Mermaid Kisses

Dia daoibh!

There was a lovely walk along the east coast of Ireland recently. The sea was sparkling and the air was fresh. No swim though. Absolutely not. Five year old me watched Jaws and that fear is still filed under Very Important Life Lessons. Only joking. Mostly. The real reason is the water is still so cold it could reset your personality. Even the sea itself looks at you like 'don’t be daft'.

Once I finished my walk and stopped pretending I was a coastal explorer, it was straight back to the craft room. If you cannot be in the sea, you can at least craft something that belongs in it. Which brings me to the challenge over at HQFCB where the theme is always Anything Fantasy Goes. I went with Mermaid Kisses by Mo’s Digital Pencil because mermaids are far more glamorous than anything I had going on.

This card includes a bit of real life crafting drama as the silhouette cameo decided to act like a temperamental vintage relic. So instead of wasting good cardstock I used the off page stamp technique and called it a creative choice. The image was coloured with Promarkers, finished with Tonic Studios White Blizzard Nuvo Drops for sparkle, and the sentiment was stamped with Versafine ink which behaved itself for once (which deserves a mention all on its own).

A few challenges:

Allsorts #848 - Anything But Square or Anything Goes

Crafty Catz #712 - Anything goes

Krafty Chicks #818 - Anything Goes with option of Color an Image

Crafty Gals Corner #276 - Anything Goes with optional twist of Spring

I Love Promarkers and Other Mediums #606 - Summer

Be sure to pop over and check out the DT’s creativity over on the HQFCB blog. Their makes are full of inspiration and may result in you buying supplies you absolutely do not need but will deeply love.

And finally remember. You can admire the Irish sea. You can photograph the Irish sea. You can romanticise the Irish sea. But you do not get into the Irish sea. That is how legends are born!

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🍀

Mop, Drop, and Roll… Then Make a Card

Dia daoibh!

Oh there I was, gliding through the kitchen like a majestic swan—well, that was the plan anyway. In reality, I hit a sneaky patch of water (note to self: freshly washed floors are treacherous) and executed a perfect slapstick banana peel moment. Arms flailing, one leg in the air like I was auditioning for Riverdance: The Slippery Years. No injuries—just the suspicious side-eye from the cat, who clearly thinks I’m unfit for independent living.

Now, onto safer ground—my card:

It features not one, but a few fabulous butterflies cut from a freebie by Miss Kate Cuttables (because we love a good freebie). I designed it in layered glory using Core’dinations cardstock and vellum, giving it that airy, “just fluttered by to say hi” feel. The butterflies are raised on foam pads for dimension. For sparkle (always yes to sparkle), I added clear gemstones with the kind of reckless joy usually reserved for glitter bombs. I gave the background a subtle misting of Ranger Distress Spray Stain in Brushed Pewter—it’s not showing up well in the photo, but trust me, it shimmers like moonlight on a puddle (the non-slippery kind). The sentiment reads Happy Days, from the Sizzix Framelits Detailed Tropics set, and is stamped in Versafine ink. It’s cheerful, crisp, and stamped so well it practically winked at me.

A few challenges:

• Creative Knockouts #551 Sparkle and Shine
• Ellibelle's Garden Party - July - Anything in or from the garden
• Just Us Girls #784 - Mood Board (see below)
• Krafty Chicks #777 - Clean & Simple
• TIME OUT Challenges #293  - Inspired by your favorite song (well, one of my favourites: Kacey Musgraves - Butterflies )
• Color My Heart Color Dare #660 Color Board:

So while my kitchen choreography may need work, my card is giving butterflies and good vibes all around.

Sláinte!

Wendy R. 🦋

Floral Mail and a Bit of Craic

Dia Daoibh!

I’ve got a card today that’s full of crafty joy, a bit of sparkle, and a whole lot of positive vibes—because who doesn’t need a reminder that they’re fabulous every now and then?

This card came together with a few favourite supplies and a generous sprinkle of “ah sure, we’ll see what happens.” I used Core’dinations cardstock in shades closest to Peacock, Blueberry, and Grape—basically a fancy fruit bowl of the paper world—cut with the Taylored Expressions Easy Strips Die – 1/4". The flowers were die-cut and popped up with foam pads for a bit of dimension, with gem centres added because even minimalist cards deserve a little bling. The sentiment is from the Taylored Expressions You Are Additions set, stamped in Versafine for that crisp, “look at me being professional” finish. And yes, it’s on foam pads too—because flat sentiments are only for days when you’ve run out of tea.

A few challenges I'm joining:

• Sisterhood of Crafters (5/14/25) - Flowers
• Word Art Wednesday #702-703 - Anything Goes
• Unicorn Challenge #110 - Not Square
• Addicted to CAS #284 - Code Word: Floral 

• CAS Colours & Sketches #610 - Color Challenge: 

This little number will be heading off to one of my mailing buddies as part of the Card Chain Challenge. I’ll be sending it along with my actual challenge card (which is still just a twinkle in my crafty eye). If you haven’t signed up yet—go on, you’ll have great craic sending happy post around the world!

Seriously, what’s better than opening your letterbox to find something that isn’t a leaflet for solar panels?

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 😊