Fun with the melting pot

For the past few days I've been looking at videos of Suze Weinberg using her melting pot and I determined that I would get mine out of cold storage (well, not quite cold storage - the back of a drawer to be precise). Anyway, Suze was on QVC this afternoon (and will be again at 6 pm), so I watched the programme and then set to work on using my melting pot. It's ages since I did - I don't know why I don't use it more often. It's a bit like making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday - I then think that I should make them more often ... and then time goes by again. Anyway, I digress - back to this afternoon's crafting.

I decided to use UTEE to cover a couple of big chipboard letters - H and b. I sprinkled bronze UTEE on the letters and then a sprinkling of Debbi Moore's metal magic. When I last used my melting pot I cut a piece of heatproof craft sheet to put into the pan so I could then pull it out with tweezers (this is what Dawn Bibby does rather than immerse the chipboard in the UTEE - the end result is the same).

When I pulled them out of the pot I stamped into them with this Tim Holtz stamp:

and this is the effect I got:

The above picture was taken before I sanded the edges with my precision file set.

The H ended up split in the middle, so I used the same process for another H, this time smearing stickles crystal ice over the embossed surface.

However, when I came to prepare the letters for the card I carefully added a little melted UTEE with a cocktail stick to the original H to join it together, so I now have a spare stickled H to use some other time.

I then stamped the remaining letters for Happy birthday on to pearlised bronze card using Versamark and heat embossed with silver detail powder, added the H and b and then cut round and mounted on to silver metallic card, which in turn was matted on to bronze and eventually on to a silver metallic A5 size card.

I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple, so I've just added a couple of the felt and buttons that I received recently from a crafting friend.

The photos show how the different angles of light change the look of the colours:


I made this card 'just because' - nobody in mind to give it to ... and then I realised that it would make a good birthday card for John - it's got lots of texture, large letters ... could this be the first time I've made his birthday card in advance - it's not till the end of December! Lol!

I'm submitting this for these challenges:

Corrosive 67: 'die cuts' - the letters started out as die cut chipboard
Magical crafts 16: 'metal madness' - I used metal magic
One stitch at a time 16: 'boys to men' - any male card
Sunday stamper 106: 'the letter'
Crazy challenge 18: 'distress it'
Shabby tea room 13: 'masculine card'
Artful inkables 22: 'something completely different than you normally make'
The creative type 32: 'monograms'
For fun challenges: 'card for a man'
Little red wagon 31: 'altered embellishment' - the plain chipboard letters were embellished
Simon says: 'male'
Tanda teaser 147: 'Xtra large'
Busy beauties creation station 5: 'anything goes'
Stampin' B 61: 'masculine card'
Frosted designs: 'buttons'
Drunken stampers 19: 'birthday'
Stamp, scrap & doodle 43: 'use a handmade embellishment - the altered chipboard letters
Delightful sketches: 'texture'
Caardvarks June challenge: 'stamps and wet and/or dry embossing'
My time to craft 95: 'Xtra special' - this is going to be saved for John's birthday (if I remember where I hide it!)

Birthday rules

This is for the sketch on Moving along with the times challenge 49:

The papers and sentiment are taken from HOTP cardmaker's floral ultimate pack (I love these papers, but have to confess that most of the time they remain unused - don't know why) with a bit of distressing with dusty concord distress ink. The flowers are rub ons.

I chose the colours for Color dare 68: razzleberry, soft suede, crushed curry, old olive.


The card is also for:

Crazy challenge 18: 'distress it'
Cas-tastic Wednesday 6: 'focus on sentiments'
Glue, scissors, paper 22: 'take 5' - my items: designer papers, cardstock (with the sentiment), sentiment, distress ink, rub on flowers
Sentimental Sundays 6: 'new or neglected stash' - the HOTP papers have really been neglected; the floral rub ons are new(ish) ones
Spoon full of sugar 107: 'floral delights'
Tuesday taggers: 'all that blooms'
Gingersnap GC55 rndom redhead: 'quotes' - I love the bit about the candles!
Charisma cardz 22: 'flowers'
Alphabet: 'F is for flowers'

Houses 'skinni' on 'new home' card

This card uses sketch 19 on Sketch girl:

I've used the 'skinni' I made for SCD's theme for this week 'houses' - you can see the original here.

I had to find a suitable sized card to accommodate the skinni to make a 'new home' card.

I used a cuttlebug embossing folder with the red card. The striped paper is from my scraps box.

