365 Cards Day 60 & Sketches! by Tamara # 92

Day 60 over at 365 Cards and I am trying so hard to keep up with the challenges each day. Today has not been so easy as I'm coming down with a cold and have spent a lot of it asleep. That's teach me to get soaking wet on a hospital visit last week...... Hey at least it's not swine flu, that is quite scary isn't it as it's spreading all over the world.

Anyways, the challenge today is to use the word 'WHAT' as the sentiment for your card.

I needed to make a card for a 40th birthday so this was quite timely. I used his weeks sketch #92 over at Sketches! by Tamara for the layout.

The spotty & striped papers are from the Sweet Nothings paper pack by Papermania. All other papers are scraps. I used my Martha Stewart punch for the central layers as I though it would look like a frilly edge on a cake. I added some flower sequins and gems as the decoration at the bottom of the cake. Finally the lettering is some self adhesive felted ones I got from Poundland some time ago and the number was written by hand.

Thanks 365 for getting me so organised with my card making!!

Happy 40th Birthday Hubby

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband in the whole wide world. Sorry girls, he's mine and you can't have him :)

Paul has been so very worried about turning 40, I couldn't resist teasing him even more !

This almost A4 sized card was made using a background paper which I bought forthe hearts on the other side but it was too busy so opted for this side instead.

The numbers were cut from card using templates I had made in Xara. To these I have added rubber stamps from Penny Black and stickers from Papermania's Forever Friends range. The images are coloured using Marvy le plume pens and Sakura glitter.

Inside the card I have used some of the Forever Friends paper and an Anita's peel off, but you can't see that as there are lots of slushy words to my beloved :)

I love this card, it says everything I wanted and the new stamped set is just absolutely perfect for this.

60th Birthday Bookatrix

I have been commissioned to make a card for a 60th birthday for one of my work colleagues. They had seen a bookatrix style one that I had done and asked me to make one like that.



She has a family crest and I was aked to encorporate that into it if I could. They have clubbed together and bought her some crystal champagne flutes which have been engraved with the crest.

I was unable to get a decent sized image so couldn't do what I had intended with it so made a small 'badge' which was covered in Ranger Glossy Accents.

Brads are Papermania, star paper is HOTP and the stamped images were from a swap I did with a forum friend ages ago. I used some glass beads and glamour dust to accent the champagne glasses and the images were coloured with H20's

The box lid I decorated by doing a larger version of the shield part of the crest. I pieced papers together and used satin puffed hearts for the emblems. The box is finished with a gold ribbon around the edge.

WBA 40th Birthday card

I had been asked by some work colleagues to make a cards for one of the guys who is turning 40 and it need to be a West Bromwich Albion theme if possible.

There will be about 40 people signing it so I needed to make it quite large, the finished size is just under A4.

I have a template for a smaller square card so I resized it. It took a couplr of attepts to get it right as I tried to hinge it at the top and it wouldn't stand up so in the end I did a concertina fold on the left hand side at the bottom.

The base card was white so I layered strips of navy pearlised paper for the stripes using photo references from the internet for placement. The club badge and advertising are printed off onto photo paper and mounted on 3D foam. The ball is a Sizzix die cut and the 40 was written by hand.

The back of the card was embellished with a number panel I printed and the lettering is chipboard from a QVC TSV.

I didn't have any A4
envelopes and wanted to make it a bit posher anyway so I decided to have a go at making a gussetted bag/envelope for it. I used 2 sheets of 12 x 12" DCWV textured card, laid some more stripes on the top and a WBA badge that I had previously printed to do a different style of card.

I am really pleased with how this came out and Paul just said WOW! Can't get better than that.

Guest Designer Di Hickman April #1

I am a guest designer for the whole of this month on Di Hickman's site and this is the first card which has been published on her blog today.

I was really excited when I saw that mine was the 1st one under the samples she had done. It's a bit of a wow moment for me as I never think what I do is good enough as there are so many much better card makers than me and I am constantly amazed by their creativity.

