Get Well Soon Roy

Unfortunately life has got a little more complicated.

Paul's uncle Roy is wheelchair bound with Muscular Dystrophy and he was rushed to hospital yesterday morning as his carers couldn't wake him up and his pulse an heart rate were minimal. He'd had a massive heart attack and had to have an operation as some of his arteries had collapsed. The next 48 hours are critical as there is a high chance that his kidney could fail so keeping everything crossed that he will pull through.

Poor Grandad is so upset. He's trying to get better himself from his long stint in hospital and he feels that this has been bad for Roy and caused his heart attack.

I don't pray but I truly hope he pulls through and I'm keeping everything crossed for him.

Gone a bit AWOL

Hello Peeps, remember me? I used to make cards until Formula 1 and dogsitting got in the way LOL

Came back from Silverstone on Monday afternoon having had the most marvellous, but very tiring few days. As we had general admission tickets we had no reserved seats and had to sit alongside the track. On Sunday it opened at 5am and we got there at 6.30. Seriously, you would not believe how many people were already there at that time. The threatened rain held off but it was extremely windy around the track. We all used sunscreen but still got sunburnt as the wind battered you as well. I woke up Tuesday morning with over 17 coldsores and more developing. By yesterday virtually the whole of my top lip was one massive coldsore. I'd used factor 50 special lip sunscreen so I don't think there was much else I could have done to prevent it. The pain was particularly bad Tuesday and my lips were REALLY swollen. I went shopping in Asda and scared an innocent man who had bent down to get some bread, only to come back up faced with something from a medical programme. His face said it all really.... wasn't good for my self confidence. It's getting a bit better but I think it will be a while before it completely heals. I've always been prone to them and fortunately not had one for a while, but this looks awful. I've been taking photos for posterity but won't put them on here as they are just disgusting to be honest.

On a happier note I am dogsitting for my mother in law :) She went on holiday to Torquay yesterday afternoon and I am looking after her Yorkshire Terrier Ellie. She's never been left on her own overnight so I said I'd feed her 3 times a day and do walkies and sleep there at night. It's very weird and I feel like I'm torn between our house and Mom's. There's been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing for me but she couldn't afford to put her in kennels and Paul won't let the dog stop at our house as he doesn't like animals and we've had new non-dog friendly carpets which she is liable to mess if she gets upset. I love animals so I get to be a dog owner for a week and give her back.

However, she likes fussing and a lot of attention so cardmaking probably won't mix. I did some decoupage cutting out last night whilst watching programmes on my laptop and that was about as much as she would stand for. Mind you, I did tire her out when we went walkies. If I can get myself organised I may be able to get together some projects like I did for the Warrington crafty meeting, otherwise I'm not taking loads and loads of supplies up the road.

So I may be a bit sporadic for the next week and will have to see whether I can get any crafting done or not... watch this space.

Silverstone here we come :)

Oh yes, the day we have been waiting for for over a year is finally here.

We're off to Silverstone to see the F1......... I am so blooming excited it will be very difficult to sleep tonight.

We are setting off about lunchtime on Thursday to the campsite which is walking distance to the track. We are camping Thursday night to Sunday night and coming home Monday lunchtime so we don't miss a damn thing!

We'll be there for all the practice races Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the main events on Sunday. There is a party on Sunday and all of us (Me, Paul, Gaz and Hazel) have said we want to see everything.

I've been shopping today for the last bits and pieces. We'll have brekkie, pack the car and skedaddle down the motorway. It's only about 90 minutes drive so that's quite cool. We'll get there, get the tent up, have a few bevvies and get into the serious business of relaxing and having a brilliant time. With a bit of luck the weather will be good, if not we are prepared for rain so it doesn't really matter. A wet race is always good and we've got waterproofs and big brollies :)

Can't actually believe it has finally come, it is so long ago that we paid for the tickets.

And another good thing, whilst we are there I will be celebrating having passed my driving test 2 years ago so I will no longer be on probation and will be a fully fledged driver. I've not had an alcoholic beverage since Easter but I think that deserves a bit of a celebration.

365 Cards Day 106, TPE, Double Dutch, Pile It On, Stamp Simply, OCC & Crafty Creations

Paul's sister Jill is getting married on August to her fiance Steve, they have been together for about 3 years and both have children from previous relationships. They are tying the knot in Freeport in the Bahamas, having their honeymoon and then on the 30th August they will be having a blessing at a posh hotel. We have just received our formal invitation so I have made a formal acceptance.

