Going through ....

.... the stockpile.  One good thing about not blogging in ages is that the small number of cards I've made this year are now just sitting there waiting to be uploaded!!  So with no further ado, here's my godson's 3rd birthday card:

I was sad to see that Deconstructing Sketches is no more, I loved Jen's sketches and used them all the time - now I'm looking to Pinterest a lot for inspiration, that's where I got the idea for this card.  I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Die Crazy"), Little Red Wagon ("Use Something New" - mine is the washi tape), Fab 'n' Funky ("Recycle/Upcycle" - the corrugated star and photo corner are made from old cardboard packaging), Creative Inspirations ("Your Favourite Occasion" - I love children's birthdays!) and Chocolate, Coffee & Cards ("Celebration").

I like all the layers and different shades of blue/navy/aqua/kraft on this card - here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Granola", "Carte Postale", "Clippings"

Font: "Peanut Butter Cookies" and "Titania" - dafont.com

Other: Washi tape, button and hairy string

Thanks for looking!

The countdown ....

.... is on - only two and a half weeks left until school starts again.  We're just back from our holidays in England, we spent most of our time in Kent, but spent one night in the Cotswolds and another in Telford on the way to and from the ferry.  We had a smashing time, loved Kent - the beautiful countryside, villages, architecture and, of course, the White Cliffs of Dover.  I will post some photos on my next post.

While we were away, our daughter turned 20 (that's the end of the teenage years, until next Spring, when Jed will be 13 - what were we thinking?!!!).  I made Daisy's card beforehand and brought it with us - we were camping on the morning of her birthday and gave her a surprise awakening, complete with a bunch of helium balloons outside her tent and a noisy bunch of people with party blowers!

Here's her card:

Update 23/08/14 - this card was voted Top 3 at Shopping our Stash - thank you!!

I'm entering the following challenges: Crafty Girls Challenges ("Anything Goes"),  Little Red Wagon ("Happy Birthday"), Shopping our Stash ("Back in the Day" - no fancy cutting machine for me, just scissors!) and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Scratched Up").

I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest, with big black thicker letters as a focal point.  I don't have any thickers like that, or a cutting machine that would do them for me, so I made my own big black chipboard letters, painted them with acrylic paint, and finished with a top coat of Mod-podge.  I also painted the button with acrylic paint and then distressed it with sandpaper.  Here's a closer look:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Clippings", "Carte Postale" and "Basics Kraft"

Fonts: "Mom's Typewriter" and "Bambi Bold" - www.dafont.com

Punch: EK Success "Binding Edge"

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Stars"

Other: Staples, buttons from stash, hairy string

Thanks for looking!

Loving the autumnal ...

... colours around at the moment - it's my second favourite season after winter - and I got to use lovely autumn colours for my DT entry this week on Sentimental Sundays - we're celebrating Calypso's birthday all this month, with oodles of sponsors, and this week, our challenge is "Happy Birthday - Sentiments Only". 

I had a lot of fun with this challenge.  I made a 50th birthday card for one of my colleagues in school - we were at his fancy dress party (70s theme!) last night - almost all the guests dressed up, going to great effort to do so - a great night was had by all!  This is what I made for the birthday boy:

Update 21/11/13 - Jen has picked this card as one of her favourites on Deconstructing Jen - thanks so much, Jen!

I used the sketch from this week's Deconstructed Sketches, and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: ABC Challenges ("W is for words"), Papertake Weekly ("Two by Two" - I've got two numbers and two banners"), Daring Cardmakers ("Birthday Banners and Bunting") and City Crafter ("Trick or Treat or use Orange as main colour").

I made up the sentiment on the computer and printed it onto kraft paper.  Printed the name once more, glossy accented it and popped it up for dimension.  Here's a side-shot.

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Carte Postale" and Tim Holtz "Destinations"

Other: Cuttlebug "Tiny Bubbles" embossing folder, Doodlebug brads, glossy accents

Thanks for looking!

First day of ....

.... Autumn, yayyyy!!!  The heatwave ended after about 3.5 weeks, and now we've got the usual kind of summer weather - bit of rain, bit of dry, bit of rain, bit of dry, etc., etc.  I'm hoping it's not going to lash rain tonight - husband and I are going to an gig (and it's outdoors, so really, it's bound to rain!).

My daughter has just turned 19, this is the card I made for her:

I used the sketch from this week's Deconstructed Sketch and I'm also entering this into the following:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Cute Card Thursday, Creative Inspirations and Party Time Tuesdays all have "Anything Goes" challenges.

I bought some new crafty stash recently for the first time in many month, including some new paper pads.  This card is made from a new Basic Grey line "Carte Postale" - lovely colours and patterns. I made a computer-generated sentiment, embellished with some tiny Hero Arts flowers and coloured slightly with Prisma pencils.  I love the Tim Holtz filmstrip - it made a nice frame for the 19 stickers.  Here's a close up of some of the detail:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Carte Postale"

Stamp: Hero Arts "Row of Perky Flowers"

Other: Basic Grey "Mellow?" button, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Filmstrip ribbon, MM Tiny Alphas

Thanks for looking!