I made the card for my friend at work and he loved it, although he wasn't terribly happy that I was announcing to the world how old he was.... that made me laugh!

The card was made using my currently most used Dovecraft Masculine paper pack, Making Memories Cosmopolitan, some brads from Docrafts, some peeloffs coloured black on a scrap of gold cardstock and a sentiment from Let's Make Cards. The papers and card were distressed around the edges using a Tim Holtz ink pad in Antique Walnut.

I'd better get working on next week's sketch now :)

Happy 40th Birthday Gaz

This is the card I made for our bestest friend who is 40 on the 12th.

I made a shaped card using a template I produced in Xara. Paul has been trying to get me to use this programme for a long time as it does a lot of great manipulations and with his help my confidence is growing.

The shaped card is covered with papers from the Dovecraft male pack (again) I am so glad I bought that as it has proven to be very useful lately! The star paper has been embellished with lots of star shaped gems from Papermania.

The dotty paper has vinyl embelishments from a HOTP pack, a banner, rub-on lettering, brad and a clear sticker from a QVC TSV pack.

The most exciting things about Gaz's birthday is that he has been in Amsterdam since Monday with Hazel and he has no idea that we have been plotting behind his back to meet him there ! It will be the most personal way to deliver his birthday card !

Captain Scarlet themed card

My friend Hazel commissioned me to make a card for Gaz based on Captain Scarlet. She had been unable to get a card featuring his favourite superhero so I came to the rescue !

I gathered some images from the tinterweb and placed them collage style using a programme called Xara. The symbol I wanted to use for the '0' in his age and placed everything else around it.

The whole collage is printed onto A5 size glossy photo paaper and then matted onto a black card blank.

Hazel absolutely loves it and I am sure Garry will too. It was nice to be able to do something so special for them both as they are very dear to both Paul and I and a wonderful couple.

Happy 65th Birthday

Katie's Dad's card was to have a horse racing an domino theme.

The papers are again from the Dovecraft male pack, the leather ribbon is Papermania as are the cork 'Scrabble' letters. The chipboard letters and numbers are from a QVC TSV. The image was snaffled off the internet and printed onto photo paper and the dominoes were purchased some time ago from Poundland.

Really pleased with how this turned out and so was Katie.

Liverpool Supporters 30th Card

This card was given by Katie to her husband who as you can tell supports Liverpool.

The backing paper is from a forum buddy who makes her own papers using one of the graphics programs. I printed this onto hammer textured paper with 50% opacity so it looked more muted. The main image is printed onto photo paper and mounted onto red card to give it more oomph. I added a strip of red to the centre to provide an area to add the sentiment and the age using peel off, a banner and rub ons.

I am really pleased with how this card came out, I am sure any Liverpool supported would be delighted to receive it.

30th Birthday Card Football

My work colleague Katie gave me a commission for 4 cards for her husband and father.

This card was made for her husband from their small son.

The papers are from the Dovecraft Male themed pack.

The trophy, ball and banner are Sizzix die cuts that I bought some time ago from Ebay. I have since purchased the ball die and have a trophy but it is much smaller than this one. The Dad sticker is from a QVC TSV kit and the sentiment is a Papermania rub on. I used curling ribbon to embellish the trophy but this got squashed in the scanner!

In the Night Garden Commission

This is one of the projects I was making before I went on holiday that I hadn't had time to blog.

One of my colleagues Sobia asked me to make a card for her nieces 2nd birthday. I made a card for her last year and couldn't believe a year had gone already !

Anyway she is mad about a BBC programme called In The Night Garden and she asked me if there was anything I could do to encorporate this. I hadn't heard of the programme so doing a bit of research found out a load of information and pictures. Sobia had supplied me a photo of Aminah and I came up with the idea of inserting her face into a colouring in picture from the website of one of the characters 'Upsy Daisy'.

I coloured in the sections using PiantShop Pro and decoupaged the image to provide some dimension. My hubby helped me to position the photo (I'm only a learner at these things so his help is invaluable !)

