Upcycled Christmas cards part three

Hullo there everyone.

Well here is yet another up-cycled Christmas card.

 For other ones see posts here and here!!

This one I think it might be my favourite so far .. but hard to say. 

Why I like this one so very much is that it made me to use colours I normally don't use for Christmas cards and yet I really love them!

Here on the right I am working out which Spellbinder dies fit the areas I want to use best. Funny how often you stick to favourite ones. i am sure these are the two I use nearly all the time! a must buy, I think!

Here is the finished card.

Recipe:

I used the Spellbinder Labels 4 and Large (but are not that large - confusing that!) labels dies and added fine gold edge around it.

The corners are Cuttlebug vintage corners, partly left in, the embossed edge is s new new one from Sizzix a lovely set of three borders and A2 folder as well, called Sizzix Textured Impressions - 656585 Christmas Set #6

I saw it first on my friend Jobear's blog {here on this card}, she sent me the purple one for Christmas.:D

 As so often happens with me I found myself looking for it on eBay!! more stash.. but it is lovely isn't it ?? :D Just as well US items are very cheap for us here - not so good the UK items. Our $ is worth more that US one which is amazing really.

All gold card are snippets, as the original shop bought card for Christmas from friend is also snippet will enter it into Dis Snippets Challenge!
And might just scrap in by the skin of my teeth into Sarns' Christmas Challenge...phew!! was going to try for more of them this year!

 Over at Hazelnut's Christmas challenge she is looking for Nativity scenes this week, so adding it there as well!!

Well, must fly as heaps of other things to do and should not be on here... thanks  SO much if you do take time to chat, and will try and repay your kindness!
May God bless your day wherever you may be,

Shaz in Oz.x

WOYWW, JoZart's work, Memory Box Dies

(Warning - picture heavy post) 

Hullo there again everyone!

Now to the business end of this post – Wednesday is the highlight of many of our weeks when we go on the biggest blog hop in the world hosted by Julia over HERE ~ What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday!! 

Mm, well some goodies indeed here for me today - totally spoilt!

There is a Memory Box die (nay two!) and blaming Sarn for that .. you see I saw this card HERE, and thought, yes! that is nice (AND they were so reasonable :D)

Then at the back you can see a lovely parcel which winged it way across the seas to me - all the way from beautiful England's fair shores. 

If you want the details of the wonderful gifts Jo has made not just for me - but for many others - please look across to her post HERE please... thank you, dear Jo!
 Also on left of my desk is the card which was missing, when did my last card show from Christmas 2012.

Thomas' Card,  THANK YOU Thomas (he is three years old. I think he and mummy did a grand job!)

I would also like to share a tip seen on Ikki's blog ages ago. It maybe old hat, so scroll on if it is. I had heard that Memory Box dies were hard to get out (these are my first ones, so not sure). To to be safe I rubbed the candle end over surface + dust off excess wax with soft cloth. As you can see it came out superbly - maybe these ones do? 

NOTE - craft card, this is from an iceblock packet. I love how many nice kraft colours you can get on the inside of packets.. have you noticed?

I am going to close with flood. One taken on Monday before flood, as it was building up, rest yesterday after the flood. Most homes in our town were not affected, but not so for many in Brisbane, Ipswich, coastal Qld north of Brisbane, Northern NSW.

The beginning of the flood at our local creek just down the two blocks from us. it is teeming with rain when walked down to take this ..and blowing a bit, but a gale later on.

The debris yesterday from creek shows the high level it did reach, near the railway bridge over creek.

Seas raging like a washing machine out of the harbour.

You cant even see the island which is visible on the horizon normally.

Jetty Harbour yesterday too, is the only place protected from the huge sea swells. There are surfers catching a wave.. all the black dots on left of centre picture are surfers, one is catching a wave.

If anyone would like to see my latest calligraphy post it is HERE or simply scroll down, just below Oriental cards.

Well, thanks so much everyone for popping over for peek and chat.. and may God bless your day wherever you may be.
Shaz in Oz.x. 

A special prayers and thoughts for those here in Oz fighting the fires down south and west, or recovering from our incredible floods. Australia is a land of contrasts ~ "of droughts and flooding rains". As Dorothea McKellar said in her poem, My Country - "the Wide brown land for me!". She was a true blue Aussie.