This is also for:

Lexi's creations 15: 'buttons & bows' - the little houses are actually buttons - I cut the shanks off the back and secured with silicone glue
City crafter 7: 'button and bow'
Frosted designs: 'buttons'
ECP 14: 'green' - the bow is recycled - originally on a cracker
Challenge up your life 21: 'recycling - the ribbon bow from a cracker
Secret crafter Saturday 85: 'buttons and blooms' - the houses are buttons and the gems are 'blooms' in the gardens in front of the houses
Aly's 18: 'bows and ribbon'
Creative craft: 'ribbons and bows'
Whoopsi Daisy for June: 'ribbons and bows'
Meljen 10: 'dry embossing'
Busy beauties creation station 5: 'anything goes'

Something complete different 'skinni' houses

I haven't done anything recently for Something Completely Different - I've meant to, but the weeks have just gone by since I last played along.

The challenges for June are going to be skinnis - 3 x 5 inches.

The theme for this week is 'house or houses'.

I started off with a piece of blue hammer textured card and distressed the edges with china blue and shabby shutters distress inks, spraying some home-made mist on to my craft sheet and dabbing the card on it to add some texture to the green area, with the effect of bushes/tree on the left.

The little houses are buttons that I bought ages ago - thought it was about time they were used. I used tiny gems to depict flowers in front of the houses, but I'm not sure they look right.

Because of the evening sun streaming in the window (not complaining!), I either had to take the photo with the curtains drawn and cut out the flash:

Or take it with the sun streaming in:

The real version looks somewhere in between this

I'm going to incorporate this on to a 'new home' card (I need a couple more for tomorrow).

Sweet peas for sympathy

This card uses the sketch for Unscripted 57:
I've kept it simple because I think a condolence card should be without too many frills and embellishments.

The background paper is BG wisteria. The sweet peas stamp is Penny Black - so I'm submitting this for Penny Black week 103 'in the garden' . I coloured the image with copics.

It's another one for:

Alphabet: 'F is for flowers'
Charisma 22: 'flowers'
Busy beauties creation station 5: 'anything goes'

Jazzing it up brightly

Two more quick 'jazzed up' cards from the originals that you can see here - left and right of the third lot of cards shown.

I revamped them with Dena backgrounds:


Once again, these are very simple cards, but they have made use of a couple of cards that have been lurking in the box for too long.

They are for:

Stampin' royalty 22: 'jazz it up!'
Pink elephant 69: 'use bright fun colours'
Theme Thursday: 'bright colours'
Creative card crew 51 colour combo: 'pink & green'
Crafty calendar 9: 'bugs and beasties - optional: wings'
Cookin it up with Katie 18: 'wing it you pink petal' - wings, petals and pink

Still jazzing it up

For this card I've used a piece from the card on the right:

This is another of those concentina cards (seen originally here) that didn't sell, so I took the front piece to add to this bright card blank, also from Dena crafts - another quick and simple card:

It's for:

Stampin' royalty 22: 'jazz it up'
Pink elephant 69: 'use bright fun colours'
Theme Thursday: 'bright colours'
Creative card crew 51 colour combo: 'pink & green'
Quixotic 28: 'go wild' - well, it's an animal, but it doesn't look very wild!

Fancy embossed cards with pansies

As I'm selling cards tomorrow at the sheltered accommodation where mum lives, I dug out some of the remains of a Carol Wilson kit that I bought some time ago and have made three simple cards that are ready made with fancy embossed edges, adding the centre pieces, a few more pansies, which are also embossed, and Happy Birthday sentiments. These are the kind of cards that tend to go down well with more mature ladies, so I thought they might be a good idea for tomorrow. They have white envelopes to go with them that are beautifully embossed on the flaps.



I'm linking these for:

Tuesday taggers: 'touchy feely texture' - this week being sponsored by Tanda stamps
Delightful sketches: 'texture'
Critter 16: 'flowers and the colour purple'
Meljen 10: 'dry embossing'
Alphabet: 'F is for flowers'
Charisma 22: 'flowers'
Party time 1: anything goes birthday'
Divine diva 29: 'inspiration challenge' - this was the photo given:

Jazzing it up continues

Last October I made some easy-peasy concertina cards from a Dena kit - you can see the original post here.

Some of them have sold, but some were still in my boxes and I felt that they had had their day and needed to be cut up and used in a different way - to give me a few extra cards for selling tomorrow (summer fair at mum's sheltered accommodation). One of the problems of the original cards is that they didn't stand up very well - some of them needed struts at the back.