The style of their invitation is very simple, just 2 lilac hearts entwined with the words 'Two Become One'. I decided to make my card along the same theme but of course just a tad more embellished as any handmade card should be :)

I have incorporated the following 7 challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 106 - Super Sketchy Sunday for the layout
• The Pink Elephant #19 - Wedding theme
• Pile It On #2 - Use at least 2 different ribbons
• Stamp Simply #91 - Use a semi- circle
• Double Dutch #20 - Monochrome card - any colour just different shades
• Our Creative Corner - Use a Border Punch
• Crafty Creations # 19 - Use the colour purple

I used an A4 sheet of card for the base in a darker shade of purple. The slightly patterned paper on top is form the HOTP Amethyst Cardmakers pack, the glitter paper embossed with the Heart Blocks Cuttlebug folder is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. I have used the largest of my Nestability dies to cut the shape. The darker paper edge with my Martha Stewart doily punch is a textured one from my stash from the Papermill, the upper layer of shimmer paper is from the HOTP pad and textured with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Folder. The self adhesive spotty ribbon is from Docrafts.

The die cut hearts are Sizzlits dies. The solid heart has been embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile folder and is on 1mm foam pads. The holey heart is raised on 5mm and has a small ribbon tied through into a bow.

The sentiment is Docrafts peeloff which were originally silver. I have coloured them purple with a permanent marker.

365 Cards Day 107, Papertake Weekly, Sketches by Tamara, Paper Blooms & Paperplay

This card has been made primarily for the 365 girly challenge for today but I have also incorporated 4 other challenges into it. They are as follows:-

• 365 Cards Day 107 - Make a girly card and include the word 'girl' on it
• Papertake Weekly - Shoe Time
• Sketches by Tamara - SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT sketch #100
• Paperplay #21 - Use your materials in an unexpected way
• Paperblooms #11 - Use at least 3 blooms

I received a feedblitz email this morning with the scrapbook layout sketch from Tamara and thought it would be great as a card and then I had another email from Elegant Word Art and Bethany had produced 2 girlfriend themed files to fit in with a freebie Blog Hop that Scrap Orchard have where there is a full kit to collect from various members blogs. I thought it was perfect for the 365 card and it all spawned from there.

The majority of the materials are from a Paper Cellar 8 x 8" scrapbook kit which is pinks, purples handbags and shoes..... the use of a scrapbook kit and the scrapbook layout I thought would fit in with the Paperplay challenge (at a pinch!)

I have added some extra bling courtesy of Paperchase and some paper flowers which were a freebie from a magazine. The sqaure on the background are tile shapes from a Papermania caddy.

Use It, Sketches by Tamara, Pile It On & Paper Blooms

My MIL phoned earlier to ask if I could make her a card which she needs by tomorrow, no pressure then! I immediately got to thinking of the design and what challenges I could fulfil at the same time :)

I have combined the following 5 challenges into this card :-

• Sketches By Tamara - Sketch #99 for the layout (rotated)
• Use It #14 - Use Pink, add scallops and a tag (check)
• Pile It On #2 - Use at least 2 ribbons (3 plus a ribbon bow)
• Paper Blooms #11 - Use at least 3 flowers (3 used)
• Stampin' For The Weekend - Use a Digi Image

The base of the card is an A4 sheet of a magenta pink metallic card which of course has not scanned in very well! The papers and image are from Pink Petticoat. The colour is 'princess pink' but it seems a bit lilac to me, I think maybe the magenta is so strong it throws it off a bit ? I've never printed off PP papers before, only the images. We have an Epson photo printer which has 6 separate inks and they cost a fortune so it's put me off printing the papers to be honest. I am pleasantly surprised how well they have printed and would certainly do it again as I think if you only print waht you need then it won't cost too much. We have a laser printer for black printing and that has proven to be a good investment.

Anyway the image is coloured with Marvy Le Plume pens and I printed off the parcels individually so I could layer them with 3d foam. The 1st layer is the main image, the 2nd is all three parcels, 3rd layer is the top two parcels and then the 4th layer is the top parcel. I added ribbons to the bottom parcels and glitter glue. I then used a small silver bow to add to the top parcel.

The scallop border was cut from an embossed packaging using scissors and a Fiskars template. The pink spotty ribbon is self adhesive from Docrafts. The flowers are Primas with a posh Papermania gem brad holding it together. I have used a small jump ring to attach the diddy tag to the ribbon and used rub-ons to add the age of the recipient. The lettering is a textured adhesive felt alphabet that I bought from Poundland. The circular sentiment was printed off using a seal generator from a website.

Polka Doodles & 365 Cards

This cute little birdy house was made for the Polka Doodles Sketch #4 with additional challenges to use the free downloadable paper and a stamp or digistamp.

The sketch was more of a traditional pentagram shape but is stretched it with some software to fill an A5 sized blank, the fold of the card being on the left hand side if the birdhouse.