OSA ~ BLack Plus One Colour Mingle

Hullo there everyone,

Here is lovely card I received all the way from Canada, from Cindy of OSA (Oriental Stamp Art - a Yahoo group). This is really so different and love how she has stamped on tte vellum and put it over the yellow and black background paper. Cindy put the following details on a post it note on the back:       Dream Kanji - Stamping Up Silhouette - Inkadinkdoo   Square Deco - About Art Accents

Here is my entry for the February Red and Black Mingle!
 

I had much fun making this card, and used number of items - enlarged the square versatile Nellie Snellen Square Stitch Die, and made it into a rectangle. Stamped in Jet Black Adirondack Archival the Stampin Up Oriental discontinued Set - think it is a Lily plant(?). Added Artneko Art Accents dragonfly and Kanji from Annette. I loved the red on black!!
I had this exquisite black and red Washi paper which has the most incredible black gloss and taking a deep breath {gulp} cut into it....

You may recognise the design of this card as I showed one from Ginny a few days ago (HERE)- I loved the design so much used it on this one, and wrote small poem for the inset and printed it on red card on printer - yes, cheated didn't I?

I think I shall be doing this design again. I am sure it has a proper name, but I dont know it...

Thanks so VERY much for popping over for a peek and chat, and may God bless your day wherever you may be!!

Shaz in Oz.x

 PS if you like my Calligraphy post, I finally did one - look below post this one.
I would like to enter my red/black card into the following challenges:

• Crafty Boots - New (two new stamps from Artneko used here, plus paper)
• Fashionista Challenge blog - Red is the main colour 
• Make it Monday - Anything goes

Illuminated Calligraphy ~ Who or What is a Christian?

Hullo there everyone ...

Well, I mentioned at new year, I would try to give you more calligraphy this year, from illuminated works I completed in years before blogging.  
After all this blog is called Calligraphy and Cards. 

Two things to point out regarding this early work:

1. I did not have a digital camera .. actually I borrowed one, as I did not have decent one at all!

2. If you look carefully at top right of this you can see I have taken a photo of original photo (see tiny-teeny snip of doily in pickie) - the latter with my digital. Basically this was because it was so much better than a scanned image. 

It was so flat, even so colour is not as crisp or accurate. This is done in watercolour too not gouache like later ones, hence softer hues.

What are your thoughts as you read this verse? The meaning is not really hard is it?? perfectly clear!
We ARE (I am) what we think in our hearts.
YET here we deceive ourselves SO often!!

As God says through Jeremiah (17:6) "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Who indeed can know our hearts?
Verse 10 gives us the answer:
"I the Lord search the heart, .. even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

Capital letter "a' is a combination of two letters {A + J) on calendars by Hong Kong Christian Book Room

The observant among you are probably wondering where I am going with this?
My title is:
"Who Or what is Christian?"

I have had this post on my heart for a long time. Folk, precious wonderful people, going about their everyday activity hoping they are "Christians", when they can KNOW for sure that they are.  This is really  missing heaven by eighteen inches. Eighteen inches (or 45cm approx.) is the distance from our head to our heart.

We can know about God's gift in our mind/head but if it has not changed our heart it is really quite useless.
Salvation is a precious blood bought gift purchased on the cross of Calvary, where the the LORD Jesus Christ died for you and for me. 
It is something we can be sure of!! :D not just vaguely hope we might have it.

If we could have this heavenly gift, called Salvation through what we do, what church we attend, etc. then where was the point of the Lord Jesus' sacrifice on the cross??
We can never ever earn it - we are too sinful, to make God's grade of perfection. As the hymn (There is a Green Hill Far Away) says:
He died that we might be forgiven..,,that we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.. and we must love Him too,
Trust in His redeeming blood and try His works to do.
God through His Only begotten Son, Jesus, made salvation so simple that even a **child can believe and follow it ~ yet we try and complicate it. 

I pray for all who read this if you do not understand what I am talking about to take the Bible and read it for yourself (start in Gospel of John) and seek a church, where the word of God is taught in its purity. 
In the meantime look at post (my earliest calligraphy post, see below) and also this site here.

So, what is a Christian?? - quite simply is a Follower, Disciple - a believer in the LORD Jesus Christ, trusting Him alone for their salvation.
If we love Him, He will shine forth in our lives, and that is what this illuminated verse is all about.

This illuminated text (above) was ordered from me by a mother for her teenage son in about 1994. 
Probably because she desired his heart to have God directed thoughts, not of the desires of the flesh, as is encouraged so much these days.

