A sweet and simple (& quite quick to make!) card for a friend - for any occasion

Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all doing well! 

I shared this sweet card over on my Instagram recently, and so I thought that I would pop in in here, too! My plan is to go back through some of my favourite Insta shares, and post about them here on the blog, to share more info about the process, products used, etc. It shouldn't all be about the Insta love! ;o)

This sweet any occasion card came together rather quickly, as the colouring is not very complicated, and the background took literally just a few minutes - so, if you're a beginner, or you're under time pressure - it might be a great design idea to go for. Plus, you could use any critters you have, to achieve a similar effect. Changing the background colour combo would make it a great card for a male friend, too (I, of course, went for a more girly look this time - you know me, I love cutesy & pink!).

To achieve a similar look, all you need is to gently blend on some ink for your background (I used pink & purple, and left a bit of white around the edges, focusing on more intense shades towards the center of the panel). For a bit of interest, I added some shimmery splatter, and cut the panel with a stitched die. 

I coloured & die cut the adorable images by MFT, and stacked them one on top of the other, to make the scene more fun. I chose for the critters to stick out from the ink blended panel a little bit, too - this adds a bit of an "unexpected" element to the design, and makes it more interesting (+ notice that all of the coloured images are popped up with foam tape, yet again - to add some interest!).

Finally, I stamped the sentiments, and adhered the whole panel to a grey card base. The enamel hearts, some while gel pen highlights, and a black gelly roll for the critters' eyes were the perfect final touches - when you make a simple enough card, little details like this can make a big difference!

What do you think? I believe it's really adorable. 

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

Stamp & Die set: MFT Weather with you. Sadly, looks like it's discontinued, but some crafty stores still have them in stock - google it! :o)

Embellishments: Doodlebug Rainbow Hearts

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Get Cracking on Christmas 2022 - December & a giveaway!

Hi Everyone,

I don't know how it is even possible, but it's almost Christmas, eeek! I hope you're all more-less prepared? I am done with most of the things I was hoping to be done with, but - as always - there are still a few bits & bobs outstanding... Upwards and onwards, WE CAN DO IT!

[by the way, if you are searching for a fun & personalised book to gift to someone this Christmas, why not check out my post here?] 

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If you are unfamiliar with the Get Cracking on Christmas initiative, please check out Jenn Shurkus's blog here. 

I have been having a bit of a crafting hiatus this year, due to a complicated house move & loads of renovations afterwards, so I sadly only managed to participate in Christmas card making (and any kind of card making for that matter!) a few times over the past few months. 

Here's the summary of my Get Cracking on Christmas of 2022:

Which one if your favourite? I am obsessed with the MFT Polar Bear one, but each of them represents something that I enjoy & like. 

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And now, for the GIVEAWAY part (for those of you who participated last year & earlier this year - I am keeping it the same, as everyone seems to really enjoy this idea!)...

I am giving away 1 stamp set (with coordinating dies, if applicable) or 1 die set, up to the value of €15, from my Instagram Destash Page (@destashbymirella) - so the real value of the item you choose might be much higher than that, really, since my destash prices are of course already reduced in comparison to the original prices of the products. There are both new and used stamps/dies there, so it's up to you what you want to choose! If you prefer a few smaller items instead of one bigger one - we can chat about that, too! It's meant to be fun! :o)

Rules?

- be my follower on Instagram (@handmadebymirella), following my destash page (@destashbymirella) or this blog is optional but always welcome :o)

- leave me a comment here, letting me know what caught your eye on the destash page (that doesn't mean that this is what you have to choose as your prize, if you are the winner - we can agree on that later); alternatively, let me know which of the above cards is your favourite & why

- I will choose the winner after Christmas, on December 27th, and will announce them here in this blog post. The winner will then have 2 weeks to contact me, via the "Contact me" tab on the blog

- Please note that I cannot guarantee that all of the items currently listed on my destash page will still be available there on and after December 27th, since I might make sales from it in the meantime (I doubt it, since people usually shop for other things around Christmas, but you never know!). But I do hope that you will find something for yourself there either way :o)

- open internationally, and if for some reason I am unable to post the prize out, due to Covid 19 restrictions or others, we'll come up with a solution, I'm sure!

