Romance in Paris

Challenge 95 on Order of the opus gluei is 'Paris in springtime'. Well, it's said that Paris in the springtime is all about love, so I've used 7 gypsies baja 'amour' paper (the script has definitons such as dream, kiss, happiness, love etc) and Crafty Individuals pictures, together with silver embossed hearts and diamente gems.

I made 3 little cards, each 3" x 3", for 365 cards day 18: 3 x 3 times 3



It's also for:

One stop craft 123: diamonds are a girl's best friend - bling
Stamping vacation: getting geographical: Paris
Paper cutz 83: your choice

A crush?

This card is for Technostamper Monday sketch 165:

It's also for 365 cards day 19: Imagine this: a crush - not sure whether this card is on the right track - hope so!

The papers are BG sugar rush and the chipboard buttons are from Poundland, with the addition of a couple of sticky ribbons that have been in my box for ages. I stamped hearts on the plainer paper using a Dawn Bibby stamp with stazon blazing red.

The colours are for Paperminutes 157: red/yellow/green/blue

It's also for:

Moxie Tuesday trigger: button, button
Totally papercrafts 58: add buttons
Totally Gorjuss 72: button it
Paperake weekly: trio tastic - 3 buttons
Paper cutz 83: your choice

CHNC challenge 12: seasonal silver

It's Saturday and that means there's a new challenge on my Christmas challenge blog - CHNC challenge 12 is 'seasonal silver' - - use silver in some way on your card - it can be a lot or a little - foiling, heat embossing, silver pen - whatever you like, as long as there is silver somewhere on your Christmas card. If you haven't yet discovered my Christmas blog, now's the time to start building up a collection of Christmas cards to ease the pressure that inevitably tends to mount up later in the year.

For my card I've gone overboard with the silver - base card with silver mirri, overlayed with vellum, various bits and pieces added on the right, including the stamped and embossed snowflake greeting, a stamp from The Crafty Pad, stamped on to silver mirri with Brilliance starlight silver and heat embossed with detail silver. I was able to stick the embossed foiled vellum down under these pieces and then secure it on the left with the three silver charms held with brads, with the addition of a couple of silver glittered snowflakes.

I used the sketch from this week's Jingle Belles:



Although there is more glare on the next picture because of the flash photo, it gives a better idea of the silver:
If I can get a better picture in daylight then I'll replace it.

I am entering the card into some other Christmas challenge blogs:

Christmas stamping all year long: I can see right through that! - using vellum
Bah! humbug 11: metallics
Winter wonderland: embossing (heat embossing on the circular stamp)
Christmas cards all year round March: 3 patterned papers and 3 brads, eyelets or gems

It's also for:

Stampin' sisters in Christ 80: use something you treasure - I've been keeping these snowflake charms for a long time because I didn't want to use them and give them away!
Let's ink it up 10: show us your embossing
PaperPlay 11: embossing
Sarah Hurley 34: embossing
Iris' spot 15: glitter (the glittered snowflakes)
Stamping vacation embellish it challenge: glitter
Creative Belli 113: the letter C - C embellishments - charms
Crazy challenge 58: eyelets or brads (securing the snowflake charms in place)
Rubber cafe 9: monochromatic colour
There's magic in the air Magical Monday: monochromatic
Inky impressions: monochromatic challenge
Simply create 39: monochromatic
Shelly's terrifically thrilling Thursday: show us what you got
Aly's: anything goes
Paper cutz 83: your choice

Please don't forget to check out my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog - and join in if you can - I'd love to see you there.

St Patrick's Day green

I know it's late in the day now, but Happy St Patrick's Day to any Irish readers of my blog.

Today's 365 cards challenge (day 17) is ad inspired, with this green picture:

For the last or two I've been making a variety of cards ready for selling for charity - too many to blog, but this is one of them - an A5 aperture card in green, with what I imagine Irish fields to look like (because I've never been to Ireland).

The first picture is a scan of the card to show it closed and the second one is a photo to show the picture on the inside.


