Happy New Year

Hi

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy New Year and say thank you to all those who have become followers. Thank you it means a lot as I have only just started making cards and venturing into Blogland. Here's to a creative 2011.

LOTV Challenge hubby's card

When it came to making my hubby's card I was as usual in a rush and at a complete loss as to what to do. Surfing the sites I found a great sketch on the LOTV site.

I used one of their die cut image squares.

The sentiment was from their Christmas range. I was too slow to get the rubber stamp versions and this is a digital version.

I used a fiskars edge punch on both sides of a strip of silver mirror board to create the two stripes.

The image is matted on a spellbinders die.

The snowflakes were from stash and the backing paper too.

I also used the sketch to make my Dad's card for my Mother.

On this card I embossed the strips and used a Martha Stewart Corner Punch to add to the ends.
The image card was softened using a corner punch. This allowed it to fit inside a spellbinders die cut label.
The snowflakes were made from red pearlescent card with white pearlescent paper flakes stuck on slightly twisted.
I added a pearl gem to the centre of each.
The sentiment was a digital version of LOTV sentiments.
I added a heart charm with a red ribbon

Blog Hopping

Well it's over. Where did it go? Is it because I am getting older that it seems the run up over takes the day? Maybe its because I am actually a big kid and would like Christmas to go on for longer. I think sometimes as a woman Christmas isn't a holiday. You fly round on Christmas morning making sure the dinner is one presents are out etc and everyone is happy then collapse! I think the 26th should be Women's Christmas day!!! Should we start a campaign? Gosh I sound like a real gringe, but I love Christmas and it seems to just fly by so quickly.

Anyway I should be in work this morning but thought I would check out craft sales whilst the hubby is out!!! I came across 'Bev's' card on her site All the Things I Love. As always its gorgeous! Do you think she is the Delia or as The Vicar of Dibley calls her St Delia, of the card making world? Well I digress(again) and she used a sketch from Friday Sketchers to showcase a Sneak Peek of some soon to be released LOTV stamps. They are having a Blog hop with some great candy including LOTV vouchers and hanglar stamps!!
Check it out.

Friday Sketchers http://fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/

Pretty Pressings has some LOTV candy on hers. http://www.rosaswelt.blogspot.com/

WoW

Over at Sugar Nellie they have a challenge to do a White on White card, the prize is a Spellbinders Grand Caliber as my cuttle bug is playing up I though I would give it a go. It has proved to be sooooooooo difficult. It really tested my ability to mix. The resulting card looks like this.

I used A simply Sassy Image which was part of the challenge.

It was coloured using promarkers on Rymans card.

It was matted on paper embossed with cuttlebug folders = Swirls and Snowflakes.

The border strip was embossed using the cuttlebug buttons folder.

The pearlescent paper was corner punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

The flowers are actually white from Meiflower

The stars are on pins.

The sentiment was from a pack from stash.

Pink Sketch

I loved the sketch at Truly scrumptious and thought the fairy in this image would look great on the 'pink' extra twist that was added to the challenge.
The backing papers are from the Penguins pack from Docrafts.
I matted the image on Spellbinders labels die cuts.
The ribbons were also from the Creativity collection. The brads from Docrafts website.

http://trulyscrumptiouschallenges.blogspot.com sketch and pink
http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.com Christmas

Blue Christmas

On blue these fairies really stand out.

The Navy card was cut using the corner punch from Martha Stewart Double Loop

Bps cut from the Spellbinders labels dies. The paper came with the Die Cut out fairies.

http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.com Blue

Red Fairies

The Die cuts are all a grey/ white colour so fit with must backing paper colours. Its the hair colour of the fairy that differs blonde, brown and red.

For this card

Red Create and Craft card

Martha Stewart Double Loop Punch - I started to use the punch but instead of using the corner punch I started in the middle by mistake so had to try a different look

OLS silver corner images.

The sentiment is from a set I purchased years ago from Lakeland Plastics.

Image LOTV

Red Create and Craft card

Martha Stewart Double Loop Punch Edger.

Pink glittery bp from the Papermania Penguins set - cut using Spellbinders Dies

Star gems

Sentiments from the same set.

I have entered these cards for the following challenges:

http://bellichallenge.blogspot.com/ R embellishments

http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.com/ monochrome

http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/ red and white

http://aifactorychallenges.blogspot.com/ winter

http://paperromancechallenges.blogspot.com/

http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com red, pink and white

Fairies

I bought a set of Die cut fairies originally from LOTV. They looked gorgeous and when I got them they were really pretty and I thought I would make some girlie Christmas cards. School had a stall at the local 'Arrival of Santa' event in town. I have over the months been making cards to sell.

I used teal coloured Doodlebug glitter card as the base mat.

The bp is from stash.

The sentiment is from 'Lakeland plastics' and I have had them for a few years!

