Josephine's Rainbow

A Valentine Card

2012-01-28T19:39:00.001Z

I always make a valentine card for my husband, but of course, traditionally, valentines must be anonymous, and so it's never signed! (I'm pretty sure he know who is 'secret admirer' is, though!)

This year, I decided to do a mainly stitched card.

The heart frame came from a book I bought recently called 101 Ideas for Embroidery on Paper by Erica Fortgens. I bought it from Amazon, and I was a little disappointed in it. The front cover of the book is full of various stitched borders and I thought it was exactly what I wanted. In fact, there are no actual borders inside. There are some frames, including some square and rectangular frames which I can adapt, but no actual borders. More irritating is the fact that some of the ideas rely on buying separate brass stencils with pricking patterns on them. Still, I decided there are enough ideas that I'll use, so I'll be keeping the book.

I had to increase the size of the heart circle, which I did by photocopying at 1.41 of the original size (equivalent to blowing A5 up to A4). I pricked some mirror card, and stitched it with some red thread that I think is intended for machine embroidery but which I think works perfectly on paper.

The plain border on the matting was done using the new (to me at least) Sew Easy from Making Memories. I bought the handle and a few pricking wheels from Hobbycraft, and was very disappointed with the result. Using a pricking mat I already owned or a foam mouse mat, I either got no pricking or the card got so mangled it wasn't usable. I decided to give the thing one more chance, and bought the pricking mat designed for the purpose, and had much better results. It will still work best on paper that's really too thin for stitching on, but it can be made to work with 'normal' card, providing you don't try to use one of the more complicated wheels. The straight line wheel that I used here, and one that does a blanket-stitch type effect worked well. The one that's supposed to put little circles of holes - I think it's called 'burst' or 'starburst' just won't work.

Here, I pricked some card, then matted it onto gold mirror board, and then I went round and pricked the holes right into the lower layer before back stitching using gold thread.

The sentiment was created in Photoshop Elements and cut with a scalopped circle nesitbility die.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Allsorts where they want one or more hearts
Di's Digis where they want valentines,
One Stop Crafts where they want stitching,
My Sheri Crafts where they want something new (new book and new Sew Easy)
Stamp, Scrap and Doodle where anything goes,
Mami Doodles where they want something for a loved one,
The Poodles Parlour where they want love/valentine projects,
Stamping with the Dragon where anything goes,
Wags n Whiskers where the theme is love/valentines,
Craft Us Crazy where the theme is 'full of love'

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 60 - Use Beads

2012-01-23T12:00:00.006Z

This week on Crafty Cardmakers, we're challenging you to use beads. They can be added to to a card or anything else you choose to make, or you can be a tad literal like I was, and 'just' use beads (and some beading thread and a button.)

We are sponsored this time by

I hadn't used my bead loom for a while, so it was good to take it out. My daughter wanted a bracelet to go with a new dress, so we chose some beads and a simple pattern, and that was it! The beads are by Gutterman (via Hobbycraft) and the button is from my box of recycled buttons. I enjoyed this project, but I only know pretty basic use of a bead loom. I'm sure there must be some more complex things you can do with one, so I think I'll do a little research!

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Truly Madly Crafty where anything goes,
Crafty Sentiments where anything goes,
Tuesday Throwdown where they want neutral colours (various shades of black, white and grey)
Sir Stampalot where they want monochromatic projects (various shades of black, white and grey)
The Craft Garden where they want monochromatic projects,
Little Claire's where they want anything but a card.

.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 97

2012-01-22T12:00:00.038Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our theme is Round and Round. We're sponsored by

and

This week I worked with an image from Gingerloft which is available at Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps. It's called Swing on a Star, and I've got to warn you. If you're like me, you'll be singing the song for days!

Although there is a sentiment included with the image, due to the theme of the challenge, I made my own, adding it around the image in Photoshop Elements before printing. I coloured the image with Promarkers. Then, I set to, in Elements again, and designed a background paper to work with it. After that, I put together a sentiment, punched a star, and went rooting about in my embellishment box. Now, at the top of the card, there's a irridescent glass moon that I've had for a long time. I bought it when we were on holiday somewhere in the West Country, and I distinctlly remember that my daughter was in a buggy. (She'll be 18 in March!) So, that gives you an idea of just how long I've had it! I bought several shapes at the time, and while I've used a few, others have been broken while in storage. So, it's definitely high time it got used!

I hope you can join us this week!
I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Truly Madly Crafty where anything goes,
Crafty Sentiments where anything goes,
I Love Promarkers where anything goes,
Crafty Purple Frog where anything goes,
Shelley's Images where anything goes,
Stamping with the Dragon where anything goes,
Card Making Mamas where they want us to use something old. (That glass moon has been in my craft supplies for at least 15 years!).

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 96

2012-01-15T12:00:00.006Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time we're sponsored by Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps.

and by

This week I worked with a gorgeous digi from Stitchy herself. It's called Park Bench, and it's available here

I colured the image with Promarkers. the background paper is from a pad I've had for ages. The flowers were die cut using Marianne Creatables dies, as was the frond.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
House of Gilli where anything goes,
Lexi's Creations where anything goes,
Bearly Mine where anything goes,
Top Tip Tuesday where anything goes,
Passion for Promarkers where they want something inspired by a song. And that image has got to be inspired by Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters ...
The Anything Goes Challenge where anything goes!
Meljen's Designs where anything goes.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 59 - Don't Use Flowers!

2012-01-09T12:00:00.008Z

Here's a chance to make a male card, or a general card, or even something as girly as you like, all we're asking is that you don't add flowers! Of course, looking around blogland, that might prove to be quite a challenge.

Our sponsors this time are Digi Doodle's Shop and One Stop Card Crafts.

I decided to use a Digi Doodles image I won a while ago, and this one is probably my favourite. It's called 'Waterfall'.

I watercoloured the image - mainly with Aquamarkers, although the water uses Twinkling H2Os for that little bit of shimmer. The background paper is from Paper Cellar, and I edged it with turquoise ink. The swirls are Spellbinders die cuts. And that's it!

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cupcake Craftroom where anything goes,
Emerald Faerie where they want swirls,
Stamp N Doodle wehre anything goes,
The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Inky Impressions where anything goes,
Crafty Emma's where anything goes,
House of Gilli where anything goes,
Stamp and Create where anything goes,
Gingerloft where anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 95

2012-01-08T12:00:00.010Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want you to use three embellishments! Any theme or colours you like, as long as we can count three embellishments.

Our Sponsor this week is

This week, I had an image from Reece's Scrap Pieces called Stroll in the Rain which is available from Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and used nesties to cut and mat the result. The flowers are made from multiple layers of tissue paper cut with my Dahlia dies from Spellbinders, and the green fronds use a Marianne Creatables die. The paper used was the same both times, although I oriented the paper both ways in the die so I got mirror images of the final result. I think that slight difference in curvature of the die cut is the reason they look so different in the photo! The background was embossed in my Wizard using a dragonflies embossing folder.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Incy Wincy where anything goes,
Paper Creations Ink where they want die cuts (die cut image and mat, flower layers and leaf swirls),
Stamps R Us where anything goes,
Truly Madly Crafty where anything goes,
Cupcake Craftroom where anything goes,
Stamp N Doodle where anything goes,

The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Inky Impressions where anything goes,
One Stop Craft where they're playing bingo. (Flowers, die cuts and embossing).

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 94

2012-01-01T12:00:00.029Z

Happy New Year!
This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're restarting the Collaboration from Stitchy Digital Stamps but with a difference! The images and papers have been chosen by the DT members, and they'll be packaged together as a free gift for you if you spend $10 in the shop. How's that for a good deal?

My choice for the package was one of Panda Bear Designs Fairy Garden paper packs which I've teamed below with Stitchy's gorgeous silhouette 'Reach'.

I took one of the papers, and combined it with the png of the silhouette in Photoshop Elements, adding the bird and a frame to match. I printed the result onto glossy photo paper. I mounted that onto some holographic silver card, and then onto one of the other papers in the pack. I wrapped some pretty holographic silver thread around the result before putting the whole thing onto a plain white card. I don't know about you, but I'm like a child when it comes to shiny things. Holographic things just seem completely magical to me, and are therefore perfect for a card depicting a fairy!

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Deep Ocean where they want us to surprise them,

Top Tip Tuesday where anything goes,

Crafting for All Seasons where they want fairies,

Charisma Cardz where anything goes,

Digi Doodles Shop where anything goes,

Delicious Doodles where anything goes,

Hiding in my Craftroom where there's a freestyle challenge this time.

A Little Bit of Perfect Pearl!

2011-12-20T17:37:00.000Z

I spent a happy morning earlier this week doing some stamping. I had a couple of new stamps which I hadn't inked up before, and now that my Christmas cards are done, I got them out.

Not the best photo - I might take another later. I was all set up to take a photo this morning when there was natural light, but my camera battery died, and by the time it had charged, it was dark!

The stamp is Damsel Fly by Clarity Stamp. For the main images, I stamped it in some Hobbycraft Metallic ink in both green and blue before embossing it with clear holographic embossing powder. (It's funny ink, that. I've yet to try it on a card where it will actually dry - it really needs to be embossed - but they colours are gorgeous and the pads seem especially 'juicy'. I coloured the images with Sakura Stardust pens in green and blue.

The background has the same image stamped onto black card using Versamark ink and then has Perfect Pearl powder in two shades added. I used some holographic card for the main layer, (and that's the main reason I need to take another photo in natural light!) The flowers were made using the same technique as the background, although the stamp used was the top part of the Wrought Iron Tree stamp from Clarity. It does give a lovely, swirly pattern. I cut the card using a Marianne Creatables dies set, and assembled with a brad.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Sparkles Forum where they want 'anything but a Christmas Card'.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 93

2011-12-18T12:00:00.036Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, it's anything goes! So, if there're any last minute Christmas cards needed, get busy. Or, if you're desperate to do something other than Christmas crafting, that's fine too.

Our sponsor this week is Stitch Bear Digital Stamps

My image this week came from Digi Blessings and it's available here.

Isn't it cute? I changed the position of the sentiment, breaking it up so it would fit the shape I wanted, then printed it on my usual Ryman card. I coloured the image with Promarkers, and cut it out using one of my nesties sets. I filled the holes in the border with sticky gem bubbles.

The backing paper is from Papermania, and the ribbon and flower are from my stash.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft where they want things that shine, glint or glitter. (Hope those gems qualify!)

Daisy Doodles where they want 'something sweet',

Everybody Art where they want blue and white

Ladybug Crafts where they've got a bingo game. (I've used a die cut (image), ribbon and a flower - middle vertical line.

The Paper Variety where anything goes,

Glitter Geeks where anything goes..

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 58

2011-12-12T12:00:00.024Z

This challenge at Crafty Cardmakers has been set by Tracy, and she wants us to use the same stamp/image three different ways. It could be the background, main image and a tag to match for example. (ie Christmas Wrapping Paper, Greeting Card and Gift Tag). Using different colourways is another way, and that's what I chose to do.

The flower stamp was a Craft Stamper freebie a while ago. I stamped it using a Big and Juicy pad in Mountain Meadow, using three different areas of the pad. I layered two of the flowers, and finished all three with sticky gems. I shaded the background with the same ink pad, applying the ink with an Ink Duster. Then, I kept things fairly simple - some matting, velour ribbon and a Martha Stewart border punch.

Our sponsor this time is Joanna Sheen who's offering a £10 voucher to the lucky winner.

Hope you can join us this time!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Paper Creations where they want us to 'bling it up',

Samuel Taylor's Challenge where anything goes,

Corrosive Challenges where they want anything but Christmas.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 92

2011-12-11T12:00:00.041Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want you to use a digi! That's all - easy! Our sponsors this week are Stamping Boutique

My image this week is from Barbara Jensen Designs, and it's called, not too surprisingly, 'Parrot'. It's available at Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps.

I coloured the image with Promarkers, and cut it and two matt layers with my petite oval Nesties. I had lots of fun with all those blues! The background papers come from two sources. The floral one I've had for a very long time! It was part of a Sizzix pad I bought years ago! (It was the first patterened paper I'd ever bought.) The plainer paper is left over from one of my sessions with various Mica sprays. I must've used most of the sheet, but there was enough left for this card. I seem to remember wrapping the card in cling film to get a subtle pattern from the various colours.

My embellishments were all cut using Marianne Creatables dies, and were cut from Craft Creations Sparkle Paper. (That's very reduced at the moment, but I'll have to see if I can justify the postage cost before I buy anything ...)

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Ooh La La where they want sparkle,

Paper Creations where they want us to 'bling it up' (hope my shiny flowers with gem brads are bling-y enough!)

The Crazy Challenge where anything goes,

Papertake Weekly where anything goes,

Divas by Design where anything goes,

Dutch Dare where they want things with wings,

Crafty Catz where anything goes,

Hotshot Craft where they want us to use Promarkers,

Totally Papercrafts where they want anything but Christmas.

Sweet Stamping where they want things with wings.

A Secret Santa Gift

2011-12-04T15:39:00.001Z

At work, we do a Secret Santa each year. This year, I bought a gift and added a home made edible, so I needed two matching boxes. Needless to say, the easiest way to find what I wanted was to make them!

The left hand box has the main gift in it, while the square one is filled with edibles! I stamped black card with Versamark before embossing with Silver Detail powder. The stamp is one I picked up on sale while I was on holiday during the spring - it's a big stamp, but incredibly useful for things like this. For the top panel of the smaller box, I triple embossed a piece of black card with ultra thick EP, then stamped the same image in silver ink while the embossing powder was still melted. I matted the panel on silver card, and that's it!

I tied the two boxes together with silver string and added a tag.

So, that's one item on my present list ticked off!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Challenge Up Your Life where they're looking for boxes/packaging,
Krafting Kimmie where they want embossing,
Pattie's Creations where they want anything Christmas with a stamped or digi image,
Stampin' with the Dragon where anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 91

2011-12-04T12:00:00.010Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to be square! We want to see square cards, gifts, tags ... whatever you want. And don't forget, our lucky winner will get a gift voucher for the Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps!

