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Cute and cuddly australian icon

1/2/2022

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Hey all, hope you have all been well and safe. For February, I thought I will go with something that can be flip to any theme.
This kit is from CraftsUPrint, called "Cute Koala - Mothers day card". As it says in the name, it was intended for mother's day but let me show you what I did with it to jazz it up a little.
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For my first card, I made the card as intended; just without the greeting. Having blank cards like this can be great if you don't know who it is going to or for what occasion you will need it for. I cut the decopages section and layered it with 3D foam squares. Matted the base layer with gold cardstock and put the whole thing on a 4x4 white card base.
So the decoupage image stands out, I intentionally misaligned some pieces. To finish it off, I brushed over some elements (the bow, eyes, selected leaves and rose) with a slight shimmer liquid then covered it with glossy accents. 
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When placing the original kit on an A4 paper, I scaled it to half a page, so there was a lot of while place on the paper and I had no intend on just wasting it. I loved the roses that came with the kit, so I scaled it so I had 2 sizes and also make more copies of it. With these, you can create to your hearts content. I made 2 copies of the PDF, I had created. 
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I rummaged through my scrap pile and pulled out some paper which would match the soft colours of the printout. I punched out some craft heart to bring the craft closer to the koala. 

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When adding glossy accents, it need not be added as a flat even cover over intended element. While this method of application might be used to highlight an element like the eyes, it is not as flattering on something that might also ready have variations in it, for example the roses. For these, I added the glossy accents over a random pattern or by selectively following patterns on the element, it makes for a more interesting outcome. None of the roses have the same pattern and that makes then look more unique. 

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This is the product of two A4 printout. At least four more cards here. The reason I love kits from  CraftsUprint  is because they give you the base to expend with pre coloured and arranged images. 
That is all I have got for now folks. Hope you feel inspired to work with kits and revisit those coloured images. 

As usual, don't forget to stop by A Perfect Time to Craft blog page and Facebook page. Where it is always an anything goes challenge at "A Perfect Time To Craft", monthly winners are chosen from the entries at the end of each month. I hope to see you there and thank you again for stopping by. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ​
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Look who flew by!!!

1/11/2021

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Well, November of course!!! It seems like spring is quickly giving way to summer. Baby birds are all learning to fly and bird song starts at 6 am now. 
In honor of my feathered neighbours, I thought I will make some cards with this cute coloured Flying Winter Bird images from Fred She Said. 

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Take one
​I punched out some 1 inch circle with 3 different colours. I embossed the pink one and left the other 2 as they were. 
For the background, I used some smokey grey with a cloud stencil to create a sky scene. 
The sentiment was just something I grabbed out of my sentiment stash. I usually stamp a bunch and put them together based on the theme. 
To assemble everything, I decided the placement of the bird and balloons. Then using a black gel fine liner, I drew in the tip of the balloons and strings, connecting it to the birds mouth.
I used liquid glue to adhere everything then added the sentiment mounted on foam squares. 
I loved the card design and the colours that I decided to do one more with some upgrades. 

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Take two
For this card, I used the same cloud stencil but this time with light blue ink to make the clouds. 
Everything else is pretty much the same except for the balloons. 
For these balloon, I punched out 5 circles for each colour. I fold one circle in half and then glue another full circle on the folded semicircle, making sure to line up the edges the best I can. 
I then fold the 2nd circle in half to match the first one, and start again by adding another circle to this bunch. I repeat this 4 times for each colour, and glued it down to the card after i drew the balloon tip and string. 
To keep the focus on the balloons, I chose to use the white bird instead. All the birds were printed on 160gsm cardstock and cutout with my Brother Scan & Cut. I did have to do some trimming afterward, but very minimum. 