I used papermania brads and set it out using a sketch from

http://meljensdesignsdt.blogspot.com/ Sketch

http://stampwithsarahkay.blogspot.com/ snowflakes

http://thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ Christmas

http://2sisterschallenge.blogspot.com Sparkly Christmas

Card Two

This card was originally for the Sugar Bowl Challenge but what I realised when trying to upload it was I hadn't read the rules of the challenge properly. I read black, white and another colour but neglected to scroll down and see the sketch!!!!!! Hey I like the card

( Do you like the hand? Perhaps a career on Create & Craft lies ahead!!!!!!!)

The image is one of the Leanne Ellis images called Moon Beams from Sugar Nellie

Coloured using promarkers. and a Sakura 700 pen for sparkle.

The black die was the 'waste' or negative of a Nellie Snellen Circle die.

Snowflake embossed background was a recycled old card!

I added gold gems for effect.

I am entering it for the following:

http://acraftylittleplace.blogspot.com Anything goes

http://scrap-creations1.blogspot.com Anything goes

http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com Use black

Birthday Cards In December

Oh I feel so sorry for those people who have birthdays in December. The shops condense the birthday card amounts down to the bare minimum and crafters get caught in the frenzy of making Christmas cards. Well I had two friends with birthdays this week and was guilty of forgetting them so the extra time this afternoon has allowed me to make them one each.


The first I made using the sketch and colour combo over at The Sugar Bowl

Its the first time I have used one of my Simply Sassy Stamps. The challenge was Black, white and another colour allow without a sketch outlay.

The matts are simply black, white and red card that I punched using on old Create and Craft punch( it was so blunt it nearly went backwards into my hand I was pressing that hard,)

Image Simply Sassy coloured using promarkers.

The sentiment was from LOTV perhaps shouldn't have mentioned that on a Sugar Nellie Challenge!!!!

I have also entered it for

http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.com birthday card

Snow Days

Like most of the country we have suffered from really heavy snow and freezing temperatures. As a result of staff living a distance from the school unlike the pupils our school has had to close. So after catching up on paperwork I managed to walk home early and in front of the fire made a card for the Lili of the Valley Challenge.

Image Lili of the Valley Die cut Cards

Backing paper form stash

Border - Martha Stewart Punch

White card embossed using the Papermania Snowflakes folder.

Challenges I am entering this for are:

http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.com Yuletide

http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com Merry Christmas

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com Sketch

Christening card

Oh my goodness I have just looked at the date of my last post. Where has the time gone? I have been guilty of allowing my job to take over my life but hadn't realised how bad it had got until I saw that the last time I sat down and did something for me was the 4th of November!!!!

This week my Mother asked me to make a christening card for her best friends grand-daughter. When you are asked or rather I am asked to do something I find it really hard to say no and will find time even though I can't always find time for me, the gym ( mind sometimes not too upset about that because its often just legalised torture!) or just relaxing and playing with my craft stuff. I digress!

So the end result was this card.

I really enjoyed making this card and felt quite proud of how it had turned out and I don't usually as I am always the first to see the faults - that's not straight or this is not right etc etc.

Image Cut Out Image from Lili of the Valley

Sentiment Lili of the Valley (new stamps digi version as they had run out of the rubber ones.)

Spellbinders labels fifteen and seventeen and circles.

Cuttlebug Folder Swirls

Charm from a set called Card Charms from Boyes.

Buttons and ribbon from stock

BP from Clipart Fairy Modern Heritage printed on pearlescent paper.

Card s spare piece of pearlescent pink card.

I am going to enter it for the following challenges.

http://stampwithfun.blogspot.com - square

http://sentimentalsundays.blogspot.com childhood

http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com buttons & bows

http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com challenge 40 texture

http://littlepapershop.blogspot.com diecuts

Mojo Birthdays

Hi

Just got back from spinning. You know I go each week with two friends under the pretense that it is doing me some good- when actually its hell on two wheels. One of my friends asked tonight did I enjoy this week after two weeks off to which I replied 'I'm in the zone - the Dead Zone!!' It has got rid of the cellulite in my legs though which is brilliant and for that reason alone its worth the 60mins of leg screaming pain and sweat!!!

So to calm down in order to go to bed I made a card using this weeks MOJO Challenge sketch and one of my old favourite Gorjuss girl Princess stamps.

I used my promarkers and went for blues this time.

I used the Spellbinders Labels seventeen and the Classic scalloped large rectangles.

The sentiment was a digi stamp matted on to a navy Labels 17 die.

The ribbon I found in my drawer and there was just enough to make a bow on the front.

The ring of sparkles was added to hide a tiny blob of glue that had marked the navy card!!!