I pray for all who read these words.. 
For the LORD will meet you right where you are at now, so I pray you will reach out to Him, to seek Him:

• for comfort and grace to help if you know Him as your own
• or that this day might your day of rejoicing in your salvation by trusting Him for the cleansing power of His blood in your life - as simply as a child.

May God richly bless you where ever your maybe and thank you SO much for popping over for a peek and chat and making my day! 
Shaz in Oz.x  

** I came to know the LORD Jesus as my own Saviour when a child. This post shows the original place where I was saved, very near where I live now, and another illuminated verse connected with this day and the story of that day of rejoicing in heaven, over one sinner who repented.. SEE this post here.

I would like to link this post with:

1.  Birdee blessings 
2. Word Art Wednesday - Anything goes??

{EDIT - Comment by Victoria of Furry Tales - a great point made:
 Victoria said... A beautiful post explaining the Gospel so clearly. I think many Christians can relate to what you write about the head and the heart, and I also think the problem can work the other way, that if our faith is based on feeling alone without understanding then it lacks substance and will falter at an early hurdle.}

Brayered Stampscapes Card

{Calligraphy - Illuminated text in post above}

Hullo there everyone!!

Way back I actually brayered these backgrounds and showed you how I make these brayered backgrounds. 
Then a another video was made stamping them using these stamps, but we forgot to check camera was still in right spot. Half of it was off screen so I never uploaded it. 
Finished images were on my WOYWW desk a few times (see HERE), and now here they are at last in cards!

Card for Mrs A. as special thank you, from draw on Dec. 1st 2012 when drew a thank you draw to thank my Wonderful Encouragers, for being that - Encouraging!She kindly waited till I was well enough to make it ( I know she has received it now). 

First time used the stamp and used it as an overlapped image. It was not large enough for brayered background. (See the second lot of rocks on right of image; I have overlapped the stamp just near that) The trial piece here shows it better .

It was shown on the one Kevin's posts  .. he owns/ designs Stampscapes. He has quite a few videos on scene building - check them out!

Here is his first video called Seamless Scenes. Try this link if it does not work.

A card for Bernie, as a special "Thinking and Praying for you" card.

Funny isn't when you go to do a card you cannot quite find the right words for greeting? Thought I had plenty till making this card above {Note to self: Look for better small ones, plenty of big ones} .

I really love these scenes and  dont think possibly Panpastels (the little I have used them), they will ever beat the brayer for clear crisp pop out scenes. Partly because of the high gloss paper upon which you brayer - Kromecoate is best. I think that this is because you use different paper too not just the medium itself.
Just in case you missed the video for the background with brayer look on this post here as it has video plus whole lot of tips to brayer well.

 

Or try this link if it does not work - HERE.

Thanks so VERY much for popping over for a peek and chat, and may God bless your day wherever you may be!!

Shaz in Oz.x

• I would like to enter these two in Di's snippets challenge as the key items are snippets.
• QKR Stampede - Anything Goes  
• Just add ink - entering second card in challenge, which has a sketch.  
• Allsorts - Masculine - Stampcapes/ brayer make great masculine cards.

Panpastels, WOYWW + thanks Ginny!

Hullo there everyone. 

Before I proceed any further I want to really apologise for being a really bad blogger last week or so. 

However, I really appreciated every single one of your kind words.

Time and health not co-operating as far as blogging goes. Hopefully health is on the mend. I pray so anyway.This is scheduled post, as we have visitors and linking when able. 
Not know what I am rabbiting on about? well today Wednesday is big blog hop called "What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday". Over at Julia's we check out one another's workdesk/ floors or wherever we may create! Join us, do!

And here I am playing with new treasures. This year is a big birthday and not far from Christmas, so this is combined pressie for them both!! Aren't they smashing? Brenda of Floral Fantasies and Eileen of Eileen's crafty Zone. 

 Both use these to perfection and Brenda let me know about an offer at Oyster Stamps (5 for 20 pounds).

Here is small piece a little play, trying to work out which paper is best, inking etc. Stamps are some new ones from last year, and love these Stampscapes! So much fun..

This week I had surprise get well card from Ginny of Maxam Made (she is a WOYWW-er too)- thanks so much Ginny, LOVE this card!

I love the style of this card. I going to try one soon..

Now as folks seem to love my Oz photos here are some more:

This is skeleton of a Cicada. They shed their outer skins as they grow and it dries very crisp and stays where ever they happen to land. To read more on cicadas look HERE - have small video of it emerging - their iridescent wings are lovely really. When we were young my brother collected a cardboard box full of them, put them under his bed. And YES! you guessed it they all escaped all over the house!! they are very, VERY noisy (read deafening).

