Dutch Dare #41: A Little Giftbox

Good morning everyone,

I just spemd 2 hours at the school of my girls, helping out with their crafting morning. Guess what we made.... eastercards!! I took a lot of my stuff to school and the kids were all very enthousiastic. They were supposed to make 1 card but they ended up making 2 or 3 cards.

Next Monday and Tuesday I go back and will have another 15 kids who want to make a eastercard. So I'm going to be busy after the weekend. Hopefully I will have some time to make a few cards myself this weekend otherwise I will have nothing to show you next week.

And now on to this weeks challenge over at the Dutch Dare Challenge.

This week no card but something altered.

This weeks challenge is...

A little giftbox

Hop over and have a look at all the great boxes the DT-Members created for you this week.

I made a little gift box filled with some yummie easter chocolate eggs.

The template for this little box can be found HERE.

The papers I used are from SU and the stamp is from Whiff of Joy.

Thanks for stopping by today,
xoxo Karin

Little giftbox for my dad's birthday

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I promissed to show you a little giftbox a made for my dad's birthday last Sunday.

Like everything lately it was a last-minute action.

I saw this cute little box in a Dutch Card Magazine and thought it would be perfect for my dad's present.

My dad loves aftershave and every year on his birhtday we get him a bottle of his favorite brand. This year I wanted to do something special.

first i made a drawing of the box with all the sizes, cuts and folds so the bottle would fit in it.

For this little box I used papers from Kaiser Crafts and My Mind's Eye.

The cute image is from Whiff of Joy and the little flower gems are form a local Dutch Store.

I'm sorry for the blurry photo's but it was pretty dark outside when I took the pictures

Hope you like my little box.

xoxo Karin

Sketch #24 over at the JCBC challenge blog

Goodmorning and happy Monday to you all.

I love Mondays. Peace and quietness at home after very busy weekends.

Because I work every Saturday we only have Sundays together. But the last few weeks we haven't been home on sundays either. So not much time to relax. My day to relax is Monday. Updating my blog, posting another challenge on the JCBC, making drafts for the rest of the week, leave comments on ceveral blogs, answering emails and trying to make a few cards. Doesn't sound like relaxing, but for me it is. So right now I'm 'relaxing'.

Today we have a great new sketch for you to follow over at the JCBC blog. Tanja made a sketch which can be used in so many different ways.

I made a Christmas card using a cute Tilda image form the last Christmas collection. Papers are from My Minds Eye and the stars and gems are from stash.

Tomorrow I will be back showing you a little giftbox I made for my dad's birthday.

I love making altered items like giftboxes, wallet cards, purses and other altered shaped cards and boxes.

I'm planning on posting a few altered items, found on different blogs, every Tuesday. So if you know a someone who posted a cute altered item with tutorial please send me a email (with a link to that project) so I can make a post about it.

Well I'm of to relax a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo Karin

A sketch on the Dutch Dare Challenge

Goodmorning everyone,

this week we have a great sketch for you to follow at the Dutch Dare Challenge.

It's a very busy sketch, so a real challenge for me. I made this card last Monday when I had a crafting morning with my mum. Yesterday when I was at work she came by to show me 2 cards she made all by herself. With the limited supplies she has I think she did a pretty great job. I will show you some pictures of her creations after the weekend. She doesn't want to have her own blog because she's a complete nerd when it comes to computers (she's already a happy girl when she can start it up ;o).

For my card I used the beautifull papers from My minds Eye (Bloom and Grow), my Martha Stewart borderpunch (I just love this punch) some Primaflowers and A Sugar Nellie image.

I hope you all have a great day,

xoxo Karin

Blog Candy Winners

Goodmorning everyone,

Thank you all so much for making my blogcandy a real party!!

Almost 370 entries, never in my wildest dreams I thought so may ladies would enter.'

It's been a full-time job writing papers with your names for the draw. But it's been so much fun doing this.