I thought I would enter it for the following:

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com Challenge 163

Birthdays PTT

This month is a nightmare for birthdays. Starting with my own on the 1st. Two school friends who are sisters have daughters with days in days of each other. One of them - Grace aged 10 today has definitely been here before. You know those children who are old/ wise before their time. Well Grace is one of those. She is gorgeous but just cracks you up. So for her birthday I wanted something bright and dramatic. The resulting card was made using the Clare's Sketch from Docrafts. the ribbon was white from stash and I coloured it red using a 'poppy' promarker.

i used a favourite Gorjuss girl stamp and coloured it red- one of Grace's 'fav' colours. I used confetti backing paper from my stash. The sentiment is from Papermania Stickers I thought it went well with the paper.

I am entering it in the following challenges:

http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.com Birthdays anything goes

http://thepinkelephantchallenge.blogspot.com Red, blue and yellow

One for the Boys An anniversary

What a busy two weeks!! Finally made it to Geneva last week for a couple of days to stay with family. We had tried at May half term only to have the plane delayed for half an hour, an hour, three hours and then cancelled with the statement we can get you out by Wednesday. Since we were only staying until Thursday it seemed pointless. This time we were more fortunate. Not sure the bank manager would see it that way as it is sooooooooooo expensive. My husband started with the early stages of Man Flu whilst out there. He said he would get some Strepsills from the Pharmacy. He returned moments later looking slightly vexed. I asked had he not managed to get some to which he replied oh they had them only I am not prepared to pay £10 for a box!!!




The area is absolutely gorgeous and if it wasn't for the cost I would live there.


When i returned i had to make some cards quickly. On Monday it was my anniversary. I was married on my birthday. There was method in my madness as if he forgot either then there was a whole year to pay!!! Having reminded him I forgot to organise myself. In the end I made a card using digi images from The Cutting Cafe.

The challenge was the centre of the ring. It looked too sparse when a complete circle so I had to try to die cut a circle for the centre and another around the central sentiment. After three attempts I got it positioned probably. Using mu Nellie Snellen die to matt it on I chose blue and brown as masculine colours. So the flowers don't look too out of place. The strip across the middle was done using a punch along both sides of a strip of paper. I keep meaning to treat myself to a 'posh' punch like a Martha Stewart but can't justify the price at the moment as I can do things like this with my own little punch.

I have decided to enter it into the following challenges:

http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/ One for the Boys

http://cardsformen.blogspot.com/ One for men or boys

http://papersundaes.blogspot.com/ For a boy or a man

Birthday Cards

Whilst I had the computer up and running I had the chance to make a card for my neighbour who is 60 tomorrow. Her husband has whipped her off to Edinburgh for a few days. Given the weather- cold but beautiful they should have a great time.

I used my faithful Clipart Fairy Book-a-Easel disc and then knowing she enjoyed her garden added the dome flower stickers from my stash. the ribbon is pink although it has a purple tint in the photo is from MeiFlower. She makes some lovely organza flowers with the matching ribbons.

It does sparkle due to Glamour dust around the edges. I love the stuff but it gets everywhere its so fine.

My second card is for my Godson who is 11 soon. I thought I would use some of the challenges in order to help me try different things.

Image: Digi stamp from Sugar Nellie coloured with Promarkers in orange and browns.

The sentiment is also a digi-stamp but can't remember where from.

The brads are from my stash

Mosaic tiles are from papermania.

I am entering it for:

Cupcake challenge; Boys and their toys

Pink Elephant: Orange and Brown

Sketch & Stash: Sketch

Catching Up

Is it me or are there times when you really don't mind your other half going out for the whole day? It gave me time to wander the shops and then come home and make some cards at my leisure. I managed to catch up with two friends which was great. It is amazing how wrapped up in your life you can become. While talking to one friend when I said the 'new' grand-daughter was going to be one in a months time we realised how long it was since we caught up as she didn't know we had another grand-daughter!! How bad is that? I felt so bad and very self centred!!

She informed me that she had just got a new job and that it was permanent so I came home and made her a congratulations card.

I used a mixture of The ClipartFairy Modern heritageCD and her Book-A-Easel CD.

The bps are from the Worlds Best Teacher and the Barely pink collections.

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe its been 15 days since I posted. I hadn't realised the time had gone by so quickly.

Started looking after a second school for two weeks whilst their head is off. Its like having two lives!!!!! In order to keep on top of things I have two bags , two files, two note pads etc. So I haven't had time to breathe. Then of all things my back went into a complete spasm last week and is only just relaxing!!! I have never had a bad back before and can't believe how debilitating it is. Will now sympathise with suffers!!!



Any way last night I sat and made a card as a means of theory!!!

I used a Pink Gem stamp and coloured it using promarkers. This time I tried my blender pen. Still need a lot of practise with that though.

Mind it reminded me of those pens you got years ago that sort of 'rubbed' (technical term there so concentrate) felt tip pen out. Many pro promarker users are now taking a sharp in take of breath!! Sorry don't mean to offend.