I cut a hole in the front for the birdies to get in and out of their new home. I covered the whole of the front with the downloaded paper. It printed out really well, no streaky lines or anything! I used some brown textured card to cut a scallop edge and used a nestie die for the doorway. Lots of bling was added courtesy of Poundland. Every now and again they do some fabby packs of bling that are superb value. Please excuse the one that has shifted in the photo, I promise this has now been pushed back into the correct position!

The sentiment was typed in and printed. The little caterpillar who is edging along the front is part of a digistamp from Sweet & Sassy. I think it is lucky for Cindy the caterpillar that the birdies are looking the other way or she may become a little snackette. The bird sitting onthe nestie and the swirls around the sentiment are clear rubber stamps from Hero Arts. I have also used the swirl to provide the stem for the flowers. These are Prima's from Bitty Bags with green gems from Paperchase. The birdy in the centre is a digital scrapbooking freebie coloured with a Promarker.

I am so chuffed with how this card has turned out. It is going to be VERY difficult to give it away to someone!

I have also entered this card into the challenge for Day 24 of 365 Cards which was to create a nature scene. That will tick an old one from March off my list. Woohoo!!!!

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been given an award by Mary at Some Things from Gypsy Rose blog. I am truly honoured as I have only recently 'met' Mary. I gave her a hand after seeing a comment she made on a challenge blog of how to upload cards with a direct link. It just goes to show that if you do something nice for others you will get what you deserve. Thank you Mary, it a truly wonderful of you to think of me :)

Award Rules...
1. Add the logo to your blog;
2. Link to the person from whom you received this award;
3. Nominate 7 or more blogs;
4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they have a One Lovely Blog Award!

I am passing this award on to the following...

Sarn

Lisa

Jenny

Maz

Rose

Michelle The Gypsy

Amy

All the above have lovely blogs, are very special people and wonderful friends :)

Right girls, you get to pass the love too xxx

365 Cards Day 105, 2 Sketches 4 You & Pile It On

Woohoo, it's the weekend :) Had a small lie in this morning and Paul has gone to his friends to do website stuff so I getto do some crafting Yay!

Paul's going to Manchester on Monday for a couple of days so I will be able to do lots and lots of crafting whilst also preparing to go camping at Silverstone from Thursday. I've got most of the supplies but will need to finalise menu's for each day and see what food we need to take. We're going with 2 of our bestest friends to watch the last Formula 1 race meeting at Silvestone race track. It is the 1st time any of us will have been and I we are really excited. It's a good thing we had to pay for our tickets a year ago though or there is no way we could have afforded to go.

Anyhoo, this card incorporates the following challenges:-

• 365 Cards Day 105 - Make a card inspired by the song Rainbow Connection
• 2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan Sketch #28 for the layout
• Pile It On - Use a non stamped sentiment

The rainbow papers for this card came from a Papercrafts Inspirations magazine freebie which featured wellies, umbrellas and rainbows, all very British themes! The papers are available as a download from their website here. They do some smashing designs and little extra motifs to match, it's just a shame that they are printed on magazine paper so the quality is a bit naff. Some magazines like Crafts Beautiful include them as a separate sheet and that is a far better compromise as those are much better. The purple trellis paper came from a Simply Cards and Papercrafts pack. I matted this onto an oval which was cut with Fiskars decorative edge scissors. The rainbows on the mat were originally a circle which I cut in half and layered on 3d foam. The clouds on the sentiment panel I have embellished with white fluffy stuff from Woodware and used my heat cut to puff it up. I love how dimensional this has made the cute fluffy clouds.

I absolutely love rainbows and really enjoyed making this card. Whilst making it, it reminded me that when I was driving back from our crafty session in Warrington I saw the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen. I was on a really wide flat road and looking down the motorway was the most colourful and PERFECT rainbow spanning all across the road, it was just so beautiful. Obviously not a photograph moment as you can't pull over and stop on a motorway. It was one of those moments when you wish you could take a photo of what you see with your eyes at an exact moment. You very rarely see a perfect rainbow with such brilliance of colour and it was a moment to remember. They fill me with happiness, joy and hope and the belief that things can only get better.

365 Cards Day 103, Stampin Chic, Spoonful of Sugar, Flutterby Wednesday & If The Shoe Fits

Now this is a bit more like me combining challenges into one card. I almost had withdrawal symptoms with only one challenge in my last post!

This card combines the following 5 challenges:-

• 365 Cards Day 103 - A recipe 4.25 x 5.5'' card, solid background, 2 patterned papers, stamped sentiment and 3 gems.
• Stampin Chic - Sketch for layout
• Spoonful of Sugar - #45 Butterflies
• Flutterby Wednesday - #61 Use ANY sketch and butterflies or fairies
• If the Shoe Fits - Colour Challenge Blue, Green & Yellow

The base card was cut to the correct size and I ran it through the swiss dots cuttlebug folder. I inked arounf the edges a little a it looked too stark. The green paper was a scrap in my offcuts box. The butterfly is from a sheet of paper in Clare Curd's Signature Range 'The Big One' by Papermania. I used the colours of blue, green & yellow from the colour challenge. The gems were added to the green paper in yellow to add a little more of that colour.