The image I chose this week is from Floppy Latte Designs and it's called Christmas Lamp. It's available here.

I had so much fun colouring that image! I used Promarkers, of course, although I added some sparkle to the flame with a Sakura Stardust pen. The background card is some gorgeous textured card I've had for ages (but didn't want to use!) I think it came from Payper Box when I was one of the Olympia shows a year or two ago. I've cut some red and green squares using my nesties and added them on top. (Well, the requirment of the challenge is to be square!) I've even made sure I cropped the image to a square too. The final addition is some sticky gems.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Creative Craft Challenges where they're having a 'free for all',
AI Factory where they want 'something red',
Fab 'n' Funky where anything goes,
Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Joanna Sheen Challenge where the theme is Christmas Wishes,
Creatalicious whose theme is 'Christmas and make sure it sparkles',
Gingerloft where the theme is Christmas or Winter.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 57 - Heat Embossing

2011-11-28T12:00:00.007Z

Well, this time on the Spotlight Challenge, it's my choice of technique, and I chose Heat Embossing. You can do anything you want as long as it includes some heat embossing.

We are kindly sponsored for this challenge by The Stampman (and Lady of course!) who are offering the winner the lovely prize pictured below.

Starburst Stains Brush on The Fun - Holiday Wreath

Deep, rich, vibrant colours with a two-toned shimmer!

These are all dye based products, which give them that vibrancy and can be used on any porous surface, (paper, wood, fabric, balsa, chipboard, etc).

Instructions on how to use: Add hot water, (filtered preferrably, especially with the stains), let sit at least 10 minutes.

Shake or stir before each use.

The only problem is that I'm not eligiblefor a chance to win, but you are, if you enter the challenge! So, show us your heat embossing!

I used this technique for the background on the card below. The butterflies were stamped with Versamark ink onto a shiny shoe catalogue then embossed with gold.

For the centre image, I stamped and heat embossed the image onto white card, then I coloured the image with Sakura Stardust pens which give the end result a 'jewelled' effect that I like.

So, show us your heat-embossing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Sassy Cheryl's where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where anything goes,

Flutterby Wednesdays where the challenge is open this week,
My Mum's Craft Shop where the theme is 'Things with Wings',
Get Hippity with Ippity where they want embossing,
Stamps R Us where the theme is embossing.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 90

2011-11-27T12:00:00.017Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're seeing red! At least, we hope to see lots of red in your creations this week.

This week, I got to work with an image from Lil Diva called Skating Snowman Family and it's available at the Stitchy shop. Ths sponsor this week is Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps.

Isn't that a cute image? I coloured it with Promarkers and added a little sparkle with a Sakura Stardust pen. I framed the image in red card cut with my Fleur de Lis nestibility, and used some paper from my stash. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and they've also got some Stardust pen added.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Daisy Doodles where the theme is Christmas,
Kaboodle Doodles where the theme is 'Baby, it's cold outside,',
Polycraft Monday Challenge where the theme is Christmas Fun,
The House that Stamps Built where the theme is Christmas with snowflakes,
I Love Promarkers where anything goes,
Shelley's Images where they want red and green,
Four Crafty Chicks where they want snowflakes,

Delightful Challenges where they want red and green,
Cardmadfairy where the theme is Winter Wonderland,
Crafty Catz where they want snowmen,
.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 89

2011-11-20T12:00:00.011Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we've got the best challenge of all - Anything Goes!

We're sponsored this time by Creative Craft World who're offering three Promarkers to the lucky winner .

This week, I chose a gorgeous image and paper set from Reece's Scrap Pieces. It's called In the Meadow we can Build a Snowman and it's available at the Stitchy Bear shop where there's a great deal coming up.

The set consists of a standard digi-stamp, a pre-coloured image and five toning papers.

Here, I've used the pre-coloured image and four of the five supplied papers. I matted three of the papers with a fourth one (a dark blue) in Photoshop Elements before printing them onto Ryman Matte Ink Jet paper. I printed the image onto Glossy photo paper and added some Glamour Dust before matting onto blue card. The snowflakes were die cut using a Marianne Creatables set in my Wizard, using white card that had been sprayed with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle in irridescent.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Fab'n'Funky where 'Baby, it's cold outside,'
Moving Along with the Times where the theme is 'Let it Snow',
Shelley's Images where anything goes,
Crafter's Companion where the theme is Let it Snow,
Tiffany Doodles where they want glitter and sparkle,
Glitter Fairies where they want Christmas without red, green and gold,
Creatalicious Challenges where they want Christmas with sparkle,
Winter Wonderland where they want cute Christmas images,
Two Sisters where they want sparkle,

I also coloured the image to match some paper I had, and came up with this:

I shaded the sky area of the image a pale blue in Photoshop Elements before printing, but you can't see that in the photo. (I can either use artificial light which washes out pale colours or have a really dark photo just now!) The paper and gold mesh are from my stash, and the snowflakes and stars were cut from gold card using a Cuttlebug die.
I hope you can join us this week.

Craft Your Passion where the theme is 'Let it Snow',
The Craft Garden where they want Christmas without red of green,
CRAFT where they want to see stars,
Phindy's Place where they want Christmas Cards,
Cardmadfairy where they want texture,
Crafty Emma where they want snowflakes,
Rogue Redhead where they want just one design paper.

Letraset Metallic Markers

2011-11-16T22:02:00.000Z

If you'd like a chance to win a set of Letraset's metallic markers, head on over to their blog here.

An Anniversary Card

2011-11-14T22:32:00.000Z

A colleague asked me for a card for her parents' anniversary. I hunted throught my image collection, and found one by Lily Boo that fitted the bill, and then had a hunt for papers. I came accross some gorgeous papers too - from a free download from Crafter's Companion a while ago. They came with some labels, tea bag papers and embellishments too.

Aren't those colours gorgeous? And so you can see the tea bag folding and sentiment better,

I coloured the image with Promarkers and cut it with some nesties. I coloured the ribbon and gems with Promarkers too!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Daisy Doodles where 'anything goes with a digi',
My Craft Spot where they want Easel cards,
My Partner in Crafting Crime where they want freebies (the image, papers, teabag papers and flowers were all freebies!)
Stamps are Us where the theme is 'bling it on',

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 56

2011-11-14T12:00:00.024Z

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, we want you to recycle something! It can be a box or container, or even something you add as an embellishment, so long as it's recycled. And make sure to mention what's been recycled too!

I decided to make something other than a card this time, and found a sturdy little box which originally had some jewellery in it. It was rather plain, except for the manufacturer's logo on the lid, so I decided to convert it for Christmas.

And, for a better view of the top,

The papers are from a recent Crafts Beautiful freebie, and I've added some ribbon, some mirror board cut with a Martha Stewart border punch, and a poinsettia cut with a Marianne Creatable die set in my Wizard. Unfortunately, I wasn't convinced I'd be successful, so I didn't take a photo of it in its original state.

It's a nice, solid little box, and I suspect I'll fill it with tablet as a gift, once I've made the tablet, that is!

Hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday where it's 'anything goes Christmas'
Mami Doodles where the theme is Christmas,
Wags 'n Whiskers where the theme is Christmas
Totally Gorjuss where the theme is Christmas Traditions,
Pile it On where they want Traditional Christmas,
Karen's Doodles where they want anything but a card.

Craft Barn Candy

2011-11-13T21:11:00.000Z

How's that for some blog candy? Pop on over to the blog and get the details!

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 88

2011-11-13T12:00:00.044Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to put your colours out of sight, and stick to Black and White!

If you want to enter this challenge, and need an image, head over to Stitchy Bear because there's a huge range of lovely silhouettes over there that would be perfect! I chose to use one of Stitchy's own silhouettes, or to be more exact, a set of two of them called Snow Angels.

Isn't that a pretty image? I added the words and made the background paper in Photoshop Elements, then printed and added some detail with Glamour Dust. I sprayed both the black and white card I used with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle in irridescent, and embossed the white using a Papermania embossing folder. I cut the black border using the Tonic border punch system and a couple of punches and finished it with some clear sticky gems.

And here's the second image, along with the rest of my sentiment. I put the insert together in Photoshop Elements.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Heartsong Inspirations where anything goes,
House of Gilli where the theme is monochromatic,
Stamps Plus Fun Equals Creativity where the theme is winter,
Papertake Weekly where the theme is 'First Christmas',
Top Tip Tuesday where it's 'anything goes Christmas'
Delightful Challenges where they want snowflakes,
Wags 'n Whiskers where the theme is Christmas.

Our sponsors for this challenge are Stamping Boutique,

and I was lucky enough to get one of their images to work with too. It's called Smoochie the Fashionista.

I was worried at first, as this didn't seem to me to be the sort of image I'd choose for a black and white challenge, but I decided to have a go and was very pleased with how it turned out. I've coloured the images with Promarkers, using only black and various greys. I reinforced the white spots with a Sakura Souffle pen in white, and added some sparkle with a Sakura Stardust pen. I cut the image with a Nellie Snellen die, and added embellishments die cut with a couple Marianne dies I bought recently. The papers are from a CD called Flower Power.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges;
Digital Tuesday Challenge where anything goes,
Crafty Catz where they want a digital image,
2 Sisters where anything goes,
Stamptacular Sunday where they want a punch or die to be used,
Paper Sundaes where they want digital images.

And then I thought I'd have another go but use some skin tones this time.

This time, I used some paper I designed in Photoshop Elements, Promarkers, Sakura Souffle pen, some oval nesties, and Spellbinders borderabilities.

I hope you can join us!

21st Birthday Card

2011-11-11T19:35:00.001Z

I was asked by a colleague to make a 21st birthday card. I showed her a couple of sites that had images I thought might work, and she went for Princess Jennifer Latte from The Stamping Boutique.

I altered the colour of the sentiment on the image from black to a burgundy shade, then coloured the image with Promarkers, and added a little Sakura Stardust pen for added glamour. I cut a mat with the Fleur de Lis nestibility set from Spellbinders in my Wizard.

The paper comes from a CD called Flower Power that I bought from Crafty Emma a while ago, and it works well with the 'Barbie pink' theme I started. The flower border uses a Martha Stewart punch which I used twice. I didn't measure (or record how wide a strip I started with, unfortunately) but it turned out perfectly! I added some sticky gems and a computer generated sentiment, and a silk flower centred with a jewelled brad.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Dutch Dare where they want us to use dies and punches,
The Paper Shelter where they want pink,
Truly Scrumptious where they've got a bingo (gems. flowers, punch)
Create Me Pink where they want flowers,
Digital Tuesday where anything (digitial) goes,
Daisy Doodles where anything (digital) goes,
Heart Song Inspirations where anything goes,

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 87

2011-11-06T12:00:00.006Z

This week at One Stitch at a Time the challenge is to use a digi. That's all! Our sponsor this week is One Stop Card Crafts.

This week, I chose a lovely image from Delicious Doodles called Sniffing Daisies.

Isn't that a lovely image? And a lovely change from all the Christmas Cards I've been doing lately. I've also used another Delicious Doodles image - the Monarch Butterfly. The main image and butterflies were coloured with Promarkers, although the sky in the main image is daubed with Distress Ink using a stencil brush. The papers are from Papermania's Capsule Collection. Someone gave me a pad in my work's Secret Santa, and I've used them a lot - they're just such gorgeous colours - warm but not too heavy.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Polycraft Monday Challenge where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where they want us to use a digi,
Fresh Brewed where anything goes,
Stampavie and More where anything goes,
Inky Impressions where they have a photo-inspiration (I chose the colours),
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,

Paperworks where they've got a photo-inspiration
Crafty Ann's where they want a floral frenzy
Crafty Catz where anything goes
Creative Inspirations where anything goes.

Christmas in Red, Orange and Yellow

2011-11-05T21:37:00.001Z

I was lucky enough to win a recent challenge at the Crafts and Me blog, and my prize was a gift certificate from Whimsy Stamps. So I didn't have to spend my voucher on postage, I opted for some digis, and I used one of them today.

I haven't used any Whimsy digis before, but I've got to say, the fact that they give you a png file with a transparent background is just perfect! I added the background shading in Photoshop Elements before I printed, then coloured the image with Promarkers. I cut the image and mats with some nesties, and when I went to put the image on the card, I decided I preferred it turned around a little - making the angel more upright. (One advantage of a circular image!)

The background paper is from the Papermania Capsule collection. I've used so much of that paper this year - I love those colours!

I fancied doing something a little different for embellishment, so I cut some pinking circles and wrapped them with gold thread spirelli-style, finishing them off with sticky gems shaded with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas where they want bright,
Little Claire where the theme is Christmas,
Crimbo Crackers where anything (Christmas) goes,
Cute Card Thursday where they want the colours of the bonfire (among other Guy Fawkes options),
Fresh Brewed where anything goes,
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,
Emerald Faerie where the theme is 'Christmas Red',
Sparkles Christmas where they want angels,

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 55

2011-10-31T12:00:00.037Z

This time's challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is to use just the following colours: brown, cream and pink.

Our sponsors this time are:

This colour combination screamed 'sepia-toned photo' at me. So, I went in search of something suitable and came across this - it's from the Crafy Image Emporium CD from Crafty Computer Paper. I used some of my Chocolate Box Coredinations card embossed and distressed. The embossing folder is from Papermania. (I find I'm using that one much more than the Cuttlebug ones because it's a much better size. Although the folder is the same size, the embossed area is bigger and much better-suited to the cards I make. One of the irritating things I find is how many craft items are made for card sizes based on US Letter size - which means they're too short for standard A sizes or the 150 ish mm square size I tend to make. /rant)

I finished the card by using my new ribbon punch, a little pink ribbon and some lace.

I hope you can join us this time, and look forward to seeing what you come up with.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Charizma Cards where anything goes,
Digi Doodle Shop's Best where anything goes,
Polycraft Monday Challenge where anything goes,
Stamps plus Fun equals Creativity where they want vintage,
Pink Elephant where they want distressing,
Bunny Zoe's Crafts where they want lace.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 86

2011-10-30T12:00:00.033Z

The theme this week at One Stitch at a Time, is Christmas! I don't know about you, but I make a lot of Christmas cards, so I try to start early in the year, but I'm still making some at the last minute. So, why don't you get out your Christmassy stash and add another card or two to your collection? Our sponsor this week is Stitchy Bear Stamps, and there's a wonderful selection of options there for a lucky winner. So, why not give it a go?