The web and spiders are OLS stickers that I mounted onto black card for effect.

The ribbon is from a papermania pack.

The 'Pumpkin Pie' stamp is from Pink Gem also. Stamped with Memento rich cocoa onto orange card.

The mats are cut using my new birthday present (early one) of spellbinders.

I attached the ribbon using Wackytac which is excellent to stick fabric with.

I am going to enter this for a number of fall/ autumn / Halloween challenges.

Aspoonfulofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com Halloween

Mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com Ghosties & Ghouls etc

tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com Anything goes

letsinkitup.blogspot.com Halloween - no digi stamps

alyssundaychallenge.blogspot.com ASC27 Halloween

paperplaytime.blogspot.com pumpkins or spider webs

craftyourpassionchallenge.blogspot.com Orange/Purple & Black

2sisterschallengeblog.blogspot.com Halloween

crazy4challenges.blogspot.com Fall/ Autumn

onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com

Our Exchange Teacher is leaving

We have had an exchange teacher from Switzerland over for three weeks and she leaves this Friday and we are all going to miss her so much. She has just slotted in as if she has been here for ever. Her spoken English is amazing as is her French, Italian, Spanish and German!!!! I can't even speak English properly she puts us all to shame!!!!!!!



I decided to make her a card and used a sketch from the Loretta Monday Challenge on Docrafts. Because of her carefree attitude and 'give- it- a -go personality I thought the Little Miss Attitude image from Sugar Nellie would be great.

Really into purple at the moment.

Image: Little Miss Attitude - Sugar Nellie

Image coloured with Promarkers

Backing paper from stash

Purple and pink Mulberry Flowers

Small adhesive gems.

Backing paper cut with Spellbinders Labels Seventeen

Book A Easel Card

My parents have friends who are celebrating their Silver Wedding Anniversary at the weekend and asked me to do a card. Gosh the pressure. It's fine when you are swanning around your little office/ craft area making cards up for challenges but when someone asks you to make a special card I had a little crisis!!!!


I decided to make one of my Book A Easel Cards using the ClipartFairy CD which I love. I am slowly getting to grips with the Open Office Programme and starting to change things using my own images etc.


I made the Silver Wedding Easel which was fine. The difficulty came when I went to decorate it. I had printed out the elements on linen card and pearlescent paper but hadn't put the couples names on. This left a large space on one side of the card. When I tried grey embellishments the card looked grey when i tried grey embellishments the card looked blue!!!!!





In the end I went for a grey/white bead heart and butterflies printed on acetate.
The brads i got on Sunday from Hobbycraft. I just loved them. the sparkle is glanour dust. its grogeous but gets everywhere!!

Got A Flyer!!!

Today I got a flyer from school. I was home at 4.55pm and felt really decadent!!! It was like a mini holiday. So having looked round the garden something I rarely got time to do I thought I would start on some cards after going on the Wii. Let's just say my husband has arrived in and I haven't moved away from my desk, and the Wii is still in the case!!!!!!! I was doing really well and had lost 4lbs but at the moment can't motivate myself!!!!

At the weekend we went to stay with OH's mother. Whilst my husband went to the pub and my Mother-in -Law worked through the soaps I printed some images and sat colouring them in with my promarkers. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Its strange that as I get older I revert to childhood activities- colouring in- and I love them. Trying to master the art of shading!!!! Well that's my excuse.

This is a birthday card I made using the sketch from the Sugar Bowl and one of their images.



Image: Sugar Nellie- Sweet As Candy
Backing Paper: Dovecrafts.
Image cut using Spellbinders: Labels Fourteen
Middle strip cut using Fiskars Edge punch on both sides of the paper.
Flower: e. Embellishments coloured using Pink Carnation Promarker with a pink sticky gem.
Ticket: Freebie Digidownload - Lindsey's Stamps. Using Open Office I turned it cerise.

All the Things I Love Blog Candy 1million hits

Bev over at All the things I love is offering the most amazing blog candy for having had 1 million + hits on her blog. Her blog is absolutely breath-taking she is an incredibly talented lady who makes the most outstanding cards. They are all different as well. I am visiting it often to be inspired but there are times when you can feel overwhelmed by what she creates.

Blog Hop Whimsy Stamps

Oh where has the past week gone? I can't believe it is Sunday evening already I don't even feel as if I have had a weekend it went so quickly. Do you think I could get a refund because I didn't get that end of week feeling from it????