Take three
After making 2 birthday cards, I wanted a pink cloud background which wasn't a birthday card. So I made it into an anniversary card instead. 
I punched out a border with tiny hearts from red cardstock and glued in on the inside on the card. I then cut the front of the card to be slightly shorter to be able to tuck behind the border. I then used a dark red colour pencil to draw some strings trailing behind the bird. 
I placed some dots of glue on the trail and using a sticky pen, placed the confetti hearts from the border punching onto the glue dots. 
To finish everything off, I grabbed a sentiment from my stash and backed it up with 3 layers of scrap cardstock to give it a raised look. It's not as high as foam dots but high enough to cast a shadow. 
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Here is a picture of all three of them. Let me know which is your favorite. 
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As usual, don't forget to stop by A Perfect Time to Craft blog page and Facebook page. Where it is always an anything goes challenge at "A Perfect Time To Craft", monthly winners are chosen from the entries at the end of each month. I hope to see you there and thank you again for stopping by. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 
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My Trick to Simple Colouring

15/10/2021

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While I do love colouring, there are just some days where I can't be bothered to whip out my watercolour or bazillion alcohol markers to colour a small simple image. Especially simple images, where I constantly have to think of the light direction to add shading, and making sure the blending between shades are smooth. Oh so tired just thinking about it.
Some days, I just want the pretty without the effort and time spent colouring. For those days, I use this super simple trick. Have you guessed it yet?
Well, I find an image / stamp with lots of detail!!! The one I am using to demonstrate is from Tindaloo called Whimsy Doodle Mushroom House. 
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I love images like this as it can be used for so many occasions and gender depending on the colouring. I can see myself using this for housewarming to Halloween. For demonstration, I am making 2 cards, happy birthday for a lady and thank you for a gentleman.
I printed my images on A4 cardstock. I wanted to see how long it will take for me to fussy cut the image. It was pretty quick, cutting colouring and all, took me 23 mins to make the birthday card. It only took that long because I fiddled around a little bit as I didn't like the empty space above the mushroom house. So with my trusty cloud stencil, I added some cloud and it looks so much better. The thank you card only took me 5 minutes, pencil colouring, stencilling and all. 
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Hope you folks liked the idea and the whimsical image from  Tindaloo . If you would like to join an crafty challenge, Creative Finger Challenge is now open. The theme is always, anything goes. Come and share your work of art. 
Thank you again for reading, have a blessed day.
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IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

1/10/2021

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If you haven't started already, you ought to. I am talking about christmas cards. I am always behind, and posting it out a week before Christmas. That won't be an option this year. Given the current situation with backlogs and post office and depots filling up with parcels and cards, we better get those Christmas cards mailed out asap. 
To make cards come together quickly, I always go for coloured images and even better if there is already a premade layout. For these sorts of images, my go to site tend to be The Hungry JPEG. They have so many adorable images, it made me want to get them all. I wanted something that was suitable for all ages, so I went with presents. Who doesn't love presents, especially Christmas ones. ​

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This particular set has 10 individual images of presents. I used them to make my own frame digitally on Microsoft Word. You can of course just print them out individually and use all sort of stuff to make a border and create a frame. I was going for minimum and easy fussy cutting. I printed 4 versions of my frame on an A4 paper, I chose a thicker paper (170gsm) so that I could layer it later on. 

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After the printing and fussy cutting, I popped it on a red card with foam squares and felt like it was missing something. so I added a gold mat layer to the red layer and voila, the magic it needed. Scattered some gold sequins to tie everything together and done. 
But why would I stop there when I have a few more frames. With the second one, I cut around the sentiment, backed it with some left over red cardstock which I also used to make a 1/8 border around the frame. Popped it all on foam and called it a day. 
I did 2 more this way, changed it up by adding glossy accents and wink of Stella to add sparkle and dimensions to some of the presents. They don't show up very well in pictures, that's why you don't see them here. Here is both the cards together. 
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These images are quite versatile, print it on A4 with a 2 x 4 inch spacing and then cut it up and use a border punch on the top to make a personalized gift tag to go with your actual presents. I will definately be using some of these for outside of Christmas as well. 
Hope you got some ideas and inspiration to get your Christmas cards going. Sending you lots of love and creative mojo.
​As usual, don't forget to stop by A Perfect Time to Craft blog page and Facebook page. Where it is always an anything goes challenge at "A Perfect Time To Craft", monthly winners are chosen from the entries at the end of each month. I hope to see you there and thank you again for stopping by. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ​
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Exciting news - Working with a new ARTIST