Firstly, I've altered the cupcakes card that you can see in the middle of the original picture:

So I made two very simple cards from the original one - the cupcakes on the left of the second one are decoupaged. I added fresh backgrounds that were also from the Dena range:

I'm linking these for:

Stampin' royalty 22: 'jazz it up!'
Town scrapper: 'save a tree' - both cards were made with the re-used 'scraps' from the original cards
Challenge up your life 21: 'recycling'
Corrosive 66: 'what's cookin??'
Cupcake 93: 'summer delights'
Ooh-la-la 55: 'use the colours of the challenge blog' - particularly the first card
Flourishes timeless 69: 'one layer card' - the first card because the second one has decoupage
No time to stamp? 142: 'sweet stuff'

Guest Bar Tender on Raise the Bar

I was privileged and very excited to be one of three chosen for challenge 19 on Raise the bar to be a Guest Bar Tender for this week's challenge 21: 'celebrating summer'. You can read about my original card being chosen here.

So, for my card for 'celebrating summer' I used two rubbadubbado0 images - one from their coastal summer range, 'pier scene', and 'children holding hands', masking one over the other, coloured with copics. The 'beside the seaside' sentiment is also a rubbadubbadoo stamp from the 'beside the sea' set.

The background paper is 'beach foam' by Wube prints - the other bits and pieces are from stash.

Thank you, Raise the bar, for choosing my card to enable me to have a guest slot - I very much enjoyed making my summer card. Why not go over to Raise the bar to look at the gorgeous crafting of the other guests and regular designers.

Jazz it up

This week's challenge 22 on Stampin' royalty is quite an unusual one - 'jazz it up' - 'Find an old project, card, scrapbook layout or My Digital Studio project and jazz it up - make sure to post your before and after picture'.

This is the original card I made last year - you can read about it here -

and it's been sitting in one of my boxes ever since, so I decided that I would take 'mum' off it and 'jazz it up' with some layered flowers and a Happy Birthday.

This is also for:

Charisma 22: 'flowers'
One powerful hour: 'I love that colour but never use it ....' - yellow and blue together
Challenge up your life 21: 'recycling' - the whole card! and the striped blue and white paper was the inside of an old envelope
Stamp away with me (W plus9) colour cue 4: 'white, navy, light yellow, light blue'
By the cute and girly June challenge: 'something old (the original card), something new (the added flower and sentiment) , something borrowed (the striped blue and white paper was 'borrowed' - or recycled - from an old envelope) , something blue (plenty of blue on the card'

WOYWW first anniversary

Over on Julia's blog she is celebrating a whole year of WOYWW. I haven't been taking part for all of the year, but in recent months have joined in on most Wednesdays.

Today my workspace is fairly clear as I haven't done much in the last couple of days - and I admit that I do like to tidy up in between and put everything in its place. Crafting was limited yesterday because John had to go up to St Thomas eye casualty - he has a scratch on his cornea. I did manage one card last night though - more about that later.


You'll notice that I now have my copics a bit more sorted out and all standing on a 'lazy susan' that I can pull towards me when needed and swing round to the container I want - I bought it ages and ages ago and have only recently put it into use.

I've also bought some of the long Really Useful Boxes for my ink pads. I used to keep them in a larger RU box, but had to empty out more when I wanted a particular ink. Now I have a couple of boxes for distress inks etc. The only thing is that I now need some more boxes to house the ink pad overflow!

Here they are in the cupboard:


Lastly, here is the other side of my worktop - not a lot to see, but a few stamps that were used last night for a card for my guest slot on Raise the bar this week - I was chosen as a guest bar tender - you can read about it and see my original card here - very exciting.

And now I must get off here and get the bus to go to the dental hygienist - oh, what fun!

Bubbly Funk photo prompt: machine

On Bubbly Funk forum we've decided to have a photo prompt week at the beginning of every month. We're taking turns over the next few months to set a new prompt. So, for the first seven days of June, Kathy is setting this month's prompts. For today she chose 'machine'.

My photo shows a very necessary machine that seems to be used far too frequently here:

My first joy fold card

I've often thought of making a joy fold card, but have never got round to doing it, so when I saw that this was the challenge this week for Squigglefly 51, I decided to have a go at making one.

The paper is Prima Indeed ollection 'rasberry pastures' - part of a kit I got a while ago from Bubbly Funk. I thought this went nicely with the copics colouring of the Squigglefly hummingbird. The flower at the bottom lefthand corner enables the corner of the flap to be tucked in.

I apologise that the photos are even worse than usual! - the light here is poor today (typical BH Monday) so I had to use flash.