Updated on December 27th:

THE WINNER IS DENISE BRYANT - CONGRATULATIONS! Please reach out to me via the Contact Me tab, let me know what you have chosen and what your address is, & I'll arrange for the prize to be sent out. You'll have until January 10th to claim your prize. 

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The last few years brought a few nasty surprises to the world, 

so here's to hoping that 2023 is THE year of positive change! 

As always, stay safe & crafty (I am wishing that the second part comes true for me!),

Mirella

Wonderbly Christmas gift guide + a whopping 25% discount code (+ free shipping)!

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? For me, the last couple of months have been a blur, between changing jobs, moving homes & a gazillion renovations... I haven't had the opportunity to craft much, sadly, but I am hoping to get back to card-making in 2023! Woohoo, can't wait! 

In the meantime, I thought that I would share some of my recommendations for (mostly!) Christmas-themed personalised books & stories for the big & little Special People in your lives, from the Wonderbly range. 

If you have never heard of the Wonderbly books, you can read more about them on my blog here and here. I can wholeheartedly recommend all of the books in the photo below, as I have had them tested on my own kids (that's not to say, of course, that their other books are not worth your attention - I just haven't had the chance to review them myself... yet):

There's definitely a good bit to choose from on the Wonderbly website for Christmas themed books: there are options for Baby's First Christmas, there is a fun family option where you can personalise the story with kids & parents/carers alike, and there are some other lovely Christmassy options like The Elf Who Saved Christmas, Christmas wishes and the Christmas snowflake story. 

However, if your child already has some of the personalised books in their collection, and you're looking for something a little bit different - my recommendation would be the Bumper Christmas Edition of "Where are you?" (or just the original version of same, if you're not into Christmas-specific books/gifts). This is a book that will keep your child busy & excited for hours, will allow their imagination spread its wings, and will make you - the adult - giggle, too! 

My kiddos already have the standard "Where are you?" version of the book, as well as the "The journey through time" version, and - I kid you not! - they have been keeping their respective copies in their beds for weeks now. Just before they go to sleep, or early in the morning when the rest of the household is still sleeping, they like to open one of the pages and explore. And every now and again we sit together, and I read & explain the more complex parts of the missions to them, keeping them busy during those "boring" afternoons. 

Unsurprisingly, my 4 year old and my 7 year old find the books interesting for different reasons, but I love the fact that even the 4 year old (who cannot read herself yet) finds the book entertaining. The girls love not only the fact that the books are personalised for them, but they also find the artwork really fun, creative and the more they look at the pictures, the more fun stuff they discover. 

The Christmas version will be a present for the girls' cousin, since the Christmas bumper version is pretty much an expanded version of the original "Where are you" book we already own (so this would be the only reason I might not be recommending it for you - if you own the original version already). 

I mentioned something about the books being fun for adults, too, right? Well, not only are many of the picture scenes giggle-worthy, if you read the book in detail - you might find a lot of the information really funny (and I would actually say that some of the info will be more amusing for the adults than for the kids, which I personally found great - it's kind of like "Shrek" or "Frozen 2", where - depending on the age - the audience gets something different from certain scenes). Want an example? Go on the search for "Herb Girls", who just *might* remind you of a certain girl band from your own childhood, LOL. 

And speaking of adults - if you have one of those adults in your life who "has everything" and "is impossible to get gifts for", Wonderbly created an adult version of the "Where are you" series, which I may or may not be acquiring soon...! Just saying! ;o)

IF YOU ARE READING THIS BEFORE DECEMBER 5th 2024, use

BFDHZIFB for a whopping 25% off AND free shipping*

*free standard shipping does not apply in Spain at the moment, sorry :-(

From December 5th 2024 onwards, you can use: MIRELLA, for 15% off.

 [As always, please let me know in the comments if the codes no longer work - I can hook you up with a new one!] 

Affiliate disclaimer: if you purchase the books via the links in this blog post, or use the above coupon/discount codes, I will - at no additional cost to you - get a small commission from the sale, as I am a Wonderbly Ambassador, but please rest assured that all of my above opinions are honest, and I would not be putting that much effort into writing a long post about something that I don't personally endorse or believe in! 

I have no idea if I will manage to write another blog post before Christmas, so just in case I don't:

 I wish you a wonderful & magical Christmas, 

and here's to 2023 full of fun, love & new adventures! 

Mirella