Pages

Saturday, 13 August 2011

Butterfly birthday wishes

This card just uses simple components from a QVC kit - the butterfly oval is decoupaged with four layers.

This is for:

365 cards day 165: 30 minutes or less
Make my Monday 10: birds or bugs
Pattie's creations 28: animals or insects
Flutter by Wednesday 166: open, with a butterfly
Anything goes 47: happy birthday
Spoon full of sugar 162: happy birthday
Just for fun: black and white

New addition to the flock

This week's Pile it on 32 is 'down on the farm' (just getting in on the last day) - it got me thinking about cows, ducks, pigs ... and sheep - and I remembered a set of Elzybells stamps that I bought quite some time ago and so far they had not seen ink.

So I used the sheep family stamp with the appropriate sentiment, with a little copic colouring.

The DCWV background paper is years old (still comes in handy) and there's a bit of irony (sheep ... wool) adding the little bit of knitting!

This is also for:

Sweet stampin: on the farm
Pattie's creations 28: animals or insects
365 cards day 164: team colours - when I was at secondary school (many years ago!) I was in Nelson house and the colour of the team was green
I did it: children
Bling it on 6: A B C - animal, baby, colouring

Make a wish

This is a quick card because time is running out to link for Hels' Sunday stamper 166 that expires this evening.

No patterned paper used, just distressing with mustard seed and tea dye DIs, both on the background and on the stamped image (Paperbug studio: silences), adding the sentiment and the Poundland felt flower with button.

This is also for:

Challenge up your life 50: no patterned paper
Inspiration avenue: sun kissed
Dream valley 13: distressing
Charisma cardz 32: distressing
Simply create 50: time to distress
Catch the bug: distressed or shabby chic
I did it: children
The stamp man 29: anything goes with summer colours
Cutie Sunday 146: flower power
Pixie cottage 81: say it with flowers
Lollipop crafts 43: monochromatic
Crazy 4 challenges 100: monochromatic colouring

Back to the safety of patterned paper!

Having recently made quite a few 'clean & simple' no patterned paper cards, I've gone back to the safety net of patterned papers for this one - I've used Kate Knight's appropriately named Totally tropical summer papers - the colours really are vibrant.

The stamped images are some from a favourite Hero arts printed flowers set, masking the two smaller ones to stamp the larger. These were coloured with copics and the scalloped circle cut with a nestie and distressed with spiced marmalade DI before taking the nestie off to reveal the white edge.

The colours are for ColourQ 97:

and also for Cupcake inspirations 122:

using Erin's sketch for Sunday sketch and stamp 67:

With the addition of the three half pearls for the sketch, the card is also for Stamp dreams 94: recipe - flowers, half pearls and text (on the flowers).

This is also for:

Dream valley 13: distressing
Ribbon carousel 15: get edgy with Jessica Diedrich
Charisma cardz 32: distressing
Simply create 50: time to distress
Catch the bug: distressed or shabby chic
The stamp man 29: anything goes with summer colours
My craft spot 20: it's hot out there - hot, bright colours
The craft garden August: bold, bright and loud
Created by hand: multi-colours
Crafty Ann 47: scallops and/or fancy borders
Cutie stampers 108: recipe - 3 flowers, 2 papers, 1 ribbon
Stamp n doodle: recipe - come see the ingredients - ribbon, a punch/die cut and pearls
365 cards day 162: at odds - 3 patterned papers, 3 stamped flowers
Cutie Sunday 146: flower power
Pixie cottage 81: say it with flowers

Simple ... I don't think so

When I saw today's Less is more week 28 - to make a one layer card using ink, I thought I would combine this with one that I've been wanting to make for Sketchy colors 79: pink, white and gold, where this inspiration photo was given:

The colours are very similar too for Stamptacular 123 photo inspiration:


And I used the sketch for CPS 230:

I won't tell you the number of tries I had at this before I got what I wanted to achieve - hence the title of the post!