Said back HERE when showed you my tarantula spider caught inside I would show you some of our friendly spiders. Here is my favourite, and he is smaller, more elegant than he looks - body about small finger nail size! A St Andrews Cross, you should see why it is called that - more info HERE.

Taken in November, as still not able to go down there yet. Down at creek mouth (to the left) as it reaches the sea, they love to do their para surfing!

Isn't God's creation so fascinating, inspiring and beautiful??? Yes! I am VERY grateful to the LORD that I live here.

 Happy WOYWW everyone!
Thanks so VERY much for popping over for a peek and chat, and may God bless your day wherever you may be!!

Shaz in Oz.x

 PS if you liked previous Up-cycled Christmas card look below post.

Upcycled Christmas Cards

Hullo there everyone!
Just sharing some more upcycling with you!!! First of all want to say sorry to all have not returned their comments too. Am very bad blogger. this going to be short post as wanted to share it but must not be on here too long.

Here is the card I am going to reuse from my Christmas stash of saved one of shop bought cards but could see a use for!

Here I am enlarging the length of my die which was not long enough for this card. Years ago I saw this on Ikki's Cuttlebug cupboard blog and have used it on dies and embossing folders.. 

Click here is her wonderful post. I have one with embossing folders.

 Recipe for card is the Hollies and Ribbons embossing folder some the new ribbon from Ribbon Girl on last weeks desk, and the Square spellbinders shown.

 {First card done is HERE, and you will see here why I started doing them!}

I have made two more since this one, I will photo and blog!
I am really enjoying it as it makes you think outside the square! {Oops sorry for bad pun}! plus not throwing things which are so lovely!

Well, must fly as heaps of other things to do and should not be on here... thanks  SO much if you do take time to chat and will try and replay your kindness may God bless your day wherever you may.

Shaz in oz.x

Linking up with Di's snippets challenge (except for the ribbon everything is snippets), also want to share with CraftyHazel Christmas Challenge.

WOYWW ~ Cards Galore!

Hullo there everyone - picture heavy post, but word-light!
I am feeling bit peeky again - with another tooth infection. Decided  tooth will have to come out. Have to wait till May, though. SO I pray meds for infection work, please, LORD.

One thing I am very sure of, the LORD sends what you need, (in spite of what one might think at the time) and will also provide the grace to bear what He gives.. "Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it. I Thess. 5:24" 

May or may not get around to many desks .. so sorry in advance.

To my desk: Oo-ar, some new goodies.

Some of Christmas money on these, Ribbons from the Ribbon Girl, a post Christmas sale, gems to attach to the ribbons. Artneko stamps..pandas below are favourites .. hard to chose really! 

Annette also included some bonus ones + already great bargains. You can see some of cards received this year for Christmas, front left hand side on desk. 

Wondering why we're looking at desks?

DO hop over to our hostess' Julia's blog for WOYWW ~ What Is On Your Workdesk Wednesday ~ all will be revealed!

Annette sent the top one as well as three small ones set I ordered, aren't they adorable? Her site is here - http://www.artneko.com/displayPage/misc/halfpricesale/0

Here are the Christmas cards from folk who made them by hand this year - except for (hang my head in shame here) three year old Thomas'. 
I put his treasure in safe place! cant remember where? I hope to find it before much longer. (EDIT: Found! Click on this post *HERE)

First two are from Rwanda and made from plant material (not sure what). Do click and check them out. If anyone wants a digi image just email me as they make a really great digi image for a card. I have scanned them to make one, and happy to share.

 

My 70 y.o. friend in Melbourne who is in a Nursing home there, made in their craft time. I thought that it's a brilliant card, a simple idea.. dont you agree?

These three are from Blogging buddies, first is Jocelyn of Instead of Ironing blog, Brenda of Butler's Abroad (and WOYWW), and Anne of Ink-a-Doodle Do blog.

  Just note on posting items - the post system here with its electronic sorting is quite brutal on cards. The silver ink on Ann's card was spread around white space in middle from the edge, had to rub it out, as carefully as I could. The original card on her link is SO much nicer. Thank YOU ladies!

Wanted to close  with one of my father's painting of a local beach.. seeing as have not been on beaches much of late :D

Well, thanks so much eveyone for popping over for peek and chat.. and may God bless your day wherever you may be.. 