This week, I got to work with a gorgeous image from Lil Diva called 'Winterville'.

It's such a pretty image, I didn't do a lot to it at all! I did sepia-tone it in Photoshop Elements because it's got such an old-fashioned look to it, and then I added a little Glamour Dust to the snow. The backing paper is from Dovecraft, and the ribbon and mirriboard are from my stash.

I hope you can join us!

Charizma Cards where anything goes,
Digi Doodle Shop's Best where anything goes,
The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Totally Papercrafts where they want us to 'glitter it',

Papercrafting Journey where they want us to use a digi,
Sweet Stamping where anything goes,
Dream Valley where anything goes,
ABC Christmas Challenge where they're looking for vintage Christmas,
Come and Get it Challenges where anything goes.

Christmas Cards

2011-10-29T16:20:00.005+01:00

During the summer, and again earlier this week, I had to go away for a few days to somewhere that I don't have internet access. The problem of what to do with myself in the evenings is a worry - the flat has horrible lighting in the living room, (almost none) and I can't abide watching TV without something to do with my hands. The solution was to take some pre-printed images and colouring paraphenalia and sit in the kitchen! And now, I've finally managed to transform those images into Christmas cards.

But to start, one I've done from scratch this weekend, again practising my brayering!

Of course, if you look carefully, you'll spot the mistake - the mask for the moon didn't stick as well as I'd thought, and the moon has a distinctly blue shadow. I thought it looked like an interesting effect, though, and left it be.

The sky uses Distress Ink in Faded Denim, and the tree image (Clarity split tree) was stamped in Versafine ink. I added the detail in the snow with a stencil brush, and finished the image with some Glamour Dust adhered with Sakura glue pen.

The result is fairly stark, so I decided to continue with that theme, matting it onto black card and adding a hand-written sentiment in silver.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge where the theme is 'cold and frosty',
Sweet Stamping Challenge where anything goes,

And this one is definitely not stark! The image is Stitchy's Wishing You Well which she generously gave me to help me to stay sane during what I thought would be a summer without much crafting. I framed it and added the sentiment in Photoshop Elements, then coloured the image with Promarkers.

I had been counting on buying some card blanks when I went to the craft show at Alexandra Palace a few weeks ago, but by the time I got around to getting some, all the straight edge cards had gone! (Those things are heavy - I normally leave them to the end.) Knowing I was getting low, I did buy one pack of the scallopped edge cards, but I've found them quite hard to use. In an attempt to find something that works, I dug out my Spellbinders scallopped Borderabilities. The holographic card is from a local 'cheap' shop. It's not the best quality, but for a bit of Christmas glitz, it's perfect.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge where the theme is 'cold and frosty',
Bah Humbug where they want die cuts,
Card Makin' Mamas where they want die cuts,
Charizma Cards where anything goes,

This card uses a Just Inklined image that was a freebie a while ago. It's coloured with Promarkers, and cut using a Nellie Snellen die that's a perfect compliment to the Spellbinders dies, being narrower and longer. The hand-written sentiment is cut with a die from the same set. I used some paper from Trimcraft and embossed the green panel with a Papermania folder.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Bah Humbug where they want die cuts,
Card Makin' Mamas where they want die cuts,

Digi Doodles Shop Best where anything goes,

This image was one stamped for me last year by my Secret Santa from a group I belong to. The paper she used wasn't suitable for Promarkers, so last week, while I was limited to my Derwent Coloursoft pencils, I had a go. I've still got some way to go as regards technique with pencils. I used Baby Oil for blending, but suspect that's part of the reason I'm never completely happy with the degree of blending I get. (Then again, it could just be me!) I added a little sparkle with a Sakura Stardust clear pen.

I covered the whole image in some dimensional glaze to give a glass effect then matted onto holographic card cut with a Spellbinders die. The paper was a magazine freebie, and the snowflakes were cut using a Marianne Creatables die set.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges: One Stop Craft Challenge where the theme is 'no sentiments',
Bah Humbug where they want die cuts,
Card Makin' Mamas where they want die cuts,
Crimbo Crackers where anything goes,
Christmas Inspirations where they want die cuts.

And finally! The image is from the fabulous Beccy Muir. All her images (as far as I know) are available as freebies, and she has some gorgeous drawings. I added the frame and sentiment in Photoshop Elements then coloured the image with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils blended with Baby Oil. In the background, you'll see some beautiful fir-tree embossing - a result of an impulse buy yesterday. It's an embossing folder from Sissix which came with another which will be more generally useful despite it's 'snow flower' name. I love how it embossed!

So, there we have it - five Christmas cards to add to what I've got stashed away. Still got a long way to go, though!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge where the theme is 'cold and frosty',
Papercrafting Journey where they want a digi,

Trimmers

2011-10-28T18:20:00.000+01:00

Is there a perfect trimmer out there? I'm beginning to doubt it! I've got three, and none of them is perfect.

The first one I bought was a Ryman own brand, and it didn't cut square. The edge where you'd expect to butt against allowed paper to sneak under it, so you couldn't use it as a guide. I've taken it into school where it's fine as long as you're not layering things too precisely.

The second trimmer I bought was a Hobbycraft one, and on the whole, it's been fine. It cuts square and straight, providing the paper is long enough to butt against the guide. It measures in millimetres. The downside of it is that the guide disappears, making it difficult to cut less than 50mm and keep it square - so it's hard to layer up sentiments neatly. And, now that I've had it for several years, the silver measurement grid and ruler has started to fade around the 60 - 80 mm area - just where I'm most often needing to cut. Another downside is that replacement blades can be expensive, although I bought a load of them recently when they were reduced.

In an effort to get the effect I wanted, last year, about this time, I bought a X cut trimmer, but that just mangled paper, so I took it back and got a refund. Next I tried a Woodware trimmer. The guide on this one allows much shorter lengths to be cut, but you have to exert significant downward pressure to cut, and that pushes the paper or card so it's not square to the guide, and it often isn't straight either, tending to curve. It's pretty good as a scorer - so long as you don't mind re-trimming after you've made the folds you need to square up the final result.

I was looking at a Purple Cow trimmer online - it had both a guillotine and a rotary trimmer, but when I looked more closely at the photo, it only measured in inches, so that's no good. (Why would I want to work in fractions of an inch when I can work in whole number millimetres? So much easier!)

If anyone out there knows of a trimmer that has everything I need - cuts straight, square, copes with small sizes (as low as 20mm would be ideal) and has a good millimetre grid that won't rub off with use, I'd be very interested to hear about it! And, if replacement blades aren't too expensive, that'd be a definite bonus.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 85

2011-10-23T12:00:00.040+01:00

This week, One Stitch at a Time is giving you the chance to win some gorgeous images or papers from the Stitchy Bear shop. The theme this week is embossing - so whatever occasion you're making cards for, add some embossing and let us see what you've done!

My image this week is from Ginger Loft, and it's called Christmas Door. It's so lovely and detailed that I thought I'd leave it just as it is. Well, except for adding some glitter.

The white background has been embossed using a couple of folders from Papermania and my Wizard. The snowflakes were die cut using some Marianne Creatable dies, and the card is standard black that's been sprayed with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle in Irridescent.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Ooh La La where it's snowing,
Charisma Cards where they want embossing,
Paperplay where they want us to use black,
Shelley's Images where anything goes,
Some Odd Girl where they want a black and white image,
One Stop Craft Challenge where they want no design paper,
Paper Sundaes where they want (among others) black and sparkly
Pan Pastel where they want glitter.

But, because I got carried away with the image, I forgot the purpose of the challenge was embossing, so I made another card first.

This time I added a little colour with Promarkers, and I added a 'wreath' made with gold-coloured jewellery wire and some beads. The background paper is from Trimcraft, and I finished the card with some punched pieces. The border uses a star punch I've had for ages, and gold mirror board, and I used the cut out stars and some larger ones in gold to finish the card.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks whose theme is 'marker it up',
Christmas Inspirations where they want punches or die cuts.

(I may be late actually linking for these challenges - hope that's ok.)

Hope you can join us this week.

Daylight Lamp

2011-10-18T20:09:00.000+01:00

Over one Jak Heath's blog, she's offering some lucky follower the chance to win a battery operated natural light lamp. I'd love one of these, because whenever we're away from home, I want to take some colouring with me. And no one seems to light rooms properly these days. They're all those energy efficient bulbs, and none of them are the equivalent of a decent light level. So, one of these would be perfect!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 54

2011-10-17T12:00:00.023+01:00

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, we're sponsored by the amazing Joanna Sheen.

The theme this time is one I struggled with: Cute with a Dark Twist. I thought long and hard about this one, and finally realised that I don't necessarily think of the word 'cute' like most people, so I decided to approach the problem from the opposite direction. So, I thought, what's got a dark twist? And what came to mind is: traditional children's stories. Many have been disneyfied and have lost that darkness, but it's there in the originals.

With that in mind, I hunted through images on my computer and came across one from Dover Books. (It's one of their freebies. If you sign up for it, they'll send you an email every week with a link to some free exerpts from their books. They used to be almost all images, but more recently the exerpts are more general, although there are still some very useful things included from time to time.)

Isn't that a gorgeous image? It's a picture of innocent fun, but it's a scene from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, so the piper is preparing to steal away all those children.

The image was already coloured, so I've just mounted it onto a mat cut with one of my nestibilities. The paper and ribbon are from my stash.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafts and Me where the theme is 'orange'
The Saturday Challenge where they want white plus one colour (not counting the image)

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 84

2011-10-16T12:00:00.023+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time we're sponsored by the amazing Joanna Sheen. (So many lovely things in her shop, and she'll send out most without charging extra for postage!)

Our theme this week is 'Shape Up'. So, show us some shapes!

This week, I had this gorgeous image from Sylvie - Kokeshi Group 1 which is available from the Stitchy Bear shop. So, where are my shapes? Well, there are squares and rectangles in my layers and there's flower-shaped lace, but the thing that drew me to that image is the lovely oval shapes of the dolls themselves, so I emphasised those shapes by layering the image.

I coloured the image with Promarkers. The papers are from a MME Spring themed pad which I've always felt had an oriental feel to it. My mats, and the lace flowers are also coloured with Promarkers.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
By the Cute and Girly where anything goes,
Emerald Faerie where they want flowers,

A Couple of Christmas Cards

2011-10-13T21:23:00.000+01:00

This weekend, I got rather inky, and I've got a couple of Christmas cards to show for it.

This is me back playing with my brayer, and using ideas direct from Barbara Gray. (But then, I'm using her split tree stamp, so I don't feel too guilty about it.)

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Sweet Stamping where they want clean and simple,
Cute Card Thursday where the theme is 'treemendous',
One Stop where anything goes.

I've used distress inks for the background, and the tree (and extra branches) are stamped in Memento in brown. The paper is from Crafty Individuals, I think.

This one uses a stamp I bought back in the summer, but I can't remember whose it is. (That's one disadvantage of unmounted stamps - if you lose the packaging, you've lost the information.) It's stamped in Versamark ink, and embossed in white. I've used a Cuttlebug embossing folder in the background, and other than some layering, it's very simple.

I'd like to enter this card intot he following challenges:
Mark's Finest Papers where they want no design papers,

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 83

2011-10-09T12:00:00.025+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, the challenge is anything goes! So, what're you waiting for? Our sponsors this week are the Stamping Boutique, and I was lucky enough to work with one of their images, and I liked it so much, I've used it four times (so far!)

In this one, I printed the image onto watercolour paper, and coloured it with Twinkling H2Os.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
PapertakeWeekly where anything goes,
Crafty Emma where they want to see red,
Kraftin' Kimmie where they want sparkle and shine,

Secret Crafter where they want shine,

The other three were all printed onto my usual Ryman card, and coloured with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
One Stop where anything goes,
Little Claire where the theme is Christmas,

All the papers and chipboard shapes come from the pad and package that were the freebie with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine - and I've got to say, I found them fairly inspiring! I added some Distress Ink around the paper edges, and some ribbon, and that's about it!

Our sponsors this week are

and

Hope you can join us this week.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 53 - Anything Goes

2011-10-03T12:00:00.034+01:00

The Crafty Cardmakers Challenge Blog has been quiet for a while. Over the summer, various bereavements, illnesses and family commitments reduced the team to almost no one, so we decided to take a break. But, now we're back, and our new challenge is everyone's favourite - anything goes!

Last weekend, I visited the BSSBS show at Alexandra Palace. I haven't been there before, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going again! (Although I should probably start saving up now!) So, I've been playing with my new toys - including a Speedball Brayer and various stamps. I've had a couple of brayers for a while - the Woodware ones with the metal handles, but I find that the roller comes away from the handle if you put any pressure at all on those - so I've never had much success with them.

For the background, I used a Versacolor ink pad with various shades of blue. (It's a pigment pad rather than a dye one, but it seemed to work fairly well.) Then I stamped the main image (from Lavinia Stamps) in Versacolor in Graphite. The foreground grasses are also from Lavinia Stamps while the branches and leaves are from Clarity. Both of those are stamped in Distress Ink.

Of course, having had my play and created whatever I felt like, I found I had no paper to match. At least, not in the right size. Most of my paper is 150mm square, so finding something big enough for a 5 by 7 card was a challenge. I fell back on my favourite for such occasions - Coredinations card. The one I used is from the Chocolate Box collection, and I embossed it in my Wizard with a Papermania folder, then sanded it.

I hope you can join us this week, and help us to celebrate the fact that Crafty Cardmakers is back!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Four Crafty Chicks where anything goes,
For Your Inspiration where there's a lovely photo-inspiration
Fussy and Fancy Friday where they want us to try a new technique (brayering - still new to me!)
Crafts 4 Eternity where anything goes,
Creatalicious Challenges where anything goes,
Card and Scrap where the theme is embossing/distressing.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 82

2011-10-02T12:00:00.010+01:00

This week on One Stitch at a Time, we want you to show us your digis! That's all - just use a digi. And we're sponsored by Bunny Zoe.

