DT at Craft Cardmakers !!

I posted a couple of days ago about a new blog for novice and nervous cardmakers and bloggers that my crafty friend Vix has started up. The challenges are going to start earlier than planned on the 10th August and I am proud to anounce that I have been chosen to be on the Design Team.

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this and I am really looking forward to the challanges and hopefully helping to inspire other budding cardmakers to 'have a go'.

So come and join us at Crafty Cardmakers and join in the fun :)

My First Inchie

OMG, you would not believe how many times I took this photo without it blurring ! I even scanned it in but as there is a lot of gold it just din't look right at all.

Thanks to my very good friend Sarn I have made my tiniest work of art to day, and inchie (hence the ruler in the photo to prove how tiny it is!!) I thought a 3" x 3" card for a 365 Cards challenge was small, well this was titchy !

I've been able to fit 3 challenges into this little beauty and if I can find one from last week I can make that 4, they are.....

• Chocoholics Friday Challenge on our Cardmaking forum
• Stampin' B's Challenge #15 - Include a butterfly (2nd entry)
• Get Creative With Ann GCA #49 - Include something that flies (4th entry)

So, lets start with the deets. The base of the inchie is a piece of brown cardstock. The next layer is white cardstock, the next layer a piece of Craftwork Cards paper which I trimmed with zig zag scissors, the red spotty paper is HOTP. The butterfly is a metallic holographic sticker from a big sheet of assorted sizes, fortunately some were tiny :) Last but not least I wrote a B in the corner for butterfly. This could signify I may make an alphabet version and do one for each letter..... or it could be that I was trying to be a bit arty LOL

All the little scraps were on my desk so now I'm going to be looking at EVERY scrap and thinking I can make something with it now. I want to have a go at a Twinchie next as I think it will be a lot easier to work on the bigger size.

Watch this space...

365 Cards Day 140

It's the last day today for Shortcuts sponsoring 365 Cards. I've managed to make the whole week and I've made another acetate card. I've really enjoyed using it this week and I think I will try to incorporate it into more cards. It's been great to use a material that I wouldn't normally and it makes you think about placement of adhesive more to cover it up on the inside.

I have incorporated the following challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 140 - use Paint on your card (Twinkling H20's on image)
• CPS Sketch 124 - Layour of card
• Cupcake Craft Challenge 48 - Blossoms & Butterflies (2nd card)
• Stampin' B's Challenge #15 - Include a butterfly in your project
• Get Creative with Ann GCA #49 - Include something that flies (3rd card)
• Allsorts #10 - Only use 1 piece of anything

The card blank is the rest of the card that I cut down earlier in the week with the last of the same sheet of acetate. I added a strip of patterned paper from Craftwork Cards. The stamped image was from a swap we did on the forum and it is coloured in with Twinkling H20's. I love these little pots of paint as the shimmer is so very pretty. If you enlarge the picture you can see it especially on the butterflies and the Penny Black hedgehog. This was matted onto red card and the corners were trimmed off with my ever faithful punch.

The little frame has been in my stash forever, I think it's a HOTP one and the rose sticker I think came from Poundland on a massive sheet of assorted flowers and butterflies.

I've managed to complete a full week at 365 cards. That's 7 entries into the Shortcuts competition..... yippeee !!! Good job it's Sunday to Saturday as I will be out all day tomorrow and won't be able to make a card for Sketchy Sunday. Hopefully I can catch up during the week.

Not sure how my cardmaking will fare next week as I start my new job on Monday. It may take me a few days to settle into a routine but I really hope I can fit at least one card a day in.

New Challenge Blog - Crafty Cardmakers

One of my crafty mates Vix has started a new blog called Crafty Cardmakers which is aimed at newer cardmakers who are a bit shy about showing their projects as they lack confidence and feel intimidated.

If this sounds a bit like you I would urge you to pop over and take a look.

The challenges start from Monday 24th August so become a follower and in the meantime there are some great little snippets already on there with the basics about linking your projects and adding pictures.

It looks like it will be very informative and a great place to be inspired by other cardmakers.