This is also fo:

Sundays with Crissy 4: 'layers'
Moving along with the times 48: 'folds'
Frosted designs: 'photo inspiration'
Sunday stamper 105: 'wing of a dove' - or, in this case, hummingbird
Totally ggorjuss 32: 'wings'
PaperPlay 21: 'up in the air' - the hummingbird
Daisy doodles: 'anything goes' - include a digi
Lucy's cards 10: 'digital'
Bee crafty 30: 'something new' - first time I've made a joy fold card
Pollycraft 46: 'hidden message' - the birthday wishes inside the flap
Hand full of stamps 29: 'ruffle some feathers'

In the pink second birthday

This card uses Papertake sketch 41:

This week's Dancing in pajamas TCP challenge calls for us to use something wooden - I thought I'd got some wooden hearts, but found I must have used them all - then I remembered that I had some wooden numbers, so this is the original state of the number 2:

before I daubed it with Adirondack acrylic gold dabber.

The papers are Forever friends 'with love' , except for the lilac piece across the bottom, which is Making Memories. The teddy with balloon is a FF stamp coloured with copics (and I confess that the butterflies had to be included because of a smudge mark!).



It's also for:

Forever friends: 'kinetic cards'
Magical crafts 16: 'metal madness' - the heart brad
One stitch at a time 15: 'use something new' - although I've had them for a while, I've never used any of my wooden numbers before
Sunday stamper 105: 'wings of a dove' - or, in this case, butterflies
Stampin' sisters in Christ 41: 'use a heart'
Totally gorjuss 32: 'wings'
Die cut dreams 50: 'celebration card must have a number on'
Incy wincy 44: 'for the little ones'
Ooh-la-la 55: 'inspiration - use the colours of the challenge blog'
Shabby tea room: 'dear to my heart' - use hearts
Rosie-dee 71: 'easel card' (a late one for this)
Spoon full of sugar 105: 'celebrations'
Flutter by Wednesday 111: 'open' - included butterflies
Little red wagon 30: 'birthday'
Stampavie 96: 'birthday for a girl'
Moving along with the times 48: 'folds'
Alota 35: 'going buggy' - butterflies
Annabelle: 'say it with ribbon'
Timbroscrap 5: 'pink'
SPCC 50: 'blush blossom, pretty in pink, creamy caramel'
Paper Garden 4th Friday fun challenge for May: 'girly'

I'm also entering this for the current competition on Fiskarettes to make a card with 2 on it in celebration of their 2nd birthday.

Leonardo collage

I love taking part in the Soartful challenges. I usually make something digitally, incorporating the given picture. However, this time I couldn't resist using my Leonard stamp that features part of the picture given on Soartful for 'I am woman':

I wanted the stamp to be the main focus of the card, so I was pleased to find a sketch that was simple enough to achieve this. It's for Inspirational card sketches 68:

The background paper is BG obscure. I lightly distressed the image in parts with spiced marmalade and tattered rose inks. The piece of paper across the middle is from my scraps.

This is also for Pink elephant 68: 'orange'

Kraft, white, fuchsia

This is for Monday lunchtime sketch 123 on Technostamper:

For this card I used this Magenta stamp (one of my favourites):

I stamped with versamark and embossed with hot pink powder (far better sheen irl than on here). Background paper is from the BG basic kraft paper pad - other bits and pieces from scraps, including the piece of ribbon.

This is also for:

Design Dollies colour challenge: 'kraft, white and fuchsia' (I know the white is limited, but it is there on the ribbon)
Tellen's place 19: 'pink and brown'

Black, grey, white with a touch of teal

This is for the sketch on Cards & things 33:


Papers are from the PM touch of teal box, the flower in the oval is die cut decoupage and the butterflies (a bit of poetic licence needed for their size compared with the flowers) are sizzix die cut with oil on water card that reflects a silvery teal when the light is right.

This is also for:

Cupcake 92: 'black and grey with one colour choice' - having used teal for the previous card, I thought I'd also use it here
Allsorts 54: 'black, white and one other'
Jacksonbelle: 'one neutral colour (white), one colour other than black (teal) and black (including shades of grey - hope that's acceptable)
Pollycraft 45: 'buttons and butteflies'
Flutter by Wednesday 111: 'open' - included butterflies
PaperPlay 21: 'up in the aire' - butterflies
Incy wincy 43: 'button up!!!'
Pixie dust studio 24: 'going round and round' - buttons
Ann's creative nook 89: 'round and round we go!' - buttons
ECP 13: 'buttons'
Secret crafter Saturday 85: 'buttons and blooms'

Teal & brown

This is for the Critter sketch 15 (I turned it round):

The papers, the 3D sentiment and the sticky strips are from the PM touch of teal box. The flowers are die cut decoupage.


It's also for:

Crafty Angels week 36: 'teal & brown'
Cutie Sunday 94: 'freestyle'