The stamped sentiment finishes the card off. I wasn't sure how well it would come out stamping on the embossed background but I think it's come out alright.

365 Cards Day 104

I didn't manage to do the 365 Cards challenge for yesterday as I was out running errands for most of the day so have had to play catch up today.

The challenge for Day 104 was to make a card inspired by grass.

The paper that I have used was a full page photograph of a grass from a 2005 copy of Living Etc magazine that I tore out as I thought it would come in useful one day. I mean, how often do you get a full A4 page of grass? I cut out a hill type shape with ripple edges scissors. I used a rubber stamp set from Hero Arts for the tree, squirrel and sentiment. The tree is coloured with Marvy le Plume pens and a little but of Sakura glitter pen.

The clouds are a small Brilliance inkpad swirled over the card and I have used the glitter pen to define some swirls into it. The sun is a glittered sticker by DCWV with a smily face drawn on it.

365 Cards Day 30 & Polka Doodle

This is the ladybird inspired card I have made for an old challenge on 365 Cards for Day 30.

I have used this week's sketch and challenge over at Polka Doodle but unfortunately it will not be allowed into the competition as I should have submitted it by 12 noon GMT. Blinking shame that, but I still enjoyed making it and I haven't done a criss cross card in his style before so I've learnt a new technique too.

You had to use 3 paper and at least 1 flower. The stripe and plaid are from K & Co, the spotty paper is HOTP. The digistamp image is from Sweet & Sassy and was coloured using Marvy le Plume pens. The flower was originally is silk sunflower in my living room and was orange. I used a permanent marker to change the colour, quite pleased with how this turned out :)

I covered tyhe back of the flower with a circle of white card which I decorated inside. The flower is a handmade mulberry one with a small black gem and I used a gel pen to add a bit of doodling.

That's another old 365 ticked off my list... YAY

365 Cards Day 102, CCEE, CPS & Pile It On

I've had so much fun with this card today. I printed the Sweet & Sassy Digistamp image off yesterday already with a plan in mind to use it for the CPS sketch this week, and also complete one of the older 365 challenges. Pam totally threw us a curveball by challenging us to combine any 3 past 365 challenges, 1 each from March, April & May.

Now whilst I thoroughly advocate combining challenges I have never combined any of the 365 ones with each other, purely because to me, I want to achieve having made at least 365 cards by the end of this project. So this card is for day 102's challenge and I have made another for day 30, coming up next :)

So the 4 challenges within this card are:-

365 Cards Day 102 - Combine any 3 challenges, one from each Month

• March Day 30 - Ladybird inspired card
• April Day 61 - incorporate a leaf on your card
• May Day 80 - incorporate plaid on your card

CCEE Stampers - Incorporate a flower on your card

CPS Sketch 119 - for the layout

Pile It On - Non-Stamped sentiment plus at least 1 other challenge

The papers are K & Co. I have 2 huge stacks and have used so very little of them. It is the 1st time I have used any of these poppy papers and I'm glad I did. The colours are so rich and I though they would work well with the ladybird (why do they call it ladybird in the UK? the US term ladybug definitely fits the description better)

The image is coloured with Marvy Le Plume pens except the flesh colour is a Promarker that the wonderful Lisa gave me at a crafty session. I NEED to get a job so I can buy some of these lovely pens. I can tell why people love them so much. No streaks and the colour is perfect. I WANT SOME NOW!!!! Thanks very much Lisa the Promarker Queen and Happy Birthday for today :)

The 3 ladybirds are fabric dimensional stickers from craft packs at Home Bargains. They are slightly padded and feel lovely. The obligatory matting and layering throughout is courtesy of my scraps folder. I sorted a big chunk of my odd bits of card into a concertina folder by colours and have used so much more than ever before because I can now find what I want. It was a long laborious job but it's amazing how much more productive it has made me and I've not had to cut into full sheets of card ever since.

365 Day 101, MTTC, Flourishes, CCC & Pile It On

This card was made using a digi stamp from Sweet & Sassy. Isn't the caterpillar cute ?

I printed the full image twice and decoupaged the mushroom heads. I also printed out a larger version of the small mushroom and the caterpillar so I could use them as elements on the card. The images are cloured in using Marvy le Plume pens.

The papers used are from HOTP Creative Cardmakers Pack in Earthtones. The brad originally had white spots but I recoloured those using a permanent marker so they looked the same as the mushroom. I really like how the shapes are quite simple and cartoony as it makes the design quite bold.