I won't keep you waiting any longer.. here are the winners of my blogcandy.

The winner of the 2 Hanglar stamps is....

SUSIE SUGAR

The winner of the Anya stamp is....

KC FROGLADY

The winner of the 2 Alota stamps is.....

ANGELMOON

The winner of the Rubbernecker stamp is....

Daniela (craftingdanielle)

Congratulations to all of you.

Could you please email me your address so I can ship the prizes to you.

Thanks for making this so very special to me, hopefully I'll be back soon again with another yummie candy.

Thanks for stopping by today,

xoxo Karin

Heading towards 25,000 hits: Candy time!!!

This post wil stay on top untill March 17th. Scroll down for all new articles.

I'm heading towards the 25,000 hits and in a few weeks I have my 1st blogoversary.

I would like to thank all my friends and visitors for making my first bloggingyear a great one. I met a lot of great ladies and made a lot of friends who have become really precious to me.

And to show you my appreciation I have some yummie candy which excists of:

2 Hanglar stamps

8 6x6 papers from My Minds Eye (bloom & grow)

A Stamping Up border punch

Some flowers, ribbon and heart shaped charms

What do you need to do to winn this candy?

Just leave a comment on this post and spread the word about my candy on your blog.If you become a follower of my blog I will give you another entry.And for everyone who is helping me to cheer-up my mum and dad by sending them a card (read my post from March 2nd) will get another entry for making me the happiest girl in the world.

For every 75th entry I will be adding a extra prize.

The candy is open to everyone, I ship worldwide. And if you don't have a blog just send me a email and you'll be entered into the draw.

Candy closes on Tuesday March 17th. Winner will be announced on Wednesday March 18th

CANDY UP-DATE MARCH 8TH.!!!!!

I'm well over 75 entries, so that means a second prize.

A gorgeous Anya mermaid stamp (stamp is still on it's way, so there's just a picture of it on the photo), in a decorated tin box filled with flowers. And 8 beautifull 6x6 papers from My Minds Eye.

CANDY UP-DATE MARCH 13TH

3rd prize - a cute Alota stamps

4th prize - Rubbernecker stamp

Good luck to all of you

xoxo Karin

My mum's first cards and a new sketch on the JCBC blog

Happy Monday everyone,

I just got home from a great morning together with my mum. A lot of you know my mum has been poorly for more then a year now and has been in and out of the hospital for so many times during this period. Because she doesn't go outside much she was looking for something to do with all her time. A few weeks back she wanted to try to colour some images (untill now she was mainly a 3D cardmaker) and today we made a few cards together.

I promissed you to show you her cards when she finally has the time to make some, so here are my mums first cards.... We both hope you like them.

MY MUM'S FIRST CARDS

And today we have a great new sketch made by Kristin on the JCBC blog.

For my card I used papers from My Mind's Eye and a really cute Magnolia stamp from last years christmas collection. The leaves, star and gems are all from stash. When I finished my card I thought something was missing. There's so much open space left, but when I stick to the sketch this is the best I can do.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I hope your day is just as great as mine is.

xoxo Karin

DT-Call for a new stamp company called Inky Impressions

Hi Everyone,

ealier this week i received a email from Nicole, onwer of a new stampcompany called Inky Impressions, asking me to enter the DT-call for her company.

If you haven't visited her blog I suggest you do it right now and check-out the gorgeous sneek-peaks of the soon to be released stamps. The names of those gorgeous girly stamps are Lily and Angelica.

Stage one for the DT-call is to make a post on your blog with pictures of 2 of your best cards. I think this harder then creating a card. Took me forever to pick them.

The 2 cards I picked are my favorites because of the colours and lay-out and I think they represent my style of cardmaking.

Well I'm of to take a shower and get dressed. Today is Britt's special day, she has to swimm for her diploma in a few hours and she's pretty excited about. Tomorrow I will post a few photo's of this event on their blog.