As it's St Patrick's day there are a lot of challenges still celebrating the day, so I'm linking for:

Card cupids: green card
Sentimental Sundays 46: let's go green
Critter 56: monochromatic green
Created by hand: green/#4
Crafty Ho's: green, gold and white
Sisterhood of crafters: St Patty's day
ECP 33: green
My sheri 48: St Patrick's day
If the shoe fits 70: you feeling lucky?
Allsorts 94: luck of the Irish
Pear tree designs 40: St Patrick's day
Creative card crew: show us some green
Alota 55: St Patrick's day - include colour green
For fun: a bit of the green
Pixie cottage: green
Crafty purple frog: going green
Pixie dust studio 66: go green
Rainbow Lady 144: St Patrick's day - it's also happy birthday

It's also for:

Simon says: happy birthday
Ooh-la-la 75: it's a man thing
CES 27: men only
Paper pretties 145: masculine card
Aly's: anything goes

Salt: trust

It was my turn to choose the theme for today's Salt challenge - I won't repeat what I said because you can read it here on the Salt blog.

I based my LO on this lovely sketch designed by Jana Eubank for The paper variety challenge this week:

I used a mixture of Bo Bunny and My Mind's Eye papers plus a few scraps and some doggy paper from PDA that I've had for ages. I stamped the bunting with a stamp from the Forever Friends spring time collection - the beauty of clear stamps is that they are a bit flexible, so I was able to straighten out a bit of the bunting (it only had 6 flags on the stamp) to make a longer line.


The first picture is John with Oscar and the second one he is with Josey.

If you click on the picture you should be able to read the journaling, but, just in case, this is what it says:

'As someone who needed to be guided, John had to put his trust in his guide dog to lead him correctly. As Christians, that's exactly the relationship we should have with our Heavenly Father - put our trust in Him to lead and guide us through life.'

And the verses from Proverbs 3:5-6 at the bottom say: 'Trust in the Lord with all your hearts and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.'

Perhaps you'd like to create something for the theme of TRUST - please head over to our Salt blog and join in if you can - we would love to see your creations.

As I've used buttons, I'm linking this for:

The crafty pad 112: buttons
Moxie Tuesday trigger: button, button

And there's a lot of brown on here and I stamped the bunting, so I'm also showing this on Sunday stamper 145: brown eyed girl - use brown.

Black and white birthday buttons

This is one of the cards I made to boost my stock of birthday cards.

The background paper is BG scarlet's letter - one of the early Basic Grey ranges, but still one of my favourites. The chipboard buttons were from Poundland. It looks as if the ribbon has some green on it, but it's actually a holographic silver with the black.

This is for:

Theme Thursday: black and white
Craft your days away 15: black & white
There's magic in the air Magical Monday: monochromatic
Simon says: happy birthday
Creative belli 113: the letter C - C embellishments - chipboard (buttons)
The crafty pad 112: buttons
Moxie Tuesday trigger: button, button
Totally papercrafts 58: add buttons
Truly scrumptious 53: tag it! (I used a sentiment tag)
Aly's: anything goes

Balloon birthday wishes

I got sidetracked (once again!) into making a card for today's 365 cards (day 16): abstract art.

I tapped some squares of stormy sky and worn lipstick DIs on to my craft sheet and spritzed with water. Then I dabbed my piece of card randomly on it, repeating the process till I was happy with it, then spraying the card with water to blend the colours - so this is my attempt at 'abstract art'. Just for fun this week's challenge is ' try out a new tecnique' - I've done similar things with DIs before, but not quite like this.

As I've used the FF stamp (coloured with copic) this another entry for Forever Friends monthly challenge 3: no design papers.

I used the sketch for Teddy stampers 31:

I used cuttlebug embossing folders for the embossed pink strip and for the blue panel, which I then sanded and swiped with worn lipstick DI. The embossing is for Stamping royalty 63: texturise - dry embossing.

Just the addition of a few Poundland bling gems, a pink foiled sentiment and the glittery 3, all of which are more 'blingy' irl. The base card is stardream, so that too has a sparkle to it.

This is also for:

Cupcake 133: up in the air (no optional green this time)
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday
Simon says: happy birthday
Cute card Thursday 155: happy 3rd birthday - card for 3 year old
Stampin' B 101: bling
One stitch at a time 53: glitter & gems
Fairytale 10: children - something for a child
Aly's: anything goes

Some bunny loves you

The Forever Friends monthly challenge 3 is 'no dessign papers'. I embossed down the side of the card with Docrafts 'woodland folk' embossing folder and scribbled with Caran d'ache pastels swiped with a baby wipe for the sky and the grass. The tree etc was coloured with copics as was the bear which is a stamp from Forever Friends spring time collection - and so are the two sentiments.

The butterflies look stranger here than irl because of the gold foiling.

I'm not that happy with the card, but it's done now - I'm aware of some bits that I could have done better, but, hey ho.