I have incorporated 5 challenges into this card, details are as follows:-

365 Cards Day 101 - make a card featuring a vegetable of some sort

My Time To Craft #65 - Sketch from Becky for the layout of the card

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge - use designer paper on your card (HOTP)

Creative Card Crew #14 - Use a paper with a repeating geometric pattern

Pile It On - Non Stamped sentiment plus one other challenge

365, GCA, Creative Card Crew, DCM & Created By Hand

This card is so bright and sunny echoing the weather we have been having in Birmingham up until the last few days.

The main sun image is a free colouring book page by a childrens artist called Elizabeth O. Dulemba. There are some fab designs on there which would be useful to many cardmakers. I love the piggy, he's sooo cute :) and there is a great elephant on there too.

When I saw this sun I thought it would look great layered in different colours and I think it has worked really well. I printed it 4 times and cut the relevent layers out of each colour. All the sun papers are from HOTP. The textured card base is DCWV and the spotty paper is The English Paper Company. I was trying to add a sentiment but it just didn't look balanced so I decided to leave it off.

The sun has been given a bit of a makeover with blue eyes, green eyeshadow, rosy red cheeks and a bit of red lippy. She's looking good !

This card fulfils 5 challenges, details as follows:-

365 Cards Day 100 - Make a card using the bright colours of red, orange, yello, green & blue

Get Creative With Ann # 44 - Theme of summertime or beach

Creative Card Crew # 13 - Make a card for a child. as this card is in primary colours I felt it would be bright and happy for a child. Also it is a childrens colouring book page.

Daring Card Makers - Weather themed card

Created By Hand - Create art using circles of any kind - the centre of the sun and the spotty paper.

Won a Blog Challenge !

Just found out this morning that I have won last weeks challenge at Get Creative With Ann for my clean and simple card (keep typing simples! makes me thing of the meercat adverts)

I'm going to get some stamping goodies in the post from America.

Yippee

365 Cards Day 99 & Pile it On

At 365 Cards today it is Super Sketchy Sunday as usual but today Jeannie who is a regular on the blog is offering a fabby prize for reaching 10,000 hits on her blog. The only condition is that you include a dragonfly on your card.

Today is the 1st challenge on Pile It On and you are to include a sentiment on your card, but it is NOT to be stamped.

The dream paper is HOTP, the mettallic flower circles are cut from wrapping paper and the glitter paper is wrapping paper too. The sentiment is a Papermania rub on which was applied to a HOTP label. A little bit of bling has been added courtesy of Paperchase.

The pi'ece de resistance however is my beaded dragonfly made by little old me with assorted beads, a bit of wire and some wings that were stamped from the bottom part of a butterflies wings from a set by Clare Curd & Papermania. I stamped each one individually and offset them. It is the first time I have made one and I love how it turned out.

Thanks very much Jeannie for the chance to win some new goodies and also for inspiring me to try a new technique.

It's Day 100 at 365 Cards tomorrow, can't believe it has gone so quickly. I haven't been able to keep up with all the challenges but the 26 that I have missed I am slowly working my way through and fully intend to complete them all.

COTW at 365 Cards

I've had some fabulous news today. The card I made for Day 94 at 365 Cards was voted as one of the 3 Cards of the Week out of 235 cards made!!!! I get to have a special blinkie on my blog too :)

I am really chuffed as there are so many REALLY talented cardmakers out there and I never think I am as good as a lot of them. It has made my day, don't care that I'm bunged up with a nasty cold 'cos I'm walking on Cloud 9... YAY !!

365 Cards Day 98, GCA #43, Dutch Dare #51 & Flourishes

It's Pam's 11th wedding anniversary today, Day 98 over at 365 Cards, so the challenge we were set was to make an annivesary card where the predominant colour is white. This card has been made to fit in with 4 challenges in total, details below.

365 Cards Day 98 - Make an Anniversary card where the main colour is white

Get Creative with Ann Challenge #43 - Clean & Simple (limited layers and embellishments)

Dutch Dare # 51 - Decorate the inside of your card

Flourishes - Make a 10 minute card (I didn't include choosing the materials in that time)

The size of card is a 4" square. I picked a love quote from a DCWV rub on book and added this to a fake nestability mat which I have edged in blue pearlescent ink. The ribbon is a self adhesive one by Docrafts and the silver heart charm was added to a jump ring and came from a card set at Poundland.

The inside was decorated with an offcut of HOTP paper from the Sapphire cardmakers pack. I used my Martha Stewart border punch on it to pretty it up a bit. The tag is from the same kit, I punched the bottom edge, stuck on the last bit of ribbon and added a Craftwork Cards card candy for the 'brad'. Papermania silver peel offs provided the sentiment and the little hearts.