Despite swiping the card blank with an antistatic bag before stamping the Magenta daisy stamp with versamark ready to heat emboss using hisbiscus rose orange powder, some of this powder remained around the daisy in the background, which didn't look too bad, but looked odd with the rest of the card white. In the end, after a few different attempts, I decided to make sure my card was swiped well with the antistatic and then poured the embossing powder over the whole card and not just the image, so I've ended up with a hint of a pink sparkle on the entire card as well as well defined petals. I then stamped the swirls and heat embossed with detail gold. This is for The crazy challenge 79: embossed. So, as a result of trial and error, I achieved something a bit different with the embossing powder than usual.

Unfortunately, however many attempts I made to get a photo, the flower and bottom swirl don't show shiny embossed as irl, but you get the idea from the top swirl.


CHNC challenge 33: simply Christmas

It's time for another challenge on my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge blog and this time for challenge 33 I'm asking for cards with one layer or at least for them to be kept clean and simple. I usually rely quite heavily on using patterned paper on my cards, but recently I've been making quite a few 'clean and simple' cards and even 'one layer' ones.

For my card I've used a large PM stamp 'bauble decoration' - I inked with versamark and heat embossed with detail gold. As this is a large stamp I made a 7 x 5 card blank to use landscape. The strip across the top is a piece of double sided tape covered with detail gold embossing powder and heated.

When I have my sale to raise money for Tearfund I usually make up some packs of five cards so I think I'll be making some more of these.

I'm linking this for:

Ooh-la-la 86: oh Christmas!
Fab n funky 85: it's Christmas
Cards for men 16: clean & simple - I think this would be suitable to send to a man
Freshly brewed 59: clean and simple using less than 3 embellishments
Crafty catz 95: emboss it

Friday, 12 August 2011

Totally Gorjuss Anniversary

Scraping in at the last minute for Net's sketch on Totally Gorjuss 92:

I used offcuts, embossing the piece of red card with a cuttlebug folder and lightly sanding. The die cut nestie patterned shape is recycled from a card received. The flowers are Martha Stewart, piece of organza ribbon and chipboard embellished heart from stash and the anniversary sentiment is Craftworks.

This is also for:

Gingerloft 22: make it sparkle
Cutie Sunday 146: flower power
Pixie cottage 81: say it with flowers
The craft garden August: bold, bright and loud
Jules' crafty snippets challenge week 31 - all papers were from offcuts
AiFactory: August anything goes

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Poorly pup

This is a last-minute entry for Glitter geeks week 9: furry and feathery friends, using the sketch for Crafts 4 eternity 31:

The 'poorly pup' image is one of Di's Digis that I won for a recent challenge on Paper Crafting Journey, coloured with copics.

I have been so privileged to win ten of Di's Digis in the past week or so - 5 for winning the PCJ challenge and 5 for winning a challenge on Divas by design. I also have some great news to share regarding sponsorship of my Craftyhazelnut Christmas Challenge blog - more about that later.

This card was a good way of using up scraps, something I try to do, but the box always seems just as full!

This is also for:

Dutch dare 124: for the kids - suitable for a 'get well' for a child
Top tip Tuesday 46: straight edges
Simply create 49: favourite animal
iCopic lover 42: fur challenge
KB cute Monday 24: anything goes using a digi
AiFactory: August anything goes

Update: Thanks to a blogging friend, Elizabeth - she is a fab supporter of my CHNC blog - I've found Jules 'Always with a heart' blog and her 'snippets' challenges. I'm always looking for opportunities to use up the scraps - so why is it that the box seems more full day by day? So I'm linking this to Jules Crafty Snippet challenge 31, because all of the pieces of design paper were from my offcuts box.

A clean and simple Thank You

This card is for Clean & simple 152:

I used a couple of Kanban Elizabethan stackers - and this time, they did actually stack! I covered these with some magic mesh (yes, using some of that again) and added some deep pink sticky felt lace from We R Memory Keepers. Just the addition of the stamped sentiment and the card was done.
This is also for:

Stampin' sisters in Christ 101: I've used some magic mesh again
Little miss Muffet 15: outside the die cut
AiFactory: August anything goes

Less is more, red white and blue

The Less is More challenge for week 27 is to use the colours of our nation's flag, so for me in the UK that's red, white and blue.

