Saturday, May 18, 2013

Life is Beautiful

Hello everyone.   I would like to welcome more new followers.   I appreciate your interest & visits to my Blog, without all of you it would not be so much fun.

You might need a cup of Tea, this is a longer post than normal :)   First I have a card created for Designs by Ryn.    I used another one of her new & amazing water effects stamp - Trickling Water Set along with African Daisy


I used Dylusions & Distress Inks along with stencils to create the background.  I used a brick design as I wanted the water to trickle down a wall.   I rubbed silver Viva Inka Gold wax over the left hand side 'bricks' that were created with a molding paste over the stencil.  I stamped the Trickling Water with blue archival ink and highlighted with a white pen and added a little water with a brush to blend the water colour.

I embossed the African Daisies with silver, painted with Tombows & cut them out to layer over the background. The sentiment is a stamp given with the entrance package at the Art Specially stamp show in 2012 -given to me as a gift from a very kind family member :)

Stencils used:  TCW mini Cell Theory & the Bricks are by Panduro Design (also gifts given to me by kind ladies)


And as promised, I've included some photos from my recent trip to the Netherlands. 


I had a busy & fun vacation visiting with family & lots of activities including heading to Amsterdam for the coronation of King Willem-Alexander.   We joined in the festivities downtown and kept up with the tradition of wearing something orange.   It was a day of fun in a wonderful atmosphere.


Boats in a Canal & Spectators, lots of Orange! 

I wanted to be in the Netherlands for the Art Specially stamp show where I thought I might have bumped into many Blog friends.  But I could not be there at that time, it was disappointing for me.

However, I was blessed to have a special day with two friends who joined my family for a creative day.    Miranda from Miracle Art Inspirations (& also teammate from both Designs by Ryn & Chocolate Baroque Design Teams) and Marja from Marja's Stamp Addiction.

Miranda, Me, Marja
Creating Tissue backgrounds for tags, Miranda is our Coach



My tag :)

Tissue background tags created by the group


Marja gave each of us a gift of stone art that she created.   Each stone was painted & stamped with images that she designed for Kico Stamps (Netherlands). 
Marja's Stone Art - Thank you they are beautiful !


A few more shots of scenery
Blossoms
One of the highlights was shopping at the wonderful Posthumus Stamp Shop downtown Amsterdam.   Of course I purchased new stamps, what stamp addict could resist?   Beautiful cards created by Miranda are on display at this store.

Canal downtown Amsterdam

Goodbye Netherlands it was GREAT !!!


And back to the card design, here is closer view :)


Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend,
Shirley

44 comments:

maria's knutselplezier said...

What a wonderfull visit did you have to the Netherlands, dear Shirley, and you met 2 creative soulmates!!! It's a pitty that I didn't live near Amsterdam it, was a good occasion to meet you, you made wonderfull work together with Miranda and Marja, they are both very nice and very talanted!! Your tag with the flowers looks wonderfull!!! Have a great week in your canada, as well!!

Greetings
Maria

Anneke said...

Beautiful pictures of the Netherlands. Seems as if you had a great time over there! Beautiful tag and a lovely card!

Patricia said...

Your card is LOVELEY as always, and your trip to the Netherlands i wish i had know, because i was also by the Art Specialy, and i love to meet people from the blogs (lol)
Maybe next time.
Greetz Patricia

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

Wow what a lovely card, I love the brick wall effect, the rain drops running down, and the lovely flowers. It sure looks like you had a wonderful time in the Netherlands, and being there with family to celebrate the coronation of thier new king must of been something special.What fun you must have had getting together with Miranda and Marja, it looks like you had a super day. The tags are all wonderful and the stones that Marja made are so gorgeous, a great keepsake.

Hop you are having a great weekend.
Sue x

marg said...

Hello Shirley
What a lovely trip!
So exiting for you to see all the activities,and meet Miranda, and Marja!
Love the Artwork too!
LoveMarg

Janny Jager said...

Great card Shirley and also the tag is very beautyful.
Nice to reed that you had a very nice weekend in Holland.
Greetings Janny

Marja's Stamp Addiction en Marja's Creativity said...

Indeed life is beautiful. Also the day that Miranda and I met you and your family. It was such a great day dear Shirley.
Your card is fabulous again. Real Shirley and of course these colors haha.
Lovely greet and big hugs
Marja

Rosie said...

Wow, this is a wonderful postcard, Shirley.
Wonderful pictures from the Netherlands and the lovely Ladies.

Thank you for sharing.