1/9/2021

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Hi folks, I hope you have all been doing well. Through the recommendation of a design team member, I found this adorable digital image store called BeatPaper. BetySol is the owner and designer at BeatPaper and she is absolutely as funny and talented as her art. I am so excited to be working with her cute images and am in the works of getting her to make me a bunch of commissioned ones for my online journaling store. 
​Given the recent surge of Covid, I know many in the medical field are tired and worn out. I have family and friends who are working on the frontline and I pray everyday that they come home safe and well. 
To lift their spirits and give them something to add on their wall, I made this interactive card using the "doctors" image from BeatPaper.
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The still image does not do justice to this card. The total card is 6x6 inch or 15x15cm. I just noticed the watermark on my desk, looks like it needs a good oiling. Well cant do anything about that now. Hope you folds have enjoyed the card and are inspired to get crafting. 
As always, there is always an anything goes challenge at "A Perfect Time To Craft", monthly winners are chosen from the entries at the end of each month. I hope to see you there and thank you again for stopping by. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ​
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Using quirky quote

6/8/2021

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Hi folks, hope you are all well and safe. Have you ever got quirky quotes that you love but had no idea how to put it on a card, I am here to show you what I did with a freebie from The HungryJPEG. (This  freebie  is only available till the 11/08/2021) 
You will need to login to download the file. The bundle comes with 150 funny quotes. The adulting quotes are so relatable. I want the quote to take center stage, so I used 4 coffee related quotes for my cards today. 
I used Microsoft Word to place all the 4 quotes on one A4 size page and printed it with my lazer printer. 
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I used a stamp set from Poppy Craft, cant remember the name but has a whole bunch of coffee and tea related images. I have been waiting to use it and the quotes just made perfect sense. 
I only used one colour of ink for this whole set of cards. I used Distress Ink in Vintage Photo, a sponge dauber and a slick surface, the plastic sheet from the stamp. The paper I used was copy paper at 200GSM. Works really well when I am layering. 
I started by placing my stamps along the edges of the precut panel. I can get four panels from one A4 paper. To make the quotes standout and give it more interest, I made a halo effect using the Vintage Photo ink and a sponge dauber. One of the dauber I used had some left over black ink and made the colour a sort of grey, definately a happy mistake. 
​Here are the 4 cards I made. 
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I hope this has given you some inspiration to use up your quirky quotes. You can always make your own using Microsoft Word or stamp out sentiments, cut and match words to make truly unique ones. If I were do redo this, I would probably add a mat under the quotes to highlight it a little more. 
In the comments, tell me which one is your favorite or share how you might use your quotes. I would also like to invite you to join our monthly challenge at Creative Fingers Challenge Blog. The theme is always, anything goes. Come and share your work of art. 
Thank you again for visiting. Take care and hope to see you back here soon. 
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Using Digital kits in a creative way

1/8/2021

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Hi folks, hope you have had a fun July. Officially one month into the second half of the year, and I am buzzing with ideals. I was offered this cute critters kit by CraftsUprint called Tea Party Rocker Card. While the original card would have turned out super cute, the rebel in me wanted to "do it my way".  So I got working on how to make it a variation of it that rocked!
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Tea Party Rocker Card Kit By CraftUPrint
PictureWaste not what no one will see.
The kit comes with decoupage images to cut and layer, this made the next part super easy. I wanted my critters on the left, with the tea pot facing the same direction. In the original image, the teapot faced right. Since there was no words on the image, this part was simple. If there were words, the "flip" will make the words illegible. I'll give you tips on how to work with that in another post. 
To make this card, I followed the following steps.

1. Using GIMP 2.0 which is a free software, I made a copy of each decoupage layer and flipped the image on the vertical axis. 

2. Using Word and my template (makes 4 card front on one A4), I arranged my images to make 2 card front and the other 2 to print the decoupage elements. Usually, I would use this template to make 4 card fronts which are slightly different so I can turn them into a set of cards to give as a gift. Remember to use the scale function to reduce/increase the size of your images, so that each layer will match up. Super important with decoupage images which come in multiple sheets. I reduced both the layers at 30%. Here is the link for this template.
         However, like Murphy's Law states "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" and it did!
         One of my card front was ruined, so I was left with extra decoupage images that I needed. 

3. I continued working with the good card front, I cut it to 3 13/16 x 5 1/2. Then I backed it with some deep red cardstock. Before I glued it down, I used my puncher to take out some pieces. This not only reduces the final weight but also gives you some extra pieces to work with. No one will see this.

