Merry Christmas to All

Hello Everyone,
I have popped in to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and wonderful time with family and friends. As you gather around the Christmas tree to open presents with family and friends, I would like you to consider the greatest gift that was never put under a tree. God gave the ultimate gift His Son for us - He started out as a babe and grew into a Man - God knew that the birth of Jesus would eventually lead to the Cross at Eastertime. He knew the impact that Jesus would have on this earth even though he was only here for a very short while.

This is something to consider - Jesus was only on this earth just over 30 years but he made such an impact.  Your life can have an impact on this earth and the people that you encounter each day of your life. What do you want to leave behind?

Thanks for reading this post. And as always before you go I want to leave you with this final thought

As we go forward to the end of this year and into the next consider how you life can make a difference - whether big or small. Just a smile given to a stranger can make their otherwise bleak day a cheerier one. 

Blessing of the Season to you all,
💗 Tracy B

Joy

Hello everyone,
I am back for a second card project for today. It's so good to be able to have some time in my craft space. But this happens when you don't have to do school runs and such 😉 And this is my card

I really had fun with this one and I think that I may redo this card a couple more times. The image is a digital stamp Christmas Word Joy from Bugaboo stamps. I use this image quite a lot because you can colour it to suit your papers, very handy that! And to start this card off came the sketch 

And as I have been doing I have included the measurements to make a front for a A6 card. And also any mats are usually 0.5cm bigger.

The image I printed and coloured with my Copic markers and it is backed with a Christmas digital paper. Then I added this to a piece of shimmer Maroon paper and matted this with green paper. The poinsettia is a die cut that I had left over in my Christmas Stash.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project. To let me know that you stopped by please consider leaving a comment. And before you go I would like to leave you with this thought

This is something that I hope to be able to do more of while I am not running to different things over this Christmas/New Year break. I want to do more reading next year - that is a goal for me.

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,

😸 Tracy B

Challenges Entered

Catch the Bug: Stella Says: Sketch #620

Card in Envy: Hang your stocking with care

Oh Holy Night

Hello everyone,

Yes I am still making Christmas cards but now I am starting onto next years batch. As I now have 2 places that I donate cards too now and also my own needs I am definitely going to have to be making them all through the next 12 months. And this is what I have started with

For me this is definitely a "Clean and Simple" style of card mainly because it doesn't have a lot of layers. I actually like how this turned out but of course with me it started with finding a sketch and I found this one

And as I do for you I have included the measurements not only for myself to use the next time but also if you would like to make a card using this sketch. These measurements are to make the front for a A6 card.

I love this image but I am not sure where I bought it from. But she has always reminded me of a rag doll that I got for a present one year so I thought it may be suitable for this weeks Card in Envy challenge. And then Tuesday Morning Sketches is having a Anything Goes so I thought that I would use one of their previous sketches.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project. To let me know that you came by please consider giving me a comment and if you have a blog I will stop by yours sometime. And before you go I would like to leave you with this thought

This is one thing that I have been teaching our children. But also how to handle when it doesn't work out. This is all part of life. I want to teach my children these things not this world!

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
✌ Tracy B

Challenges Entered

Tuesday Morning Sketches Challenge #484

Cards in Envy: Hang your stocking with care

Just to Say

Hello everyone,

A non Christmas card I am sharing with you today. I looked in my stash of cards and I am quite low on anything other than Christmas. So I better get a move on making other themed cards otherwise these other occasions will be upon me before I realize it.

So here is my card to continue with rebuilding my supplies

 I am using an image from the Paper Shelter called Just Roll with It and the card was inspired by this sketch by Sketch Saturday.

 I had a lot of fun putting this card together. It is definitely not my usual colour combination but I think it worked together. I have had this paper pack sitting in my stash for quite a while waiting for the perfect card to be put on and this was it.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project. To let me know that you stopped by today why don't you consider giving me a comment and I can visit your blog sometime. And before you go I would like to leave you with this final thought 

This is true with any journey - whether it be travel or a personal one. It all takes time and if you do start today than you will be closer to your goal tomorrow.

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,

👍 Tracy B

CHALLENGES

Sketch Saturday #544

Pine Cone Birthday

Hello everyone. 

This card is a just because I needed to make a card for a friend. You know being a cardmaker comes in handy when you need a card and you don't have any on hand. I had donated a whole lot of my cards to a charity and I wasn't left with many for myself. Then I realised I needed a card and nothing I had left was suitable.

And this is the card that I have made for my friend.

I went with these colours because I needed a male card and he loves the outdoors. So I thought that these papers suited for making this card. But as most times I started with a sketch and I used this one from Operation Write Home. It's a favourite of mine.

And as has become my habit I have included the sketch with my measurements to make an A6 card front. All of the matts are .5cm bigger than the measurements mentioned. I used of the heart I used this pine cone sticker. It felt good to make a male themed card and to also use up some of my long forgotten stash of papers. But I was able to do some silver embossing for the sentiment on a small piece of pattern paper.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my card today. Please consider leaving a comment on my post just to let me know that you stopped by and I can visit your blog as well. And as always before you go I would like to leave you with this last thought

These minion guys always crack me up. But I also like this quote because its quite true. If we stop what gives us joy then what do we want to keep moving for? I always try to have a little fun of some kind each day. Whether that be crafting, listening to some good music or just having a laugh with a friend or at a joke.

Have A Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
😜 Tracy B

CHALLENGE LIST

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #560 - Embossing

Season's Greetings

Hello everyone. Today I am sharing with you my first challenge as a Design Team member with the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown crew. This month we are hosting a whole month long challenge to give everyone time with their families because as most of you would realize a lot happens in December. So the month long challenge is

December 2018 Challenge

so here is my card 

This was based on this sketch from March 2017 a link to the original challenge.