This week's image is by Stitchy and it's called 'new doll'. I put the background and sentiment together with the image in Photoshop Elements, printed, and then coloured the central section with Promarkers. I mounted it on card cut with my Fleur de Lis nestibility die.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Four Crafty Chicks where anything goes,
Crafts 4 Eternity where anything goes,
Cardmadfairy where it's 'Too Early for Christmas',
Creatalicious Challenges where anything goes,

New Toys!

2011-09-25T18:40:00.000+01:00

First, I should apologise to so many of you out there. I stopped checking blogs during the summer, and when I went back in, there were thousands of entries backlogged. It scared me so much, I haven't opened Google Reader since! I'm hoping to get back into that, and to reading your blogs some time very soon. Our eldest has moved to Swindon for his new job and should be moving into a flat next weekend. Our younger son is back at university, and, while the house seems very quiet, that's how it'll be until December. So, between university visits for our youngest, things should have reverted to what passes for normal around here for a while at least.

Yesterday, I paid my first visit to the BSSBS at Alexandra Palace. I have to say, I was very impressed with the venue. While the actual hall was fairly utilitarian, the other areas are gorgeous, and the view is amazing. And there were lots of stamping goodies on show, so what could be better?

I've never had much luck with brayers. I think that's partly because my Woodware brayer keeps losing the roller. Anything but the lightest pressure on the handle causes the whole thing to flex and the roller goes off to do its own thing. So, seeing as most folk were using Speedball brayers for their demos, I decided to splash out.

Now, I did try to mask areas and come up with a landscape, but I wasn't impressed with the result, so I resorted to my Kaleidacolor inkpads, and in this case, the Bouquet one, and I added some stamped images, and I came up with this.

The central images are from Lavinia Stamps and they're stamped in Momento ink. The tree and grass detail are stamped in Distress Ink in Pine Needles, and the stamps are from Clarity and Lavinia Stamps respectively.

Over the last few years, I've built up quite a good collection of papers, but since I normally make 150mm square cards, that's the size I tend to buy. That's of limited use when I want to make a 5 by 7 card. So I dug out my Coredinations card - which was also 150 mm square, but by some careful trimming, I made it work! I embossed with a Papermania folder in my Wizard, and sanded the raised areas in the two larger pieces. (The smaller piece is embossed the other way around and 'upside down' compared to the rest.)

I added a little extra colour to the image (around the gate) with Promarkers, and a touch of 'magic' with Glamour Dust.

I definitely need to work on my brayering. One of these days, I may even come up with a landscape I'm happy with. Or I might even be tempted to have a go at Promarkering a landscape. Hm. Too many ideas and not enough time.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Paper Sundaes where anything goes,
The Squirrel and the Fox where anything goes,
Stamp, Scrap and Doodle where they want your favourite colours. (I've used my favourite rainbow stamp pad - I love that combination!)
The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Little Red Wagon where they want repeated images (branch and grass stamps are all repeated.)
Anything Goes where anything goes,
Try it on Tuesday where the theme is 'Wonderful World',

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 81

2011-09-25T12:00:00.026+01:00

Before I get into this week's challenge, here's some news! A little while ago, the Stitchy Bear store suffered a catastrophic crash. Poof! And it was gone. Now, if you like digis, this seems like bad news, but the good news is that the shop is back and it's better than ever! And, to celebrate the re-launch, Stitchy has a freebie on offer! Just visit the new site here, register for the site, and use this code: a7b8ebc33b. It's only valid until tonight, so you'll have to be quick!

Now, to this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time/ The theme this week is 'Favourites', and our sponsor is Digis with Attitude.

This week I got to work with a really cute image from Reece's Scrap Pieces called Bathtime Lucy.

I coloured her with Promarkers and added detail to the bubbles with Sakura Stardust pen - probably my favourite ways of colouring an image. I love how the Sakura pen is so easy and mess-free while giving a gorgeous sparkle. As someone whose craft things are stored in small spaces in three different rooms and who crafts at the same table we eat at every day, I sometimes find the effort of looking out the glitter and clearing up the resulting mess is more than I can cope with when I'm short of time. With the glitter pens, I get the effect without the hassle. (That's not to say I don't use glitter too, but that's a different story.)

The butterflies are die cut from some gorgeous sparkly 'paper' from Craft Creations and finished with beads.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Bows and Berries where the theme is glitter (glitter pen on the bubbles)
Kaboodle Doodles where the theme is 'lots of layers' (I've used six.)
Flutterby Wednesdays where anything goes,
The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
Southern Girls where anything goes
Cardmad Fairy where they want 'lots of layers' (I've used six.)
Our Craft Lounge where they want patterened paper.
Designed 2 Delight where they want die cuts (image, mat and butterflies are all die cut).

A Card for an Eighteenth Brithday

2011-09-20T17:41:00.000+01:00

My niece will be 18 next month, and I needed a card for her. A bit of thought and I realised I also needed a Kenny K image. I've got to say they're not particularly to my taste, but I think this one has got her to a tee - and I hope she'll like it.

I've coloured the image with Promarkers, and I made the background paper using a digi from Cocodingo that I've had for ages - I've always loved it, and it was perfect for a guitar background. I must use it as a main image some time, but that'll probably have to be for one of my boys who both play both electric and accoustic guitars.

The sentiment is hand-written using a Sakura Gold pen.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Kenny K's where they want us to use of favourite Kenny K Stamp. (Not sure I have a favourite - but this one definitely fitted what I needed for this card.)
Di's Digi Design Challenge where anything goes,
Stampin' for the Weekend where the theme is 'tickled pink',
By the Cute and Girly where the theme is 'all things bright and beautiful',
Creatalicious Challenges where it's 'anything goes',
My Grafico where 'anything goes'.

Design Team Call at Crafty Cardmakers/Spotlight Challenge

2011-09-13T16:38:00.000+01:00

How would you like to be a member of a design team that doesn't limit you to a specific style or image source, and which actually encourages you to try something different? Lin has recently taken over at Crafty Cardmakers and its sister Spotlight challenge, and we're looking for new design team members. The commitment is one project per fortnight, and you can choose which challenge to do. It's a great way to force yourself out of your comfort zone and try something a little different. There's no regular freeibies, but from time to time a sponsor will provide images for the team.

We're looking for a mix of experience and skills, so whatever you like to make, whether you're new to crafting or more experienced, and whether you like traditional or digital methods (or my favourite, a combination of both), why not give it a go? This post gives you all the details and you can link your entry there too.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 79

2011-09-11T12:00:00.016+01:00

It's been a while since I've done a DT card for OSAAT, but I've decided it's time to get back to normal. So, this is my card for this week's challenge which is that easiest of options - anything goes!

Our sponsors this week are The Stamping Boutique, and there's a fabulous prize to be won, so what're you waiting for?

My image this week is from Stitchy Stamps and it's called Night Angel. I've made a Christmas card, but the image isn't limited to Christmas - I think it could be used for a lot of other reasons.

The image was coloured with Promarkers and Stardust pens for the wings and details, then mounted onto mirricard which I cut with what is probably my favourite nestibility - the Fleur de Lis Rectangle. The paper is from Personal Expressions, and I finished it with some die cut and punched stars.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Flutterby Wednesdays where the theme is 'anything goes with an angel, fairy or butterfly',
Creative Card Crew where anything goes,
Crafty Boots where anything goes,
Di's Digi Design Challenge where anything goes.
Mark's Finest Papers where they want punches (plain stars are punched).

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 52

2011-09-05T12:00:00.003+01:00

This week at Crafty Cardmakers, we're asking you to go to the seaside! We're looking for holiday memories. And we're sponsored by Joanna Sheen, so why not have a go and maybe win a £10 voucher for her shop?

Now, a traditional beach holiday is the last way I'd want to spend my time. But, I love being close to the coast, and was brought up in an area where there's a very coastal feel even though it's on a river estuary rather than the sea. So, this is what I came up with. It reminds me of sitting on a paddle steamer, soaking up the scenery.

The stamp is one I bought earlier this year from Hobbycraft. It's pretty big, and it lends itself to minimal embellishment. I stamped the image onto watercolour paper in Versafine ink, and then watercoloured using my Aquamakers. The pretty paper is from Paper Cellar.

The watercolour effect is great for this because in that area, warm summer weather is normally accompanied by a heat haze that leaves colours pale and washed out, and the beach here is exactly the sort you might see as you cross the river on a ferry or cruise on a paddle-steamer.

Hope you can join us this time!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Clearly I Stamp where the theme is patterned paper,
Stampin' for the Weekend, where the theme is holidays,
The Paper Shelter where 'anything goes',
Creative Card Crew where 'anything goes',
Get Funky where the theme is 'by the seaside'.

Watercolouring with Distress Inks and Making Flowers

2011-08-30T11:32:00.000+01:00

The other day, I decided to have a flower-making day. I wanted to try out some ideas using some of the newer punches I've got. And to make them a bit more interesting, I first prepared some card coloured with distress inks. (Thanks, Jack, for the tip to dry each colour separately - it definitely worked better that way.)

Some of the flowers looked great, but there's no way I could use them on a card - they'd be much too big - but I've put them away for boxes and such. But some others were fine, so I made a card to show them off.

Since I had the distress inks out, I decided to have a go at watercolouring with them. (Well, the brown is actually Momento ink because I don't have a brown DI.) I'm not sure how well it'd have gone if I'd had very specific colours in mind - or if I'd been doing a flesh tone - but I was happy enough with the result. The image is one I was lucky enough to win from Digi Doodles recently. I printed it on watercolour paper. (If any of you are lucky enough to have a Clas Ohlsen near you, check out their art supplies - the watercolour paper I used is from them and it's light enough to go through my printer with ease.)

The flowers used a mixture of a Martha Stewart cornflower punch and various sun punches, and all colour is distress ink.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Daisy Doodles where anything goes (providing you use a digi)
Paper Creations Ink where they want flowers,
I Did it Creations where the theme is nature,
Sparkles Forum where the theme is 'punch it',
Jellypark Challenges where the theme is 'punch it',
Papercrafting Journey where anything goes,
Digi Doodles where anything goes,
Totally Gorjuss where the theme is 'as you like it',

Long Time, No Blog

2011-08-23T12:20:00.001+01:00

I haven't been around much lately. Although I've been at home, I'm anxiously awaiting various paperwork from banks so I can get my mums accounts submitted and things handed over to the solicitor. And the banks keep making mistakes and taking forever to correct them. It's looking like I might not get it all finished in time for going back to school in a couple of weeks which is crazy.

What with hanging around, waiting for the postman, and generally fretting about things, I haven't done a lot of cardmaking. I've taken leave from OSAAT because I'm just not reliable at the moment, and Crafty Cardmakers/Spotlight is taking a break because so many DT members just needed some time away for various reasons. Still, I make cards as a recreation, so the other day, while I was frustrated at yet another mistake in the figures I was sent, I decided to calm myself with a little watercolouring.

A while ago, I tried out my Aquamarkers and wasn't that impressed, but I stuck with them, and having found a better watercolour paper, I'm getting better results. (I've still got concerns about some colours specifically which seem to sink into the paper instantly and defy all attempts to move the colour at all.) And, when I'm feeling a bit down, what better than to think about fairies and fantasy creatures?

(Entered into the following challenges: Die Cut Dreams where the theme is pink, green and coffee,

Stamps R Us where 'anything goes'

Corrosive Challenges where the theme is 'girlie'

Stamp Insanity where 'anything goes)

(Entered into the following challenges: Stamps +Fun where they want 'mythical creatures'

Fashionable Stamping where the theme is hand-made flowers,

Simply Stamping where the theme is 'punch it up'

Art Impressions where 'anything goes.)

Both Ching Chou Kuik images, of course. The top card uses some of those gorgeous MME papers from a magazine. In the case of the second, I coloured as I wanted to, and then found I didn't have any paper to match. so, I got out some yellow card, tapestry stamps and distress Inks. I've also used a Martha Stewart border punch on that one.

The flowers in both are made using a Martha Stewart cornflower punch and card coloured with Aquamarkers and Twinkling H2Os.

(Entered into the following challenges: Cards for Men where 'anything goes',

Here Come the Boys where the theme is brown and oranges,

Lollipop Crafts where the theme is 'make it masculine' )

This one is quite different. I love my Blossom Kaleidacolor ink pad - so much so that I've been wanting to get a few more. I finally ordered a couple - Autumn Leaves and Berry Blaze. I've got to say, I'm not as impressed with the colours on these. The thing I love about the blossom one is that the colours blend to give other colours which are very different to those in the pad while all the shades work beautifully together. With these two newer pads, the colours do work well together, but you only seem to get the basic five shades you started with. Still, Craft Stamper had a lovely leaf stamp recently, so I stamped it with the Autumn Leaves pad, using various combinations of the colours. The background uses the same pad, with the colours added to a non-stick sheet and 'smooshed' with some water.

(Entered into the following challenges: Bunny Zoe where they want Easel cards,

Shabby Tearoom where the theme is summer with a photo inspiration,

Dream Valley where there is a colour theme,

One Stop where the theme is 'bold and bright'

Stampman where they want summer colours,

I Love Promarkers where they want easel cards.)

And finally, a card for my sister and her partner. They got the keys to a new house just a few days after Mum died. It needed quite a lot of work, so they didn't move in right away, and instead pulled the place apart. They're due to finally move in in a couple of weeks.

The image is a Dover Books sample I've had for a while. It's actually a colouring page, but meant to be much bigger. Shrinking it to card-sized made it a bit fiddly to colour, but I was happy with the result, using Promarkers. The paper is from Papermania, and the sentiment is computer generated.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 75

2011-08-14T12:00:00.014+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to show us your style - it's anything goes!

I decided to take advantage to get another Christmas card done, and I was lucky enough to be working with a really sweet image from Delicious Doodles called Frosty the Snowman.