I went to the cinema with our Swiss Exchange teacher this afternoon as we had arranged to go to Hawes and Aysgarth Falls today but the weather has been horrendous. Granted the falls would have been spectacular but we would have been drenched walking to them. So we went to see Eat Pray Love - with Julia Roberts. It was a long film - about 2+ hours mind it didn't feel like that when I was watching it. What was great about it was that fact she didn't look like a Hollywood star in it, in fact by Hollywood standards she could be said to look almost fat!!!!!!! She wasn't in the slightest but compared to some of these stars who you would mark absent if they turn sideways she looked like a real woman. There was a fantastic line in the film where she asks her friend- who is moaning about putting weight on- had she been naked in front of him (her boyfriend)and had he left - so what was her problem. She was going to eat the food and not count the calories because she was finished with the guilt trips. I could have kissed her!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway having not had time to make cards I went blog surfing and came across a Blog Hop at Whimsy Stamps and thought I would give it a go. Not sure what to expect as I have never done one before but hey I am up for anything. Also I like Whimsy Stamps.

Feline Playful

One of the blogsites I regularly visit is Feline Playful. Not only is it a great site for cards etc but daily she puts up a list of blog challenges and what is required and you can link straight to the sites which is excellent. Through the site I have hopped to some fantastic work etc. A few weeks ago she put up some blog candy if she reached 200 followers, this soon went to more candy if she got 300. She has managed to exceed both those numbers before the blog candy date expired. AT the moment she is at 500 followers. Well the candy she is offering is absolulely amazing. The photograph at the top of this post is for the 200 followers and the next is for the 300 followers

The link is

http://felineplayful.blogspot.com/

Another Thank You Card

Spent the day taking our guest round Newcastle before being totally depressed by going to the match one of her aims for her trip was to see a football match. We decided not to go to the Boro as we thought she needed to see good football. ( I feel qualified to make a statement like that about the Boro having had a season ticket since the age of 12 and relinquishing it this year after they sacked Garteh Southgate. how can any team who are 4th in the league and on their way back into the Premiership sack their manager???????!!!!!!!!! We have been in free fall ever since!)

Rant over.

She has however learnt a new word today off my Husband- Rubbish!!!! She does it with a great accent trying to copying his Geordie accent!!!

It is great having a foreign guest as it makes you look at everyday sights you see in a new way. So it has been interesting to say the least.

My new card was for a friend who invited us all round for dinner. I am the kind of person who only has a kitchen because it came with the house so I really appreciate it when someone cooks and cooks well for me.

The card is would you believe on LOTV image coloured using Promarkers!!!!. I used my new Nellie Snellen die for the matting ( The new spellbinders I am getting early for my birthday have still not arrived) I tried a ribbon and bow. Must get the hang of making them so they lie flat. The backing paper is iced blue glitter card but the light was not good so its a little hard to make that out.

Thank You Cards

What a busy week. We have a Swiss German teacher on exchange at our school this week. She is great fun. At the moment she is staying in a B&B in the town so we are taking it in turns to entertain her as it must be lonely and expensive to be away from home for three weeks with only B&B. Its a gorgeous place she is staying in. Friends of ours own it and they are great with these teachers, often inviting them to have dinner with them etc.

Yesterday I took her off to York. Our last Swiss teacher was male and when he went to York He wanted to do the Minister, walls and Museums luckily Ursula just wanted to shop!!!! We did walk round the exterior of the Minister etc but there were sooooooooooo many tourists and it was cold yesterday.

I haven't been clothes or shoe shopping since about Christmas -spent all my money on rubber stamps!!!!!- and I hadn't realised what rubbish there is in the shops at the moment. needing an outfit for the Grand daughters christening not one thing jumped out and said 'Buy me'!! If I hadn't wanted anything or hadn't had any money I would have seen loads!! Sods Law really.
Anyway cards. My father despite his suspected heart attack made it to Westminster to the Pope's Mass. Its was by invitation so he asked for some Thank You cards for the Bishop and for the person who put his name forward. Now my LOTV images are gorgeous and there are a few that would make great thank you cards i didn't think they would be appropriate for this occasion. So I scanned the Internet for digi religious stamps and coupled with a prayer card made the following.

The paper was a beautiful digi-paper printed on to pearlescent paper. Using the spellbinders I cut out shapes to mount eh prayer card and verse on. The cross was printed out and added to give a little balance.

My second card was simply a verse from Psalms giving thanks.

I used eyelets and threaded a white ribbon through both tying a second piece on as a bow. Haven't quite got the hang of the bows lying flat yet!!!
The bp was another digi-paper that looks beautiful on pearlescent paper.

LOTV Challenge

I thought this week I would have a try at the LOTV challenge. it is extremely popular and can sometimes be a little overwhelming when you see the fantastic cards that are on there.

This was a new stamp I have. Yes Harrogate was a financial nightmare especially that stand!!! I have once again tried with me promarkers. This sketch had a lot of embellishments and layers of different shaped papers which made it challenging. My main colour theme was blue so having no blue flowers in my stash I had to colour these with the good ole promarkers. Boy how i wish I had invented them. Instead I have to buy lottery tickets!!!!!

The papers were from Art & Craft packs from Tesco.