I used papers from Kasiercrafts Twig and Berry 6X6 paper pack. Then the sentiment panel I used a emphoria piece and cut a square from it and placed some Maroon paper behind to make a place for the sentiment stickers. And just because I couldn't leave it just as is I placed some colourful star stickers around the card and this finished it off.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project today. Why not consider playing along with our challenge you can either make a card to give this Christmas or get a jump start on next years bundle. And as always before you go I would like to leave you with this thought

The bottom picture is my reality for Christmas. I don't see snow unless it is in the form of hailstones and that can cause quite a bit of havoc. But most of the time on Christmas Day we are trying to find some place cool to escape the heat. 

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
👍 Tracy B

Dog Dreaming

Hello everyone. I am sharing with you a card that is based actually on several challenges. All of these challenges just worked together. And I think that I came up with a card that I am really happy with.

I found this image over at All Dressed Up digital images and I think that he is just adorable. He is a free image and you can get him here. I thought that he could be daydreaming so I found this bone image and printed both of these on white card stock. I coloured both of these images with my Copic markers. Then I used my Scan N Cut to first cut around the dog image then I put the bone in a scalloped oval and cut 2 smaller one as well to make the bubbles.

To start off this card I found the image then I found a sketch that I could use to give me an idea of how big to print out the dog and his bone. And this is the sketch that I found 

And I have included my measurements for sketch #483 from Tuesday Morning Sketches. The leaves behind Dog are cut using some die cuts from Kasiercraft and light green paper and then sponged with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. The background paper was bought in a 6x6 paper pack already clear embossed with the words of encouragement and I used embossed letters for my sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my card today. And before you go I would like to leave you with this thought

Around our place at the moment it is predicted that we will possibly see around 250mls of rain in the next 48hrs. Which could include thunderstorms and high winds. We need the rain because so much of Australia is in drought but this type of rain can cause flash flooding which isn't good either. See you all on the other side of the storms.

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
💦TracyB

CHALLENGE LIST

• Tuesday Morning Sketches #483  ##UPDATE - 18 Dec - I got chosen as Designer Fav - This was such a nice surprise! ##
• Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 560 - Embossing
• All Dressed Up - November Challenge

Bundle of Joy

Hello everyone. Today I am sharing with you a card that I made for some dear friends who just welcomed their little girl into the world just over a week ago.

Isn't this image adorable. I have used "Babe Moon Lullaby" available from Lil Miss Muffet Digital Stamps quite a few times and for either a Baby Girl or Boy. The starry background is a digital paper that I have and joined these together and printed them onto white card stock. I coloured the baby image in with my Copic markers.

The sketch that I used is from Operation Write Home

I included the measurements that I used to fit my A6 front of a card which is the size for a card in Australia. So some aren't exactly to the original sizes mentioned because our card stock is different.

Sometimes I like to make cards that are a little less fussy but this does have the layers that I like to play around with. My layers can either be cardstock or sometimes I will use distress inks around the edge to help them to stand out.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project. I hope that you might have found some useful information or something to spark your creativity. And before you go I would like to leave you with this final thought

Whether you are doing a job or a chore around your home may you do as Mary says "Find your element of Fun" and this will help get it done.

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
👍 Tracy B

Good Luck Thank You

Hello everyone. Todays card is for a friend who will be leaving our Spinning group to pastures new in New Zealand. I was following a card sketch but didn't follow it to the letter but you will see what I mean once I show you both the card and the sketch.

And now for the sketch that started this cardmaking exercise - Sketch Saturday #543

As you can see the outcome of the card was a little different to the sketch but not a lot that I hope it is still suitable for the challenge. 

The difference came about because of the Butterfly Hat digital image by Julie Spiri which I had printed and coloured with my Faber-Castell Polychromos. So I adjusted the smaller rectangle to suit the layout. The stars I turned into squares to fit around the 2 sentiment stamps. I kept the rest of the card simple because I wanted the image to be the main focus.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my project today. And as always before you go I would like to leave you with this thought for the day

I have struggled with this over the past couple of years due to a few circumstances. But I can now see a way through some of it and so it is a start of recovery. So all I can say is Don't let the world determine who you should be!

Have a Happy Crafty Kind of Day,
😉 Tracy B

Refreshing Christmas

Hello everyone, I have mentioned before that Christmas in Australia is a lot different to the northern hemisphere. In Australia we are looking more for cold refreshing drinks than the warm eggnog type of drinks just because we are trying to stay hydrated in the warm/hot weather.

You may be wondering how or where the idea for this card came from … well it started with a sketch of course. I love to start with a sketch and this one if from Freshly Made Sketches. This is sketch #366

I have included my measurements with the sketch for those who may be interested. I do this for my own reference later if I decide to use this sketch again then I don't have to refigure out the dimensions. But as you can see my planning wasn't 100% on point today because I had planned for the straws to be pointing the same way as the sketch. And I added a little interest to the background by using a stencil from Scrapmatts and two distress inks. I used Faded Jeans and Broken China I thought that this looked a little like bubbles even though the stencil was named "New Cheese".

But I am happy with how the card came out despite the printing problem that I had. I am still going to enter this in for the design team call for Freshly Made Sketches. I would love to be on a team that deals in sketches as I love using them for my card creations.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my blog. And before you go I would like to leave you with this thought for the day

This is such a good way to look at things. Sometimes when you are in the middle of what you are going through you forget that there may be a way to improve things.

Have a Happy Crafty Adjustable Kind of Day,
❤ Tracy B

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