Time is not measured by clocks, but by Moments.

I have a fascination of/with time.  It’s not an obsession, but it’s been something to which I became more aware of about ten to fifteen years ago.  I can’t quite explain it…  well, no, actually that’s a bit of a porky pie.  I could try to explain it, but to do so would unfortunately give away something in my book – which I’ve been writing inside my head for .. oh – heaven knows how long!   And a girl has to have some secrets, so I don’t want to divulge them yet  … at least, not until I write my book first!

Because I have this ‘time thing’ going on, I thought last week,  that I should make a time card.  I had a sentiment in mind and had recently bought some new stamps which would fit perfectly with that sentiment … so I went to work.

I began by making a sort of ‘explosion’ of colour happen on a ready scored 6″x 6″ card…

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I stamped four different coloured ink pads in a (sort of) circle onto my glass mat, then spritzed them with water so that they bled into each other and ran a little.  I stamped the ‘spoldge’ stamp into that watery mess and then stamped it straight away onto my card.  There was a little section which didn’t quite pick up enough colour, so I just used a paint brush to fill in.  You can see in the photo where that was – but I knew it wouldn’t matter as this was just to be the (kind of) background to what was to come …

After the ink dried thoroughly, I stamped the image of a Fob Watch which had exploded …

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..  and embossed it part in silver and part in gold embossing powder.

Then on another scrap piece of white card I stamped the same image again…

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This time though I didn’t do the explosion of colours behind it.

This was because I wanted to cut some parts of that image out and needed those particular parts to be crisp white . . .

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The white arrows in the above photo point out which parts I wanted to ‘fussy cut’ out.  This was so I could coat those pieces with Anita’s 3D Clear Gloss – because the parts I’ve pointed out in the photo above, would be the face of the clock…  and would have had the glass over them too – so I wanted to give those parts a clear glassy type finish.

By half way through I have to admit that I was beginning to wonder if it was such a great idea,  but I plodded on telling myself it would look fine and groovy once I’d finished.

Once cut out, I used the Anita’s 3D Clear Gloss on those pieces and put them on one side to dry overnight.

The following day they were dry and ready to go  . . .  so I fixed those pieces in place using Pinflair Glue Gel (what would we do without that gel, eh crafters?!).  But I put the pieces in a sort of ‘wiggly woggly’ way.  Some were tilted one way.  Some another way.  Some this way, some that.

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You can’t quite see it here in this photo (above) but you’ll see it better in the final photo in a minute.

The sentiment I found some time ago and don’t know who it’s supposed to be credited to – even though I’ve searched the internet.  I think it’s just something which happened one day and there it is.  It belongs to us all (maybe).

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It reads:  Time is not measured by clocks but by Moments I printed this out using my computer and Photoshop.  I knew how I wanted it to look, and had a font in mind … so built it then printed it out onto card, then matted it onto gold Mirri board.

Finally … I added a short length of Ivy  (Ivy is so timeless that I felt it married well into the card)  and some paper flowers …

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I made the flowers from music sheet paper which I ‘vintaged’ with an ink pad and a duster brush.  The die used to cut them out was a large die of different flowers by Heartfelt Creations.  The added bits,  of cogs and parts of the clock explosions, were also cut from a Heartfelt Creations die, which I die cut using my Ebosser and three colours of Mirri Board, Silver Shiney Gold and Matt Gold,  and then the resulting die cuts I cut into to make the effect I was after.

And that’s all there was to it.  😊

This card, well ….  I very nearly opened my bin and plonked the whole lot in.  It took me sooo long to make.  Doesn’t look as if it did – but oh boy, it was all  Start.  Stop.  Start.  Stop.  I had to wait for glue gel to dry.  Ink to dry.  Work out the size I wanted the sentiment to print out – I only had a certain amount of space – so it needed to feel balanced.  Even when I finally said “Ahhhh.  Finished!”  I still had to wait till the next day to photograph it because the centres of the flowers have gold and silver Tonic Drops as their centre and they had to lay flat in order to keep them where they should be.

So yes..  I’ll admit that I was kind of glad this card was finally finished.  But … I’d still make it again. (I know… glutton for punishment.  lol).

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I trust your Monday went well and that now you’re home (or when you eventually get home) that you feel that wonderful “Ahhhhh” feeling when you shut the door and kick off your shoes”.

Oh I remember that moment so well and will freely admit that I don’t miss it.  Although I’m not of retirement age,  (YAY) …  naturally – because as you well know,  I’m “Ooooonly 27“,  I am truly blessed to be ‘living the retired way‘ – even if very early on in life.  And no, it’s not because I won the lottery or have pots of money – sadlyBut if I ever do …. I promise you’ll be the first to know. 