I generated the frame and greeting in Photoshop Elements, added the image, and then coloured the sky, adding some snowflakes. After printing, I coloured the image and added some glitter. The paper is from my stash, and the ribbon was from a Hobbycraft bargain bin a while ago!

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Craft Us Crazy where anything goes,

Some Christmas Cards

2011-08-08T19:28:00.000+01:00

An actual, live, non-scheduled post! I'm home just now, but still waiting for various instiitutions to send me things (and correct mistakes they've made) before I can head north again. I'm not really feeling inspired to make cards, but I did take some images with me when we went up a couple of weeks ago, and I coloured them, so I thought I should really make up some cards. Some of the images were on my hard drive anyway, and some were kindly given to me by Stitchy at Stitchy Bear Stamps when I thought I was going to be in Scotland for a protracted time this summer.

The image is from Delicious Doodles, and it's coloured with Promarkers with added detail in Sakura Startdust pen.

This image is from Becky Muir and it's coloured with Coloursoft Pencils blended with Baby Oil.
I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:
Stampin' with the Dragon where the theme is 'red, green and white'.
I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

This image is from Pixie Dust and it's a freebie from a while ago - coloured with Promarkers, and with snowflakes die cut with my new Marianne Creatable dies.

I'd like to enter this Aud Sentiments where the theme is to have 'Merry Christmas' on your card,
Pixie Dust where 'anything goes with a Pixie Dust image.

This is one of 'my' new Stitchy images, called 'Wishing you Well' and I liked the title, so I used it too! Again, coloured with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into KB Cute Monday where 'anything goes with a digi',
Stamp Something where it's 'digi day'.

The same image - this time coloured with Coloursoft pencils blended with Baby Oil.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Stamping for the Weekend where the theme is 'spots and dots'.

Another of my new Stitchy Images, and again, I've stolen the title for my card! This one is also coloured with Promarkers. I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges: Ooh La La where they theme is 'Christmas',

Bugaboo where 'anything goes,

And finally, this one isn't a digi! I was lucky enough to win this stamp from Whiff of Joy earlier this year, and I finally inked it up! Again, coloured with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Fussy and Fancy Friday where the theme is 'Christmas in August',

Raise the Bar where 'anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 74

2011-08-07T12:00:00.044+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want you to use a digi! That's it - use something digital. And we're sponsored by

This week, I've been doubly lucky - because, not only did I get to use some lovely die cuts from our sponsor, I also got to play with some gorgeous Christmas papers from Panda Bear Designs - Winter Nights 1.

I wanted to use the three die cut 'scenes' in a single project, so I made a Chrismas book - a mini Christmas story.

I've used six out of the seven papers in the set - and combined them digitally to make the pages, adding the words of some traditional Christmas carols to match the die cuts. The two stars are part of the die cut set, and I coated them in Versamark ink and then brushed on some Perfect Pearl in gold.

I finished the book by stitching the various pages together and then added some gold ribbon and a bow.

Hope you can join us this week.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Fussy and Fancy where the theme is 'Christmas in August',
Craft Us Crazy where anything goes in August,
Crafty Purple Frog where 'anything goes but a card',
Crafts and Me where 'anything goes',
Kelley's Kids where 'anything goes',
Papertake Weekly where 'anything goes, with an option of metal',
Craft Your Passion where 'anything goes'.

Thank You!

2011-07-28T22:12:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to pop in and thank those who've visited and commented on my posts over the past couple of weeks. My mum died last week, and while it was expected, it meant that we had to travel north to arrange the funeral and start to get her estate sorted out. Although I'm back home at the moment, it looks like I'll be 'on call' to go up again soon, so I doubt I'll be posting much this summer. Any posts you see have most likely been scheduled in advance, and I've got several more scheduled, but I don't know if I'm going to want to do much cardmaking in the immediate future.

I really appreciate those of you who take the time to visit - reading your comments (on my phone as I don't have internet up there otherwise) was a wonderful boost at a difficult time. Thank you.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 51

2011-07-25T12:00:00.018+01:00

One of my favourite themes at Crafty Cardmakers this time - Butterflies! I think if I were to sort my craft goodies by theme, butterflies would probably come third to flowers and fairies!

I started with the butterfly - a beautiful digi from Delicious Doodles which I printed and coloured with Sakura Stardust pens in a range of blues, greens and copper. I then made some paper using the same image, coloured digitally, in Photoshop Elements.

The flower is from Prima, and I coloured it using Twinkling H2Os, and finished it with a sticky gem which I coloured to match using a Promarker. I used a Martha Stewart border punch. The 'stem' ribbon was coloured with Promarker, and the card was finished with a bow.

Hope you can join us this time!

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 72

2011-07-24T12:00:00.028+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to show us your swirls and pearls! Our sponsors are

and

This week, I had an image from Sylvie to work with.

Isn't that a lovely image! I framed it and added the sky detail in Photoshop Elements before printing and shading with Promarkers. For the background, I embossed some card with two Papermania folders in my Wizard.

The swirl was cut with a Spellbinders die, and I followed its lines with some grey pearls I've had for a while. I finished the card with some Glimmer Mist.

A close-up of the pearls!

Hope you can join us this week!

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 71

2011-07-17T12:00:00.014+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our theme is 'Flowers'! Our sponsor is Joanna Sheen.

This week, I had a lovely image from Beary Dust to work with.

I coloured the image and background with Promarkers. The pink layer was punched with a Martha Stewart border punch. The flowers are bits from my stash, and the paper is some of the lovely MME pad called 'Springtime'. And that's it - really quite simple!

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Creative Craft Challenges where the theme is 'pretty blossoms',
Simon Says Stamp where 'anything goes',
Sarah Hurley where they want 'colouring',
The Rubber Cafe where they want us to use Spellbinder dies (label die used to cut image.)
Card and Scrap where they want dies or punches,
Emerald Faerie where they want 'girly'

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 50

2011-07-11T12:00:00.006+01:00

A very different challenge this time from Crafty Cardmakers. Put away your matting and layers. Forget lots of pretty papers. We want you to make a single layer card. You can add some simple embellishment if you wish, but there should only be one layer of paper or card.

Well, my first thought was to think about putting my fingers in my ears and hum loudly. (Jack O'Neill at his best ...) But then I considered a largely digital option and decided that was much less frightening. I'd been thinking I should have a sympathy card in my stash, and that seemed the perfect idea given that the result was bound to be a fairly simple design.

The image is the beautiful 'Apple Blossom' from The Creative Mind of Sylvie. I sized it in Photoshop Elements, and then changed the image outline colour from black to a dark grey to soften the effect. I added the sentiment, and then framed the result with a feathered gradient. I printed the card, and then coloured the flowers with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
I love Promarkers where they want 'clean and simple',
Stamp Insanity where anything goes,
Charisma Cards where it's all about flowers,
Meljen's Designs where they want no more than two layers (I've got just one!).

A Couple of Birthday Cards

2011-07-10T17:37:00.000+01:00

If you're looking for my OSAAT post, scroll down!

This might be the last 'real' post here for a while. My mum's taken a turn for the worse (she's been ill for a long time) and I'm liable to have to travel north very soon. I'm hoping to wait until school breaks up, but that might not be possible. So, I've spent some time lately trying to get as up to date as I can, and I've got DT posts scheduled where I can.

One of the things I wanted to get done, is to make a couple of birthday cards sor my husband's brothers. They're twins, and their birthdays are next month.

Both images are by Becky Muir - she's so good at male images. So many are very stereotypically sports-orientated, but hers are more general. Both images have been coloured with Promarkers, and had greetings added in Photoshop Elements before printing. In the blue card, I made a paper to match the design I added to the greeting, and for both, I embossed some card in my Wizard using a Cuttlebug and a Papermania folder.

I'd like to enter these into the following challenges:

Blue Based:
A Gem of a Challenge where the theme is 'Let's Hear it for the Boys',
Paper Creator's Challenge where they want special occasions,
Stamp Insanity where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where they want things 'for him',
Aud Sentiments where they want sentiments of at least two words,
Craft Room where they want summer birthdays,
Ladybird Challenges where they want summer birthdays,
Partytime Tuesdays where they want square cards,
Kaboodle Doodles where they want celebrations.

Brown Based:
A Gem of a Challenge where the theme is 'Let's Hear it for the Boys',
Paper Creator's Challenge where they want special occasions,
Stamp Insanity where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where they want things 'for him',
Aud Sentiments where they want sentiments of at least two words,
I Love Promarkers where they want clean and simple,
Craft Room where they want summer birthdays,
Partytime Tuesdays where they want square cards,
Kaboodle Doodles where they want celebrations.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 70

2011-07-10T12:00:00.030+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're making things even easier for you! Our theme is 'Anything Goes'! So, whatever you make, you can enter. And remember, if you use an image from the Stitchy shop, you are eligible for our top 3.

We're sponsored this week by

My eldest has just finished his Maths degree, and I needed to make him a card. So I was very pleased when I got to choose a lovely graduation image from Stitchy for this week's card!

I went for a simple design - my son really isn't in to fussy things. I printed the silhouette, the coat of arms of his university and a sentiment, adding a 'glow' to the first two images, and cut them out. The background is hand-written. Not university standard Maths as I would've had to have asked him for that - instead I borrowed my daughter's A level text book and added some titles from memory. It's written on black card in a mixture of Sakura silver shadow pens and some rather nice multi-toned pens from Zebra that I've had a while.

To be honest, I've been looking for a good graduation image for a while, and while there are a few around with caps and the likes, this is the first 'person' I've found who looks like an adult.

So, what's happening in your life? A birthday, anniversary, university graduation? Or even if you've started your Christmas cards, we'd love to see what you come up with this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Craft Your Passion where anything goes,
KB Cute Monday where anything goes,
Bearly Mine Challenges where anything goes,
Shelly's Images where the theme is 'celebrate',
Stamp Insanity where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where they want cards 'for him',
Simply Create where they want silhouettes,
A Gem of a Challenge where they want 'one for the boys',
Ellephantastic where they want 'celebrations',
Paper Creator's challenge where they want 'special occasion',

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 69

2011-07-03T12:00:00.031+01:00

This week, at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is to use a digi. How easy is that? It can be any digi, but remember, to be in line for our top three, it has to be one from the Stitchy Bear shop, but that's easy too, as there are so many artists with so many different styles available there!

We're sponsored by

And, as an added incentive, how would you like to see your creation included in a major papercrafting magazine? Stitchy Bear Stamps is currently running a series of ads in Papercraft Essentials, and this is your chance to get your project in print. Keep an eye on the next four challenges for your chance - there's even advance notice of the themes in the ad below!

This week, I worked with an image from one of our newer artists at the Stitchy Bear shop - Gillu's Gallery and an image called 'Friendship'

Isn't that a pretty image? I coloured it with Promarkers, and cut the image and mat with some Nesties. The papers are from My Minds Eye - from a freebie pad from a magazine a while ago, and one which remains one of my favourites because of the gorgeous colours.

To finish, I used some ribbon, and some bead strings which were another magazine freebie several years ago. I threaded the strings through the ribbon, anchoring them on the other side.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Digital Tuesday where the theme is 'flower power',
Hooked on Crafts where they want flowers,
KB Cute Monday where they want flowers,
Truly Scrumptions where they want 'things with wings'
Ruby's Rainbow where they want flowers,
The Paper Shelter where anything goes,
I Love Promarkers where they want us to include flowers,
Divas by Design where they want die cuts or punches,
Colour Create where they want fuschia, green and white,
Digi Doodles where anything goes.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 49

2011-06-27T12:00:00.042+01:00

This time, at Crafty Cardmakers, we want to see your spots and stripes!

We're sponsored this time by One Stop Cards

I decided to do something a little different (for me) and went for some digital paper piecing. My success rate for traditional paper piecing is poor - I've never been happy with a result - so I wondered how it would work.

I searched my digital images for something suitable, and spotted this one from the Windows collection by Lillyboo. I bought the set ages ago, and have only used one until now.

I first sized the image in Photoshop Elements, then created three simple repeating patterns - two dots and one stripes - in 'sunflower' colours. Then I used the magnetic lasso tool to identify an area I wanted to fill, and filled it with an appropriate pattern. In the case of the bean bag, that also meant I'd lost the inner detail, so I repeated the magnetic lasso on the image layer, and copied that part to place on top.

The wall and carpet areas didn't have any detail, so they were simple fills, but I thought a bit of shading in the wall might give the impression of a shallow window recess, so I added some gradients. I think it works fairly well, but it's not too obvious in the photo. Once the result was printed, I coloured the rest of the image with Promarkers, and gave an impression of clouds using the blender pen.

The backing paper is from a freebie pad called Picnic in the Park by Serif. Then I pulled out some Coredinations card. The panel has been embossed in my Wizard and then sanded to bring out the dots. The flowers were cut using some of the Blossom 2 set from Spellbinders. The larger flowers were embossed but not sanded, and I removed every second petal in the upper layer. The top layers were cut from black Coredinations, embossed and sanded to reveal the goldy-yellow lower layer. The leaves were punched from white card and coloured with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Papercrafting Journey where anything goes,
Rainbow Lady's where they want digis,
I Love Promarkers where anything goes (with Promarkers)
Ruby's Rainbow where they want flowers,
Everybody Art Challenge where anything goes,
Just Some Lines where they want spots and dots.

I hope you can join us!

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 68

2011-06-26T12:00:00.004+01:00

It's the last Sunday of the month again, and that means we're previewing next month's fabulous free gift at Stitchy Bear Stamps. Spend $10 in the shop during July, and you'll get a fabulous selection of images and papers, and if you check out the various design team members, you'll see what it includes.

We're sponsored this week by

This time, I worked with some lovely papers from Panda Bear Designs. The theme of the challenge (and the collection) is sympathy/weddings. Two very different occasions, but it's amazing how some images and papers will work well for both if given a slightly different treatment.

Typically, I couldn't make up my mind which occasion to choose, so I made one of each.