I've used a card that is shaped on the right hand side to reveal a little of the inside underneath. I stamped the left hand edge with an Anna Griffin lace stamp with stazon blazing red. The clarity sketched lady was stamped with ultramarine stazon, having first distressed the edges with stormy sky DI - I then brushed some of this lightly for the lady's dress, doing the same with fired brick DI for her hat, shoes and gloves.

This is also for:

Alphabet: N for navy blue plus one other colour
Annabelle: say it with one layer
Cute card Thursday 177: clean & simple

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

August poppies

Until I saw the challenge for this week's Daring Cardmakers: birth month flowers for August, I hadn't realised (or I'd forgotten - must be due to age - lol!) that August flowers are poppies and gladioli - both of which I love - well, having an August birthday, I should really, I suppose.

So this card is for the DCM dare, for which I've used the sketch for Saturday sketch 167, which is being sponsored by Art Journey:

I've used the colour combo for 4 crafty chicks 49:
I've used some Kanban decoupage for the poppy - this is glittered and I coloured with copics. I put some magic mesh (have re-discovered this recently) behind the glittered ribbon, added the little white bows with pearls, the glittered sentiment and the buttons.

I love patterned papers and tend to use them a lot in my cardmaking, but recently I seem to be making quite a few cards without it, which is quite a change - and this is another one.

The photo isn't very good - believe it or not (and I'm not complaining) the sunshine today is so bright!

This is also for:

Card cupids 33: buttons and/or ribbon
Karen's doodles: buttons and bows
Tanda teaser 177: ribbons and bows
Stamp n doodle: recipe - come see the ingredients - ribbon, a punch/die cut and pearls
Stampin' sisters in Christ 101: dig deep into your craft cupboard and use something from your stash that you had forgotten about - I've recently re-discovered using magic mesh - I bought quite a lot of this when I first started crafting and, until a few days ago, hadn't used it for ages
Cutie Sunday 146: flower power
Pixie cottage 81: say it with flowers
Birthday sundaes 21: birthday card
Anything goes 47: happy birthday/celebration
Spoon full of sugar 162: happy birthday
Cardmakin mamas 26: birthday cards
Creative CAS August: birthday bonanza

WOYWW 114

I haven't taken part in Julia's WOYWW for two or three week - don't the weeks go by so quickly?!

Well, I have to confess that today's peep into my crafting world for WOYWW 114 is a bit of a cheat because the photos were taken a few days ago - one of those rare summer days when it was really warm (indeed hot), so I took some crafting supplies up into my garden summer house. You can see my 'lazy susan' with lots of my pens, my iPad (so I could watch some television using tvcatchup) and my mobile phone. You can just about see my craft sheet ready to do some stamping - stamps, ink pads etc in the box.

And I had the sun lounger at the ready for when I needed a break - I'll leave you to guess how much time I spent crafting and how much time lazing in the sun.


Tuesday, 9 August 2011

The curtain is up ...

I was commissioned to make a card for a 70th birthday for someone who is involved in amateur dramatics and singing.

I found the picture of a production of Giblert & Sullivan's Gondoliers at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. I added the sentiments in Publisher.

I created the curtain by printing on to flocked paper, so it feels like soft, plush material. I spent a long time this afternoon printed on to a piece of red velvet paper which looked much richer than this, but, unfortunately, when I was in the process of sticking it on to a print out of the G & S picture I tore the velvet paper, so I had to resort to this instead. Having stuck it to an A5 card I cut round the edges of the curtain to make it a bit more realistic.

I'm linking this for:

Quirky crafts 16: let's do the numbers
Birthday sundaes 21: birthday card
Anything goes 47: happy birthday/celebration
Spoon full of sugar 162: happy birthday
Cardmakin mamas 26: birthday cards
Creative CAS August: birthday bonanza
Cute card Thursday 176: no designer paper
Creative stamp friends 31: home-made background
Creative Belli 123: non-paper - the curtain is flocked

Update: took the card to the person who ordered it and she was absolutely thrilled with it.