Pink and Black Explosion

I was trying out my Eloise - Sugar Nellie Stamp and thought perhaps I would go for the Pink and Black combination that has appeared on a number of challenges over the past few weeks.

Well all I can say is that it has come out as an explosion of colour and shape not a nice sight. Normally I go for pretty simply cards - purely because it is taking so long to colour in using the promarkers that i have lost the will to live when it comes to adding flowers, bows and embellishments. Having looked at so many sites and noticed that a large percentage of the cards have lots on them I decided to try. You know I really am a Yorkshire girl and a spade is a shovel kinda gal and I couldn't do this.

I used the

I Love Promarkers Sketch and the theme of Pink and Black from the Creative Inspirations Blog.

The papers were from the Internet and entitled a Hint of Pink.

I stamped a flourish around the edge of the card using Pink Versa Chalk ink and Memento Black.

The image is Eloise from Sugar Nellie coloured using Promarkers.

I have thought of putting it in for the two challenges anyway.

Words

Good Morning. It looks cold outside but there is the most amazing mist hanging very low at the bottom of the valley at the back of our house. Whilst autumn is always a time of memories - the long past summer and of the winter last year that may return this year there are some beautiful sights on a morning.

I have done a lot of cards with images etc on and on the Docrafts site was a challenge in which the words/ greeting had to be the focus - no images or pics.

I thought this should be good!!! The ones that seem the easiest are a nightmare. I printed the words 6 times but I'm not sure if it was the ink I was using or what but it was horrendous. Could not get a complete image that was not smudged!!

Finally resorted to changing the ink from clear with red embossing powder to red ink with clear embossing powder!!!!!!!

Used a plain white card.

Embossed red card with the Papermania snowflake folder and matted.

Using Nellie Snellen die cut a red circle and matted this onto of a white circle.

The words are from a See Dos magical Christmas set.

I am also entering it in the DCD Christmas challenge -Words Only

Autumn Colours

The weather has definitely turned autumnal this weekend. The temp has dropped below ten a number of times and My OH has actually put the heating on after saying we wouldn't put it on until the end of October.

There quite a number of Autumn Colour Challenges around this weekend so inspired by the drop in temp and the strong winds I thought I would have a go.

I took a peach coloured card and stamped so leaves around the edge using Whispers Archival inks.

The image is a Sugar Nellie Stamp that i fell in love with. I stamped it with memento ink and then used Promarkers to colour it in. I used the Autumn pack.

The ribbon is from the Papermania Yellow/ Orange kit as are the buttons.

The bp is from a pack I bought in America for scrapbooking years ago.

The circle and image have been cut with spellbinders.

I tried to colour round the edge of the image but picked a colour that was too dark - Antique Mahogany Distress Ink so added the leaves to detract from the intense colour.

So i am entering this for the following challenges:

Clare's Challenge - Docrafts - Autumnal Photo

Creative Inspirations- cinspirations.blogspot.com

Sugar Nellie Challenge Sketch.

Stamping Sisters in Christ autumn season

Craftyourdaysaway - Fall

Alternative Santa

The ABC Christmas challenge this time is for a S -Santa not Green!! This gave me a chance to use the digi-stamps from Clipartfairy and the OpenOffice programme to see if I could get a different coloured santa in a size and colour i could make a card with.

I am still 'playing' with the OpenOffice but as a Dizzy Blonde get it to do something and I get so excited I forget to write down how I did it and then have to keep retrying to do it again!!!!!!!

I managed the purple Santa in a size I wanted. The original I printed out is just under A4 size so one thinks a little too big.

Once I had the image then I needed the papers etc. So I married this with Lorreta's Monday Challenge on DOcrafts which was a sketch with a stamped/printed sentiment direct onto the paper. The sketch she provided looked like the bp had been ripped so I gave it a try!!!! Let's just say there is a lot of waste paper lying on the floor next to me.

Originally I stamped the greeting from an old See-Dos set i had using clearing embossing ink and holographic powder but for some reason it looked even just than the greeting on there now. So before heating I scrapped it off and used a quickie pen and glamour dust to write my own greeting.

Monochromatic - Recycling

Today I have spent a great day with my husband. This morning we managed to catch up with each other as the weeks events had meant we literally said 'hello' and 'goodbye' on a morning as at night at least one of us was a sleep by the time the other got in from the hospital or meetings about school closure. It was so nice just to spend time with each other. Sounds soppy I know - hopeless romantic. Then this afternoon as he and a friend dug out part of our garden to put in a new gas tank I hid away and made cards for a Christmas stall to raise money for the children's trip to London. I had bought the Across the Miles Hunkydory kit as I thought it would make quite a few really sparkly cards we could sell easily. Some have bookmarks in them so are quite nice if you like that kind of thing.