365 Cards Day 139

OMG, I've made another Christmas Card !!!

Dustin Pike is sponsoring the challenge at Stamp Something this week and I have only recently become aware of his digi stamp designs. He has such a sense of humour in them and I really like them. He is also extremely generous in that he gives away a freebie on his blog every Wednesday. This little gingerbread chef is the freebie for 15th July. I was inspired to make a card using it as I wanted to use the little shrink plastic gingerbread men that I made last year. See, she is such a good cook that she has a little cookie already made.

The following challenges have been included in this card :)

• 365 Cards Day 139 - Use paper piercing to create a pattern on your card
• Stamp Something Sketch - layout of the card
• If The Shoe Fits - Colour Challenges of Red, Brown and cream
• 3 Clovers Thursday #22 - Christmas in July (2nd entry)
• Cute Card Thursday #69 - Xmas in July (2nd entry)

I started off with a red textured card blank from DCVW. I added a square of cream textured card from my scrap box, edging both layers with a brown ink pad. The red card is a glittered design from a DCWV Christmas Mat stack. I used a pokey tool to pierce around the trellis design. The brown and red text paper is from a magazine freebie some time ago.

The digi image was printed out twice so I could decoupage the chefs hat, the wooden spoon and the dress. These have been raised on 3d foam. I pierced a star design in the corners and matted onto dark brown card. The shrink plastic gingerbread man was cut using a Sizzix die and coloured using felt tipped pens. The black detailing is a fine tipped permanent marker.

I just love the little image as it goes so well with my gingerbread man - almost like they were meant to be together all along. Not bad considering I made them so long ago :) I still have about 15 of them left so I'm sure they will feature in some more cards in the future.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I may win 3 free Dustin Pike images if I am lucky enough!

My 1st Christmas Card !!!

In a very unusual step for me I have made a Christmas Card! OMG....

I usually have good intentions of making them early, buy the stuff but invariably I don't end up actually making them until the last minute. I purposely didn't put my Christmas items at the top of the bookcase this year as I wanted to make them during the course of the year. Whether this is a fluke or not remains to be seen. Of course it has been helped that a lot of the challenges this week have a Christmas in July theme :)

The following challenges have been incorporated into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 111 - Bold colours & stripes
• Just Christmas & Birthday Cards - Sketch for layout
• Winter Wonderland #7 - Christmas Present
• 3 Clovers Thursday #22 - Christmas in July
• Cute Card Thursday #69 - Xmas in July
• If the Shoe Fits - Christmas card

I started out by choosing the circular motifs for the card. I have a box of assorted items that have been cut from recyled shop bought christmas cards. Quite often there are lovely designs or even just the sentiments can be re-used, good for the environment and great for the crafty pocket :)

As the dominant colour was red I decided to use this as the colour for the Nestabilities scalloped mats. The papers are from DCWV stacks. The sentiment is a cardstock sticker from a DCWV drawer set from QVC which was matted onto a scrap of black card. These elements have been popped on 3d foam. The gems are from Paperchase.

The bright colours and stripes have also enabled me to cross one of the older 365 cards challenges off my to do list so that was a nice bonus. Only 45 more to go......

365 Cards Day 138

It has been absolutely piddling down for the last few 5 hours, it went so dark at 6pm we had to put the lights on !! Great weather for making cards though :)

For this card I used some of the gorgeous papers I won from a card I entered at Get Creative with Ann. I love the floral paper, the colours ared so pretty and the flowers are really delicate. The sketch I used is perfect to make the papers stand out on this card.

I incorporated the following challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 138 - Include a quotation on your card
• Stamps & Smiles Sketch #24 - Layout of the card

The textured card blank came from a pack that I got from Home Bargains. I'm not sure who the manufacturer of the papers are but they sure are nice. They are almost a cardstock weight and Ann sent a lovely selection.