Well, that's me completed a full week's card challenges at 365 and now it off to bed as it is gone 1am in the UK. Night Night ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz :)

Edited 08/06 I have just found out that I won the challenge over at Get Creative with Ann for this card :) Look at the lovely goodies I have won! Thank you Ann

355 Day 97, ABC, CCEE & Secret Crafter

I've not been making any cards for the last couple of days as I've had an ear infection that has turned into a cold and feel absolutely awful. I'm really bunged up and coughing like mad today. I'm eating the healthiest diet I have for years, fruit and veg coming out of my ears and still get a cold, how the hell does that happen?

Anyway, after doing so well with the 365 challenges for the rest of the week I really wanted to complete the challenges for Friday & Saturday and get another full week in.

This card is for the following challenges:-

365 Cards Day 97 - Make a card with the dominant shape of a diamond

ABC Challenge - Q is for Quilted

CCEE - Sketch for the layout

Secret Crafter #35 - Add bling to your card

The starting point for this card was some K & Co Paper in a diamond design by Tim Coffey. I cut out 4 diamonds and matted it onto white and pink cards. The base cardstock is a pale peach colour that I feel co-ordinated very well, it's an A4 size folded in half. I added a Pentel white gel pen to the edges of the diamond and at the interestions of the colours to give it a quilted affect.

The sentiment is a rub on from DCWV. The floral ribbon is from Docrafts and I added a Sakura glitter pen to the centres. The flowers are Primas and I added more bling to the flowers on the rub-on and the Primas. They are small epoxy glitter bubbles from my stash. I have no idea what make they are though.

365 Cards, Spoonful of Sugar, Charisma, DCM & TPE

Isn't it great when you start off with an idea for a card and it just grows, and fulfils 4 challenges at the same time ??

This morning I was going through a box of embellishments and found an unopened packet of brown embellishments from Jolees. I put it to one side as I wanted to use the buttons to go with the latest sketch for challenge 54 at A Spoonful of Sugar.

Charisma Cardz has a new challenge today to use the colours brown and pink. An older challenge on 365 Cards for Day 90 was to use only 2 colours on your card (stamped images could be in black ink on white card) and then to top it all off Daring Card Makers has a challenge to use 5 of one item.

The bottom swirly paper is an offcut from a freebie magazine paper, the top pink one is from the Two Scoops pack by Basic Grey. The chocolate swirly paper is from Craftwork Cards and was a gift from my very good friend Sarn.

The stamped image is from Clare Curd's Signature Range by Papermania. I have coloured it in with Marvy Le Plume pens. It was matted ontoa scrap of chocolate brown cardstock. The sentiment is from Let's Make Cards. The ribbons and buttons were from the Jolees pack, the checked ones are fabric with a clear button on top and they were all threaded and had 3d foam already to go. I have an idea that I got them from a clearout on Ebay but can't for the life of me tell you how long I have had them. Isn't it great when you fall in love with old stash? :)

08/06 I have just entered this card in for The Pink Elephant colour challenge of Pink Brown & White. I hope it is allowed as I made it only a few days earlier. I've never backlinked a card before but as it is the EXACT colours and wasmade so recently I hope it will be allowed.

365 Cards Day 96, Card Patterns # 17 & Cuttlebug # 34

The challenge at 365 Cards for today Day 96 is to make a card using fabric, ribbons flowers and buttons don't count.

Paul and I are following the GI Diet at the moment and one of the nicest parts of a diet that is working is to be able to get rid of clothes that are just far too big for you. Paul threw a really nice NEXT shirt away that it made from touchy feely modal fabric and as it was in such good condition I decided it was too nice to throw away and needed to be made into something. I've seen a butterfly shaped cushion in NEXT and thought I'd have a go at trying to do something similar.

I used a Sizzix die to cut the dress from the fabric. I have never cut fabric before and it didn't make a clean cut. Next time I think I will stick the fabric onto card before I cut it, on this occasion I did it the other way round.... oh well, you live and learn. The bottom layer of the dress is tulle and this is wrapped around to the back. Docrafts ribbon is used for decoration on the neckline and as a belt. I also snipped 2 flowers off to add to the shoes. Tiny gems from my stash were added to the flower centres.

The layout of the card is using this week's sketch # 17 from Card Patterns. I wanted a sketch which had a large rectangle to be able to show off the backing paper which is from Basic Grey Two Scoops. I matted this onto some co-ordinating card stock from my stash. The Be Inspired challenge this week at the Cuttlebug Challenge blog is to make an item using both Basic Grey and Core'dinations cardstock. The back panel on the card is a sheet of card from the Black Magic collection, this was run through the Devine Swirls embossing folder and then sanded to reveal the core.