First, I made a wedding card. The roses just seemed so beautifully romantic! I kept the design simple so as not to swamp the very pretty paper. I used an image from Sylvie, coloured with Promarkers, and layered it with silver mirror card and some white card coloured to match the paper. The roses were made from the same white card, again coloured or shaded with Promarkers, punched into basic blossom shapes, and assembled.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Art Impressions where they want hand-made flowers,
Rainbow Lady's challenge where they want digis,
Everybody Art Challenge where anything goes,
The Crazy Challenge where they want weddings,
Prairie Fairy Fridays where the theme is wedding.

Sympathy cards are very useful things to have in your collection, but it's a variety I'm often reluctant to make. This pretty paper with its lovely soft pink tones seemed perfect, and I teamed it with an image from Floppy Latte Designs which I've coloured with Promarkers. It's matted onto some lovely apricot-gold embossed card. To me, Sympathy cards shouldn't be too fussy, so I didn't add any further embellishment, but again, the paper is so pretty, I don't think it's really lacking at all. Those are just two of the papers Panda Bear Designs has contributed to the July collection, and don't forget all the other designers!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Dutch Dare where they want 'clean and simple'
Papercrafting Journey where anything goes,
I Love Promarkers where anything goes (with Promarkers),
Ruby's Rainbow where they want flowers,

I hope you can join us this week.

Circle Book Card for a Colleague

2011-06-21T21:08:00.001+01:00

Someone at work wanted something special for her daughter. She's just finished her A levels and is hoping to go to university after the summer. She's got dreams of writing screenplays, and when asked what her favourite activities of the last few years were, answered, 'Drama, singing, football and skateboarding'. So, armed with that, I set about finding images which would let me make a special card and box for her.

And here's what I finally came up with!

Here, you can see the front of the card, and the box I made to go with it. The schoolgirl image was kindly drawn for me by the very generous Eiglas, and coloured with Promarkers. The background papers on the box lid are from Panda Bear Designs. The drama mask image is from Dulemba. Both the box and the front of the card have the recipient's name on them, but I've brushed them out of the photos.

A view of the open card from above

Here's the first of the 'scenes'. The images here, were again drawn by Eiglas, and coloured with Promakers. The background of the walls and the floor were generated from textures available in Namo Web Editor. The 'Music' sign was generated using Photoshop Elements.

And in close up

And the Skateboarding scene. The image this time is by Hope Jacare, and again coloured with Promarkers. The sky is by Panda Bear Designs, and the sign was generated in Photoshop Elements.


And in close up

And the Art scene:

The artist is from Sassy Cheryl, again coloured with Promarkers. The easel was compiled in Namo Web Canvas and added to the background, and the Art sign was again compiled in Photoshop Elements.

In close up

And the final scene is 'Football' using an image from Digistamp Boutique, again coloured with Promarkers. The sky is again from Panda Bear Designs, and the sign was generated in Photoshop Elements. I included the badge of a team she plays for, but I've brushed out the detail in the photo to preserve privacy.

And finally, a close up of the image.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Catz where the theme is 'fancy folds',
Just Add Ink where they want us to use some colouring method. (Most backgrounds are computer-printed, but all the girls are coloured with Promarkers.)
Challenge up your Life where they want circles,

My Time to Craft where they want cards with more than one image,
My Grafico where anything goes
A Spoonful of Sugar where they want ribbons and bows,
Everybody Art Challenge where anything goes
Passion for Promarkers where the theme is 'Park Life' (Two scenes - the skateboarding and the football are park themed - hope that's ok.)
.

Spotlight Challenges DT

2011-06-20T12:00:00.020+01:00

This time, the challenge, set by Jenni, is to put the spotlight on your sentiment. We want the words to be the main focus of whatever you create.

I struggled to get going on this challenge. I'm not much of a one for sentiments on cards at all. I prefer a 'pretty picture' on the front and then I can write something personal inside. I rarely put verses or similar inside either.

So, I decided to keep things simple.

I always like to have a 'thinking of you' card in my box - they're useful for various purposes and can even be used as sympathy cards if the need arises.

I stamped the sentiment in silver ink and embossed it with silver detail powder. I cut it using the Victorian blade that came with my trimmer, and dabbed the outside with some silver ink.

I embossed some white card in my Wizard using embossing folders from Cuttlebug and Papermania, and matted it all on silver mirror card.

I had intended to make some white flowers to finish the card, but once I'd assembled it, I decided I like the slightly stark appearance, so I left well alone!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
My Mum's Craft Shop where they want spots,
Stamp Insanity where they want clean and simple,
Craft Your Days Away where they want monochrome,

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 67

2011-06-19T12:00:00.018+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is to make something with wings! That's right - a bird, fairy, butterfly, bat ... as long as it's got wings, you're ok.

And even better, we're sponsored this week by the amazing Joanna Sheen. Remember, she ships around the world without charging extra for postage!

And this week, the artist in the spotlight is Floppy Latte Designs. There are some gorgeous papers and images in her collection, among them some stunning silhouettes.

The image is coloured with Promarkers and I added a little Glamour Dust in gold to her wings. The paper is from Papermania. The butterfly was cut using a Marianne Creatables die in my Wizard. Now, I find those intricate non-Spellbinders dies hard to cut cleanly, so I turned that disadvantage into a positive by cutting it from some fairly thin white card that I use for punching. Then, I coloured the die cut with Promarkers, using the same range of reds I had in the image, and again, added some gold Glamour Dust.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Stampavie and More where they want butterflies,
Craft Your Passion where the theme is 'magical',
Bunny Zoe's Crafts where the theme is 'fairies',
Top Tip Tuesday where there's an open challenge this time,
Delightful Challenges where anything goes,
Southern Girls where anything goes,
Delicious Doodles where they want things that flutter,
Polka Doodles where their theme is 'all of a flutter',
Simply Create where they want us to fly with them,
The Stampman where they want butterflies and dragonflies.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 66

2011-06-12T12:00:00.025+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challengeng you to 'Tag It'. That's right, anything goes providing it's a tag or has a tag somewhere on it. And we're sponsored by

This week, I had a lovely silhouette image from Floppy Latte Designs. And I went kind of crazy!

I started out to make a single gift tag, and then wondered what it would look like in a different colour combination, and this is the result! I did all the manipulations in Photoshop Elements and added some background paper which is taken from some Permission Free samples from a CD called Crafty Image Emporium from Crafty Computer Paper which I altered to match.

But, of course, I couldn't leave it at that, so I made a card to match one of the colour options!

The details are similar to the tags, and I added a border of Coredinations card that I cut using a Martha Stewart punch, and a die cut frame which was embossed in my Wizard. The swirls were also die cut, and the flowers were made from punched shapes and coloured with Promarkers.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter the card and tag into following challenges:

Fun with Shapes and More where they want a tag and punch or die cut. (Border and flower elements were all punched.)

Guylou's Inimitability where they want monochromatic projects

The Poodle's Parlour where anything goes,

Stamp Something where they want something punched. (Flower elements and border were punched),

4 Crafty Chicks who want hand made flowers. (All the flowers were made from basic stamped shapes).

Art Impressions who want monochromatic,

Moving Along with the Times where they want anything but a card (entering my range of gift tags)

My Mum's Craft Shop where they want us to punch it! (border and flower elements were all punched)

Father's Day Card

2011-06-08T22:55:00.001+01:00

I was asked to make a Father's Day card for a friend, but I don't have a lot of typical 'men' images, and I don't think he's an entirely typical man anyway. So, I decided to go with this.

The image is one from Dover Books - it came as part of their weekly sampler quite a while ago. It's coloured with Promarkers. The sentiment and background paper were generated in Photoshop Elements, the backround using a piece of the peacock tail and adding some shading. I've kept the rest of the card fairly simple - just some matting - as I don't want it to be over-fussy.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafting for All Seasons where the theme is Father's Day,
The Paper Variety where they want something 'for the guys',

Passion for Promarkers where they want blue/brown or pink/brown.
Stamping Boutique where the theme is 'Men Only',
There's Magic in the Air where they want something masculine.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 65

2011-06-05T12:00:00.026+01:00

Now, early as it seems to me, this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time is 'Schools Out/Graduation'. Of course, it's early because in this part of the world, our summer Half Term week is just about over, and tomorrow we go back to school for what always seems to be the longest half term of the year. And graduations won't happen until the university terms are over and final exam results announced - next month for the most part.

We're sponsored this week by Creative Craft World who are offering five romarkers as a prize. Now go on, you can always use five more Promarkers, can't you?

So, when faced with this challenge, my mind went from 'End of Term' straight to 'holidays' and so, when choosing an image, Hope Jacare's 'Island Getaway' seemed ideal.

Isn't that a fabulous image? A little cottage on an island surrounded by the sea, where hopefully the weather will be bright but not too warm, with a lovely breeze. I coloured the image with Promarkers, of course. The background paper is another magazine freebie - this one from Quick Cards some time ago, and designed by Nel Whatmore. I thought the 'doodley' style of the paper was a perfect match for the image.

The flowers and leaves are die cut using a Marianne Creatables die set and the flower centres are punched.

I hope you're able to join us this week.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Crafter's Companion where the theme is 'Here Comes Summer' and what's better for summer than an island getaway?
Sir Stampalot where they've got a picture inspiration (I was inspired by the colours.)
Paper Pretties where they have a sketch,
Divas by Design where the theme is 'Florals',
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges where the theme is 'Here Comes Summer' and what's better for summer than an island getaway?
A Spoonful of Sugar where they want us to use something floral.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 47

2011-05-30T12:00:00.029+01:00

This week at Crafty Cardmakers, we're challenging you to make something for someone you love - something that shows why you love them! You can certainly do a scrap book page if you want - you're not limited to cards!

Now, this was a hard challenge for me. I'm not someone who does sentimentality much. I think it's just that, as a family, we're quite a private lot. So, once I'd given it some thought, I decided to go with some humour.

My daughter (my youngest) is getting to the end of her AS exams. So, I decided to do her a card for when she has finished. She's a clever girl, but she's been finding the jump to A levels quite difficult and she's been working very hard. She's got a quirky sense of humour, and she's a good friend.

The central image is 'Bashful' from Stitchy Stamps, and I've used it to represent my daughter before. The books are from a CD of permission-free images from Crafty Computer Paper, and I've added the subjects she's been doing this year. The gift is from the Stamping Boutique. The stamps have been coloured with Promarkers, and while the original card has my daughter's name on it, I've brushed it out of the photo.

I finished the card with some paper from Papermania, some lace, ribbon, and some sticky gems.

So, what's under the flap?

A gentle reminder that she's got to go through it all again next year. Well, she only has to do three out of the four, but still. I think it'll make her smile!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Simply Create where they want something to celebrate a special day or event (end of exams)
Crafty Sentiments where they want a special occasion (end of exams!)
Digi Doodles where anything goes,
Crafting for All Seasons where anything goes,
The Paper Variety where they have a school theme (school related although summer holidays are weeks away yet!)
Truly Scrumptious where anything goes,
Emerald Faeries where anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 64

2011-05-29T12:00:00.037+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a time, our challenge is Picnics, or alternatively, 4th July. Now, this side of the Atlantic, 4th July is just another school day, so naturally, I went for the picnics challenge!

All the images used by the DT this week come from the collaboration package for June. Remember, if you spend $10 in the Stitchy shop during June, you'll get the whole package absolutely free!

We're sponsored this week by Lily of the Valley.

I got a lovely image to work with this week - from Beary Dust - and it'll be part of the package of images and papers you get if you spend $10 in the Stitchy store during July.

I coloured the image with Promarkers. Now, there's a story behind the paper pad! I went to a local supermarket one Saturday morning, and spotted a magazine for sale that had a freebie paper pad. I was in the process of making a card for a wedding and needed a low-key red pattern for that, and it had one, so I bought the magazine. A day or so later, I got this image through, and realised the same pad would be ideal. And even better, it's called 'Picnic in the Park'!

I used three different papers from the pad - two in the background, and I die cut a third to make the flower using a Marianne Creativity die in my Wizard. (It's actually one of the Poinsettia dies, but I think it works for this too.) I edged the flower with some Distress Ink in Barn Door.

The buttons are also from the paper pack - I cut them out and coated them with dimensional glaze before threading with gold yarn.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Stamps R Us where they want us to use a digi,
House of Gilli where they want us to use flowers. (Only one this time.)
Scrap Creations where they want us to use at least three patterned papers. (Two in the background and one for the flower.)
My Time to Craft where they want us to use a die cut (flower layers),
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge where the theme is'here comes summer',
Truly Scrumptious where anything goes,
Digi Doodles where anything goes,
Crafting for all Seasons where anything goes,
Fab 'n' Funky where they want 'cute and cuddly,
Crafty Calendar where they want teddy bears.

Something a bit Different

2011-05-28T17:30:00.005+01:00

I've been asked to make a special card for someone at work - something with several 'scenes' to it. My original idea was to make a concertina card, but then I remembered a video I came across a week or so ago, and thought that might work. But, I don't have all the details for that card yet, and I'd have to describe the format to my colleague before I could start work on it, so I thought I'd have a go using images I've already got to prove it's at least possible!

I used this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9PNYrknPbM&feature=player_embedded for the general instructions.

I did all the image preparation in Photoshop Elements, using images from Stitchy (her Rainbow Magic silhouettes) and Panda Bear Designs (her rainbow papers, or at least, two of them). I've added some of the cookie cutter shapes from PSE, and some brushes which were a freebie from My Grafico (the birds). The banners were also PSE cookie cutter shapes.

The words come from a poem by John Bliven Morin called Faeries and Pixies and are copyright to him. If you want to read the whole thing, you can find it here: http://www.fairiesworld.com/poems/?p=1178.

I used circles around 210mm (A4 card width), and edged the printed quarter circles with peel offs. It's times like this I seriously consider getting myself one of those electronic cutters - to be able to get perfect circles that size would be wonderful!

My next project is going to be to see if I can come up with a standard template for this style of card - it seems to me to be the ideal candidate for a completely digital approach (well, apart from the cutting and assembly). I may fail completely, but I'm going to have a go.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Fairy Fun Friday where they want more than one fold,

Sew Many Cards where they want circles (I started with four, and that's just the base card!)