The sentiment is from a vellum friendship stack by DCWV. I ran it through my xyron and stuck it to white card and matted this onto black. This panel has been popped onto 1mm thick foam pads so it's raised a little bit, but still cheaper to post ! (I'm really trying to remember that bit, I do feel it is a shame though that we have to compromise on our artistry because Royal Mail charge more money for thicker cards)

It's a very simple card that is perfect for a RAK for one of my forum buddies.

365 Cards Day 137 & Some Good News

Hello everybody peeps !

I'm back with a card (can you believe I woke up thinking about the layout of this card? Is that sad or inspired - I don't know ?

But.... 1st things first. I have some absolutely fabulous news. Thankyou, thankyou and a milliion times thankyou to all the wonderful people who wished me luck with my interviews. I am thrilled to announce that I got the job that I REALLY wanted and I start on Monday.

Wooooooo Hooooooo !!!

I'm just a bit blooming excited :) I feel like a massive weight has been lifted and I am just so happy that I made a good impression at both interviews, but got the job that I really wanted. I'm going to be the office administrator in a small company that imports curtains. My previous experience of running a dedicated curtain department at Allied Carpets for years has stood me in good stead, also the fact that I have 20 years experience of being a good office all rounder. It will be ideal for me as it will be busy and I'll get involved in lots of things. Most important of all I'm looking forward to earning some money again so I can indulge in some 6 x 6" Basic Grey packs. LOL

Anyhoo, back to the details on the card. I have been able to include the following challenges into this little number :-

• 365 Cards Day 137 - Bind 2 pieces of something together to make a card
• CCEE Stampers #27 - Include footprints of some type on your card
• Paperminutes #71 - Colourscheme of red, white, black and green
• Cuttlebug Challenge #40 - A sketch plus include the textile folder as a bonus
• Lili of The Valley #32 - Animals
• Dutch Dare Card Challenge #56 - Die cuts or punches
• Our Creative Corner OCC - Pets

I started off with a DCWV textured card blank and cut the front off. I cut a piece of acetate and attached to the front with 3 black HOTP brads sticking to the positioning of the embellishments on the Cuttlebug sketch. The Cuttlebug textile embossing folder was used on a piece of white card. The corners were cut off using a circle punch. I added black gems to the corners from Paperchase.

The cat is a leather Sizzix diecut I bought off Ebay some time ago. I added a silve tinkling bell to thin green ribbon and some green gems for eyes. I used a white gel pen to highlight the legs. A black velvet ribbon has been added for a bit more texture. The red flower is a sequin and another gem added to the centre.

The footprints were added directly to the acetate. I used a punch to make a template in paper and drew through it with a Sharpie permanent pen.

I seem to be on a roll with acetate cards this week. I think I have been inspired by the DT at 365 cards as they have been using many of the Shortcuts products this week. With 7 chances to win a prize I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Well it has been a good week so far :)

365 Cards Day 136

Hello Tweeties !!

First I would just like to thank all the people who have given me such good wishes for my interviews tomorrow. It really is a boost after the sheer amount of things we've had thrown our way recently. If you all keep your fingers crossed maybe, just maybe I might get a job offer tomorrow. I mean, I haven't bought anything crafty since the end of March. A girl's got needs you know !

Seriously though, thank you very, very much, it means a lot to me to get such support from you, my crafty friends. Big hugs and kisses to each and every one of you xxx

What's Black and White and red allover?

My cutie little card that's what! That was today's challenge at 365 cards and I have incorporated the following challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 136 - Colours of Red, Black & White
• 2 Sketches 4 You - Laura's Sketch #30 for the layout
• My Time to Craft #69 - A bird in the hand
• Crafty Creations #23 - Birds
• Get Creative With Ann #49 - Spread your wings and fly

The black and white paper is from Clare Curd's 'The Big One' from Papermania, the red spotty is a very old one from HOTP. It came in the very 1st pack of anything I bought from the USA on Ebay in about 2003 !!!