Have a wonderful weekend

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

Your 3 ladies workshop was certainly a great fun:-)
Thanks for sharing the fantastic journey photos and the beautiful art works.

Anonymous said...

hi shirley, your card is gorgeous and such lovely pics! sounds like you had a fabulous adventure and some fun crafting time. i love the tissue background tags; they're all so vivid. hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend and sunshine.
linda

Sandy said...

I truly enjoyed every one of your pictures and your card is so beautiful - I am going to have to look into this trickling water -- and wowzer - your colors are so pretty!
sandy

Elaine said...

Fantastic card Shirley. Lovely vibrant coloured background and great brick texture, giving a super setting for the flowers and water droplets. Lovely pictures of your special tme in the Netherlands, and lovely to be able to see the coronation celebrations too. I would love to be able to visit Posthumus. Hope you are having a good weekend. Elaine xxx

Paula (PEP) said...

I love the way you have placed the water droplets at the top with the aqua colour & the bottom part of your design is hasn't any of the aqua colour (yet!!) - it's as if the aqua is going to run down the wall as your water droplets do..... perhpas that's just my fanciful imagination playing with words & imagery. Your photos are delightful - lovely to see what you, Miranda & Marja look like & I love the tissue background projects.
Paula (PEP)

Miranda said...

Hi teamie, wow such a beautiful card with these colours, they are splashing! Love the texture on the bricks and the droplets are great with it! Also lovely moments to remember and to treasure mmm? We had such a great day and too short.....
Big hug and greet from the heart,xxMiranda

Bianca said...

What a colourful card, its a beauty!!! Your photos from Holland are beautiful.

greetings Bianca

Sandy said...

Did I tell you that I loved this so much that I ordered a couple of the stamps!!
Sandy

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

Your card looks so great...as usual Shirley :-)
And what a great meeting you had with Miranda and Marja. It looks like you all had a very creative and cosy day together.
Nice pictures from your stay!
Cherish the memories...

Have a nice weekend, Alie :-)

Cathy said...

Gorgeous card Shirley, the colours are amazing. Wonderful photos too TFS, those tags you all made look stunning :) Cathy x

MaryH said...

What an absolutely wonderful post today! Got to see another one of your masterpiece cards (LOVE those colors you used with these wonderful Ryn stamps too), but also some marvy pictures of a place I've never seen. Beautiful! Lucky you to get to that stamp store-it looked fascinating! Bet you will remember this trip for a long time to come. Thanks for sharing both your pretty card & also the great pictures. (Re your comment: I did enjoy seeing all the Smithsonian jewels, but in retirement I seldom wear more than my good luck earrings - & a plain wedding ring if I'm traveling. The good luck earrings are cherubs swinging in a hoop, given by DH many many anniversaries ago. I always wear when we travel.The jewelry we saw, wouldn't fit my personality at all, even IF it fit my budget!!!!) TFS Hugs.

Gery said...

Shirley, your card looks great!!! Love the colours, but also d
the design of the card with these beautiful droplets!!
Thanks for your sharing your holidayfun in Holland. I realy enjoyed reading this.
It made me smile and I could feel the fun you had.
I also love the Posthumus store, I can realy get lost there!
Groetjes Gery

Anonymous said...

Fab post Shirley. Really enjoyed reading about your adventures. Wish I had known you were in Europe I would have loved to have met up with you. Looks and sounds like you had a lot of fun with Marja and Miranda. Luck you!!!! Thank you for sharing all of the goodies.
Crafty Hugs,
Florence x

Shirley said...

Life is beautiful is such a fabulous heading for this post Shirley. Not only the gorgeous creations which you have shared but some amazing photos of your trip to Holland.

Crafty hugs from me also, Shirley x x

Donna Ellis said...

wooo hoooo! Thank you for sharing your photos of your recent trip, Shirley - you are soooo pretty. The photos look great, and made me happy you were able to go, jet lag or not. Today's card share is lovely! I am especially intrigued by the colors in the brick, and the "smudged" magenta area to accommodate the sentiment. Wonderful images, and delightful colors. Your cards always have that special doorway into The Imaginative and Fantasy. Love what you do. Thanks for taking the close-up of your card, too, to give a better idea of the background. hugs, de

Ryn Tanaka said...

Hey Shirley,
Great to see your travel pics. You look like you we're having so much fun! Especially on your craft day. Great tags and those painted stones are such a neat idea from Marja! What beautiful presents :)
Thank you as well for posting your lovely card! Trickling Water Set looks awesome with the brick pattern you used. Good idea!
P.S. I would love to meet up with you in July :) Hugs!!!