​4. I used wet glue to stick the layers together, being careful to not press in the middle as the punched out area will indent if pressed hard and leave a unsightly mark on the card front. 

5. For the sentiment, I looked through my scraps for a pretty teal paper strip. This one happens to be  top part of a pattern paper which I had saved. I layered it behind a sentiment which I printed on regular white cardstock. Super easy to make. I will have the one I made link below. Remember to use a black marker to go around the sentiment to give it a professional finish. 

6. The sentiment would block the little mouse, so I cut out the decoupage layer and backed it with 4 layers of scrap paper to give it dimension and glued it, making sure to line the image up with the bottom layer. I wanted the doggie to stand out more, so I cut out another one of it and backed it up with 3 layers of scrap. 

7. To create more shadow, I gently curled the mouse's ears with a pencil. 

8. I finished off the card by adding Nuvo Drops in the colours Autumn Red and Dragon Scales. ​

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Decoupaged card that rocks!
With the extra pieces, I made this cute tag for my notepad on my journal cover. This one is super simple. 

1. Measure my notepad, mine is 3 inch / 7.5 cm. 

2. Cut any other shape which will used to cover the top of the notepad. I used a rectangle. I did it with a 250gsm card stock as I expect to reuse this the future. 

3.  I used a scoreboard to estimate where my first score line will be depending on how much if the rectangle I wanted to show on the front. Then I did a second score line 1/4 inch from the first. Alternately, you could fold the shape over the notepad. This should give you the most accurate size for your notepad. 

4. I wanted the image to have a border on the bottom and 2 sides. I also wanted the top to overhand the edge. So I used the cardstock shape to mark out the overhang. I began by cut the image along the marked line then turned it over to cut along the image. 
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5. Glue the image to the front of the shaped cardstock. I used wet glue so I had time to make sure all mine sides were evenly spaced.  

6. Attaching the notepad to your cover, I intend to reuse this so I used the non permanent method using a rubber band. If you don't intend to reuse it, then you can glue the back of the notepad directly onto the inside back cover. Make sure that, you don't accidently glue the top or front, especially if you intend to pull out pages from your notepad. 
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That is all folks, hope you have fun creating. As always, A Perfect Time To Craft August challenge is up and running! Check out the team's inspiration in our video and join us over at our blog for your chance to win! 

Free resource

4_card_front_template.docx
File Size: 13 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

black_sentiment_strips.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

black_sentiment_strips_2.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

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Steampunk MASCULINE card

9/7/2021

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Hello Folks, we have officially started the 2nd half of 2021. I hope you have all been doing well and staying safe. 
In the current uncertain times, I have found card sending ever more important to stay connected. As many of my cards are quite feminine, I decided to make a masculine one today. 
Today's image, Steampunk Owl comes from the very talented Lauren C, and you can find it here at her Etsy shop, LCWaterworth. She has a wonderful collection of outlined B&W stand alone images as well as coloured pattern paper sets for scrapbooking. 
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The images comes in 3 forms which is super helpful. Depending on your need, you can choose from the black lined-solid image to print and colour or the black lined - transparent image for digital colouring (I used this) or the pale lined image for no-line colouring. The last one might also be helpful when printing on shrink plastic to make charms. You will need an inkjet printer for this. 
I used the black lined - transparent image so I could colour the image before printing. I mainly did this so I can get a gradient coloured effect. I intended to use alcohol markers to colour the vellum, and each time I went back to darken the image it would leave harsh defined lines. So I found doing this helps. 
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After colouring it using GIMP 2.0 (free software), I printed it out on vellum. I then used dark blue, mustard yellow and dark green to colour on the back side of the printed vellum piece. 
If I made a mistake , I would use the colourless blender to scribble across the area and wipe it of quickly with tissue paper. The colour will seem lighter on the right side due to the semi transparent nature of vellum. I used rose gold and gold coloured Sharpies to accentuate cogs on the owl. 
To work around adhesive showing through the vellum, I used brads to secure the vellum to the card.
The sentiment I grabbed out of my tub. I have a link here for the printable sentiment. For the final touch, I added dots with a black Sharpie and gold Nuvo drop for it's eye. 
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Semi coloured image, laser printed on vellum
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Coloured vellum with metallic accents
As usual, thank you so much for dropping by. I would love to hear your thoughts or if you would just like to say hi. You can find the link for the Creative Fingers Blog Challenge here. There is no themes, anything goes. Looking forward to seeing your wonderful creations in the challenge. Sending you lots of love and punky crafting vibes. Stay safe and take care. 

