Happy Halloween

I haven't made a card today, how's about that? We go food shopping on a Monday morning and that's what we did as usual. We then called in to a local store to collect some colour charts. We're going to get the decorator in to paint the kitchen, some time soon. After that we went to a garden centre to buy a bird table. We bought all the extra bits to fix, seed tray, hooks, water bowl and nut hanger. I had to screw some of the bits in because Eric's hands gave up after the first couple but we managed between us. I took it out in to the garden and we've had some bird visitors already. I was cooking dinner when the first human visitors knocked. I gave them their treat bags and then served dinner. We managed to eat dinner earlier than usual before we got a steady stream of visitors in various outfits. Skeletons and witches were the norm! Fortunately they're usually young ones that we get round and they'd finished calling by about seven pm. I had to open the door every time because Eric's just not too good at the minute, we're at the hospital on Thursday so we'll see if they can offer any further suggestions for pain relief. Of course, now I'm absolutely shattered so I don't think I'll be making a card this evening either. I'll have a few games of Solitaire and try to recharge my batteries ready for tomorrow.

Happy Halloween everyone.

CD Sunday Cat

The challenge this week on CD Sunday is Puss Cat. I've used Joanna Sheen's Ivory Cats CD. The small square card blank is from Craft UK. I chose the image, trimmed it a little bit and then matted it on to red and green Mirri card. The red and green papers are from pads that I bought from Create and Craft about seven years ago and had never used them until now! I trimmed a sheet of each colour to the size that I wanted and then backed it with red Mirri card. I set the cat image at an angle and then finished my card off with three pieces of Card Candi to contrast with the sheet it's set on.

Christmas #86

Yes, this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time is Use a Digi - NO, it's not, it's Christmas!!  That's an easy one for you and if you're having difficulty finding a digi you should check out Stitchy's shop for some wonderful images. I chose to use Stitchy's 'Sweet Santa', isn't he lovely? The small square card blank is from Craft UK and I scored it to make an easel card. I coloured the image with Promarkers and cut out his mirror to back it with the silver card. He can now check out his image as much as he wants. lol After I'd coloured him I cut him with a Spellbinders nestie before cutting a larger size in Papermill silver to back it.  The red paper and the sentiment are from a freebie HOTP paper pad that I got in a magazine a while ago. I backed the sentiment with silver and I used the Spellbinders scroll and corner to enhance the base. The sentiment is 'fastened' in place with two red pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Please come and enter the challenge over at OSAAT. The sponsor this week is our own Stitichybear so check the store out now, in case you're the winner! http://stitchybearstamps.com/shop/

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges:

Creative Craft Challenges - Fancy Edges
Passion for Promarkers - For a child
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Ribbon Girl - Jingle all the way to Christmas
Digi Doodle - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
Papercrafting Journey - Use a Digi
Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes,  (Christmas or Festive)
Bah Humbug - Christmas, Die Cuts

Cards for Men/Boys

This card is for the challenge set at Cards for Men - Animals. I printed off this digi image yesterday and decided to colour it this morning. I'm sorry I can't remember who donated it, I usually put the name of the artist beside the image but this one is blank. Sorry, artist, I loved colouring him though. I've also made a shaped card which I don't usually like doing but after I'd cut the image out I just thought he would look right in a circle. I used an 8 inch square card from Craft UK and cut it with a Spellbinders grand circle nestie, leaving the top edge attached! The edge was distressed with frayed burlap Distress Ink. I coloured the image with Promarkers, cut with another grand nestie circle and then distressed the edge as before. I cut another couple of grand circle nesties using Costco papers and tried to centre them as background. I added five wooden flowers from Create and Craft .

Happy Holiday

I'm entering Papertake Weekly challenge with my take on Dawny P's sketch. I've used a large square card blank from Craft UK. The mustard coloured matting card is by Papermill. I have no idea where I got the checked paper or the orangey coloured hammered card. The digi is a stamp that I got from Ladybug Crafts after winning one of their challenges.  I coloured 'him' with Promarkers and edged it with Distress Ink in dried marigold after cutting it out with a Spellbinders oval nestie. I generated the sentiment on the computer, cut it with another nestie and distressed this label too. The corner is cut with a Spellbinders Parisian Accent die.

Oh Baby/No designer papers

I've combined two challenges again with this card - Crafty Sentiments has the theme 'No Designer Papers' and Ladybug Crafts Ink has the theme 'Oh, baby'. I actually finished this card last night and when I looked at it completed I didn't like it! I put it to one side and thought I would wait until today and decide whether to enter it in to the challenges or not. It certainly looks better today so I'll make an attempt.

