Handcrafted Dreamcatcher for Someone Special

Very recently I had someone special to create a gift for and it really got me thinking… it had to be something suitable for posting to Australia but I also wanted it to be something with a personal touch, so I went looking for ideas.

I decided that a laser cut mdf dreamcatcher was perfect for a new baby’s room, particularly one with the quote “Never Let Go Of Your Dreams” with feathers, stars, moon and a cloud.

I ordered this dreamcatcher from our supplier and could not wait for it to arrive so that I could start working on it… I had already decided which colours of Dylusions paint I was going to use. The morning it arrived I was straight on with the first layer of paint.

The dreamcatcher outer circle was painted using Calypso Teal, the writing was painted alternately in After Midnight and Tangerine Dream before each of the star, feather, moon and cloud elements were given a coat of gesso before being finished with glitter Stickles.

Each of the elements of the dreamcatcher have been connected using blue and white twine to add to the free flowing effect that a lighter ribbon/twine gives.

A few people asked me who I was working on this gift for but I was very secretive about who the recipient would be, but now they have received it and vlogged the parcel they received (showing both the dreamcatcher AND the handmade card we made from Cards And Candles For All Occasions), I can now confirm that this was a very special gift for a very special little boy…

The beautiful baby boy being Archie, gorgeous son of the very talented Adele and Aaron Toomey aka Inkie Quill and Inkie Beard!!

Those of you who know me and/or follow my other blog (Eljay’s Creating Memories Journey) will know that I also love scrapbooking and following many wonderful YouTubers in the scrapbook community, so when Adele shared Archie’s gift on their daily vlog on Mr & Mrs Rad, together with a few crafty things I had sent to Adele, naming me and thanking me for being a longterm fan and subscriber, I have to admit that I did have a bit of a fan girl moment 😍😍😍 lol. I just *had* to screenshot the moment, so here you go… I doubt Adele realises that she made my day this morning!!

Here is the vlog post where you can find Adele sharing her happy mail… “Mr & Mrs RAD Ep #139 ~ You Can’t Bite Daddy’s Nose Archie!”.

I would love to hear your thoughts on my latest Dreamcatcher and if you are interested in seeing more of my work you can follow us on Facebook at Cards And Candles For All Occasions.

Thank you for reading.

xxx Love Laura xxx

8x8inch Greetings Cards – Newest Designs

Good morning everyone and happy Hump Day to you all!!

How are you all? Are you having a good week?

Many apologies for the radio silence here at Cards And Candles For All Occasions recently, we have had so much going on both personally and behind the scenes with the business that there really have not been enough hours in the day. I cannot believe that we have already reached the end of June, where has the year gone? Time is passing so quickly.

Whilst I have been missing from the blog, I have been working behind the scenes on paperwork, accounts and all of the usual boring things, but I have also been working on some new greetings cards designs which I would like to share with you.

Each of these greetings cards are 8x8inch in size and are blank inside for your own message, although a verse can be added upon request. These cards have not been designed with a specific occasion in mind, they are more for those days when you want to let someone know you are thinking of them but a traditional greeting is not appropriate.

I have created the first three designs in our new range and hope to add many more designs to the range soon.

The cards shown here are the first designs in our new range of handcrafted greetings cards and we are looking to expand this range over the coming weeks.

They are created using a mixed media background, overlaid with a solid colour cardstock which has had shapes diecut/punched out and then the shape which was cut has then been added to embellish the overall design before I added a sentiment to complete the card.

Do you have a specific greeting or sentiment you would like to see added to this range? Is there a particular colour scheme that you have in mind? I would love to hear from you.

You can contact me through our Facebook page at Cards And Candles For All Occasions

Or by visiting the contact us page on our Cards And Candles For All Occasions Website

We would love to hear your thoughts on this new range and will be adding many more colourways and sentiments over the coming weeks so please check back soon.

xxx Love Laura xxx
Cards And Candles For All Occasions

Happy Post – Little Rainbow Moon

There is a mixed media artist who I have been following on Etsy and Facebook for some time now… the style of their work is so well suited to my own art journaling techniques (although she is far better than me) and they sell a range of planner and journaling stickers and accessories. The shop is Little Rainbow Moon 💖

When I discovered that Little Rainbow Moon has started selling Monthly Subscription Boxes I was absolutely gutted that I had missed the July box as this had an arrows and feathers theme… anyone who knows me will know of my love (or is it obsession?) anything feather or wings related, so when Jo announced that the items would be available in her Etsy shop individually, needless to say I was sitting there waiting for them to be loaded and checked those items out instantly just to make sure that I didn’t miss out!!

So my order has arrived and here it is… I love everything about it and can’t wait to order more of Little Rainbow Moon’s goodies!!!

First of all we have this gorgeous Personal Size Planner Sticker Set – I love the theme, the artwork is beautiful and dreamcatchers are something I have always had around me so this kit really speaks to me and I can’t wait to use it.

Of course I then added to my shopping basket the Feather and Arrow Ephemera pack which I am over the moon with, there are so many pieces in this pack that I can’t wait to start using them in my journals and planners.

I also purchased a co-ordinating “Dare To Dream” dashboard for my Travelers Notebook – this is the first TN dashboard which I have bought so other than it looking pretty, I’m not sure if I’ll use it for anything else. My dashboards in my planners have my page flags, post its, etc on them but those are not really needed in my travelers notebook.

Even although I said I was only going to buy items from the Feather and Arrows kit this month, I couldn’t help adding in a few extras!! Jo’s work has a very addictive quality – once you start collecting her work, I really don’t think you can stop lol.

I love the quote on this Butterfly Tag, and like feathers, wings and dreamcatchers, I also have a love of butterflies as they have some personal significance to me and are just so beautiful and elegant. In this photo also shows the Journaling/Planning Word Stickers – the colours are gorgeous!!

The Rainbow Ephemera pack is also fantastic value for money and such pretty artwork, they are perfect for adding a little colour to any project you’re working on and I can already think of lots of ways of using them.

As you will have worked out by now, I also love using quotes in my work so the set of Quote Cards from Little Rainbow Moon were an obvious choice for my journaling – so many great quotes and lovely backgrounds to choose from 🙂

Lastly, I couldn’t go shopping on such a fab Etsy shop without feeding my Washi Tape addiction lol… I have another set of three Washi Tapes to come but here is the haul so far 😂

Lastly, I have pre-ordered my August and September Mystery Kits and if the goodies which I’ve already got are anything to go by then I can’t wait for them to arrive.

Don’t forget to pop over to Little Rainbow Moon on Etsy to see more of their fab work and treat yourself to something pretty.

xxx Love Laura xxx

My First Completed Art Journal – July 2016

I hope you have enjoyed this nosey through my first art journal and I hope to share more with you soon, as my techniques are developing and through watching lots of tutorials online I’m trying out lots of new ideas too 🙂

I would love to hear your thoughts xxx