This is also for:

Crafty purple frog: fly away with us
Cupcake 133: up in the air with optional green
Delightful: delightful butteflies
Flourish timeless 109: butterflies
Crop stop 10: spring is in the air - butterflies and flowers
Flutter by Wednesday 146: green and/or sketch - I've included butterflies
Lexi 35: Easter
Cooking it up with Katie 53: it's a cute green Easter
Stampavie 133: spring or Easter
Pink elephant 95: spring time
Woodware USA 18: spring is coming
Stamp and create 19: spring break
Crafty calendar 18: spring
Stamp, scrap & doodle: spring has sprung
Crafty Ann 36: spring
Beary sweet 22: spring
Stamping royalty 63: texturise - dry embossing
Aly's: anything goes

Now I must get on with some quicker cards - asking myself why I've just spent far too long on this card?!

WOYWW 93

It's Wednesday again and time to show our workdesks and have a good snoop at others. If you don't know what I'm on about then hop over to Julia's blog and have a look at WOYWW 93 - and join in.

As I'm selling cards at our WEF at church Friday evening (and out most of the day tomorrow) I need to concentrate today on making as many cards as possible - that was the plan, until I remembered last night that I haven't done my Salt LO yet for tomorrow's challenge, which is my topic this time - two members of the team have theirs on the blog already and I haven't and I'm the one who chose the theme. So that's got to be first priority when I've finished this.

My workspace is organised, ready for doing as much as possible today. On the left you can see boxes of cards all ready (I did manage to bag up the piles I showed last Wednesday - such a boring, but necessary, job). Beside that you can see a box that includes lots of Easter stuff and then there's a pile of offcuts and bits that haven't yet found their way to my offcuts box - hoping to reduce this pile a bit today.

Looking to the right of me, I have a box of inserts and a couple of boxes of envies at the ready so I have no excuse not to complete the cards I make today.

And there are some stamps lurking up the corner - they need cleaning, but they will have to wait. And you can see some cards that need finishing off.

And today I'm also showing the windowill that is housing boxes that have stuff at the ready - including the purple box that contains all the cello bags - so no excuse for not finishing off bagging up what I make today. In the bottom corner you can just see the top of my paper bag that's sellotaped to the top of my trolley - it's handy for all those little bits of paper that need to go into the recycling bin.

So now I need to get on first with my Salt LO and then with more cards. So, if anyone sees me in blogland, please kick me off - gently though because my back is playing up atm.

Thanks for any comments that you leave me - I feel I am a bad WOYWWer because I just can't spend time atm getting round the blogs - hope you understand.

And when Friday evening's over, I have an 'at home' sale day for Tearfund on Saturday 26 March - which reminds me that's another job that needs doing today - to make and print the invites and send out a block email to friends. I'd better get on ....

Thinking of you with love

This card is very similar in construction to the previous card shown here.

This time it is for:

Phindy's Friday 46: get well soon/thinking of you
Ann's creative nook 128: you are in my thoughts

It's also for:

Totally papercrafts 57: shaped cards
Wags n whiskers 49: more than 1 fold
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Girly card

I'm scraping in with this girly card for Fab n funky 63: make it girly.

Once again I've used components from the QVC Kanban kit, this time from the Ladies Fashion section.

The front of the card is folded back on itself.



This is also for:

Pollycraft 84: teen cards
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday
Totally papercrafts 57: shaped cards
Wags n whiskers 49: more than 1 fold
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Pop out oval card

This card was made from some of the components in the recently purchased QVC Kanban kit - I need to make a few more of these before my Tearfund sales - first one is on Friday evening.

With St Patrick's Day looming and lots of 'green' challenges around in blogland atm, this seemed a good card to make - those fields could well be Irish I think (although I confess that I've never been to Ireland).


So this is for:

Card cupids: green card
Sentimental Sundays 46: let's go green
Critter 56: monochromatic green
Created by hand: green/#4
Penny's 48: going for the green
Meljen 49: green - a little or a lot
Stamp insanity 50: holy Guacamole! - anything goes, add a pop of green
Crafty Ho's: green, gold and white
Let's craft and create 14: St Patrick's day
Little red wagon: St Patty's day green
Sisterhood of crafters: St Patty's day
One powerful hour: green, green and more green
PaperPlay 10: shades of green
ECP 33: green
Fun at fairy knoll: St Patrick's day
My sheri 48: St Patrick's day
If the shoe fits 70: you feeling lucky?
Pattie's creations 17: go green in honour of St Patrick's day
Sew many challenges 46: St Patrick's day
Stampin with the dragon: St Patrick's day
Allsorts 94: luck of the Irish
Wee memories 47: green theme
Inspiration Avenue: happy St Patrick's day
Pear tree designs 40: St Patrick's day
Creative card crew: show us some green

