HS:MS:HS bake

HS:MS:HS today: bake:

DCM: paint the town

Today's dare on DCM is to 'paint the town' - 'red, green, sky blue pink with yellow dots on, or any colour you fancy, with acrylics, H2Os or watercolours, with brushes, sponges or splatters. We don't mind, as long as you use paint on your cards. So have some fun with the DCM and get Painty this week.'

So I got out a couple of chipboard flowers that I had in a BF kit and painted them with Adirondack acrylic dabbers, purple twilight and watermelon. I stamped on to the petals psrts and then coated everything with Glossy accents.

I've been waiting for them to dry (too often I've tried to work with glossy accents that haven't dried!).

Having decorated the flowers I was uncertain what to do with them, but thought that they were so strong in colour that nothing else needed to be added to the card except the Best Wishes.



Looking at how bright it is, I think it also qualifies for last week's dare!!

My time to craft challenge 33: get doodling!

Having seen a link to My time to craft on another blog, I thought I'd have a look and have a go at the challenge - mmmm, I nearly turned away, because, as you can see, the challenge is to use doodling - something that I'm not good at (I'm OK at it if it is just on any old piece of paper, but not at 'getting it right' on a card).

Anyway, I decided to be brave and step outside my comfort zone and do some doodling. I used a piece of Craft Creations Jenny's Creations Dizzy 09, which has very large flowers that are quite plain. So, all the white marks are my doodling! I just added primas with white brads in the middle of the flowers and the sentiments are vellum adhered to white textured card:



I'm glad I had a go now - I might even try it again some time!

Autumnal colours

Since I saw it last Sunday, I've been meaning to do something for Nikki's challenge on DewDrop Craftz - 'As we are now watching the autumn leaves falling and the colours of nature changing.. with the weather turning from warm(ish) to so chilly some days, you wonder why you got out of bed.. this weeks challenge is 'Autumnal colours'. I would love to see all your projects using colours from autumn.. '

Having cuttlebug embossed the background, I swiped it with chestnut roan chalk ink. TheThe big leaf in the middle is one made out of a close-weave netting (doesn't show up too well) - I got some of them a long time ago and have rarely used them - and the two acorns (the one on the right is more golden than it looks) are sizzlit die cuts:



Challenge 30 on Lots to do this week is to make something involving embossing, so I'm doubling up with this.

In fact, I'm trebling up because the challenge on Cute Card Thursday is also to make an autumnal themed card.

These were all good challenges - got me using something that has been in the box for a long while!

Ellie has arrived!!

Yay!! I put in the highest bid for Ellie in the Think Pink auction and she's just arrived!!

Royal Mail took good care of her, but you can see that she was glad to get out of that packaging and find a resting place in the kitchen:





Tomorrow is the big Bubblyfunk Think Pink sale - details here - if you live near enough, please go along and support it.

Now that Ellie's got her breath back she's found her way to a handy shelf where she can perch and watch everything that goes on in my craft room (although, of course, she will be taken down for hugs).





Following on the comment from Kaz, I should explain that the room is only this tidy because it's cleaning day today. In fact, having made one card, it is now a lot more 'lived in' again!

HS:MS:HS hold

Today on HS:MS:HS: hold: 'To have, or keep, or embrace an object or person. Find 'Hold' in your space:'

DianeR's blog candy challenge

DianeR from UKStampers has a blog candy post on her blog challenging us to make a card with a maximum of two stamps, one colour ink and one colour embossing powder.

I used two Dawn Bibby Design stamps from Personal Impressions - one was randomly stamped over the edges of the base card and the other was the centre stamping of the matted layer in the middle of the card, which itself was simple mounted on a piece of crackled silver card. Everything was stamped with versamark and heat embossed with silver detail.

Dottie's world Sunday challenge: A for acetate with a hint of pink

Oh dear, earlier on I made a bit of a bloomer, but thanks to a lovely cybercraft friend (you know who you are - angel) - I'm now on the right track.

This card is for the Sunday challenge on Dottie's World - And the Challenge is:-

A is for Acetate with a hint of pink!!
It can be a whole acetate card,an aperture of acetate,an embelishment as long as Acetate is there some where & as October is Breast Cancer awareness month I'd like to see some pink!!!

As we have just had an engagement announced in the family, I wanted to make a card, so I downloaded the Dottie Love and Marriage collection and printed this one out on to acetate, which I quickly embossed with a clear detail powder. I used watered-down Marvy and Whisper pens for the colouring.

The acetate is fastened to the crackled silver card with some brads from CBC

I mounted it on to a blue card, because I didn't want the whole card to become too pink!

As ever, it was difficult to get a photo without too much reflection on the acetate, which now looks as if it's creased in a couple of places, but it isn't.



I'm glad I found Dottie's World. If you're interested in getting some of the fab downloads, they can be located here.

HS:MS:HS

On HS:MS:HS today the word is 'stripes': 'Long narrow bands which differ in colour or texture, find Stripes in your space today.'

We must be quite a stripey household because I seemed to have lots of choice, so here's one:

Away from the norm

I don't usually make good luck cards. I have some photo cards that I thought I'd never use - pictures to do with gambling and casinos - as a Christian, I don't go in for all of that.