I’m glad to not have that horrible Monday morning feeling – which actually happens sometime during Sunday afternoon.  See …. not so old that I don’t remember that feeling.

I hope your Monday has ended with you having a smile on your face.  And remember … Tomorrows Tuesday … already on the way to Friday!  YAAAY for Fridays!

BUT . . .   For anyone who needs an extra smile today …  I’ve come complete with a joke.  It’s the tiniest bit naughty … but not really, because it’s your mind which will make it naughty.

A Joke For the Day

The Mole Family
A papa mole, a mama mole, and a baby mole all live together in a little mole hole.

One day, papa mole sticks his head out of the hole, sniffs the air and said,
“Yum! I smell maple syrup!”

The mama mole sticks her head out of the hole, sniffs the air and said,
“Oh, Yum! I smell honey!”

Now baby mole is trying to stick his head out of the hole to sniff the air, but can’t because the bigger moles are in the way.
This makes him whine,
“Geez, all I can smell is….

.…. Molasses!!!!!   😆

Have a truly fabulous rest of your day,  and a blessed rest of your week.

Squidges and love,

sig-coffee-copy

Buzzy little Bumble Bees!

I saw a magazine on the supermarket shelves and fell in love with the Bee themed ‘freebies’ which were being given away with the issue.  I got home and, over a coffee, I flicked through the pages, and found a few pages of ideas for what you could make with the papers.  I fell totally in love with one card, and knew that I’d make it at some stage, because it was just too lovely not too.

Last week gave me the perfect moment.  I needed to make a ‘Thank You’ card and thought the bee themed card I’d found in the magazine would be perfect,  and so, changing some of the papers, and adding my own sentiment,  I made my version of the card.

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In the magazine the maker had used some black corrugated card  for backing the main central picture.  I had no black corrugated card.  I had red, blue, yellow, pink, kraft brown, green, orange  ….  practically a whole rainbow … but no black.  “I’ll just use black card” I said to myself.  But …  I really loved that corrugated look.  So …  I did the next best thing….

I pulled out a sheet of the yellow corrugated, drew up the measurement I needed in pencil, and, taking a (cheapy) permanent marker pen, I began to turn that yellow card into black card.  I chose yellow in case any of my colouring was a bit uneven, it would at least look like it was meant to look like that (can we say ‘distressed’?) – as it would tone with the yellows on the card.  See … I do think ahead sometimes!  lol.

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By the time I’d filled the square, I’d emptied that penThankfully I had another, because I needed to colour up four Candi dots for the corners!

I added ribbon,  … and I like my ribbon more than I liked the ribbon in the magazine.  My ribbon has flowers on it!  (Much posher! lol)  Then fixed everything in place.

In the magazine they’d used a very pale shade of lemon paper as backing paper – but I preferred something a little warmer.  So chose a lovely, yummy yellow which looked like it had gently kissed the orange paint pot.

For the sentiment, I inked up some plain white card, then using a stencil and two ink pads – a shade of warm yellow and a pale burnt orange, –  I gently inked through the stencil to make a honeycomb pattern over the card.  I then stamped the ‘Thank You’ sentiment and cut it using a die, and backed it with some plain black card.

I added the four Candi dots;  a ribbon bow at the top of the card;  the sentiment;  and finally added some bees which I’d cut from some of the printed cardstock.

Then I turned my attention to the inside.  I’m not that keen on blank insides, and always try to put something in a card which adds to the whole thing in some way.  I chose a decorative die and using some black card die cut it and fixed it in place with glue.  VOILA!  One thank you card for my wonderful neighbour.

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Thank YOU for popping in for a visit!

Well …..  today is the last Monday of January 2017!   We made it through the first month of the year!  Give yourself a mental cheer!  February will be a doddle because its way shorter than any other month – so it’ll a walk in the park.  Yes?  🙂

Have a truly wonderful week.  May nothing stop you from making good choices.  May you carry an inner warmth which, every time you think about it, makes you smile.  May you share a joke or a smile with another person.  And may you do something which helps to change someone elses day around.  Make someone feel better about themselves.  Smile at a stranger.  Pay someone a compliment.  Just be nice to people.  Everyone you meet really does have something which troubles them.  They need help to smile sometimes, and maybe this week it will be your turn to help them.  Give them a reason to smile.

Here ….  here is my chance to make you smileThis squidge is a visible squidge,  from me, direct to you,  because I think you’re truly amazing . . . .

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. . . .   sending you a warm fuzzy hug and a heartfelt squidge,  from me sat here to you sat there.

 …  Be good to each other.   ~ 

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If love is blind, then why is lingerie so popular?