So please visit their blog tomorrow and leave Britt a sweet comment.

Have a nice Saturday,

xoxo Karin

Some exciting news

Goodmorning everyone,

I have some exciting news to share... I've been to chosen to be a DESIGN TEAM MEMBER for a recently opened digi-webshop called SQUIGGLEFLY.

If you haven't heard or seen the great images they have in store I suggest you hop over this great shop and have a look at the wide variety of images.

Over the past couple of weeks I became addicted to digi-stamps. When I see something I want, I don't want to wait a week, I want to use them right away.

And ordering Digi-stamps is so very easy. Within a few minutes ready to use.

Here's a card I made using the Whimsical Giraffe.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend,

xoxo Karin

I'm sorry I forgot..... over at the DDCC

Goodmorning everyone,

Can't believe it's Thursday already. This week I've being very busy with catching up. Catching up with cleaning, blogging, emailing, making cards etc. etc. And still I can't say that I've done everything. But there's one big advantage in being so busy... I'll never get bored.

The past few days we had some quick family dinners, because we only have about 15 minutes for dinner because I have to get my .... to work. On one of these nights there was a commercial on tv that really bothered Ron and myself. It's a commercial for a car insurance.You see a lot of people jumping of all kind of buildings and landing on some soft things. Ruby and Britt saw this and the first thing they said was: wow, this is so very cool, can we do that too?? Ron and I were completely shocked about this. What are those people thinking broadcasting this kind of commercials when little kids are wacthing tv? When our girls are thinking this is cool, then there must be a lot more kids thinking the same. I bet the creator of this commercial don't have little kids at home and just think about the money.I have to admit, it's a commercial everybody remembers, so it's good for businness, but please don't show this type of commercials before 8PM. Hopefully they will forbid this commercial and related ones to be broadcasted before 8PM. Would make me sleep much better at night.

***

And now for this weeks challenge over at the Dutch Dare Challenge.

This weeks theme is:

Sorry I forgot......

I know for sure, I'm not the only one forgetting things, I already have one ready incase I forget another birthday.

For my card I used papers from MOD and this cute Sweet Ebony image. I think she really has a guilty look on her face, perfect for my card. Border is made by a Martha Stewart punch and the flowers are from Prima.

Thanks for stopping by today,

xoxo Karin

Sketch #22 over at JCBC-blog

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe I forgot to post my DT-card for the new challenge over at the JCBC - blog. The last few weeks I can't seem to member a lot of things. Instead of slowing things down a bit it's getting busier by the week. Not just with blogging and cardmaking but also in our daily life. There's so much to do, in so little time, I'm a happy girl when I finish my 2 DT-cards every week.

This week we have a great sketch made by Linda. And for one lucky lady we have 2 beautifull Whiff of Joy stamps, donated by Marcel and Katharina.

I would like to thank Agnes, Josee and Maureen for passing on this beautifull award on to me. Thanks girls, you've made my day with it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo Karin

Wine and Dine over at Cute Card Thursday

My mum is home from the hospital, the girls are upstairs watching a DVD and I finally found the time to create a card.

It's a very simple card made with left-overs from a few Heidi Grace papers.

The image I used is a download from SQUIGGLEFLY called "overwhelmd". It's a new webshop with only downloads. They have some great designs in their shop, so if you have got the time you really should pay them a visit.

This card matches this weeks challenge over at Cute Card Thursday... Wine and Dine.

I hope you all will have a great weekend.

Hugs,

xoxo Karin

A tropical Dutch Dare

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great sofar. Yesterday we heard some great news regarding my mum. She's coming home tomorrow. Her amonia has gone, and getting her strength back is something she can do at home. So just one more visite today and tomorrow I have to pick her up and get her home. My dad (and all of us) are soglad she's coming home, next week my sister and dad are celebrating their birthday and it wouldn't be a real celebration when she's not there.

With not much time for any crafting this week I kept my DT example for this weeks challenge over at the Dutch Dare very simple.