It's also for:

There's magic in the air Magical Monday: monochromatic
CES 27: men only
Moving along with the times 89: for a male
Totally papercrafts 57: shaped cards
Wags n whiskers 49: more than 1 fold
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Silver swirling wings

This card is for the sketch for Cards and things 70:

As soon as I saw the Inspiration challenge on In Style I knew that I would make a card using BG Lilykate papers, but it's taken till now for me to get around to making it (the last day of the challenge - typical!). Anyway, this is the inspiration picture for In Style Inspiration:

I stamped Funstamps swirling wings directly on to the green patterned paper with Brilliance starlight silver and heat embossed with clear powder - unfortunately, it doesn't show up too well here - and the Birthday Greetings looks a bit dull, whereas irl it's light and silvery. The scalloped strip was cut on my rotatrim.

It also uses the colours for Stamp away with me colour cue 13:

The card has quite a lot of green on it, so I'm linking for these challenges:

Card cupids: green card
Sentimental Sundays 46: let's go green
Created by hand: green/#4
Penny's 48: going for the green
Meljen 49: green - a little or a lot
Creative card crew: show us some green
Stamp insanity 50: holy Guacamole! - anything goes, add a pop of green
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 46: lime green andd gray, one layer

This is also for:

Basic Grey 39: wings
Going grey with Scrap-creations: anything goes
Crafty purple frog: fly away with us
Cupcake 133: up in the air with optional green
Delightful: delightful butteflies
Flourish timeless 109: butterflies
Alota 54: it's all about bugs
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Get well soon

This car is for Truly Scrumptious 52:

It uses the colours for today's challenge on 365 cards (day 15):

I used Basic Grey cappella papers, stamping on the green paper strips with Funstamps paisley background and the butterflies were stamped on to the light peach paper and coloured in with various copic peach shades. I used Janet Klein's butterfly stamp for Stampotique's challenge 26: animal, insect or bird.

As I've used BG papers this is also for Basic Grey 39: wings and for Going grey with Scrap-creations: anything goes.

I chose buttons for the crafty pad 112 and this week's Moxie Tuesday trigger.

This is also for:

The paper variety: get well soon
Phindy's Friday 46: get well soon/thinking of you
Crafty purple frog: fly away with us
Cupcake 133: up in the air with optional green
Delightful: delightful butteflies
Flourish timeless 109: butterflies
Alota 54: it's all about bugs
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Men are like wine ...

... they mature with age!

Another card made with components of the new kit, using a stardream card blank. This is for Totally stampaligious: cheers - your favourite libation - it's also for CES 17: men only, Incy wincy 85: for the boys and Moving along with the times 89: for a male.

It's also for:

Aud sentiments 23: birthday cards
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday
Papertake weekly: anything goes
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Fresh baked goodness

It's been a long day - I've spent most of the time today bagging up cards ready for my Tearfund sales - some still needed labels and inserts - I hate doing all that, would far rather spend the time actually making cards. Anyway, they are all done and read now - a job I should have done days ago.

As you will see from these cards, I gave in and ordered the QVC Kanban TSV the other day. I sometimes just need to be able to make a fair number of cards in a short time, although I'd far rather be stamping etc. but needs must.

The base cards for these were actually labelled up as easel cards, but I couldn't see how that would work, so I used them with half of the front turned back on itself.

These are for today's challenge (day 14) on 365 cards: fresh baked goodness - also for Double Dutch 64: good enough to eat.

The first card is also for:

Kaboodle 58: happy birthday
Aud sentiments 23: birthday cards
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday





They are also for:

Totally papercrafts 57: shaped cards
Papertake weekly: anything goes
Aly's: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Pocket card with tag

This card is for City crafter 47: in your pocket - as you can see, it incorporates a pocket that contains a tag. Apart from the stardream card blank, the rest of the card was made with scraps for Tuesday throwdown 39. Why is it that my scraps box never seems to become any more empty even though I use the offcuts.

The brightly coloured shimmery papers are Craft House Tutti Frutti (I bought these ages and ages ago and still have bits and pieces).

Sorry photos are poor, but light has gone and flash doesn't go well with the shimmery papers.