If love is blind ... why is lingerie so popular?
If love is blind … then why is lingerie so popular?

I had so much fun making this card.  It’s a large 8″x8″ card, made on white cardstock.  The pink, rose and printed papers (at the two corners) are all papers which came free with magazines a while back;  and the gold mirror board and flat gold card (die cut into a rectangle doily) were from my scraps drawer!

3 Love

I’m very much a thrifty crafter and won’t waste great papers if I can save them – so where I knew I wanted to curl back I simply used a large triangle of paper to cover the corners of the base white card.  ↑

4 Love

The sentiment was stamped onto gold card and embossed in black.  I felt that it needed more importance, so choose to use one of a selection of light-weight wooden frames – this one is warmer to look at than the photo shows.

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I stamped out the basque ↑ onto the same colour of pink paper as the backing paper, embossed it and then attached it to a little hand-made, wire coat hanger.  I punched a hole in the rectangular doily and ‘hung’ the basque from it.

If you look closely at the basque in the photo above ↑ you might be able to see that I used a white pen in places.  This was to place ‘light’ in the places that natural light would have fallen on parts of the basque in real life.  The ribbons, the seams, bits of the lace, etc etc.

6 LoveI stamped peacock feathers ↑ over the paler of the pink backing pages, and embossed them with a pale pink, twinkly embossing powder.  In the photo above you can see the embossed feathers.  (I was checking the page for placement of the basque on the doily to make sure that it would look right.) ↑

2 Love

Added roses in three shades, and some sprigs of a lilac type flower in white and pink. ↑

 

7 Love corners

Close up photographs ↑ of the corners ↑ which were curled back so that you can see the patterned paper underneath and the two different colours of pink papers.

Although I’d  curled and glued corners I wasn’t entirely convinced that the glue would hold, so I chose a large, warm pink brad for each corner to pin the paper in place.12 love

I attached the rectangle doily, which I’d die cut on my Ebosser, to a piece of gold mirror board, then cut around the doily so that the mirror board fitted the doily exactly.  Everything was then fixed in place, and voila!  One more card added to the pile for charity.

I had lots of fun making this card and loved the way it’s turned out.  Hope you like it too.

Have a truly lovely Sunday all!

Sending love out into the ethernet  –  so grab some as it flies by!

Cobs siggy sml

Life is a Journey .. not a Destination. ~ A vintage style handmade card

 

Life is a Journey, not a Destination.
Life is a Journey, not a Destination.

This post is dedicated to Stacey, a fellow blogger on WordPress, who came up with a brilliant idea of promoting other crafting blogs in posts.  Stacey very kindly mentioned my blog (with a link) and other crafters blogs that I hadn’t seen before which was enough to tell me that I too should take up her idea and promote crafters blogs on my own blog here. 

So, since Stacey came up with the idea, I am firstly promoting her blog (link below) and dedicating this post  – and this card  –  to Stacey. 

Stacey’s blog can be found here:  http://staceyscorner.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/share-sunday/  ~ go and take a look and maybe even click to follow her.

To Stacey,   a dedicated blog post and card,  for an amazing idea!  ~ from Cobs.

. . .  join me on a journey through this card  . . .
. . . join me on a journey through this card . . .

 

Every few days/weeks  … now and againI’ll make what I call a ‘labour intensive’ card.  One of those cards which takes more time than the regular cards you’ve so far seen me post here.  This card – ‘Life is a Journey, not a Destination’, is one of those cards.

It’s not that these types of cards are difficult, they just take a little more thinking and working out so that you end up with the ‘feel’ that you started out knowing you wanted.  This particular card was inspired by a piece of wall art which I have hung in my bedroom, facing my bed.  It’s an iron framed rectangle with a piece of calico strung in the centre and printed on the calico are the words Life is a Journey, not a Destination, and that’s what gave me the theme for the card.

I wanted the card to have a vintage style, with a slightly ‘steampunkery’ feel to it – but at the same time I knew I wanted it to carry a message,  and wanted the message to be read as either literal or spiritual, depending on who the card ended up with, and the circumstances they were in within their life, at that time.  And ... I think I’ve managed it.

This card could be for someone who’s:-  moving house;  going on a cruise or going abroad;  it could be a simple regular birthday card (for either a man or a woman);  it could be for someone who’s starting a new job;  or perhaps for a person who needs some encouragement;  maybe some tests soon?;  or … it could be given to someone who is going through some sort of personal challenge or challenging time, and this card would be a gentle, loving way of saying that they’re going to get through this time and move on to a better place or time.