Sue said...

Hi Shirley, looks like you had such a wonderful time! I love Amsterdam and the people are so friendly:) this is gorgeous awesome colours love it huggles hun Sue xxxxxxx

Ryn Tanaka said...

P.S. The move went well :) Thanks so much for your email. Will write something back soon. Hugs!

Ballie (Bennarda) said...

Nice cards and nice in Amsterdam, great to see your travel pics.You have
a wonderful blog, I,m follow you. Nice you follow my.
Bye-bye, Bennarda (Ballie)

http://balliescreationballie.blogspot.com

Di said...

Really beautiful card Shirley. Lovely to see your holiday pics and specially nice to see some of you too! Di xx

Wendy said...

Firstly - lovely card! the raised bricks are a fab idea, what make of molding paste do you use? Secondly- your holiday pics are great! Wow, how much talent was there in that room with you 3 extremely clever ladies?!! Those tags are just beautiful! How did you make them? Glad you had a lovely holiday, have a great day! xxxx

Gerrina said...

Hope you will be in theNetherlands another time when the Art Specially event is held; would love tp see you "in the flesh" !
The card looks great! love the idea of waterdrips from a wal and the combination of ink and paste for the bricks. Sunny greetings today! Gerrina

Shona said...

Wow! Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Those tags are gorgeous, do you know of a tutorial anywhere for how to do the tissue paper b'grounds?
As always I love your card. You always use the most fabulous colours and I really like the texture given with the molding paste. Someday, I'm going to get some sprays and some stencils and try stepping out of my comfort zone, because I'm really loving the type of cards you do.

Claire said...

Wow what fab photos, love the tags and those stones are beautiful. Glad you had such a good time. Your card is really beautiful, those water droplets look real and I love the flowers. Hope you've had a good weekend
Claire xx

Janny's Cards Creations said...

Wow. You had great days. The card is beautiful. Janny

Karin said...

Wow gorgeous card and it looks like you had a fun time time in the netherlands! Have a great day!
Groetjes karin x

Jeannette said...

WOW,georgus card,the colors so brilliant,love it.
i see you have great fun in holland,thanks for the photos.

have a nice day,greetings jeannette

Darnell said...

Another awesome and beautiful card, Shirley! It's no wonder you hoard your background paper ~ you don't need them when you can make your own that is 100 times more brilliant!

Thank you for sharing the vacation photos. You look like you had a wonderful time. Those tags and that HUGE store - magnificent!! Next time take me with you!!

Marn said...

Hi Shirley!
What a terrific card you made again, I love it! This one is so well put together with the brick wall, the daisies and the trickling water, very very nice! I looove the colours again too! Beautiful card, nicely done!
So glad you had a great trip to Holland! :) Great pics! :)
Warm greetings, Marlene :)

Ellen Taylor said...

Look at you! Just as cute as a button!! Thanks for sharing pixs of your trip and letting me live vicariously through you!! It looks like beautiful country and has some pretty talented artists there as well! Those rocks and tags are to die for and are very inspiring!! Your card is pretty fantastic too! Love the vivid colors and the trickling raindrops! Gorgeous girl! Glad you made it safe and sound home from your trip!
Have a fab day!
Hugs,
Ellen

Colleen Dietrich said...

Oh, Shirley! I am so excited for you, having a trip of a lifetime to the Netherlands. Wish I could've stowed in your suitcase. ;) The pictures are wonderful, as are the projects you showed today.

Always beautiful things to see here at your blog! Welcome home!

Ineke Original said...

Wow! Lucky YOU! You are in good company.

Sophie said...

Oh, Shirley, ich freue mich, dich mal so im ganzen auf einem Foto zu sehen.
Du bist eine hübsche sympatische Dame :-)
Und ihr habt eine wunderbare Zeit gehabt mit ganz viel Spaß.
Und tolle Sachen habt ihr gemacht, wunderschöne Tgas.

Liebe Grüße und Umarmung von Sophie xx

Ina G said...

What an absolutely stunner Shirley so beautiful. Gorgeous photos and thanks for sharing.

Bärbel said...

Die Karte ist wunderschön, der Hintergrund großartig gestaltet! Ich liebe diesen Mauer-Hintergrund!
Die Reise und die vielen Eindrücke werden gern in der Erinnerung bestehen bleiben, vor allem Treffen mit Freunden, die das gleiche Hobby teilen.
Liebe Grüße, Bärbel

Bonnie said...

Wow! Lucky you! An amazing trip and stamping with friends is the best! What beautiful tags you made. This card is gorgeous too!