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Sunday 27 September 2009

365 Cards Day 206

I have been so very busy over the last week and have had no time to rest let alone make cards.

It is my 38th birthday tomorrow and also our 8th wedding anniversary so we went out last night with my sister in law and her husband. I can't believe they have been married a month and I haven't even put their card on my blog yet!

I made a quick Christmas card on Friday night using the challenge for day 206 at 365 Cards to use things in 3's (except the sentiment)

The backing card is Lets Make Cards blank. I used a green paper from my scraps box and edged it with a little ink and chalk. The vellum is from my Christmas paper stash and I ripped it against a ruler and chalked the ripped edges. The die cut trees are from a QVC kit from Kanban which has loads of different sheets in it. Brilliant value from my friend Helen's shopping trips to the QVC clearance shop in Warrington. I added a third paper in the top corner with a peel off sticker and last but not least 3 pieces of Craftwork Cards card candy on the other 3 corners to balance it out.

Craft Cardmakers Challenge #4

This is the card I have submitted for my DT card for the 4th challenge at Crafty Cardmakers.

We had all been given by the wonderfully generous Imagenation a selection of decoupage from the La Pashe range

I used a decoupage design from La Pashe's Flippin Christmas range.

There was a lot of cutting out (which I love).The designs are well thought out and it is very easy to see the order for making up the layers. There is a lot of humour in them and I just love santa's cheeky bum on the inside of the card.

I used an aperture card specially designed to go with these sheets. You sandwich the acetate between the layers and then stick the front of the image to the window.

It is very easy to line up the back of the image to the front and so unusual to have a double sided 3d image.

You also get a themed sheet for the inside of the card and this has 4 separate sentiments on it, so that's 3 extra freebies once you have finished your card:)

I finished off the card by using some red and green chalk and a cotton wool ball to add a bit of colour to the front. I also used some Papermania peel offs and some clear holly stickers from the Forever Friends range.

I really enjoyed making this card. It is the first time I have used any La Pashe products but it won't be the last as they make such special cards.

The fourth challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is to use decoupage or dimension, you don't need to use La Pashe products to enter so I hope we will see lots of entries.

Friday 18 September 2009

Happy Birthday Boss!

I needed to make a birthday card for my boss and although I've only been working for him for 2 months I've pretty much sussed him out.

My Forum and Facebook buddy, the very talented Louise has recently started designing digi characters. I loved this footballer and originally my nephew came into mind as he is football crazy. He however does seem to have developed a love for street dance so footie seems to have taken a backseat now.

I was racking my brain of what type of card to make and I suddenly thought of this little character. I raced home last night and downloaded it from Louise's blog at Wheezy Weasle Creations . I have to say I was impressed with how quickly the email came with the download link. Fantastic service Louise and she takes Paypal too.

The boss is keen on his football and does the dream team and all that. I decided to use the company logo for the t-shirt as I can see he would like to have his own team...... I coloured it in using mainly Promarkers but he has ginger hair (gone darker as he gets older though) I have limited colours in he Promarkers so I had to use Marvy Le Plumes for the hair. You can really tell the difference in the colouring. I am REALLY hoping the birthday fairy has got the 56 new colours, I've given Paul a few hints and even a link to Joanna Sheen's website....LOL

I made a sidestep card as it looks really dramatic and this is the first of my handmade cards Andrew has seen. I used peel offs from Papermania for the sentiment, a Doodlebug cake sticker, a football from a patterned paper and Papermania Scrabble letters as he plays Scrabble on Facebook all the time.

Andrew really loved my card and I was really pleased. It gives me so much pleasure when I see people open a card I have made for them and they really like it. It's a feeling that just never gets old.

A double bonus as well is that I can submit this to satisfy an older 365 Cards challenge for day 182 which was to feature a sports ball on your card.

Sunday 13 September 2009

365 Cards Day 185

This is the last card I can show you right now that I made on Saturday. The other one is for the next challenge at Crafty Cardmakers which is on the 21st September so you'll have to wait for that one I'm afraid.....

The challenge for 365 Cards Day 185 was to make a card using 3 different shades of blue.