Next I came across a bag of last years Christmas cards. Excited to try my new Nellie Snellen Circley die out I picked a pure white card with a small silver image on it and tried it out. It was brilliant and for the price a great buy. I can see me getting a lot of use out of it. There are a number of challenges at the moment that are for clean and simple or monochromatic. So using the sketch from Cupcakecrafters challenge I made the following card.- Its the first one my husband has actually commented on without me standing in front of him asking if the card I have just made is Hand-made or Homemade.

I cut the largest circle spellbinder die I have out of black card that was an insert in a packet!!! This was mounted onto a white card . The white paper was from stash as is embossed with snowflakes but from this angle you can't really tell. The image went through the Nellie Snellen. I used a piece of black ribbon from stash. In the corners I put outline stickers that I had coloured black with promarkers as I don;t have any black.

As a result the card can be entered for a number of challenges.

cupcakecrafters - sketch

winter wonderland - monochromatic

craftycardmakers - clean and simple

Good Luck Card for a friend starting college

One of my friends has just embarked on a Beauty Therapy Course and I thought this image would be excellent to make a card for her. She never ceases to amaze me. She has 4 children ranging from 2 - 8 years in age, a farm and a preserve business and yet she still manages to find time to do the school gardens which this year have been out of this world and now she has signed up for this course 2 nights a week!!!! I think her days have more hours than mine and she definitely runs on duracell and not a supermarkets own cheap brand like myself!!!!!

The outlay is from the sketch on Sketch& Stash.

My stash on this card was the die cut sentiment 'beauty' I have no idea where its from or how long I have had it. Also the card was from stash. It is believe it or not metallic purple but you can't actually tell from the David Bailey quality photo I have uploaded but imagine! This rest is a faint browny/ purple colour It seems to work or I need glasses I hear you shout.

She loved it and I am going to enter it for the Sketch and Stash Challenge!!!

Get Well

My dad collapsed earlier this week with what was thought to be a heart attack. At the moment they think it may have been severe angina. My mother freaked as no-one had to this point mentioned angina to her. Having watched his heart rate on a monitor for an hour whilst visiting i am not surprised he has angina his heart must be absolutely wore out. He has an irregular heart beat that ranges from 74 - 155 beats. it was all over the place. Anyway being even at my age a bit of a Daddy's Girl I made him a card using the adorable image from - oh let me guess couldn't possibly be----- LOTV. Oh what a surprise it is!!!!

The image was stamped with memento ink and coloured using promarkers. I followed the sketch from stampacularsundaychallenge

Guardian Angel

I made this card using the sketch from the Sugar Nellie Sweetie Search.





What I hadn't realised was you could only do one entry. When this stamp first arrived from the picture on the front of the packet it had a rather evil/ sinister look about it however when it is stamped and coloured it is cute. it would make a lovely image for a christening card. It is named Guardian Angel.

I coloured the image using promarkers and then glittered the wings using Glamour Dust. For added sparkle I ran lines through her hair using a Sakura 700 Clear Star pen. I have no idea what made me add the sentiment Believe but I thought it apt at the time. No idea what I was on must have been away with the fairies!!!! Don't worry I'm not giving up my day job yet for a life in comedy!!!

the brads I bought last week at the Harrogate show.

Faux Christmas

Hi



Actually been really busy this week making cards etc but haven't had time or the light to get my cards posted. I thought I would multi-task today and get a card that hits three things. I signed up for the Christmas Swap on Docrafters but have not been Christmas orientated this week. As the month is fast running out I thought I had better get a grip.

I found a fantastic sketch to follow on Thesecretcraftsaturdaychallenge and married this with the faux/real stitching challenge on the Stamping Sisters in Christ Challenge.



So here is the outcome.
As usual at the moment it has a LOTV image on it and I went for the green and red theme taken from the dress.
The poinsettias were punched from an old punch I had and added some holly leaves from the Docrafters stash.

The biggest challenge for me now is to make up a pack of all the bits I used and send them to my swap buddy and see what she does with the materials. We also send our card in a sealed envelope so they can compare when they have finished. I always find it fascinating what people do with the same materials.

Corrosive Challenge

This is a challenge I just fell across, but the sketch was quite nice. I had an image from the Pink Gem Collection that i had stamped so i decided to use that one.

I tried hard to dye the flowers using promarkers. Found I have the touch of a baby elephant. As a result the ink bled in every direction. Realised after I had made the card that i am obviously feeling rather blue. This is the fourth blue card!!!!

I also tried to stamp the blue sheet that I matted the image on. The ink was white but it didn't come out as white just wet!!!!!!!

Sugar Nellie DT Challenge

Over at The Sugar Bowl they are looking for new Sugar Sweeties - DT members. Working on the principle nothing ventured nothing gained and not necessarily on talent I thought I would have a go to take my mind off things at the moment.

You are provided with a sketch and a stipulation that it must have a Sugar Nellie image and you are able to make a new card a week uploading it on to an up to date blog.

