Cherry Blossom Card & What the Postman Delivered

Good Evening,

I meant to bring part of this post to you yesterday but I had the chance so opted to visit my great-granddaughter instead - just couldn't resist the opportunity for a cuddle and to assure myself that all the family were doing well too, and they are. So it's catch up time and here's the latest completed card.

The inspiration for this notecard was taken from this beautiful photograph provided by Clare Curd in her Inspiration Challenge at Docrafts. 

I didn't have any stamp, digi image, or any other image type of an orchid but I did have this cherry blossom image all coloured up ready to use. I went for a pink/lilac/green colour combination and made use of one of the new masks from Creative Expressions to emboss the Core'dinations Cardstock which I had never used before.

Materials used:

• Rose pink pearlescent cardstock for base
• Core'dinations Cardstock, the Whitewash Collection (white/lilac combo)
• Creative Expressions Mask for embossing
• Docrafts Woodland Folk Paper Pack
• Stamps - My Craft Studio Cherry Blossom digital stamp & Ladybug Crafts It's Only Words 2 sentiment
• B-C-E Baby Nesties oval template for matting
• Ink-it-up Kelly Green ink pad
• Dark green ric-rac trim

Frankly, the colours I used are nothing like those in the photograph but I'm still happy with the end result. I like the way the flowers in the mask are similar to those in the design paper from the Woodland Folk pack, which is really pretty, particularly on the inside.

I still want to enter this card for Clare's Inspiration Challenge despite there not being an orchid in sight!

Now to what the postman brought at last - at last because these were ordered well before Christmas but because of all the snow, etc., have only just arrived. I can't believe how odd the postal service has been over the last couple of weeks. Christmas cards posted at the same time and therefore you would expect to be delivered much about the same time I have found have been delivered as much as two weeks apart. The last reported sighting was a card delivered as late as Monday : (

Firstly, with a view to organising my crafting stuff to make it easier for me to find stuff I order some storage containers from Weston Boxes and here they are:

I got a pack of 2 A4 size boxes and a pack of 5 of what they call the Peel-Off box (measures 245mm x 108mm x 30mm) - I've already got quite a few 12 x 12 containers for my scrapbooking supplies. One A4 box now has all the free papers collected from magazines - and as there is so much I've resolved to use some of it up. The other box I've used to store toppers. As you can probably see I've managed to fill three of the Peel-Off boxes, one with peel-offs of course, bling in another and stickers in the third. That leaves two spare.
So for now I'm really happy at how I've sorted out and tidied up all my crafting stuff - I just have to stop buying more : (

And that brings us to the second parcel the postman brought. My Lavinia order - feast your eyes on this:

Stamps (pheasant on fence, spiderweb, naked tree & foliage, fences, flock of birds), Adirondack ink pads (eggplant, citrus, sunshine yellow), Versafine ink pads (Olympia green, vintage sepia, crimson red, imperial purple) and a bottle of holographic glitter. Now, I know that this was a rather extravagant purchase but it was prompted by the projects illustrated in the November Craft Stamper - you can just catch a glimpse of it propped on my chicken box at the back of the photo. I saw it and was lost!!! A tad aambitious perhaps but I'm going to give it a try.

We saw the return of the snow this week but it didn't last long and just as well because my snail suffered yet again, as did his companion, the duck.

And, in case your wondering, these garden creatures were acquired when the grandchildren were small to entertain and amuse and now they are here to stay!

That's me for tonight - I'm off to see the Dancing on Ice skate off.

Bye for now
Elizabeth