Indian summer GD slot on Use it Tuesday

Having won challenge 12 last week on Use it Tuesday I was invited to be a Guest Designer for today's challenge: Indian Summer. I feel privileged to join the team for challenge 13 - I very much enjoyed producing this card.

When I thought about Indian Summer I thought of a touch of summer in the autumn, so I went for autumnal colours for the framework of the card with a summer rose in the middle.

Both stamps are Kanban ones that I bought a while ago and hadn't yet used either of them.

I stamped the border one with memento rich cocoa and used distress inks - mustard seed, spiced marmalade and just a touch of fired brick. The rose was then stamped with memento tuxedo black and coloured with a variety of green and yellow copics.

I wonder what Indian Summer makes you think of? Please go over and visit Use it Tuesday and see the lovely crafting of the Design Team - and hopefully join in the challenge.

I have quite a few acrylic blocks, but I found that the border stamp went right to the edges of a large block, so I used a box lid instead - this was so easy to press in to to get a sharp image.

I'm also linking this for:

Come and get it: fall birthday (insert with birthday greeting)
Dream valley 13: distressing
Order of the opus gluei 110: a picture is worth a thousand words - no words
Sundays with Crissy 20: keep it simple stamper
Freshly brewed 30: hot!!! colours
Cute card Thursday 176: no designer paper
Creative stamp friends 31: home-made background
Frosted designs fabulous Friday: colouring (distress inks and copics)
Just some lines: outdoors/summer colours
My craft spot 20: it's hot out there - hot, bright colours
The craft garden August: bold, bright and loud
Cutie Sunday 146: flower power
The paper shelter 25: flowers, flowers, flowers
Paper creator's crafts 4: say it with flowers
AiFactory: August anything goes

Monday, 8 August 2011

Green ... especially for you

This is a quick card with a piece of We R memory keepers background paper, a length of wired organza ribbon that I've had for ages - it has a glittery look to it irl. The ornate framed topper is a Kanban one.

This is for:

Created by hand: peridot/shades of green
Lollipop crafts 43: monochromatic
Incy wincy 106: something old (the paper and ribbon), something new (the topper)
Card cupids 33: buttons and/or ribbon
Ribbon carousel 14: anything goes - using ribbon
AiFactory: August anything goes

When life gives you lemons ...

For this card I've used My time made easy Pretty Patterns sketch 21, which also asks for our own background (I didn't use any patterned paper) and a quote - this was produced on my dymo letratag:

This is for 365 cards day 156: when life hands you lemons ...

I've used a Pixie Dust studio 'lemonade' digi for their 'Anything goes' challenge, using one of their images, which I printed and coloured with copics. I actually cropped the image (it had some flowers at the bottom), so this is also for Bee crafty 35: cropping & chopping images.

The colour scheme is for Creative inspirations 123: lemonade - yellow & white.

This is also for:

The crafty pad 133: gone fruity
Kort o mania 44: create something with a saying on
KB cute Monday 24: anything goes using a digi
Cute card Thursday 176: no designer paper
AiFactory: August anything goes

A dress form - just for you

This card was prompted by the challenge for 365 cards day 157: ad inspired, with this picture:

I remembered that there were some dress forms in a QVC Kanban kit I got a while ago, so I put together a border, framed oval, sentiment and hat with the dress form with a 50s dress. The black card blank is 7 x 5. The lines on the dress and around the oval are foiled with gold and copper.

This is also for:

Corrosive 128: earth tones
House of Gilli: polka dots
Sparkles forum 17: one for the girls
AiFactory: August anything goes

BF August inchies

The August inchies swap on the Bubbly Funk forum is 'summer holiday'.

Last night I had great fun spending a 10$ coupon at Stitchy Bear digital stamps - I won it recently for a Winter Wonderland challenge 'red & green should not be seen'. One of the digis I chose was 'deckchair' by Delicious Doodles, so I thought I would use it straight away for my 'summer holiday' inchies.