A special prayer for those here in Oz fighting the fires, all those out west and down south who have lost much! One fire has burned 42,000 hectares, raging out of control in Warrumbungles national park !

Shaz in Oz.x

Christmas Card Challenge - all year around!!

(WOYWW'ers ~ Post down below)
Hullo there everyone.. well here is the other card which was on my desk earlier this week.

I saw the lovely cards - so very many of them by Vika on her blog over HERE- and thought I could do that with some of my cards from Christmas!!
So this week, I set off doing just that with this one below!

The original front of the card so glittery and lovely had use it!

Working out which die cuts to use on faithful Cuttlebug.

...added embossing - and then working out the layout for i

t!!

Here is the final card with all the extra elements on it...

The highlighting of the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder was not going to be that colour. My ink pad had some of the blue/purple on it from rubbing chalk pad around the edge of the scalloped Spellbinder, Spellbinders Beaded Ovals, to make embossed bits stand out. 

When rubbed the same pad on white card came out the same lovely shade, so carried on over it. Used the Spellbinder snowflakes die and cut the smaller snowflake out of glitter paper to match the glitter on card piece. 

This is second entry, this week, for Di's Snippets challenge (and Di had a similar idea on one of her cards this week too!) and Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge.

Just going to add to all folk who think I am mad for making Christmas cards at this time of year, if you go over my blog, I do it all year around... no fixed seasons here ...
After all for Christmas, the spirit of the season and the One Whose birth we remember, is with us all year around! and I am for one very, very glad!

Thanks everyone for popping over to peek and have a wee chat - you are so welcome, and may God bless your day wherever you may be!

Shaz in Oz.x

I would also like to enter this card in:
Divas by Design - anything goes
Creative  Belli - Winter 
Hazelnuts CHNC challenge extra for January

WOYWW, Snippets, Flora and Fauna in Oz!

(Warning - picture heavy post) 

Hullo there again everyone!

Before I go any further I just want to say my thoughts and most of all my prayers are with all who are battling or have suffered in the bushfires still affecting large parts of south eastern Australia. Mercifully we are not affected up here, nor are we quite as hots as others, being blessed by living near the sea. It is not over though so praying for all concerned.

Now to the business end of this post – Wednesday is the highlight of many of our weeks when we go on the biggest blog hop in the world ~ What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday!! 

So without any more ado here is my desk - which really is not my desk today, as everything is all put away just at the moment.. cleaning day an' all! yes, it does happen :D 

I have made two Christmas cards!
Mm, things are moving on here - thankfully no stitches at the moment, last lot out on Tuesday, and foot graft healing okay too. :D for which I am very thankful. So cards in view, plus items used or rejected, in making them. Taken at night hence dark light.. sorry.

Won't detail both cards today - have much to share (sorry, skip if in hurry but mainly pickies)!

Here is first one - for Di's Snippets challenge, and Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge.

The peel offs on card to the left were on an envelope, to match card. So nice, I just had to reuse them. I did not have gold greeting so painted it gold, and cut out in gold the Marianne Designables; also used here. Unfortunately I must remember not to run it through the bug twice, as once is more than enough.

Here are the rest of my pickies of all the goings on here in the locality, during last two weeks!

These are Black Cockatoos and are eating the Macadamia nut kernel- yep! their beaks get through those hard shells and husks. Needless to say there were none left, as there  would be a dozen birds and sometimes more in the tree at dusk each night. (no, not four an twenty black birds - and none baked in pies, thank you :D)

For more on the Black Yellow tail Cockatoos - click here on this link.
They are simply huge birds.

I showed you the Macadamia tree in flower earlier on this post, SEE here. The remains they leave for us to eat, scattered on grass bit spiky to tread on. The husk is the piece in the photo centre, shells lie on either side.

Peewee nesting, second time this year, near my sister's balcony. They chose a very outside branch of gum, to stop predators from attacking them whilst nesting. This Bloodwood gumtree has a mass of gum-flower buds coming on, it is a yellow flower.

Poinciana, partly in our yard, and we love it, such amazing flowers! it has a Fig bird and Noisy Minor nesting there, but bird above in its beautiful shade is neither, not sure what it is? EDIT: been identified a Butcher Bird as we saw it land under the tree!

Well, that is well and truly enough for today (apologies, Julia, for length of post). If any like to see post below have a card and a Chinese Fishing marker washed up years ago on a local beach, so an oriental theme.

God bless your day everyone wherever you may be and thanks so much for popping over for a peek and chat!
Shaz in Oz.x