The main basis of this card was the Cuttlebug embossing folder. When I visited my very good friend Carol she had this folder and I'd never seen it before. I had an idea to amalgamate a dark blue and white image together and add stickles glitter to the embossed dots to make it look like snowflakes falling from the sky.

I went one step further by using glitter paper for the snow on the ground, adding some ink to the houses to help define them and a snowman. I matted the dark blue panel onto a pale blue paper with silver snowflakes on it as the white glitter card just blended into the white card blank and didn't look right. The corded trim is an ice blue and has a silver thread running through it which I have also matched up using a silver peel off sentiment from Papermania.

I am really pleased with how this turned out and have a few more images so can replicate it again.

365 Cards Day 183

365 Cards day 183 was a sketch by Pam.

I have used some of my new Basic Grey Lemonade papers. I love the little print and the contrast of the dotty paper. I added a little glitter pen to the red dots on the ditzy print.

When I made the card on Saturday I thought the papers didn't pop as much as I had expected so I added a little outline to the paper tails and also to the edges of the patterned paper and I am a lot happier with the definition now. I didn't have my trusty almost dry inkpad with me, that would have been perfect but a bit too late when you've stuck it all down to the card......

The flowers are Flora Doodles from Joanna Sheen and a Prima daisy. The centre is a Craftwork Cards candy dot and the sentiment is a Papermania peel off sticker.

365 Cards Day 132

The challenge on 365 Cards day 132 was to make a card inspired by a photo they provided. It was of a birthday cake but the colours were VERY pale, just not me !!

I made this card using paper from the Lime Rickey pad by Basic Grey, please notice it is LIME green, my most hated colour but I LOVE how bright this card is.

The cake and the lettering are from another of the Poundland themed scrapbooks. I bought them because they had glittered chipboard die cuts and epoxy stickers, the scrapbooks were just a sheer bonus as they have loads of useable sheets. The lettering was part of a page and I cut the letters out individually and popped them onto 3d foam.

It is Uncle Roy's birthday tomorrow and I will be giving this card to him. He won't appreciate the time it took to do the letters though :( but I am really pleased with how it turned out and that is all that matters.

365 Cards Day 129

Another card from yesterday.....

This is for 365 Cards day 129 which was to include a stitched image on your card.

This is a magazine cover kit from when I did cross stitch embroidery. I was flicking through my Chrismas bits and found that I had stitched it but not made it into a card. It came with a printed frame but I thought it was a bit much and wanted to change how it was mounted.

The white card blank has a piece of blue paper matted onto it. I made a frame for the stitching using a piece of blue card which has been embossing using a snowflake Cuttlebug folder. I cut into the edges to make more of a feature of the scarf.

I used Papermania peel offs in dark blue and silver for the snowflake detail on the main card and the small sentiment on the frame.

Don't you just love the expression on Winnie The Pooh's face :)

365 Cards Day 112

This is another catch up with 365 Cards that I made yesterday.

Day 112's challenge was to make a wedding card and to include the word 'love' on it.

The backing paper is from a wedding themed scrapbook kit I got from Poundland. I loved the stylised M for marriage and used a Docrafts stamped image that was on my desk from making my sister in law's card a few weeks ago. I simply coloured it in using Promarkers and added a clear Sakura glitter pen on the hearts and the monagram (hasn't scanned in very well though)

The sentiment is a peel off sticker. It is very definitely silver but for some reason scans in with a gold tinge. I think it must be because it is a slightly holographic one and the scanner bulb plays tricks with it. Silly scanner !

365 Cards Day 86

This is one of the cards I made at our Crafty session yesterday. My primary objective was to make cards that would satisfy some of the older 365 Cards challanges that I have missed.

This card is for Day 86 which was to make a card which was mainly grape coloured and to incorporate at least 5 circles.

The backing paper is from the new Christmas paper pack from Smirk and is really glittery. The circles are the baubles on the tree, the sentiment strip is a scrap I had lying around and the sentiment sticker 'trimming the tree' is from a DCWV drawer set from QVC.

I may howerver have to add eyes to my little characters as I think they are a bit freaky without them just like the Magnolia stamps without the smiles.