However, I saw the challenge of UK Stampers Sunday challenge to make something with a credit card or gift card. Ages ago I acquired a handful of 'credit card' type cards, among them was the casino one I've used here. So I thought I would depart from the norm and make a good luck card (don't know what I'll do with it, because I won't want to send it to anyone).

The card also nicely fits into the new challenge on ABC to make a male card, and also incorporates numbers, which is the challenge this week on Arty Girlz.

So, with a card I really didn't want to make, I've covered three different challenges!



It was very difficult to get a photo (now replaced with a slightly better one), because of the gold mirri card that's been layered and the gold foiling on the casino member card. The 'good luck' stamp is a HOTP one - stamped with versamark and heat embossed with gold detail. And irl the black background card does look as black as the casino card.

Anyone want a good luck card?

Dreamstreet with acetate

As I've used some paper by Dreamstreet on this card , I'm adding it to Di Hickman's Manufacturer Monday Dreamstreet.

I've used DCWV winter papers for the background and the paper behind the acetate flowers and Happy Birthday is Dreamstreet hugs-n-kisses hugs. The flowers on the acetate were coloured with fuschia glitter glue and stickles green:



I wonder why one of the Poundland bling looks a different colour to the rest - irl they are all the same.

Her space my space his space catch up

During the last week there have been changes on what used to be Her space my space. With Kirsty stepping down, there is now a new team of Anita, SuzyB and Andrew and you can find them at Her space my space his space. Since the new format, I haven't had a chance to join in.

Today we had a day in London with our son (well, my stepson) and his partner - we did some of the sights, so I've taken the opportunity to incorporate some photos as a catch up for HS:MS:HS, so here they are:

Starting with 'welcome' - this is the welcome that one gets at Buckingham Palace:







Next is 'sign' (of our times):



Three for SOS:







SPS:



'Autumnal':



'Dip' - this is the nearest I could get (the daft thing is that I had a little bowl of tartare sauce to dip into at lunch time and didn't think to take a picture of that - it would have been more appropriate - nevermind):

Anniversary card - double challenge

I needed to make an anniversary card for my brother and SIL (hope you don't look here before Wednesday, but, if you do, I hope you like it!)

I wanted to do something for this week's Papertake challenge - no stamps (could use die cuts etc) and also for ABC challenge, which is L for lace.

The paper at the bottom of the card is PM Inspirations warm tones and has been embossed with cuttlebug swiss dots. The paper at the top is either DCWV or K & Co, but I can't remember which.

The paper lace across the divide was in the PIF I had the other day from Melissa, the Happy Anniversary is K & Co and all the other bits are from my stock.

Mellow Yellow - Children in need

On the Papertake Weekly Challenge blog I noticed a reference to Mellow Yellow cards for Children in Need - more information here.

For these cards I used papers from a K & Co Tim Coffey Daffodil pad. As the papers are 6 x 6 and the cards are A6, I needed to cut and chop around.

I made these during the night because I couldn't sleep.

.

Some more blog candy

Check our Martine's fab candy offer to celebrate going past 10,000 hits and have a look at her lovely crafting.

Basic Grey Challenge 6: colour combo

Today's BG blog challenge is to make a card with a certain colour combo - a choice of green and red, brown and cream, or blue and gold/yellow/orange. I think I'd have found the first two options easier, but I decided to go for the third option.

I chose BG cupcake papers, which lent themselves to the colours of Donald - printing the Happy Birthday bits on the computer.



I really found this was a challenge because I won't normally think of this colour combo.

A spoonful of sugar challenge 20 pink and green

Earlier this week I came across A spoonful of sugar and thought I would do a card for this challenge - this time: to use pink and green colour scheme.

I've mainly used BG two scoops with a little sultry for good measure! The stamped daisy has been coloured in with karisma and sansodor.

Blog candy

Natalie has some super blog candy on offer to celebrate her blogoversary - check it out (although perhaps I shouldn't be encouraging you - lol! - because I'd like to win it!

Secret Crafter Saturday challenge 2

This is the sketch on today's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge 2:



I've used a stamped image that I received in a swap on CBC. The background paper is BG boxer - plus a piece of sticky ribbon, photo corners, gems and a Happy Birthday sentiment:

Sketch Saturday 20 11 October

Here is today's sketch on Sketch Saturday:



It just so happened that I had another oval at the ready, having done a card last night with an oval, so I used that. I stamped the oval with a HOTP stamp with versamark and embossed with hot pink. I also swiped versamark over the squares and heat embossed with the hot pink and then stamped and embossed the images with black. The papers are Dovecraft:

Secret Crafter Saturday challenge 1 and Stamp Something for a friend

I came across the new blog Secret Crafter Saturday challenge. Their first challenge is this sketch:



I used a flecked shiny card and just added the curved stripy card, 'friend' and some Poundland bling, plus the pearlescent oval stamped and masked, using a Dawn Bibby stamp and versamark with detail white embossing:



I'll look back there tomorrow and see what their new challenge is.

These challenges are a good way of building up stocks.

This is a double challenge - it also fits the Stamp Something for a friend challenge.