The backing paper is DCWV Peeking Posies and I used Papermania peel offs and rubons for the text.

Another Football Shirt

I have been commissioned by a work colleague and previous recipient of an Aston Villa card who wanted me to make one for a young girl who is 16. He asked me to put her name on it and a photo of David Beckham as she is mad about him.

The template is from one I made myself just piecing together the traditional club colours from card. The badge is printed onto photo paper and the lettering is die cuts from Quickutz Ginger and Olivia alphabets and Sizzlits Round A Bout alphabet.

70th Birthday Book

I had been commissioned by one of my work colleagues to make a special book for her Step Mom's 70th Birthday. Karen has asked me to make a few things for her recently and each item has surpassed the last and I've got a reputation to uphold now!

I had the idea of making it a book with photo's of the people it was from and a space for them to write their own sentiment alongside.

The 6" square mini scrapbook started life as brown and pink and as the recipients favourite colour is purple that just wouldn't do. The trouble was, I didn't have any paper big enough so I used self adhesive irridescent film for the main cover, and used a strip of some gorgeous silver and lilac glittered wrapping paper that I bought from the NEC last year. Through out the project the only glitter is from this paper, I was absoloutely covered by the end !

I used some ribbon to cover the join of the 2 papers, and the sentiment on the front is Papermania peel offs.

The main pages are a photograph of family member with partner and a plain section to write on. these are all matted on various purple papers and embellished with Prima flowers.

In the middle of the book there are 2 poems to celebrate a mother.

I had intended to use gems for the middle of the flowers, but the book was getting so fat that I had to reduce the thickness. I had originally inserted lengths of ribbon between the covers of the book to tie it, but they were straining against the thickness so much that they would not hold it. The box had already been made and the thickness was as big as I could make it with A4 card so I couldn't make another so I came up with the idea of using a long length of ribbon to double wrap the book and this kept it together and small enough to go into the box. The box was embellished with peel off and I used a length of lilac organza ribbon to tie a bow for presentation. Karen was delighted with it and they were having a get together at the weekend for her birthday. I told her if her Mom doesn't cry I haven't done my job properly!

Below is a slideshow of the all the photos of this project

Ali's 50th Birthday

This is the most ambitious project I have done so far and I am so amazingly proud of what I have made.

The book was inspired by an article in Papercraft Inspirations and is called a meandering book. The original project was made using a single piece of 12" x 12" cardstock cut into a particular design using a template supplied in the magazine. I had a go at this and decided for this it was going to be too small so made one using the same design but with 5.5" square pages instead of 4"

The idea was that each family member would have a photo on one of the flaps and there is a tag behind each which has special birthday sentiments that each person wanted to have included. There are also photos with her husband and behind these poems and a sneaky tag from me. There is also a fold in the very centre of the card which hides a sentiment from all the family.

This was a very special project for someone I know so it made it a more personal thing to do. When I first made the size of card I thought it was going to be too empty but by the time the papers were added, then the photos and tags it became a lot fatter and we struggled to close it. You wouldn't believe how heavy it turned out in the end. I made a box for it and wrapped it in tissue paper for presentation.

The fastening was made using a velcro square which is hidden under the flower '0' in the 50. I have beaten my previous best for Prima usage - 90 on this project not including the other flowers on the front !

I have been told it made Alison cry for ages and she won't take it out of the house so no one can see it unless they come round.

Please see below a slideshow with all the photos of it. The ribbons that are sticking out are where the tags are hidden.

1st Birthday Card

I have been commissioned by a colleague at work to make a card for a 1 year old and the brief was aeroplanes.

I bought the Cuttlebug die and thought I would have a go at making a larger version with Captain Jai flying it. (thanks you to computers and printers it was an easy task to make a template)

Items used were Papermania rub on's, scraps of card and paper and Cuttlebug die. The white plane looked a bit bland so I used little star peel offs to decorate.

I am really pleased with the result, I hope Sobia is too.