The velvet ric rac is by K & Co and was part of the prize I received from The Cuttlebug blogs T member Karen Maldonado. The flower & pin ensemble uses flowers and a button also from this pack as was the tulle on the dress. The other flowers are Prima's from my stash and the large gems are by Paperchase.

The sentiment is from the free papers that came with Crafts Beautiful magazine this month and you can download them from their site. The very talented Kirsty Wiseman has designed them an she's got a project on the front cover this month. She was absolutely made up and I loved reading her post on her blog about this momentous occaison.

Sketches! by Tamara 97 & 365 Cards 89

Day 89's challenge over at 365 Cards was to be inspired by a watermelon, either the colours or to use an image of the fruit.

I was having a mooch through the DCWV Summer drawers set I had from QVC last year and there is so much yummy watermelon stuff !

I used sketch # 97 from Sketches! By Tamara for the layout and turned the card around to fit the glittered cardstock image in the centre of the card. The hexagon backing paper and the stripe are all part of a collection of co-ordinating papers and embellishments. The colours are mouthwatering.

I used a bit of inking and matting and layering to give definition to the various elements. The gold string and sentiment are both from Let's Make Cards packs.

That's another older 365 challenge off my list, only another 27 to go plus today's challenge!

New Challenge Blog Pile It On

The wonderful Vickilyn who is a fellow 365'er is on the DT of a new challenge blog starting on Sunday 5th June called Pile It On.

The goal of this blog is to follow the current challenge they have set, but also to incorporate as many other challenges as possible.

They have even provided a link on their sidebar to other challenge sites, how thoroughly civilised of them!!

I like to try an combine as many challenges in one card as possible, why make 5 when you can fit 5 in one card ?

Vickilyn has recently managed to fit 10 challengesinto one card, how cool is that?

Also I find sketches and challenges help me focus me in my cardmaking and drive me to complete a specific project.

I find this much more inspiring than just sitting down in front if my stash.

The 365 Cards blog especially has such a diverse set of challenges that it really inspires me to think outside the box and also use my stash.

So if you get chance, pop over to Pile It On, sign up for the blog candy and I'll meet you there on Sunday :)

365 Day 87, Papertake 16 & Flutterby Wednesday

I am very proud of this card because the wordart on it was MADE BY ME !!! I have done my own digital wordart and I am really chuffed with how it came out.

For a long while now I have been downloading freebie digital scrapbooking kits but other than printing out a few elements to make cards I haven't really done much with them. I used a free kit called Cinnamon Spice designed by Stacey Towers over at Stacey's Scraps. She is one of a group of very talented designers who regularly give away full kits as freebies and this is still available (link are to her blog and the kit)

The original bracket was square and I changed the shape to fit the quote. The colour was terracotta but I just played about with it in PaintShop Pro to try and alter the colour and it worked! I changed the colour of the swirl in the background too. The hardest part was getting the wordart to look right, it always looks effortless when you download them, it may be to them but it wasn't to me!

The challenge over at 365 Card for day 87 was to use the word 'eye' on your card. I didn't think I had anything in my stash so decided to look on the tinterweb and find a quote. I came across a fabulous site called Quotes Daddy. They have a huge database which is searchable by keyword, I typed in eye and went from there. The quote I used is from Audrey Hepburn and I thought it was beautiful.

" For beautiful eyes look for the good in others

For beautiful lips speak only words of kindness

And for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone"

I thought it would be a great quote for a RAK card to cheer someone up who is going through a rough patch. Who knew Audrey Hepburn was so wise ??

The layout of the card is sketch # 16 at Papertake Weekly. All the papers on this card are scraps, the butterflies are from a Forever Friends pad by Papermania. The floral is a Creative Tones pad also by Papermania. The ribbon is cut from the same sheet. Sakura glear glitter has been added to all the spots on the butterflies and I have used Stickles for the centres of all the flowers.

Last but not least I have added a glittered butterfly diecut from Let's Make Cards. The butterflies have allowed me to enter it into Danni's Flutterby Wednesday challenge # 60 for this week.

365 Cards Day 95, Charisma Cardz & ICS 19

This card is for Day 95's challenge at 365 Cards. It's wacky colour wednesday and we needed to incorporate the colours blue, pink & orange.

I was having a look at some stash I had and the glittered chipboard present was my starting point. It is a nice dotty design so that fits in with this week's challenge 22 at Charisma Cardz - kewl! I used this week's sketch #19 over at Inspirational Card Sketches for the layout.

The papers are from a box of scraps, I think they have come from Let's Make Cards packs as they include lots of random pieces for cardmaking that are these sizes. I have matted them onto scraps of card in toning colours. All the embelishments are from craft packs at Poundland. They were fantastic value, only £1 for a sheet of chipboard shapes, a sheet of epoxy stickers and an 8" square themed scrapbook!