Free Resource

black_sentiment_strips.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

black_sentiment_strips_2.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

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Note Holder

1/7/2021

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Hello folks, I hope you have all be staying safe and doing well. It has been freezing here in Melbourne, so garden activity is coming to a halt. I already miss my flowers, nothing to worry about, many of my succulents are now starting to bloom. Getting carried away, lets get crafting.
Thank you Bugaboo Stamps for sponsoring this cute image. Such a perfect image to mesh two of my favorite hobbies, gardening and crafting. I also made another project with this image, click here. 
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When I saw her, I knew I wanted to make her an embellishment. So I started of by uploading her into Avery Design website, to make multiple copies of small image. I like this website as you can add sentiments or more to your image before printing. I made mine 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches, got 16 printed out on one A4 size paper. If you need a tutorial on how to use the page, drop me a comment and I'll get back to you. 
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I pencil coloured my image and fussy cut the one I liked best. I used a 2 inch circle to draw a frame on the top part of the image, making sure I keep it centered. I then laminated the image making sure to leave a piece of paper sticking out at the bottom so I can later insert a paperclip. 
I wanted to make the base with cement poured into a small section of a toilet paper roll which will give me a round paper weight, however with this wet weather, that was not possible as I would be waiting ages for it to dry. I improvised and used my massive ball of blue tack for the demo. The paperclip is partially inserted into the blue tack as it would be in cement. ​
The laminated image was fussy cut with an opening it the bottom which I carefully inserted the other end of the paperclip. I had to play around a little before being able to successfully get the paper holder to work. For the rest of the images that I printed out, most become decorations in my journal, some became decorated magnets for my fridge. ​
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As usual, thank you all for visiting. Hope this gave you some ideas to get crafty. If you would like to share your crafty creation, join the Monthly fun at "A Perfect Time To Craft", where you can summit ANY of your creations. Click here for that page.
Or you can also visit our facebook page here for more inspiration to use your digital images. Thank you again for spending your time with me.  Stay safe, stay crafting and hope to see you all again, till then take care.
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New design team

25/6/2021

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Hello lovely, I got into another design team!!! I am so excited. Love working with new crafty people. Everyone is so talented and have a variety of styles. Absolutely blessed to be a part of CREATIVE FINGERS team. This group runs a challenge too, they do it every 2 weeks, beginning on a Friday. It would be lovely to see you all there. 
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​Now let's get to business. ;)

The sponsor for this challenge is the fantastic Bugaboo. I used this chibi image called Kidz Bella Love. I wanted to use the image in my planner / journal for July so  I resize the image in 5 different sized and printed them out on one sheet of paper. I only used 2 out of the 13 images I coloured. 

This is the final product!!!

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Kidz Bella Love

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from

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I'm in Australia, so the paper I used was A4. My Journal booklet is 7 3/4 tall and 4. The balance of the paper I used to make a smaller booklet which I use like a notepad.
I use Zig Brush markers on 170GSM paper. I made multiple sizes of the image on one page, so I can colour and choose the size that fits me best. Pattern paper the background, die cut letters to spell July, added some gold drops and voilà, a cute little booklet to go into my planner. ​
If you are interested in tutorials for resizing digital images without them going all blurry, let me know. I have a few tutorials that I am working on and that will help me prioritize.

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This is how it looks like fitted in my planner.
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A closer look
Finally, thank you so much for dropping by. I would love to hear your thoughts or if you would just like to say hi. You can find the link for the team challenge here. There is no themes, anything goes. Looking forward to seeing your wonderful creations in the challenge. Sending you lots of love and groovy crafting vibes. Stay safe and take care. 
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    ​Lina Tan

    Thank you for taking your time to visit my blog.
    My name is Lina and I am based in Melbourne, Australia. I have been crafting for years and have dabbled in jewelry making, mini albums, cross stitching, sewing, up-cycling and card making. 
    I started this blog with the intention of displaying my creations with the hope that it will inspire others and their crafting journey. 
    Please feel free to ask me any questions about what you have seen on the blog.  

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