So I have tried.

I don't have many Sugar Nellie stamps but the one I have and love is the Wish stamp.

I made a square card from red card.

This was matted with ivory pearlescent / sparkly card.

On top of this I matted two pieces of red velvet patterned paper i got from a paper of scrap papers you can often buy from shops. I thought the pattern and colour would give the fell of Christmas.

The image was stamped using memento ink and coloured using Promarkers.
Though you can't really see I did the background using the Straw yellow Aquamarker.

I double matted it first on silver card then gold.

To make the wings and the 'wish' to stand out I highlighted them with a Sakura 700 Clear star pen ( fast becoming a favourite of mine)

the three stars proved most challenging as i don't have a big star punch. So I punched 3 'star-like' shapes from the pearlescent card mounted them on gold mirri card that had been cut and embossed from the 'Blossom' spellbinders. They are attached using red star brads.

The sentiment seem apt. I stamped it with clear ink and embossed in gold. It was first matted on red card and then onto another 'blossom' die cut shape that had been cut and embossed in a cuttlebug.

I am really disappointed with the light as it is difficult to see the colours properly.

Is it only Tuesday?

What a day!!!

Happy at work, went out on duty sun was shining children were having a great time then dinner time arrived.

My Mother turned up at work, you know that can be a bad sign. From her face i could tell it was. My father had been rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack. The hospital is about 18 miles away so I drove. Where he is they have been fantastic but it is a lot of sitting around imagining whilst they do the tests. So from arriving to leaving him was 7 hours. They are still not too sure and will be doing more tests at 10.00pm they think now that it may have been a serious Angina attack. During all of the wires and machines and testing and an irregular heartbeat that was all over the place he was worried they were going to keep him in for too long!!!!

So my mother has been asked to be dropped off at her house so she can phone people and try and get some rest. She is not too well and was absolutely shattered emotionally and physically but refused to have me stay over!!!!

The machines they hook them up to are amazing as well as mesmerizing. I also realised how old I am getting as the Dr only looked in his late 20's!!! Great staff though. They were patient ( what a pun) and explained everything thoroughly so you immediately feel better about leaving them there.

Clare's Sketch

This card was done using the sketch from Clare's Sketch Challenge over at Do - Crafters. I am also using it as my Friendship Swap card for this month. I loved the image of the two little girls having a tea party. Its my favourite drink. Above my desk at work is a card stating 'Nothing is impossible with a cup of tea in your hand' Could challenge it put when things are getting to me I have a cuppa ( and half a packet of biscuits though!)

Image LOTV
Floral Paper from Henbury - Do-crafts
Stamps from stash. i think they were on a magazine
Navy paper from stash.

I stamped the image with blue Whispers Archival ink
The images are raised slightly using Pinflair Glue as a 3d glue.

Crafter's Companion Challenge

Today has been a right off in terms of getting things I wanted to do done. When I finally got into my craft room I thought I would enter two challenges. Made the cards etc went to upload only to find I had missed the deadline!!!! Spent 4 hours doing something on the computer for my Parents which had eaten into my day. AT least they are happy.

The following card was for the Cupcakecraft challenge on Books and Stories, but missed the link by 2 hours. I used the sketch from the Crafter's Companion Challenge and one of my favourite images from LOTV!!.

I went to the Harrogate Papercraft Show yesterday and spent a fortune. I had 26 pence in my purse when I left and not even enough for a cup of tea. It was the LOTV stall. OMG I only I had won the lottery!!!

Was with a friend and we bought the new packs of images between us. It was 6 packs for £10 and there are 20 images in each pack, so we got 10 of each image. I also bought 4 new stamps!!

Anyway back to my card.

Just realised the middle strip is so thick it looks more like 3 equal panels when its is supposed to be a strip.

I didn't want to add flowers to this as they had nothing to do with the image and as I didn't have any book brads I punch 6 swirls from the paper I matted the image on and I added a button to the central one in each set. The centres of the other flowers are simply pearl stick-ons.

Grand- daughter/ God daughter Christening Card

My husband has two children and now three grandchildren. The latest was born just before Christmas and is to be christened next month as her other grandparents live in Spain so it was difficult getting a date everyone could make.

I have been married for just over 18 months and my OH's daughter has asked me to be Scarlett's Godmother. I am so chuffed for all sorts of reasons my OH can't work out. he thinks its about having a new outfit, not about how much it means to by completely accepted into his family. Am I being sentimental?

So I set about making a Book A Easel Christening Card.

As with my other Book A Easel cards I printed this out on Linen card and pearlescent paper.

I hummed and arghed about putting her name on but opted for the most delightful topper I found in a shop called Boyes. It was a packet of baby girl toppers that were so cheap.

I added a small heart charm onto the opposite side. This proved a challenge!! In the end I used Pinflair glue!!!!