The good thing about a digi is that you can scale it down to whatever size you need, so I reduced it to the right size for an inchie. I coloured the background sky and sand with copics, but used Staedtler triplus fineliner pens for the other colouring because it was so fine.

It's hard to see in the picture, but beside the deckchair there is a tube of sun lotion and a pair of sunglasses - ever hopeful for a summer holiday with some sunshine!

The little dew drop ink pad was added for size comparison (lol! to show that they really are inchies!). I tried to take a better picture outside, but it's so breezy that the paper they were put on wouldn't stay still.

I'm linkind for these challenges:

Clear it out Tuesday: summer is here
Craft room: summer holidays
Creative craft: its summertime
Divas by design 7: summer is here
Cardmadfairy 14: summer holidays
Crafty Ann 46: summertime ... and the living is easy
Deep ocean 5: seaside
Die cut dreams 95: holiday fun
KB cute Monday 24: anything goes using a digi
Cute card Thursday 176: no designer paper
Crafty purple frog: anything but a card
AiFactory: August anything goes



Sunday, 7 August 2011

Black, white and red Christmas

I thought I'd make another card for my CHNC challenge 32 - the challenge this week is to use black, white and one other colour - if you haven't yet started your Christmas cards, now would be a good time and why not choose a colour scheme for this challenge?

It's a very simple card. I stamped a newly-acquired Kanban stamp with versamark and heat embossed with white detail power. The black shape is a Kanban Elizabethan stackable - I got lots of sets of stackables with ten sheets of clear stamps from QVC. I'm a bit disappointed though because the stackables don't all layer well - although there are some the same shape they don't leave the same amount of space around, so I opted to stick my black stackable on to a piece of white card and cut out by hand. The sentiment was produced on my dymo letratag. The embossed card blank is 7 x 5.

I'm linking this for these challenges:

Simon says: Christmas in August
PaperPlay 31: Christmas in August
Inspiration avenue: the forest of trees
Little red wagon 92: put a critter on it
Cute card Thursday 176: no designer paper
Sundays with Crissy 20: keep it simple stamper
Cards for men 16: clean & simple
AiFactory: August anything goes
Papertake: anything goes

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Blue butterfly friendship

I'm just scraping in at the last minute for Make my Monday 9: butterflies or dragonflies.

This is actually the first of six ATCs that I'm doing for the August swap on the Bubblyfunk forum - the theme is 'a quote/a saying'.

When the other five are made (hopefully tomorrow) I'll add them to this post.

The background is a Kanban image stamped with stazon ultramarine, with the butterfly lightly coloured with pale blue grey copic. The saying is a Stamping up stamp. Edges were distressed with stormy sky DI.

Sunday update - all six are done now:

This is also for:

Bizzy Becs August: use butterflies and the colour blue
ATC challenges 7: all things summer
Stamptacular 122: friends are heaven sent
Fab n funky 84: friendship

Red and white magical Christmas

For week 31 on the Facebook Sunday's with Santa group, there is a recipe of a snowflake, some ribbon and 3 buttons, so I have used all of these on this card.

The current CD Sunday challenge is 'bling it up!' - getting this done at the last minute before a new challenge goes up tomorrow. I used a paper and topper from My Craft Studio CD Christmas 1 contemporary tree. Until recently I'd forgotten about these Christmas CDs, so it made a change to use something from one of them (I have the My Craft Studio Christmas set). I added quite a lot of red gems for the bling, as well as the glittered snowflake. As I used a CD, this is also for Fab's big Christmas for August.



This is also for:

Incy wincy 105: monochromatic colours
Tanda teaser 177: ribbons and bows
Truly scrumptious 62: buttons & bows
Ribbon carousel 14: let's get crazy - anything goes (using ribbon)
Totally papercrafts 78: holidays (I noticed some of the DT did Christmas cards)
Simon says: Christmas in August
PaperPlay 31: Christmas in August
Stamp something: August digi day
AiFactory: August anything goes
Papertake: anything goes