Crafty Purple Frog where they want 'Things of Beauty',

Crafting for All Seasons where anything goes,

Divas by Design where they want 'one for the girls',

Paper Shelter where anything goes,

A Spoonful of Sugar where they want 'things with wings',

Creative Card Crew where anything goes,

Stamps R Us where they want us to use something digital,

Allsorts where they want things with wings.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 63 - Bling It On!

2011-05-22T12:00:00.036+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want to see some bling! Gem stones, mica, glitter - you name it, we want to see it!

We're sponsored by One Stop Card Crafts who're offering a £10 voucher,.

And, Digis with Attitude who're offering three digis of the winner's choice.

This week, I got to work with someone who's new to the Stitchy Bear shop - Glitterbabe. I chose her 'Bluecap' image, even though I have no idea what a bluecap should look like. (I'm really not knowledgable about flowers at all!) But, going from the name, I decided on some blues!

I printed the image onto watercolour paper, then painted it with Twinkling H2Os. The background was white card, stamped with Versamark ink and clear embossed before being sprayed with Radiant Rain in matching shades. The flower is from Prima, similarly sprayed, and finished with a gemmed brad, and I added a couple of feathers to complete. The lace is from Hobbycraft, but because it's so transparent, I threaded some white ribbon through it to give more emphasis to the white.

I hope you can join us this week.

I had a comment last week about the fact that I'd specified how I'd fulfilled one of the challenge requirements, and I'm not sure if I offended or not. Please, don't be offended! I'm on a couple of DTs and I know it's sometimes hard to see if someone has fulfilled the requirements - especially if they don't describe how they made their project and if something could be done in several ways, or if the photograph is small. I'm just trying to save you from having to scour through the post to find out! If it's more irritating than helpful then I'll stop!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Paper Pretties where they want flowers,
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge where anything goes,
Truely Scrumptious where anything goes,
A Spoonful of Sugar where anything goes,
Clear it Out which wants us to use any colouring medium (Twinkling H2Os and Mica sprays)
Get Hippity with Ippity where they want a main image of flowers,
Bunny Zoe where they want us to use lace,

Kaboodle Doodles where they're playing 'Tic Tac Toe' or where I come from 'Exes and Ohs' and I've chosen the bottom row - digi, lace and flowers,
2 Sisters where they want us to use a digi,
Little Claire where they want sparkle (Twinkling H2Os and Mica Sprays).

Crafty Cardmakers Embossing Challenge

2011-05-16T12:00:00.061+01:00

This time on Crafty Cardmakers, we want to see your embossing! It can be heat embossing, or dry embossing by machine or hand - it's up to you!

This time, we're sponsored by Joanna Sheen, who's offering a £10 voucher to the lucky winner.

As is often the case, I couldn't make up my mind, so I've got a couple of cards to show you.

This one uses a background which I stamped in gold ink then embossed with holographic clear powder. Then I edged the card with more of the gold ink. The image is a die cut I bought while on holiday a while ago. I heat embossed it, first with a blue ultra-thick powder, for about four layers, and then with some gold ultra-thick powder, before stamping the result with a floral background stamp while the embossing was still melted.

I finished the card with some matting, and some sticky gems coloured with Promarker.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges where anything goes,
Paper Pretties where they want texture (embossed dragonfly and background),
Crafty Creations where anything goes,
Sew Many Cards where anything goes,
Stamp Something where anything goes,
AI Factory where they want something from a nature walk (dragonfly),
Creative Inspirations where they want glitzy and bling,
Card Cupids Blog where they want no patterned paper (hope this counts - it wasn't patterned when I started!).

And then, there's something a little different!

The image is from Crafts and Me, and was stamped (in black) and heat embossed (clear). (One tip I picked up some years ago when I was struggling with stamping in general, was to put your colour with ink and emboss clear as it tends to record more detail because the embossing powder 'smudges' when it melts.) I've watercoloured the image with a combination of Aquamarkers and Twinkling H2Os.

The background is Coredinations Chocolate Box card, and I used a Spellbinder's Borderability (for the scallops), and embossed with Cuttlebug folders in my Wizard, then sanded to reveal the blue shade underneath.

The flowers are from some gorgeous lace I'm hoarding (and yes, I've got it in two different widths - I like it that much!) The lace and the ribbon are both from Hobbycraft.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Tuesday Throwdown where they want die cuts (borderability die with scallopped edge)
Top Tip Tuesday where they're having a flower frenzy,
Papertake Weekly where they want punches or die cuts (borderability die with scallops),
Everybody Art where they want flowers,
Creative Craft Challenge where they want distressing (distressed embossing),
Clear it Out where they want ribbon or trim (ribbon and lace pieces),
Fabulous Friday where they want ribbon,
Really Reasonable Ribbon where anything goes,
I Did it Creations where they want ribbon and lace (the flowers are from a piece of lace).

An International Wedding!

2011-05-15T22:39:00.000+01:00

A colleague and friend of mine is getting married soon, so I had to mark the occasion. For various reasons, she's not making the date known generally (well, if you saw the fuss they made at work the last time someone got married, you'd understand!) I know, but I've promised not to say anything, so I've even blanked it out of the card - just in case someone from work spots this.

I decided to do an easel card for a change - I generally prefer the normal 'book' fold type! The image is a freebie from Lilyboo at Cuddly Buddly, and it seemed perfect for the occasion, as it's not a white wedding, and this was easily adapted. I coloured it with Promarkers. As you may have guessed, her husband-to-be is an American, and he's given up his job and moved across the Atlantic to be with her - a pretty big move!

I put the main heart together in Photoshop Elements, then used the same artwork to produce some patterned card I could cut the flower and smaller heart shapes from. The large heart and flowers are edged with Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire and Barn Door respectively, and the paper came from a pad I obtained this weekend - a freebie from Simply Cards and Papercraft from Serif. The magazine just jumped into my trolley yesterday when I saw there was some lightly-patterned red paper in it which would be perfect for this card!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Emerald Fairies where anything goes,
Scrappy Frogs where anything goes,
Crafty Creations where anything goes,
Digistamps4Joy who want celebrations,
Penny's Papercrafty Challenges where anything goes,
My Mum's Craft Shop where they want to see die cuts (flowers and small hearts)
Papertake Weekly where they want punches or die cuts (die cut flowers and small hearts)
Tuesday Throwdown where they want die cuts (flowers and small hearts).

One Stitch at a Time, Challenge 62

2011-05-15T12:00:00.019+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, you get to choose the theme, because it's Anything Goes! That's right. Whatever you want to make, you'll be eligible for a prize, and that's even better when you realise that we're sponsored by Joanna Sheen.

This week, I was lucky enough to work with a gorgeous image from Blackberry Lane called Tulip Magnolia. I love magnolia flowers, but they're only around for a couple of weeks at most, and the rest of the year, those trees are unremarkable.

I coloured the image with Promarkers - mainly Almond, but with some Rose Pink, Baby Pink and Pale pink to give some shading, and a little Pastel Beige and Pastel Green for the rest. I shadowed the image with Tea Green to make it stand out from the white a little more, but it's quite a subtle effect.

I cut the image with one of my label nesties, and hand-cut a mat from the same die. I used a larger die from the same set to cut the embossed card, and embossed using a Spellbinders Impressability. These don't give as deep embossing as embossing folders, but they've got one huge plus. You can emboss them while they're still in the die, so you get that lovely clean border around your shape.

The paper is from Paper Cellar and the flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and the local 99p Shop!

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Creations where anything goes,
Divas by Design where anything goes,
My Mum's Craft Shop where they want to see dies being used (nestibility labels),
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge where anything goes,
Sew Many Cards where anything goes,
Stamp Something where anything goes,
4 Crafty Chicks where they want something Spring inspired,
Delightful Challenges where they want flowers,
Everybody Art where they want flowers,

Papertake Weekly where they want punches or die cuts (die cut image and embossing)
Top Tip Tuesday where they're having a 'Flower Frenzy'
Tuesday Throwdown where they want die cuts (image and embossed panel)
Karen's Doodles where they want pastels

Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight - Inchies Challenge

2011-05-09T12:00:00.011+01:00

This week on Crafty Cardmakers, the Spotlight is on Inchies! We want you to make something with at least three inchies on it!

I bought some stamps by Inkadinkado for the purpose, but I think they'll be quite a versatile set. I only used four of the nine to make this:

My first attempt at this, I used Distress Inks, and as usual, I was disappointed with the colours. They just seemed dull and muddy, and that's not to my taste at all! (I see other folks (Jack, you come immediately to mind) who get lovely, pastel shades out of them, but I can't seem to manage it.) Anyway, I then went to my one and only Kaleidacolor ink pad which is the Bouquet one. Apart from the ferns, that pad supplies all the colours in the card. (The ferns did use Distress Ink in Pine Needles.)

I did the background using a 'spritz and smear' technique on a non-stick sheet. The images were stamped in Versafine ink.

The flowers were all made from shapes punched out of white card, and ink was sponged on to give the colour and shading. I finished the card with a spray of Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle in irridescent.

Hope you can join us in the Spotlight this time.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday where it's an open challenge,
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,
The Paper Variety where they want ink, mist or paint (I used lots of ink!)
For Fun Challenges where they want lots of flowers,
Sassy Studio Designs where they want hand made flowers. (All the flower embellishments were hand made from punched shapes.)
Crafty Sentiments where they want flowers,
Craft Us Crazy where they want flowers,
Inspire Me Fridays where anything goes,
Allsorts where they want us to use at least three stamps. (I used four!)
Pear Tree Designs where they want Spring cards.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 61

2011-05-08T12:00:00.031+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we want to see your fancy folds! That's right, not standard single fold cards - do something a bit different. Other than that, it's whatever you want! And we're sponsored by

This week, I had to choose an image from Reece's Scrap Pieces, and I decided to go for another Christmas themed digi. And I thought I'd have a go at a twisted easel style card.

And so you can see the image more clearly,

The image (Oh Holy Night) is a combination of a picture and some word art. It's lovely, and while I chose to use soft colours for it, it would look great with vivid Christmas colours too. It's coloured with Promarkers, and I've added some detail and coloured the text with a Letraset silver marker, and added some Glamour Dust to the snow. The 'Merry Christmas' is computer generated, the papers are from a Papercraft Inspirations CD, and the snowflakes were cut using a Spellbinders die in my Wizard.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Lothian Crafts Online who want easel cards,

Top Tip Tuesday who're having an open challenge,
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,
Divas by Design where anything goes,
Craft your Passion where anything goes,
Pollycraft Monday where anything goes,
Polkadoodles where they want easel cards,
Stamp Something where they're having their May Digiday
Totally Papercrafts where they want one image, two papers and three embellishments (snowflakes)
Winter Wonderland where they want the Colours of Christmas, (in this case, Contemporary Brights).

A Fairy in Copper Colours

2011-05-08T11:35:00.001+01:00

It seems like ages since I've posted a card that hasn't been for a design team - and it's not as if I'm on loads of teams - between them I have a routine of three cards a fortnight!

This card has been a while in the making. I watercoloured the image (with Twinkling H2Os) a week ago, and unusually was really pleased with how that went. (I'm not at all confident of my watercolouring!) And then, I had the tough job of finding a layout and colourscheme that would work.

The stamp is from Crafts and Me, and I stamped it with Versacolor Black and embossed it with clear embossing powder. It seems like a rather strange mix of colours, but it seemed to me to work! I've matted it on bronze and gold card, using a Martha Stewart border punch, and then layered it with some paper from MME and finally some Coredinations Gemstones card.

I was not impressed that the first time I put it together, the gold mirri-card seemed to stretch somehow, leaving the top layer slightly wrinkled. I tried to continue the wrinkling around the image to make it look like it was intended, but that really didn't work. Fortunately, Colall Photoglue is incredibly forgiving and while it seemed 'stuck' the layers pulled apart quite easily and I was able to replace the gold layer!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Card Creations where they want embossing (heat embossed image)
Crafty Emma where they want our favourite colour combinations. Well, I knew I love combining pastels, but the addition of the browns and copper is a revelation to me, and one I suspect I'll use again!
Mark's Finest Papers where they want papers, stamps and inks but no embellishments.
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge where they want us to dust off our stash. (My Twinkling H2Os were buried under a pile of other colouring media before I dragged them out this week, and that Gemstone card is hoarded because I love it so much!
Delicious Doodles where they have a fantasy/mythical theme,
Phindy's Place where they want embossing (heat embossed image),
Flutterby Wednesdays where they have an open challenge this week,
Craft Your Passion where anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 60

2011-05-01T12:00:00.023+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to do some embossing! That can be heat, machine, hand or multiple - as long as something is embossed.

The first card I made for the challenge didn't work as well as I'd hoped, as I'd intended to add a triple-embossed sentiment to the image. For me, it didn't work in practice, so I went back to the drawing board and came up with a second idea.

The central image is Stitchy's 'Joy', and it's my first Christmas card of the year.

It's a lovely image, and I coloured it with Promarkers, including the new Silver marker in that range. It's cut with one of my Nestibility labels.

The background shows what is probably my favourite embossing technique - using Coredinations card, and sanding the embossed areas. I've used both their 'Whitewash' card and the normal variety here, as well as a couple of Cuttlebug embossing folders.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Sparkles Forum where anything goes,
Sketch and Stash who're having a Free Choice of their available sketches. I've used no. 7 - which is one I keep coming back to because I love it!
Top Tip Tuesday where they want squares
I Love Promarkers where they want 'No Design Paper'
AI Factory where 'anything goes',
Delightful Challenges where they want distressing (sanded Coredinations background),
Digi Doodle Shop's Best where 'anything goes',
Four Crafty Chicks who want distressing (sanded Coredinations background)
Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Challenge where she wants die cuts.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 59

2011-04-24T12:00:00.038+01:00

The theme for this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time is Father's Day/Sports. There's be a new collection of images and papers avalable at the Stitchy Shop for May, and like the previous collections, it's free when you spend $10, and the DT are all using images and papers from it.

I got some papers from JLJ designs, and decided to use them to make a card for my oh.