This weeks challenge is to create something tropical.

I used stamps from Alota and Hanglar for my tropical wall hanging.

Flowers are from prima and the chipboard letters are from a local Dutch Store.

In a few minutes I'm going to meet my friend Nikki for coffee. I can hear you thinking: meeting her for coffee, when I live in holland and Nikki lives in the UK? Yes, we are going to meet for coffee. Last week we've discovered SKYPE. This way you can call anyone in the world and have a live chat. You can use SKYPE just to call, but when you have a webcam you also can see each other. We've made our first call last Friday and we've chatted for more then 1 hour. It's so great to be able to have a real chat, instead of just emailing.

Using Skype is very simple, just download the programm, fill in a few lines (username etc), attach your camera and you are ready to talk.

Thanks for stopping by today, and odn't forget to enter my candy.

xoxo Karin

Challenge #21 at the JCBC

Goodmorning everyone,

I hope you all had a very nice weekend. Mine has been chaotic and very busy.

Late Thursday night my dad called to tell my that my mum was admitted into the hospital (again!!). That afternoon she went outside to get some groceries (the first time she got outside in over a week) and a few hours later she couldn't breath and had a real high temperature. At the hospital they did all kind of check-ups and they've diagnosed her with an amonia.

For all of you who don't read my blog regularly, my mum has been in and out of the hospital for about 10 times in the last 1 1/2 year. She's hasn't been feeling 100% one single day during that time. And the last 6 months she is not going outside very much, she's to afraid to catch something.

Everything is comming down to my dad right now. He's doing pretty much everything, simply because my mum isn't up for it. I'm so very proud of them. They are both stuggling with their health but they hang in there.

The only thing we can do for them, is beeing there in times when they need us.

With everything is happening to them lately I have a small favour to ask. In order to cheer them up a bit I want to ask you to send them a cheer-up card. I know for sure they would love to receive some wonderfull cards (and it would make me very happy to see happy smiles on their surprised faces). They would really brighten their day.

Please send me a email if you want to send them a card so I can give you the address.

***

And now on to the new challenge over at the JCBC -Blog. This week we have a great sketch for you to follow created by Rheannon. For my card I used papers from the Cloud 9 -Valentines range -. The image used is a download from a webshop called SQUIGGLEFLY. The 2 daughters of my friend Holly started this downloadshop, and I think they sell beautifull images. So make sure you pay this little shop a visit and check out the great downloads they have.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo Karin

Dutch Dare Challenge #37: a sketch

Goodmorning everyone,

a quick post today, because in 20 minutes I have to drag myself to the dentist. If it was just for a check-up it wouldn't be so bad, but I have a big problem with one of my molars. In the back of my mouth I have just a half molar, so they put over a crown (don't know if I translated that correctly). Now there's a whole inderneath it and has to be repaired. They explained what they are going to do, and only the thought of it makes me really sick. Yesterday I almost called them to cancel the appointment. But I have to go someday and decided to be a big girl and just go.

This week we have a great sketch made by Cathy for you on the Dutch Dare.

when I saw the sketch for the first time I really thought I couldn't do it, because there are so many details. But when I got started the card was finished in the blink of an eye.

The stamp I used is from a small set of stamps from Kars, and the papers are from Daisy Bucket and Bo-Bunny.

Thanks for stopping by today and please keep your fingers crossed for me.
xoxo Karin

Mermaid Anya

Today I want to show you a card I made for a challenge on the Anya-blog but completely forgot to post.

I used a background stamp and the cute little fish from High Hopes which is perfect for this gorgeous little mermaid.

I knew the girls had some shelf-shaped beads somewhere, but try and find those small things in a room full of toys. But they have a better memory then I have and in less then a few minutes they knew where to find them.

Papers are from K & Company (Berry Sweet range).

Inside I made a pocket for some yummie coockies (which were eaten within 5 minutes after seeing this card).