I took a 6 inch square card blank from Craft UK and embossed it with a Creative Expressions tulip Mica Mask. I then held the mask in place and used Distress Inks in peeled paint and mustard seed to colour the tulips.I punched two holes at the spine to take a length of narrow organza ribbon from Create and Craft. My baby image is one of Joanna Sheen's early stamp sets. It was stamped in Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers, before being cut with a Spellbinders plain rectangle nesties. I set it at a 'jaunty angle' near the top of the card and added three small yellow pearls to the bottom right. The pearls are from WOC.

Two Challenges in One

I'm combining two challenges, Lili of the Valley, who have the sketch by Bev, and Moving Along With the Times who have the theme of 'No Girls Allowed'. I was looking forward to using my boy on a bike stamp for the first time. I LOVE little boys and this one reminds me of my number two son who was a real daredevil on his bike!

I used a small square card blank by Craft UK. The blue papers and card are by Papermill. However, the striped paper is printed from a CD and I can't remember which one, sorry. I've had it in my 'blue' drawer for ages.The LOTV image is stamped with Memento ink, coloured with Promarkers and cut with a Spellbinders plain circle nestie. I used a Sakura gelly roll stardust pen for the chain and wheel rims to make it look like metal. Not 100% sure that it worked but it looks OK. I've added some tiny, funny shaped buttons that I got in a prize from Create and Craft a good few years ago and never thought that I would use them!

Boys will be boys!

What a job I've had this week with the Lili of the Valley's challenge of Bingo! I wanted to use one of my new LOTV stamps that I won and I'd chosen two of the boy stamps. How could I add ribbon or lace or flowers to a boy's card? I've got two sons and had I sent them a card with those items on when they were young they would have laughed at me! However, I was determined to use my chosen stamp and I settled on the row gems (I can just get away with these), charms and embossing. I used a small square card blank from Craft UK. The blue card was embossed with a Creative Expressions embossing folder and was set against a small panel of dark brown /gold mottled card. The blue and brown card are both from Papermill. The image was stamped in Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers, cut with a Spellbinders plain oval nestie and then edged with a Distress Ink. A length of baker's twine was added to the brown panel and a small charm of a dragon fly was attached. I think I bought the dragon fly from Create and Craft a few years ago. I used the WOC pearls in the corners of the blue embossed panel. I think I might just have got away with this one.

To add to my frustration my camera memory card wouldn't work iin the machine so I've had to scan the card. I'm not meant to enter this challenge!

To add even more frustration my husband has just told me that he thinks I've got the angle of the stamp wrong! Yikes. Will it never end? He suggests that the rope above his hands should be vertical!!

Halloween - CD Sunday

I've been busy tidying the garage, yet again, so this card has taken a while to finish. I started it on Sunday and just finished it a few minutes ago. I have to say though that the garage is looking very good. My card blank is a large square from Craft UK. The orange card is from Papermill. I've used Starr, a digi image from Stitchybear, and I coloured her with Promarkers, edging the paper with black soot Distress Ink. Stitchybear is having a progressive sale for a short while so check it out. The backing paper is from Joanna Sheen's The Cardmaker's Year. I generated the sentiment on the computer, in the Creepy font, and printed it vertically on the orange card. This card was, initially, for the CD Sunday challenge but I'm also entering it in the following challenges as they all have Halloween as their theme:

Crafting for All Seasons
Crafty Boots
Creative Stamp Friends

Kaboodle Doodles
Paper Creations

# 85 - Embossing

The challenge over at One Stitch at a Time is embossing and I've used dry embossing on my card. It's a UK Craft 8x8 square card blank and the navy blue and pale blue card is from Papermill. I've embossed the pale blue card with the Happy Birthday Cuttlebug folder and the navy blue card was embossed with the music folder but I'm not sure you can see that very well. The image is Birthday Boy by Stitchy and can be bought HERE. I've coloured him with Promarkers and cut it out with a Spellbinders grand nestability. I used a Sakura gelly roll pen to add the icing to the cake. I generated the sentiment on the computer and set it on another nestie with the scalloped backing. I backed the whole embossed panel with navy blue card and left a narrow panel on the left where I attached three strands of baker's twine from WOC.

We're being sponsored by Stitchybear and there are digis up for grabs so make sure you enter this challenge.


