed jewels fascinated me since I was a little girl! I guess all of you know the story of the Faberge eggs! The Russian Zcar gave his wife and daughters these lovely little gems for Easter every year!They were made by the jeweler Faberge especially for the royal family! 
I have made a few for my family - my mom, my brother and my daughter!
What I made is not even close to what the actual Faberge eggs look like but it is an experiment!
I colored the stiropor eggs with metal acrylic paints and then decorated them with german scrap, gems, glass flowers, pearls....
Here is what I have made

As this is something very much "vintage" it is my contribution to the Slovene crafting challenge CRAFTALNICA....
 I hope you like my faux Faberge eggs! 
Lots of hugs to all
Cardarian

More Easter Cards

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I am back with a few more Easter cards! I should have showed this before but life took over - still it might come handy for a last minute card....

Well this one is not last minute - I spent half a day on this one....it is for my mom - a religiose one, to make this card I used a bunch of Paperartsy stuff - Smoothy paper, Crackle glaze - various Fresco paints and Treasure gold and one of their stamps! I die cut the cross with a Spellbinders die and added a metal corner embelishment! Also a paper doilly which I covered in Treasure gold!

This close up shows quite a few layers of paint and treasure gold....

Next up a bunch of bunnies.... I used flower soft for the little flowers in the grass - I think it looks so cute...

And here is another play with die cuts......

I did make many more but I did do variations on colors or embellishments! Anyway I hope you like my little selection!
I will be off to my moms - the whole family is gathering for Easter Sunday!
Wishing you all a lovely Easter - take time to spend with your family and
Aleluja praise the Lord our Saviour! Easter blessings to all of you!
Lots of hugs and love,
Cardarian
 

WOYWW, I am back!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I have been away from blogging for a while, I am expecting to do some changes in my life so I needed some time to think about things! Lots of decisions in the near future so I just sat in my room made Easter cards and thought about things!
I am back now and I will try to be posting more often!
We are back in winter now although this weekend is Easter weekend and it has been spring for about a week! We had a few days of heavy snow and everything is white! Yay fun! NOT!!!! There were days when I had to clean the car 3 times! Not a fun job with a dodgy knee! Still I survived and by the looks of it we might get away with a dry day! I am more and more a believer in old sayings! My grandmother used to say if Christmas is on grass, Easter will be on snow! TRUE!!! So there a pearl of wisdom from my grandmother!
It is Wednesday and of course it is time to show our messy desks and congregate around our leader Queen Julia at Stamping Ground!
I have a very messy desk - I do tidy up every day  but as soon as I start making cards it becomes a complete mess! I have realised that if I do stamping I actually have a lot less mess then if I do die cutting and this year my Easter cards have a lot of die cuts so there is a big mess! 
Please enjoy a snoop around my "creative" desk.....

This is the center........

Left side.....

Right side....

You can probably see every craft product you can think of on there! But don't worry tonight it will all be clear again! He, he I am not showing the rest of my room because you would have too much of a shock!
Now let me show you a few of my cards - ones I have made lately...
First up the card I made for my mom for Mother's day ( our Mother's Day was on the 25th of March)

And a few Easter cards - I will show more tomorrow as I don't want to get in trouble with our boss Queen Julia for making a long post although I think that boat has already sailed!

Here is one with the TH bunny and various other die cuts...The frame was made with an embossing folder and I just fussy cut the actual frame! 

I love this chick! It is one of the new Papermania stamps - the egg is covered in various washi tapes

This is just dry embossing and die cutting - a few tiny glass flowers added!

Thats all folks - see you tomorrow with more Easter fun!

Have a lovely day...
Lots of hugs to all
Cardarian

WOYWW 197, A right mess!!!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I am very much ashamed today as I didn't get round to almost any of my visitors last week - I am sooo busy with work I just couldn't get up to it - really sad because the week before I visited all my visitors and packed in a few more too! Huh! Anyway thank you to all who have visited me and I promise to do better this week!
Now it would be almost silly to mention that the purpose of WOYWW is a big worldwide snoop around desks organized by Madame Julia at Stamping Ground ! I thought I would mention in case there is someone who hasn't heard about it yet!
Sooo lets get up to this showing of desks! WARNING!!! Anybody who is OCD and gets very ill if he/she looks at a mess should look away because I will probably be the mess winner of the week!!!
Last night something went bang when I was crafting and a box full of crafty stuff fell on the floor making a big mess, also I was making an Easter card and things got quite messy on my desk too sooo here is the desk situation of this morning.......

 So what you can see is a card I made, various papers I thought I would use for my card but didn't then a few new dies - an egg one from Xcut and 2 new Joy ones and a Nellies one! Also some cute stamps which I colored at a course I took with one of our coloring geniuses Janja from JAAL . I am really bad at coloring - I have a heavy hand when it comes to coloring and it is almost impossible for me to understand the word LIGHT!!! But as you see with a good teacher anything is possible!
Here is the picture of all the stuff that fell on the floor....huh a right mess.....