Thanks for stopping by,

xoxo Karin

DT-card for JCBC challenge

Vacation is over, girls are back at school, hubby is gone to work... that leaves me home alone with to much to do in very little time.

The last week I didn't craft at all and was just on the internet for a few minutes each day.

The girls really kept my very busy and by the time they went to bed I was to tired to do anything. The only thing I did, was making a list with things I needed to take care of. Instead of getting shorter, the list kept getting bigger and bigger, and right now I think I will need the whole week to catch up with everything.

First thing on the list: my card for the Christmas and Birthday cards blog en making a new post on that blog. This week we have a great sketch made by Gry-Heidi, which I think can be used in a lot of different ways (can't wait to see what creative things you can do with this sketch).

The rest of the day I will spent on working my way through my to-do-list.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,

xoxo Karin

Yellow and Green on the Dutch Dare

Can't believe it's Thursday already. The girls are having a week of from school and are enjoying every minute of it. They spent a night at my sisters, play outside with their friends and keep colouring the cute Anya-images. Everywhere you go in our house there are coloured Anya's. Drives me really mad to find those images everywhere (even on the toilet and bathroom).

Today my friend is coming over with her 2 kids and our niece Dane is also coming over for a sleepover. Tomorrow we are going ice-skating if the weather will let us, so not much time for crafting or blogging the next few days.

Over at the Dutch Dare this weeks challenge is to use Yellow and Green as main colours on your card.

Paula from Pollycraft Designs thought we had seen enough red and pink cards the last few weeks and wanted to see some cards using spring colours.

Yellow and Green are so not my colours but I'm very pleased with the way my card turned out.

Hope you all enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by.

xoxo Karin

Friends Award from mother and daughter

Today I want to show you this great Friends-award I received from a very talented young lady, Zoe and her very sweet mum Nikki . Thank you so much for passing it on to me sweeties, you made my day with it.

Make sure you pay Zoe's and Nikki's blog a visit and have a look at all the amazing cards she makes.

Finally a award again where there are no limits on the number of nominees.

So I'm going to be very lazy again and I would like to pass this award on to all my friends over at Paper Craft Planet.

Hope you all have a nice day and see you tomorrow with my card for the Dutch Dare Challenge.

xoxo Karin

Geisha Anya for the JCBC-blog

Goodmorning everyone,

I hope you all had a nice weekend and were spoiled on Valentines day. Hubby brought me some beautifull flowers and the girls coloured a lot of their favorite Anya stamps for me.

We always think those kind of days are just good for one thing... commerce. When you buy flowers/roses in the week before Valentines day you pay a lot of money for them and if you buy them today you pay half. It's more special when I get flowers on a ordinary day of the week.

That doesn't mean I wasn't happy with them, I still think it's so sweet when hubby get's me flowers and when the girls make something special on which they are very proud.

But today it's an ordinary Monday, so that means a new sketch on the JCBC-blog. This weeks sketch is made by Kristin.

Just like the girls I adore those cute Anya stamps. I used the sweet Geisha download. Those downloads are really great for making small cards. You can resize them into any size you want.

But that's not all I made with this cute Geisha. Ruby and Britt have been colouring a lot of their favorite Anya's this weekend, but yesterday afternoon they wanted to do something else. I suggested them to make a beautifull painting. they love to paint, but we don't do that very often because they don't just paint the canvas, they also paint themselfs, the table and chairs.

And what did they paint?... a Anya mermaid. I used transfering papers to draw the lines and they painted it. Thought this was such a great idea, I made a Anya geisha myself. Who said Anya stamps are just for stamping and cardmaking. I also made a giftbox for this painting, makes a great gift for a little girls birthday.

Don't want to leave you without showing you the paintings Ruby and Britt made.

They would love to hear what you all think about their masterpeices. So hop over to their blog and leave them a comment

Ruby's painting


Britt's painting

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs,

xoxo Karin