I’ll give you a list of everything I used to make this card at the end of the post, because I don’t want anyone to look at the list and think that they couldn’t make a card like this.  I might have different stash to you, and I might have different cardstock; dies; ink pads; glues etc etc … but I’m pretty sure you will have things in your stash that you could use to pull a card like this or similar together.  Just because the list of stuff I’ve used might look long – please don’t be put off.  If you want to make something like this, go and look at your stash.  You’d be surprised what you can use in order to make your own style of card.

For now .. I’ll just give you different photos of the card so that you can see things closer up….

Up up and away!  . . .

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(working)  compass  to help you keep you going in the right direction . . .

 

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Time passes quickly, –  so some gentle encouragement to enjoy the beauty of every moment.

 

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As followers and readers of my blog know  …  I LOVE to put surprises inside all the cards I make.  I feel that the inside of a card is just so wasted and such a let down when you open a birthday/Christmas or any other time card, and find a big white space with a little bit of writing. 

I like cards to be beautiful inside and out and surprise the receiver when they open their card! . . . 

 

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Oooo…  I wonder what the magnifying glass is for?!   ;D 

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OOhh .. another surprise!   ..  now we have a lucky wish star and a ticket which gives me ‘entitlement’ to one wish!    But .. what the devil is that magnifying glass for???

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Ah haaaa!  . . .   It’s so you can read the page from the dictionary/thesaurus!  Ok .. one mystery solved,  . . .   but  … what’s that pink ticket by the end of the handle?

 

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Ah haaaa!  . . .  mystery number two solved!  (Just call me Sherlock.  lol)

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Oh, and by the way  … the postcard inside . . .  is for you to write your message on, for the person you’re sending the card to!  See?  It all makes sense!

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And that  . . . (photo above)  . . .   is the just finished card, stood on a glass cutting mat, on my desk …  and that’s all my  mess  important, essential, fabulous, well organised   {cough}  equipment and tools behind the card.  (I’ll clean it up properly at some point, so that I can take a photograph of my craft room and share it.)

 

The Recipe for this cardI used:

  • Sheena Douglass – Little Bit Sketchy – Magnifying glass stamp.
  • Papermania Acetate (for the ‘window’ of the magnifying glass)
  • Papermania Black Embossing Powder
  • Stazon ‘Saddle Brown’ ink pad
  •      ”       ‘Jet Black’ ink pad
  • Memento Dye Ink Pad in ‘Desert Sand’
  •      ”               ”            ”     in ‘Rich Cocoa”
  • Xcut Build-a-Scene Dies – Vintage Hot Air Balloon
  • Heartfelt Creations 12×12 pad – which I used some of the images from.
  • Spellbinders ‘Once upon a Time’ Die
  • Tattered Lace ‘Postcards’ Die set
  • Heartfelt Creations ‘Time Sentiments’ stamp
  •         ”               ”          ‘Journey Sentiments’ stamp
  • Pinflair Gentle Blends – in Denim colour
  •       ”            ”            ”      –  in Dark Khaki colour
  • Graph It Glitter Ink Pen
  • Compass – was in a pack of 4 I bought a while ago, from the children’s section of either Asda or Tesco.
  • Dictionary page was cut from an old Dictionary/Thesaurus which was no longer used.
  • Cardstock used:
  • Warm Chocolate Brown 300gsm
  • Plain Black 270gsm
  • Orange – was scrap from my scrap draw
  • White – 270gsm
  • Kraft Card – 300gsm
  • Extras:
  • 2 x short lengths of silver-grey Rayon Seam Binding.
  • Grey and white Bakers Twine
  • 3 x fuzzy, funky fibre, Eyelash Knitting Yarn/Wool –  1 x length of warm brown.  1 x  length of jet black.  1 x length of a blues and purples mix.
  • One tiny metal vintage looking Postcard embellishment.

And that’s all there is to it!  😀

Aw, please don’t be daunted by the apparently long list of ingredients for this recipe.   I’ve named almost everything I used here just to be helpful to anyone who wants to know where I got a particular thing, or the make of the papers or dies etc,  (named everything apart from glue .. but if you need to know:  I used Collall All Purpose, Anita’s Tacky Glue, hot glue, and Double Sided Tape) – but I bet you use tons of stuff when you craft a card and you don’t even notice what you’re using anymore.  It’s just all  … ‘stuff’ … which is treasured and loved,  and there because you use it!

Thank you so much for coming to read.  I hope you like the card!  Oh … and don’t forget to visit Stacey’s blog!

Please have a look around my blog here and check out the different categories.  There’s a list of them all in the column over to the right, – you’ll find the list of categories towards the top of that column.

Have a truly beautiful rest of your day!  ~

Cobs siggy sml