Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 47

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.