I made a 'collage' of six of the eight papers on an A4 format in Photoshop Elements, measured to the correct dimensions for a shutter card. I printed the sheet onto Ryman Matte Coated Ink Jet card. The various panels have computer-generated text with the names of various sports my husband has spent significant time either playing or watching lately.

And from a different angle!

The sponsor this week is Digis with Attitude, who are offering three digis of the winner's choice.

And Cosmo Crkcket who're offering a crafting kit.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Dude Time Doodles where they have a photo for inspiration,

Lady Bug Crafts Challenge where anything goes,

Papertake Weekly where they want spots and stripes,

Tuesday Throwdown where they want polkadots

Bunny Zoe where they want 'one for the boys',

Craft Your Passion where 'you've been spotted',

Incy Wincy where they want 'bright and bold'

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge

2011-04-18T12:00:00.004+01:00

This week on Crafty Cardmakers, we've got an either/or challenge! To celebrate the upcoming royal wedding here in the UK, we want you to make either something for a wedding, or something red, white and blue.

And we're sponsored this week by Joanna Sheen. The lucky winner will get £10 to spend in her shop, and remember, she doesn't charge postage anywhere in the world! (I don't know of any other shop that does that.)

So, I don't have any reason to make a wedding card, so I went for the colourscheme. I wanted to do something stamped, and when I started looking through my collection of unmountd stamps, I got completely waylaid by some freebies from Craft Stamper magazine, and this was the result!

The flowers, butterfly and dragonfly are all from various issues of Craft Stamper, while the paisley 'leaves' are from a set of stamps from Artemio that I bought in France last summer.

I've used distress inks throughout, stamping the images, colouing the flowers and leaves and painting the stalks and shading the background. I stamped an extra couple of flowers and a dragonfly for layering. The flowers were also coated with a 3D glaze.

To finish, I used a Martha Stewart border punch.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung' and what says 'Spring' better than flowers!
Incy Wincy who want 'bold and bright',
Crafty Calendar who want 'April showers bring forth May flowers'

One Stitch at a Time Second Post

2011-04-17T12:01:00.022+01:00

This is my second post for this week's One Stitch at a Time 'Sassy' Challenge which is sponsored by Joanna Sheen. As I mentioned in my previous post, I struggled with this challenge, until I decided that 'sassy' could mean 'bold' and I applied that to the colours I chose.

This time, I'm using an image by Blackberry Lane which is available at the Stitchy shop - 'Camelias in a Watering Can'.

I coloured the image with Promarkers including the new gold one, and mounted it using one of my eyelet nesties. The backing paper is from ME, and I finished the card with some gold ribbon.

Hope you can join us this week!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly where the theme is 'Truly Dimensional',

Top Tip Tuesday where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung' and what says 'Spring' better than flowers!
Crafty Calendar where the theme is 'April Showers bring forth May Flowers'
Daring Cardmakers where the theme is 'Easter or Spring', and to me, Spring means flowers.
Digis with Attitude where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung'
Totally Papercrafts where the theme is 'Springtime'
Stamp Insanity where the theme is 'Flower Power'

Challenge 58 at One Stitch at a Time (First Post)

2011-04-17T12:00:00.006+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, the theme is 'Make it Sassy'. Now, that theme gave me some problems. It's probably because I'm from the UK (and not still a youngster) but that word just doesn't have any positive connotations for me. I can think of many words I'd use instead, but all of them are rather insulting. So, I checked a US online dictionary looking for something I could use and it said it meant 'bold'. Now that can be negative too, but I took it to refer to colours, and that works for me!

We're sponsored this week by Joanna Sheen, and remember she doesn't charge postage to anywhere in the world, so it's a great prize wherever you are!

This week, I got to work with an image from Floppe Latte, and chose the lovely 'Floral Border 2' image. As the name would imply, it's one of a series, and the only problem I had was picking just one!

Given the theme, I wanted some boldly coloured papers to go with the image, and I decided to use a couple from Floppe Latte's Fun'n'Funky papers set which I got a while ago. And they're so bright and cheerful, I couldn't decide which to use, so I ended up with two cards!

I placed the digi-stamp over the paper in Photoshop Elements, filling the inside areas of the stamp with white, then added the greeting. Once I'd printed the combined stamp/backing, I coloured the digi-stamp with Promarkers, and then coloured copies of the main flower and leaf to match before layering them over the image.

To finish, I used some heat-embossing. I die cut a flower shape using my nesties and Wizard, then embossed with some pastel coloured powder I've had for a while. I used four or five layers of embossing powder, and when I was happy the layer was thick enough, I added some Perfect Pearl powders to the surface before melting it into the embossed surface. One more heating of the embossing, and I stamped with a floral background stamp to give some texture. Both are finished with a sticky gem.

And so you can see the cards in a little more detail ...

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter these cards into the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly where the theme is 'Truly Dimensional',

Top Tip Tuesday where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung' and what says 'Spring' better than flowers!
Crafty Calendar where the theme is 'April Showers bring forth May Flowers'
Daring Cardmakers where the theme is 'Easter or Spring', and to me, Spring means flowers.
Digis with Attitude where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung'
Totally Papercrafts where the theme is 'Springtime'
Stamp Insanity where the theme is 'Flower Power'

Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight on Teenage Boys

2011-04-11T12:00:00.028+01:00

I don't know about you, but I struggle with male cards. And worse than the average male card, there are those for teenagers. So this was a bit of a challenge, but an image I've had for a while came to the rescue.

The image, of course, is from Kenny K. It was a freebie a while ago, so I snapped it up while it was available. I've coloured the image with Promarkers including my new Silver one, and cut it with my new diamond Nesties. I've been looking at those for a while, and was very pleased to see them and the scallopped hearts at a very good price at Olympia in March.

The background paper and sentiment were generated in Photoshop Elements using a brick pattern which came with my older software - Namo Web Canvas - although I've de-saturated it to give a more neutral background. Then, I've added some band names supplied by my sixteen-year-old daughter. Logically, since both my sons will no longer need teenage birthday cards, it'll probably end up going to one of her friends.

Our sponsor is this week is "Stamping Scrapping" owned by Kevin and Cindy Echtinaw.

Hope you can join us in the spotlight!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly where it's 'Anything Goes'
My Grafico where 'anything goes'
Fussy and Fancy where they want something for a child. (To my mind, that's someone under 18! Sorry if you mean younger than that.)
Crafty Ann's Challenge where they want us to raise a smile. (Guaranteed since I've hidden some very local band names in the background graffiti!)
Aud Sentiments where they want something for a child. (To me, all under 18s are children. Sorry if you meant younger than this.)

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 57

2011-04-10T12:00:00.037+01:00

Another Sunday, another challenge at One Stitch at a Time. This week, the theme is new babies, and we're sponsored by The Stamping Boutique who're offering five digis of the winner's choice.

I was lucky enough this week to be working with one of Sylvie's images - Baby on a Blanket which is available at the Stitchy Bear shop.

Since I don't have any new baby cards in my stash, I decided to be prepared and make two!

Both images are coloured with Promarkers, with spots added to the blanket with a Souffle pen. I've matted onto some patterned paper, and backed with some Co'redinations card. The paler one in each case is Whitewash, while the darker is the standard variety. (I wish I knew how to get hold of some more Whitewash in the UK, preferably a mixed pad. I've been hoarding what I've got, and that's kind of silly since I bought it to use it!) The card has been embossed in my Wizard using an embossing folder. Not sure whose - I didn't keep the packaging, but it's lovely and embosses a bigger area than the Cuttlebug ones - definitely a plus.

The sentiment is hand-written on a nestibility die-cut which I've shaded with distress ink in either Tumbled Glass or Spun Sugar and finished with some ribbon.

The flowers are either ribbon buds I was given for Christmas, or roses I've made using punched shapes and shaded with distress inks in the same shades as above.

When I come to use the cards, I'll probably personalise them with another circle on top of the greeting.

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter these into the following challenges:
ABC Challenge where 'R is for Ribbon',
There's Magic in the Air where they want flowers,
Lexi's Creations where they want monochrome,
The Crazy Challenge where they want us to 'just add flowers'
Craft Your Passion where 'anything goes'
The Stamp Man where they want embossing,
Crafty Catz where they want embossing,
Crafty Emma's Challenge where they want monochrome
One Stop Craft Challenge where they want monochrome.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 56

2011-04-03T12:00:00.013+01:00

First, a Happy Mother's Day to all mums reading this. Hope you're being thoroughly spoiled.

Now, onto this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time. This week, we want you to make something 3D. That can be decoupage, or anything else that stops your creation from being flat on the page!

We're sponsored this week by Michelle's Scrap

So, I could have chosen to do some decoupage, or some other technique to give lots of dimension, but I thought I'd try something a little different. I chose Tree Set from Gingerloft, and despite wanting to use several of those gorgeous images, settled for using just one, several times.

I first put together a digital background, consisting of a gradient that went between green and blue, and printed it onto paper. Then, I took the tree image, and separated it digitally into 'foreground' - the main tree and ground texture, and 'background' - the rest. I printed those two images separately, and then layered them with the background using sticky pads.

As you can probably see, I added a frame, which is also mounted on sticky pads.

Finally, I made a 'tray' into which the whole thing fitted so you can't see the sticky pads any more!

The effect is remarkably three-dimensional in real life, but I struggled to show that well in a photograph, so you're probably going to have to take my word for it!

I had originally thought of making it into a card, my my husband liked it and suggested it stay just as it is, so it's currently on display in our living room!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Paper Playtime where anything goes,

Top Tip Tuesday where they want something 'nature inspired'

Digis with Attitude where anything goes,

Stamp Something where it's Digi Day.

Easter Cards

2011-04-02T19:12:00.001+01:00

I don't know what it is this year, but I really struggled to find time to do some Easter cards. It's not like I do an awful lot - just close family - a grand total of six.

I originally planned to use some decoupaged flowers and stitching, and I made one using that format.

And that card was all I managed, until I gave up the idea of stitching, and instead used one of a set of stamps I got at Olympia a couple of weeks ago. It's from 'Words Like Honey', and it seemed like a really useful set of crosses of various designs which will be useful for Easter cards as well as sympathy and other religious occasions. And once I got started, I created five!

I embossed the central cross image with Gold Mirror powder, then stamped around it using some tapestry stamps and a range of Versacolor inks. I edged the image layer with more Versacolor ink, then finished the cards with Papermania Capsule Collection papers, again edged with ink. The greetings are hand-written with my new Promarker Gold pen.

And in more detail,

I'd like to enter the top card in the following challenges:
If the Shoe Fits where the theme is 'sewing'
Karen's Doodles where the theme is Easter,
Papercutz where the theme is Easter,
Delightful Challenges where they want flowers,
Little Miss Muffet Challenges where they want stitching,

I'd like to enter the lower card in the following challenges:
The Res-Q Challenge where they want us to use our corner rounder (which I did, on all five!)
Tellen's Place where they want embossing,
Floweret Stamplar where the theme is 'Easter'
Stampin' Royalty where they want heat embossing,
Creative Craft World where they want Easter cards.

Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight on Decoupage

2011-03-28T12:00:00.005+01:00

This week's spotlight on Crafty Cardmakers is Decoupage. Now, I sometimes layer an image I'm working on, but I rarely do 'proper' decoupage, you know, with more than a couple of layers. One reason is that I just prefer other techniques, and another is that I don't trust my cutting skills. (Seriously, if you ever see me with a craft knife in my hand, run!) But, there's one lovely thing about Decoupage, and that's the fact that it combines so well with other techniques, and I decided to combine mine with stitching. (And I bought some die cut decoupage flowers so my sanity remained intact.)

The decoupage is from a range called Prestigious Pearls, and they've got a lovely pearlescent sheen to them. This one's layered with Pinflair Glue Gel (and I've got to say, I've been really disappointed with that glue. Its life in the syringe seems more likely to be measured in minutes than days. Despite retracting the plunger after use, the nozzle becomes blocked and the only option I've found is a complete clean. Silicone is usually ok for a few days.)

The stitching uses a pattern by Vette de Joke from Easy Embroidery on Paper. The gems are coloured with Promarkers, and the paper is from MME.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew where they want 'no stamps',
The ABC Challenge where they've reached 'Q for Quilting or Sewing'.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 55

2011-03-27T12:00:00.007+01:00

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're showing off the monthly collaboration for April - that's the set of files you'll get FREE if you spend $10 in the Stitchy shop. How's that for a bargain? And the theme for the collaboration is Mothers and Babies!

And, we're sponsored by

and

I got to play with Panda Bear's paper pack this week, and chose two of the designs to make a Mother's Day card.

Aren't those papers just gorgeous?! And there are some lovely baby-themed papers as well as some that could be used for all sorts of occasions in the set too.

I decided to show off the papers by not using an image, and instead digitally created a sentiment and cut it with my nesties. I inked around the edge with Versacolor ink in Burgundy and finished it with some white ribbon.

The flowers were all made from punched shapes. I recently bought Susan Tierny Cockburn's book 'Paper Bouquet' and the flowers were inspired by that. (I can't follow many of her designs exactly because of limited punches!) The white flowers are edged with Versacolor ink in either Burgundy or Ash rose, and the burgundy flowers were coloured with Promarkers. Although the flowers feel pretty robust due to the shaping and layers, I sprayed them all with some Crafter's Companion Spray and Shine Irridescent to give them a bit more rigidity so they'll hopefully survive a trip through the post.

The paper is also edged with Burgundy ink, and I finished with some lace.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:
Craft Your Passion where they want us to show our appreciation. (What else is Mothering Sunday all about?)
Anything Goes Challenge where they want us to make our own embellishments. (I made the flowers.)
Creative Craft Challenges where they want us to use lace,
Simon Says Stamp were they want Mother's Day,
For Fun Challenges where they want flowers and a sentiment,
Creative Card Crew where they don't want any stamps,
Crafty Emma who want us to use die cuts (Eyelet Nestibility used for matting).
Two Sisters who want us to make our own embellishments (the flowers are all made from punched shapes)
Allsorts who want something made for 'a special lady'.