Cute and Foxy

I am slowly learning how to use my Cricut Explore Air 2...very slowly.

Luckily for me, there are a lot of crafters posting tutorials, tips and tricks and (best of all!) free SVG files for Cricut. I was immediately enchanted by this adorable fox design and was inspired to put it to use on at least two cards. The one above is the card I made for my eighth aunt's baby shower. I just modified the size make the fox cub. I also put together an engagement card for a distant cousin.

I love using paint chips for the variety of colours that they offer and the fact they come in small swatches so I am not wasting a large sheet each time.

Hopefully, when I am more comfortable using the design program, I can start designing my own images to share!

Is it not a beautiful piece of technology? ;) 

Sakura-inspired Cards

There's something beautifully serene about cherry blossoms. I do not even remember when and where I got this particular paper punch but this design idea has been percolating in my brain for the longest time. It was great for using up some of my paint chip scraps but it is a very labour intensive card. Every tiny flower has to be individually punched out and then glued to the card base. My intention is for these to be 'Thinking of You" cards and I am quite pleased with how they turned out. However, I am undecided as to whether this design looks better with or without the gold accents.

This is the process it takes to make this card: (I really enjoyed taking these in-progress shots!)

I decided to try adding gold accents to one of the cards and it is fascinating to see just how different the whole style of the card seems.

I am starting to get back into the crafting frame of mind. [Thanks to lots of encouragement from my husband! I think he's decided that this is the most likely way that my mountains of craft supplies will start decreasing....by being used. ;) ] Stay tuned for a few more of my projects in the coming weeks! 

Wedding Card Round Up of 2018

Weddings seem to come in waves. Some years, I do not get invited to a single one while in others, they seem to occur every month! 

One thing my craft-loving self enjoys about weddings is the opportunity to play with different card designs. Yes, the occasion is the same but every couple is unique and I try to make the cards that I give reflect that. Unfortunately, I did not have the forethought to take pictures of every card I made last year but here is at least a selection:

I was going for a pearl and gold theme. The stamps did not turn out as clean as I had hoped so I tried to go over the lines with coloured pencil. 

I really liked the idea of his and her bows but I made a bit of a miscalculation on the sizes. I made the black groom's bow too small relative to the silver bride's bow. I guess it could reflect the fact her dress is likely going to take up more space than his suit? 

Okay, confession to make: this was a blatant copy of an adorable design that I saw in an Asian novelty store in New York. The accompanying caption was "Siu happy that you found your dumpling"! Just loved the cheesy pun!

This was an eleventh hour inspiration when I discovered that I did not have my scissors available. It is more bright and colourful compared to my other cards but I thought the personality fit the bride. :) 

This year, I seem to be back in the wedding lull but I guess that will just give me a little more time to find new ideas!

Happy 2019!

A new year comes with new crafting aspirations!

I have big plans for this blog this year including a resolution to post at least once a week. (Given my poor posting record these last few years, it is an ambitious but, I still believe, achievable goal.)

I have new interests to explore and new tools to play with. To start, I have been flirting with brush calligraphy for the last month with the aim of having a classy "Happy New Year" handlettered for this post. That was clearly abandoned for a more attainable "2019".

Much paper was used in striving for this goal. Not Instagram pretty yet but working on it!

Looking forward to a creative and productive year! Happy 2019!