Crafty Meet Up Gloucestershire

Had a fabulous day out yesterday in a small village called Ripple which is in Gloucestershire.

My very good friend, the Promarker Queen Lisa organised it for our forum and some of the girls were able to make it. I have met most of them before but there were also some new faces and that's always nice to meet new people.

The 1st picture was taken just before we set off back home by Alison's hubby Joe. From the left we have Christine, Maggi, myself, Alison, Helen, Lisa and Hannah.

We were all very industrious and made lots of cards in between gossipping and eating a yummy chocolate cake that Helen made. She also brought the travelling QVC outlet to the hall and she'd picked up some fabulous bargains for us all.

It was a gloriously sunny day and the village hall overlooks some gorgeous countryside. It was so quiet and peaceful and was a great way to spend a fabulous Saturday. The location was brilliant as it was so convenient for the motorway connections and it only took 50 minutes to get back home.

We all had a fabulous day and are looking forward to the next meet up.

Monday 7 September 2009

Crafty Cardmakers 3rd Challenge

This is the DT card I have made for the 3rd Challenge at Crafty Cardmakers.

Today we have a sketch to follow and I used some of my lovely new Glitterpot stash to make the card.

The papers are from Basic Grey Lemonade and Lime Rickey collections. The owl is a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I embossed it on Core'dinations cardstock and sanded some of the design away to reveal the lighter green colour beneath. I highlighted the swirl with a Clear Sakura Glitterpen from Joanna Sheen. The spotty flowers are Flora Doodles also from Joanna Sheen and the daisies are Primas. Craftwork Cards card candy in the centre finishes them off nicely. The sentiment is a rubber stamp from a little owl set by Hero Arts

I hope you will join us at Crafty Cardmakers for our sketch challenge and look forward to visiting the blogs to see the cards that have been created.


Friday 4 September 2009

New Stash!!!

Once upon a time there was a blogger called Mandy who used to make loads of cards and take part in challenges...... that was back in the days when I didn't used to have a job, and holidays, and family stuff. Boy it has been busy lately but enjoyable. I have loads to update you with but I'll chop it up into chunks .

First things first, just look at my lovely new stash !!! I got paid on the 20th (1st wage since January) and the taxman has been kind to me for a change. I was a bit naughty as I ordered it just before I went camping and picked it up from the post office on Wednesday morning. I have, ever since I saw it lusted, yes you heard correct, LUSTED after the Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper. I just love the bright colours and even like the green (anyone who knows me well knows that is a very strange statement for me to to make!) I also bought the Lemonade pad too. I love the 6x6 pads as the patterns are scaled down better for cards and love the thickness of the BG papers. I am now the proud owner of 3 pads and a 12" paper pack. I am trying not to be obsessive as they are quite pricy but they have brought out another 2 gorgeous collections. Trouble is I have more paper than I will probably ever use so I kinda wish they would stop bringing them out. I really wanted the Bittersweet one but they didn't have that on the Glitterpot website, probably a good thing :)

I also bought the 8x8" Smirk Christmas pack. I have tons and tons of Christmas stuff so am trying not to buy much this year but I love the fun images in the Smirk range and they are really cute. They have also got glitter and foiling so really appeal to the blingy nature of Christmas.

I have finally tracked down a Cuttlebug Owl embossing folder!!! I have been looking for ages and they have been sold out and I was absolutely delighted that the GP had them in stock. Last but not least, taking full advantage of the money spent up to carriage charge level I bought some Craftwork Cards candy in some brighter colours. I love them as they are so easy to use and unlike brads, do not weigh much or cost a fortune but when I looked at the colours I had thought I needed some brighter ones to go with my new paper :)

I have already used some of my new stash but it was to make my DT card for the 3rd challenge at Crafty Cardmakers which will be revealed on Monday. I do hope that you will join us over there for the next one.

By the way, have you seen the new colours that are coming out in the Promarkers? I was looking at the brilliant offer on Joanna Sheen's website and have sent a link to my hubby as it is my birthday at the end of the month and people are always asking what to get me. I was going to order some from Letraset who make them but they are much more expensive to buy from them, even with a 15% discount voucher that I have from my last purchase.