I have to admit these are not colours that I would normally mix together but I think it has worked well on this card as it is a bright design.

365 Cards Day 94 & Paperminutes # 65

OMG, another green card from me, will wonders never cease? I really like how this one has turned out too....am I converting to green???

This card was made for Day 94's challenge at 365 Cards. You had to make a card inspired by images from an advertisement. It was for a wedding, using colours green balck and white and had damask designs in it.

I have used this weeks sketch # 65 from Paperminutes. It is a really simple layout which has enabled the papers and elements to stand out.

The green paper and ribbon are from HOTP. The black and white paper is from Clare Curds Signature Range by Papermania. The scrolly frame is from a wedding pack of papers that came with Issue 4 of Creative Cardmaking magazine. The epoxy sticker is from a craft pack that came from Poundland.

I was tempted to put some small gems on the paper but decided against it as I thought it might detract from the simple design. I am trying to learn the theory of 'less is more', I said trying........

Just popping round to Paul's Grandad's in a little while as he is bring brought home from hospital in an ambulance. After 9 weeks inside he is so looking forward to coming home. He's still got to have 2 operations but after almost losing him twice today is a very happy day for us all.

STOP PRESS !!

This card was nominated as one of the 3 Cards of The Week at 365 Cards, I am so chuffed :)

CPS 118, 365 Cards 93, Stampin Chic & My Time to Craft

Goodness me it has taken a long time to try and get on the tinterweb tonight. Our service has been terrible for 3 days now and Paul complained to our provider. They are apparrently doing some work and it wll be the same for the whole week. It's blinking frustrating for me but a complete pain for him as he is programming a website for a client and the tinterweb is quite important for that. They are ginving us a refund for the whole week so that's at least a sweetener :)

This is my card for today's challenge Day 93 at 365 Cards. You had to incorporate a phone or the words 'call me' in it. To me, mobile phones and teenagers go hand in had so that spawned the idea for this card.

The layout is courtesy of this week's sketch 118 at CPS. It's quite a while since I have participated in one of their challenges so it makes a nice change to be able to this week. The main paper is from a Dovecraft Smirk paper pack. It had lots of teenager type words on it and is quite sassy. The tiny butterflies and flower paper is the whole reason I bought this pack. It is very textured and has gots lots of glitter on it and is blooming gorgeous. It's also very pink so I have entered it into this weeks challenge at My Time to Craft.

The rubber stamp is from Clare Curds Signature Collection by Papermania and is from a prize that Clare sent me for winning a challenge on her blog. I have selected 2 scraps of paper to piece the clothes. This is something I have only just started to do (I'm not the best stamper!) and I love the results. The rest of the image is coloured with Marvy le Plumes and lots of Sakura clear glitter pen. I have entered this in for the challenge this week at Clare's challenge blog, Stampin Chic.

The image and circle have been matted on scraps of card. The ribbon is from a craft pack at Poundland, the mobile phone is a Doodlebug cardstock sticker and the sentiment is from my Dymo machine. A very teenage sentiment for a teenage card. I have the perfect recipient in mind for it too :)

365 Day 71 & TPE #17 & MTTC #64, 3 Clovers & If The Shoe Fits

Paul's Dad is an avid golfer and is very lucky to be able to go on holiday frequently and golf around the world. He is going to Spain in a week and will be away for Father's Day so I've made his card early as I'll need to give it him on Saturday.

I have used and older sketch from Day 71's challenge at 365 Cards and I hope I have been able to fit it in with this week's recipe challenge #17 over at The Pink Elephant.

I have used a digital image of Jim Playing Golf from Digistamp Boutique. I have paper pieced his hat, smock and shoes in the same K & Co backing paper. The brown scalloped edge strip was handcut using a Fiskars border template from a scrap of card. The image was coloured using water colour pencils and Marvy le Plume pens. The sentiment is from a Lets Make Cards pack layered onto a scrap of the paper. The golf ball button is from my stash and the other 2 are from Papermania. I have entered this card into the Father's Day challenge #64 at My Time To Craft

He never says anything about my cards so I'm not sure if he likes them or not, but at least I know I've made a nice card fro him even if he doesn't appreciate it. Paul likes it and that's what matters to me the most.

I have also entered this card into 2 other challenge blogs that I have become aware of thanks to Vickilyn a fellow 365'er. 3 Clovers Thursday has a challenge this week to make a card for Dad (or a man) and If the Shoe Fits....Scrap It! has a Wednesday card challenge to make a card for Father's Day. Both blogs look interesting with lots of challenges and I've added them to my ever growing list. I think before I concentrated more on just sketch blogs but there are so many other challenges to help stretch my creativity. I think my cards have definitely improved as a result of this.