The black scalloped strip on the side was handcut using a Fiskars shapecutter template. I had no chance doing it THAT neatly with the shapecutter so drew it with a pencil and used my trust small pair of Fiskars scissors. I sandwiched it between the card blank and the paper. I used my Martha Stewart punch on the HOTP paper and there is a velvet ribbon in the centre to add some luscious texture. The birdy is a digital freebie that I have used loads and loads and there is a link in one of my earlier posts. I matted this on a cardstock circle and used my nesties to cut a scalloped one. This is edged with a bit of black inkpad and mounted on 3d foam pads. Last but not least the sentiment was made on the computer, matted on black card and raised with foam.

365 Cards Day 135, GCA 49, TPE 23, CCC 48 & Paper Blooms, ABC

I've had a pretty good day today. It started off with me applying for jobs on the tinterweb and I've managed to get 2 interviews for Wednesday afternoon. One is for a job that I would really like so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. he doctor is really pleased with my BP and I don't have to see him now for 2 months and I've managed to keep up with the 365 Cards challenges this week, that's much better than of late.

After all the rotten luck we have had lately it would be nice to see the tide turning for a bit.

• So this little beauty was made primarily for today's challenge at 365 Cards and incorportate the following challenges :-

• 365 Cards Day 135 - Create a window on your card using see through material
• Get Creative with Ann #49 - Spread your wings & fly
• The Pink Elephant#23 - Red, Light Blue and a darker blue
• Cupcake Craft Challenges #48 - Blossoms & butterflies
• Paper Blooms - make a shaped card
• ABC Challenge - W is for Window

The base card was cut using a free flower template that I got off the Inspire Me website. I cut a window from it to fit the size of the message die cut (can't remember where that came from but thik it may have been a QVC kit) I used my Nestabilities to cut a frame, an acetate window and another frame to sandwich it inside. The card base has been covered with a spotty paper from Clare Curds 'The Big One' from Papermania.

I added a tiny gem to the inside of the card as the flower centre on the die cut. The butterflies are textured cardstock stickers by Papermania. There was a lot of handcutting on this card but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Sorry for the shadows on the photo, I had to take it very late tonight and need to go beddy bies now.

365 Cards Day 134

I love, love, love how this cards has turned out :)

Day 134 at 365 Cards and it's Sunday so it's Super Sketchy Sunday. Shortcuts are sponsoring the challenges this week and there are 7 chances to win, how cool is that? Gloria Stengel's card today is gorgeous and I wanted to do something with acetate too. This is only the 2nd acetate card I have made and I just love how it turned out.

There are 7 !! challenges included in this card, details are as follows :-

• 365 Cards Day 134 - Sketch layout for card
• Forever Friends Challenge - Pink, Brown and flowers
• A Spoonful of Sugar #59 - Include hearts in your project
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday FTTC #23 - Cut it out and pop it up on 3d foam
• Papertake Weekly 'My Favourite Things' - Forever Friends, Making Memories Cosmopolitan Pad & Ribbon
• The Next Level # 6 - Buttons & Bows
• Stampin' For The Weekend #6 - Colour pallete of pink & brown & a rubber or digi stamp

I cut the front off the card blank and added a piece of acetate to it. MM dotty card is added to the 'inside' of the card. I used a piece of brown for the inside of the triangle shape and on the outside is a piece of Craftworks Cards swirly paper from my friend Sarn (Thankyou xx) .All adhesive has been hidden inside the layers so the card is very neatly finished.

I cut a hole in the edge of the acetate to feed the ribbon through and this is anchored at the back of the Forever Friends stamped image. This has been coloured in using watercolour pencils and raised on 3d foam. I tied the bow separately and glued this on.

The flowers are also from Craftwork Cards. I scrunched the top one to add a bit of texture as it looked too plain just layered on top. The button is from Papermania and I tied a little pink waxed cord through it. The sentiment is a cardstock sticker by Doodlebug.

I like this card so much it is going to be very hard to part with it!

365 Cards Day 130, Colour Create & Unscripted Sketches

This fun card was made using a book of free papers that came with Simply Cards & Papercrafts magazine a couple of months ago and a cute froggy decoupage that came with the issue I got in the post yesterday. 365 Cards had a challenge a couple of days ago to make a humorous card and as soon as I saw the likkle frog yesterday I knew what I was going to do with it.