And here is the overall mess....

Here is a close up of my first Easter Card....there will be more in the next days... I don't know how many of you still make and send Easter cards - I think it is a lovely tradition and I still keep it up! I used a few die cuts and a vintage greeting card as my focal point!....

Here is a photo from our course....

I have been given another 2 Liebster Awards this week - honestly I am not sure that I deserve all these awards...

I will blog about it tomorrow and give them forward! Thank you to the very kind ladies who think I deserve it!

Ok that is it my dear friends! Enjoy the snoop!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
Cardarian

A birthday card!

Hello Everbody!


Although I am super busy  (it seems a lot of people have their birthday in March) I decided to blog this card I have made as I sooo like the flowers!
Here is the card.....

The flowers are made with the TH tattered pine cone die out of white linen which I colored with TH DI Worn lipstick and Tea Dye.
Here is a close up....

The little birdie is from a Hero arts stamp and has also been colored with Distress markers...the die cut frame is Nellies, the courugated cardboard was painted with puff paint and then puffed up with the heat gun ( I seem to be a bit addicted to that stuff! I bit of bling and TH gears, a Slovene sentiment and done!
I hope you like it!
Have a lovely day!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
Cardarian

WOYWW 196 ????

Hello my dear friends!


Huh! WOYWW 196!!!!???? Well we have certainly come a long way with our Wednesday meetings at the Stamping ground with our Queen Julia in charge! I am looking forward to the ATC exchange - must start making them!
I see some of you are very busy all preparing for spring! Well I am too although I don't have anything spring-ish to show you!
 I have been asked by my daughter to make a card for her friend in Klimt style! As you know a few months ago I made a little Klimtesque canvas so this time I had to gear up for a card! Not the easiest task but I did my best and I hope my daughter or more so her friend will like it! It was very time consuming but I think I have done well - have a look and tell me what you think!

The background is made with gold paints - various ones from GOLDEN, LUMIERE and LUMINARTE...all the stamps are from De Stempelwinkel - the focal point as well as the background - it is a Klimt plate! I also used GOLDEN gold flakes - love that stuff! It costs a lot to buy but it is worth its money! Initially when you put it on it looks like if you put dabs of porridge on but then you leave it to dry and it changes to these lovely chunks of gold! Amazing! I think Klimts art was so decorative because of all that gold he used so I just had to go that way! Oh yes for the lady I have used about 5 or 6 metallic mica markers - I am not sure if the photos show all the shine!  Anyway that is my make of the day...
I will show one more thing I have done that sort of shows that I am trying to do some spring-ish tidying...
I have bought one of these boxes on wheels and have put all my paints, sprays - anything to do with coloring (except my ink pads) into this box which I can wheel out anytime I want and have everything in front of me - also I have made a bit more room on my shelves by putting stuff in this box! I like this solution! 

So there that is my WOYWW 196 edition! Enjoy the snoop - I will be around to see you too!
Thank you to everybody who came round to see me last week - I think I managed to get round to all of you - I have a few more to visit who have visited my TH 12 tags of 2013 post and I have to blog about an award I have recieved which I will do tomorrow so have a look later this week!
Have a lovely day!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
CARDARIAN

12 tags of 2013 - March

Hello my dear friends!

I woke up at 5am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep (ehh old people!!!) so I went into my little craft room and started on my tag for TH 12 tags of 2013! I don't do all of them, sometimes I am just lazy, sometimes I don't have the materials or sometimes I just don't feel it! 
I read all of his instructions and straight away I noticed I don't have the background paper and the "grass" die! So my thinking cap was on as I pulled out my Dylusions ( I got all the new ones yesterday in the post! YIPEEEEE!) So I made a background - It needed something on it so initially I stampes some bunnies on it but they got lost in the colors so I stamped some Easter eggs and lined them out with a white pen! So that was the background done!
I did have the frame and the bunny die and also the tinsel! So that all went well ....eh what about the grass??? Back to my Dylusions - I used the new and the old green - together they make the perfect grass color , I also sprayed on a bit of Tattered Angels in Pearl - I cut the grass with Martha Stewart Fringe scissors and curled it a little to look like grass! I die cut TH Tattered flowers garland to get the small flowers as I didn't have the metal ones and I colored them with TH distress paints (yes I have about 4 of them) . Last I colored the ribbon with distress stains to suit my tag and also the sentiment which I stamped on some cream cardstock. So thats it - here are the photos....

And some close ups....

These 2 photos show the shine of the Tattered Angels spray on top of the Dylusions....

So there I am flying this bunny to THs Mr. Linky and then I am off to the market to get some milk and bread and some fruit and veggies!
Enjoy your weekend!
Lots of hugs,
Cardarian