This is also for:

Kaboodle 58: happy birthday
To tip Tuesday 25: happy birthday
Aud sentiments 23: birthday cards
Fun with shapes and more 78: happy birthday (I had to cut the shape for the pocket)
Crazy challenge 58: eyelets or brads (the 'buttons' in the centres of the flowers are brads)
The crafty pad 112: buttons
Secret crafter Saturday 125: flowers for mum (any feminine card with flowers)
Whoopsi Daisy: pile on the flowers
Gingerloft 13: use those flowers

Brown stamped flowers

This card is for today's sketch for 365 cards day 13, which means I'm now up to date with 365 challenges.

When I looked this evening to see what this week's challenge 94 was on Order of the opus gluei.I found that it was 'reach out and get a handful' - This week we want you to sit down at your workdesk, reach out to those bits and bobs that are still sitting there from your last project (or 2 or 3) and make something.

So I did just that! The My Mind's Eye papers I used were left over yesterday from making the card you can see here. The main background paper is double sided so I used the other side for the triangle. I used my favourite trees stamp from Inkadinkado for Crazy 4 challenges 78: a tree, and then stamped Hero Arts printed flowers on to the other spotty paper, cutting them out with a little margin around them - this is for the 'home baked' challenge on Daring cardmakers - to make your own embellishments - and also for Sugar creek hollow challenge: handmade flowers.

As the card was made from scraps I'm also entering it for Tuesday throwdon 39.

The theme on Sunday stamper 145 today is 'brown eyed girl' - to use brown, so I'm linking for that.

It's also for:

Sarah Hurley 33: flowers
Southern girls 14: use flowers
Gingerloft 13: use those flowers
Whoopsi Daisy: pile on the flowers
Little Claire 2: flowers
Simply create 39: monochromatic
Papertake weekly: anything goes + optional: something old: the trees stamp (but still a favourite)
Aly's: anything goes
Craft your passion 48: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Easy peasy easel card

The challenge on 365 cards for day 9 was 'do that decade: the 90s'.

The 90s were very important and special years in my life because I first went out with John in 1990 and we married in 1991, so this card reflects a personal view of the 90s - I thought an anniversary card would be appropriate.

This is a very easy peasy easel card made from a Kanban kit, so there was very little work involved - just some cutting and sticking. It's an A5 width card.

Sorry there is glare from the flash photo, but the first photo does give a better idea of the silver foiling than the second one.


This is also for:

Creative inspirations 55: easel cards
Charisma cardz 10: easel cards
Wags n whiskers 49: more than 1 fold
Totally papercrafts 57: shaped cards
Papertake weekly: anything goes
Aly's: anything goes
Craft your passion 48: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Easter cross

This is for the sketch on Daisy Doodles 28:

I've used a DD digi image that I won recently: 'floral cross' and coloured with copics. I've chosen the colour scheme for Copic creations 45: complementary colours - opposite sides of the colour wheel. The background paper is from Forever Friends spring time pack, stitched sticky ribbons and sentiment from stash.


This is also for:

Pals paper arts 84: Easter/spring
Lexi 35: Easter
Pixie cottage 60: Easter
Pink elephant 95: spring time
For fun: spring
Stamp and create 19: spring break
Crafty calendar 18: spring
Paper garden project: spring things
Stamp n doodle: spring
Stamp, scrap & doodle: spring has sprung
Bee crafty 48: spring florals
Bunny Zoe 9: spring, flowers everywhere
Creative Friday 39: spring awakening
Crafty Ann 36: spring
Sarah Hurley 33: flowers
Papercraft star 36: one or more of the colours (lilac and purrple) and spring
Sunday with Crissy: stitching (on the ribbon)
Flourish timeless 108: sew (on the ribbon)
Papertake weekly: anything goes + optional: something old - the stitched ribbons
Aly's: anything goes
Card cupids: anything goes
Craft your passion 48: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes

Vintage ladies

This card is for Sketchy colors 61:

It's also for Soartful: three young ladies - I changed the picture to black and white.

The card is also for the recipe on Stamp it crazy: vintage lady challenge - to use the colours black, brown and white and a red ribbon.

The main paper is Bo Bunny flutter butter burst and the other papers are My mind's eye, distressed with fired brick and brushed corduroy DIs.

This is also for:

Crazy challenge 57: lovely ladies
Paperminutes 156: women
Spoon full of sugar 142: anything with a vintage/shabby theme
Theme Thursday: hats