This card incorporates the following challenges :-

• 365 Cards Day 130 - Make a humorous card
• Colour Create # 22 - colour scheme Grass green, apple green, sunflower yellow, lemon & white
• Unscripted Sketches #14 for the layout

I have used my Martha Stewart doily punch on the outside of the checked paper and the green 'ribbon' strip. The image is 4 layers and the sentiment has been handwritten.

I will be giving this card to my hubby on the 27th July as we celebrate 20 years of being together. I was very lucky at the age of 17 that the 3rd frog that I kissed turned into a prince and I have managed to hold onto him !

365 Cards Day 133 & 5 other Challenges !

I've again not had any chance to make cards this week as it has been waaaay too busy again in the Cruxton household. I have had the most mega migraine for most of the day but am feeling a whole lot better after lots of sleep and a couple of rounds of painkillers. One home made lamb curry for tea and I came over all crafty and rustled up this card.

This card incorporates 6 challenges, details as follows :-

• 365 Cards Day 133 - Inspired by bubbles
• The Sweetest Thing SSSC #25 for the layout
• Pile It On - 3 different embellishments (ribbon, flowers, bling, glitter glue, stickers, card sentiment)
• Creative Belli Challenge #69 - Texture (velvet ribbon)
• Creative Inspirations #16 - Gems (bling in flower centre)
• Raspberry Ribbons - Circles (paper & bubbles)

The paper is from a large Rob & Bob pack that I got off QVC a long time ago. It is one of my favourites and as soon as I saw the challenge details on 365 Cards today I knew I wanted to use this paper. The stamped image and the ribbon/flower have been re-used from a RAK card that I got from one of my forum buddies about 2 years ago. I had been keeping the card as it was too nice to throw away and I am glad I have been able to re-use some of the elements.

The card sentiment is from Craftworks Cards and the stick on lettering is from MAMBI.

The Cuttlebug Spot

I have been mooching around blogland today and have come across another Cuttlebug Challenge blog called The Cuttlebug Spot. They have got a drive for 500 followers by the end of July, well I was number 509 so they have definitely achieved that.

They have got a exclusive feature on some fab new Quickutz embossing folders that are coming out in the next few weeks including some great journalling blocks and a cool circular border.

They also have some great challenges on there so I am looking forward to some more great inspiration from some very talented artists.

Oh my gosh a Card !!!

Stop the world I want to get off !!! The last couple of weeks have been so hectic at times I haven't known what day of the week it is. The card is for my brother in law to be. I had 3 male cards already made but Paul didn't like any of them so I had to make a card quick. I made this card on Monday, scanned it in and posted it and today is the first day I have been on my computer to be able to blog it.

The card uses the sketch layout for Day 120 over at 365 Cards (I've now got 42 of their challenges to catch up with and I was doing so well :( ....... ) and challenge #4 at Pile it On to use at least 4 buttons. Charisma Cardz also has a challenge for buttons this week so I have added this one over there too :) The challeng this week at Daring Cardmakers is Blue and Green so I have entered it for this also.

The base card is a textured cardstock from The Papermill. The patterned papers and decoupage are from a Daisy & Dandelion pack from Papermania. I bought a couple of these from the Glitterpot and this is the first time I have used any of them. There are 6 layers in some places and it is very raised. Definitely a large letter stamp on this card I can tell you!

The sentiment is from my stash, matted onto brown card and raised on 3d foam. The buttons are from Papermania and I have poked brads through the holes, a technique favoured my one of my crafty friends Lisa and looks really effective.

Thank you for the good wishes for Paul's Uncle Roy. He has recovered from the heart attack but is still in hospital at the moment. They think he may have developed type 2 diabetes and he has had to be injected with insulin twice a day. He has to see a specialist diabetic nurse on Monday who will be able to give us more information. In the meantime Grandad is in a bit of a state and has needed a lot of TLC, as well as practical help with food shopping, bills and money as Roy did all the finances. It's been a bit hectic but one way or another we'll get through !