I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Cards for Men - Challenge 21, Make Us Laugh
Stamp with Fun - Gift
Charisma Cardz Challenges - Heat or Dry Embossing
Shelly's Images - Show us what you got!

Goosey, Goosey, Gander

The theme of the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog is to be inspired by a Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale. Mine is the nursery rhyme Goosey, Goosey, Gander, Where do you wander?

My card blank is a small square from Craft UK. The black card is from Papermill and the backing paper is from Costco. I used a stamp, for the first time, that I was given a few years ago. I have no idea who made it, it's on a wooden block but has no name on it. I stamped with Memento ink and coloured, very lightly, with my Promarkers. I used my Spellbinders Peony nestie in black to back the plain circle nestie. I distressed the bottom edge of the circle with Distress Ink in old paper. I added three black pearls in two of the corners and they are from WOC. A very plain and simple card but it looks very effective.

Vintage

I've had a busy morning but I got lots of housework done so I've had this afternoon to play. I decided to enter the Vintage challenge at Moving Along With The Times.

I used a Craft UK card blank and backing papers from Create and Craft and Costco. The image is from the Vintage Women Pack from Bonna of Kelley Kids at Stitchybear, I'm not sure if it's still available. I coloured her with Promarkers and cut out with a Spellbinders rectangle nestability. The scroll and the corner piece are from Spellbinders and the little metal square and the silver grey pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I would also like to enter the following challenge:
Crafts 4 Eternity - One metal  embellishment

Lilac and Green Flowers

I've combined two challenges today: The Ribbon Girl has for challenge 12, the  colour theme of Lilac and Green and The Emerald Faerie Garden challenge 11 has the theme Flowers, Flowers, Flowers. I've added two images of my card because I'm not sure which shows it better, one is a scan and the other is a photograph.

I've used a large square card blank by Craft UK. Instead of doing a 'cute' image which I seem to have done for the past few weeks I decided to go with a flower image. I chose one of Joanna Sheen's favourite flowers stamp range and stamped it with Memento ink. I coloured it with my Promarkers and cut it with a plain oval Spellbinders nestability. I then cut a lilac scalloped oval and a green plain oval in slightly larger sizes to use as a mount for the flowers. The lilac and green card are from Papermill. I cut the border and corners with the Spellbinders Parisian Accents. I was stuck for a backing paper and went right through my 'purples' paper/card drawer before moving to the computer and my CDs. I opened Joanna Sheen's Eastern Treasures CD and found this perfect backing paper which matches the image beautifully. I matted the backing paper on to green card and raised it from the base card for depth. I added  a length of green cord ribbon from my stash to the top of the embossed border to complete the design.

Circles, Pink and Chocolate

The challenge this week at Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT is Circles, Pink and Chocolate. My card is a small Craft UK card blank. The brown and pink card are both by Papermill. I embossed the pink card with the Creative Expressions Mask in the tulip design and then matted it on to the brown card. The image is a Ladybug freebie that I got earlier this year with a magazine. I coloured her with Promarkers and gave her necklace some bling with a Sakura stardust pen before cutting the image out with a Spellbinders nestie. I then cut the larger size circle and the larger size again in the scalloped circle, both in the brown card, to make a backing for the image. I added some WOC pink pearls to the side of the image and in the bottom right corner.

An Apple a Day

I've had a quiet day today so I decided to enter a challenge on a blog that was suggested to me. Here is my take on the apple theme on Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog. I found the image of the apple in a child's colouring book and cut it out before colouring it with my Promarkers. I added some 3D clear gloss finish to patches of the apple to make it look shiney. I'm not sure that that worked! The large square card is from Craft UK. The red card is from Papermill and the backing paper is from Costco. I've had the big apple button for ages so decided to add it to the corner - I think I got it from Create and Craft. The red organza ribbon is from Joanna Sheen. I generated the sentiment on the computer using WordArt and printed it on green paper before cutting out in to a leaf shape.

Around the World

I went round the world when I was wondering which CD to use for this week's challenge on the CD Sunday challenge blog. I opened almost every CD I have looking for a suitable image and came back to the American Frontier CD by Joanna Sheen. I used a large Craft UK card blank. The mustard coloured backing paper is from Costco and I matted it on to gold mottled card from Papermill. I stamped the tree image on to the mustard paper with Distress Ink, in peeled paint and dried marigold colours. I mounted the mage on to the gold mottled card and set it on foam tape to give a bit of depth to the design. I've added two photos because although the second one is a better colour likeness there's a shine from the flash.