16th Birthday Commission

I was commissioned to make a girly card for a 16 year old and I had to include her photo in it - this is what I came up with.

I used DCWV Peeking Posies cardstock for the main background and cut the 16 from chipboard. I made a template from the Arial font at 500 for a finished A5 size card and covered the chipboard with HOTP paper from the Garnet Cardmakers pad.

I used alphabet beads for the name on the '1' and secured with wire through the flower and shape.

I used the most Prima flowers ever in one card, 40 in total and secured them with brads through the shapes. These are on 3d foam to raise them. The paper was embellished with some tiny Papermania gems and a birthday sentiment.

This also ties in nicely with one of the older challenges on Just Bex which I am planning to work my way through !

The last of the 30th Birthdays !!!

At last I have come to the end of the list of 30th Birthdays.

It has been a challenge to come up with completely different designs for all the cards, and the person who commissioned them has been delighted with them.

This card was made using paper from the scrapbooking box TSV from QVC. It is the first time I have used the papers and this was great as the border is part of the paper. There was another border strip about 1.5 cm wide which I cut off and I will use for another card.

I edged the card with a Brilliance pearlescent inkpad to stop it looking too stark.

The ribbon is a velvet one that I got from Paperchase, I love going in there as they have some beautiful papers and accessories. The chipboard frame and square are from the same TSV kit. The sentiment was a clear sticker from the pink cardmaking box which was a Linda Beirnstein TSV a short while ago. It is the first time I have used anything from that box.

The stamped image is from a forum swap and was coloured in unsing Marvy Le Plume pen. The lettering is die cut using Ellison Designs Curlie Girlie Alphabet, the numbers are Scrapbooking House rub ons and the flowers are embellished with clear stick on gems from Poundland.

This is officially the last card I am making before I go on my holiday on Friday.

Another 30th Birthday

One of my colleagues at work gave me a list of birthday cards she wanted making during the course of the year.

Most of them were for 30th Birthday cards as it was a lot of her schoolfriends and they had all kept in touch. As they all see one another I had to make them different. Many of the ones I have made over the last few months are in my slideshow, the link is in my labels list on the right hand side.

This card has been made using HOTP papers from the Citrus Creative pack, ribbons and the big brad with rub on are from my new HOTP QVC TSV which I collected from the Post Office today. The chipboard is from the scrapbooking TSV. I embellished with Paermania gems and a sticker. The flowers are from a 'Hen Night' flower garland from Birthdays - a great tip from one of my forum buddies. You get absolutely loads for £1.50 - very cheap !

Thomas The Tank Engine

I have been commissioned to make a birthday card for a 2 year old who is mad about Thomas The Tank Engine and decided I wanted to do some sort of decoupage card and was expecting to make my own from layering an image but I was pleasantly surprised to find this by doing a Google search. It cane up with this fantastic image from a website called www.dltk-kids.com

I printed it out on photo paper so it was nice and shiny and the colours are very vibrant. I used silver peel off stickers to add the name and age and the Happy Birthday sentiment is a vellum sticker. The image is built up with 3d foam upto 5 layers.

The only trouble with using photo paper is that you only get one chance withe the peel-offs and I am not particularly happy with the spacing on the name, but I am sure his parents will love it. It's probably just me wanting to be perfect !

Commission for 5th Birthday

Our friend Phil brought my car round for me Saturday afternoon. WOOHOO !!!!

He mentioned that it was his grand-daughter's birthday the following day and he said he was going to buy her card and pressies. As he was stopping for a couple of beers I offered to make a card for him and he jumped at the chance ! I have made cards for Chloe and her Mum before and Phil is a rare man who appreciates the work that goes into these cards.

I used HOTP paper from the Citrus Cardmakers pack for the backing, Cuttlebug embossing folders for the Happy Birthday text and the '5' which was cut from card using a template I made in Word.

I embellished the card with Papermania brads, ribbons and a bit of sparkle. Used some pretty flowers and chipboard letters from QVC. He was delighted with the card.