I'm entering this in to the following challenge:
Lollipop Crafts - No Sentiment
Crafty Boots - Autumn

ATC

I've made an ATC for the challenge over at Moving Along With The Times. I usually only make an ATC once a month but decided to enter this challenge. I chose the year of the snake because I had the snakeskin paper and I've got so many of these Chinese coins that I've got to use them some time. The paper is wrapping paper from Ikea. The coin is from Create and Craft I think and the dates I generated on the computer and added gold peel off lines to the edges of the paper.

#84 - Shape Up

Yes, it's that time again! Challenge day at One Stitch at a Time and this week the theme is Shape Up. I used the Steampunk Watch by April of Reece's Scrap Pieces and you can buy the digi from HERE. After choosing my image I began to have doubts but I eventually managed to make my first steampunk card. Thanks April for pushing me in that direction.

I used a large square Craft UK card for the base. The bronze and silver Mirri card is from Joanna Sheen and the backing paper is from Costco. I used the Speedy Celebrations stamp set from Joanna Sheen to stamp and emboss on the backing paper. I used bronze and silver embossing powder and I was happy with the result. After colouring the digi with Promarkers and edging it in grey I cut just outside the grey lines and stuck the image to a square of bronze Mirri card which was also backed with silver Mirri card. I cut out some of the cogs and added them to the card with some Pinflair gel to give a bit of depth. One of  Tim Holtz's clasp, sentiment and chains is hanging at the right and looks as if it is attached with one of the raised cogs.

I've posted another couple of photos because the light was reflecting off the Mirri card.

Our sponsor this week is Joanna Sheen and the winner will receive a £10 voucher for Joanna's online store.

 

Check the site out here: http://www.joannasheen.com/ 

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly - Get in Shape - I used the shape of the watch, the cogs and the squares.
Allways Something Creative - Brown, orange, distressed

A bird in the Hand

The challenge over at Daring Cardmakers is to use a bird on the card. I've just made this card today and so decided to enter the challenge. The sponsor is The Ribbon Reel and the prize is lovely so I had to have a go, didn't I?

Apart from my main bird I've actually used two Cuttlebug embossing folders that depict birds so I reckon I've fulfilled this challenge a few times over! The base card is from Craft UK and the black card is from Papermill. The cream pearlescent card is also from Papermill. I used Spellbinders dies to cut the cage and the bird. I positioned the bird on a branch and then added three pearls to two of the corners to complete the design. The pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Tag It

The challenge at Ladybug Crafts is Tag It and here is my entry.  I've used a large square Craft UK card blank. The striped backing paper is from Trimcraft's Desert Blooms pad. 'Magnum with flu' is my digi from Ladybug Crafts and it's the first time I've used him. I coloured him with Promarkers and cut out with a Spellbinders nestability. The pale orange mat, behind the image, is cut with a Martha Stewart deep edge punch. The tag is from my stash. I did make one and then decided to use this one instead because the colours tie in so well. I added the dark red organza ribbon, from Joanna Sheen, to the tag to match the armchair.

Wine Buff

The CD Sunday challenge this week is Wine Buffs. I've used a small square Craft UK card blank. The image and the backing paper are both from Joanna Sheen's Fashion Boutique CD. The black card is from Papermill and the red Mirri card and the red ribbon are also from Joanna Sheen. The sentiment was generated on the computer and matted on to the Mirri card. The little red pearls on the ribbon are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Anything Goes

Anything Goes is the theme of this week's challenge over at One Stitch at a Time. We have two sponsors this week:

 
http://www.thestampingboutique.com/

 
http://www.onestopcardcrafts.co.uk/

I've used a large square card blank by Craft UK. The Rose Frame digi is by Jess of Floppy Latte Designs over at Stitchybear. I coloured the image with Promarkers and then very carefully cut round the whole image. Wow, that was hard work! The sentiment is copied from a wall plaque that a friend gave us in 1984 when we first visited America. I generated it in Parisian font on to white paper and then positioned the frame around the sentiment before sticking down. I then backed the whole white panel with bright yellow card from Papermill. I added some green flower gems to the inside of the frame. I really enjoyed working with this image.

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges:
The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Riley and Co - Leaves RILEY 2011
Sweet Stamps Challenge 35 - Anything Goes
Charmed Cards and Crafts - Mega Candy Giveaway