Blowing the dust ....

... off my blog after almost a year!  No idea why, just fell out of the habit (which, let's face it, was an infrequent habit at the best of times!!).  Anyway, I was just sorting my 2017 photos into files and decided to take the plunge back in, so here I am!

I've gone in a slightly different direction with my card-making over the past year .  I've been using much less patterned paper, have been stamping and making backgrounds and using a much more clean and graphic style.  Looking back over the cards I've made, I think my daughter's birthday card illustrates the "new look" quite well.  Here's what I did for her:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and Crafty Creations("Anything Goes"), Creative Inspirations ("Something New" - mine is the yellow ink) and Crafty Cardmakers ("Get Inky/Messy").  I made the background by inking a large acrylic block, spritzing with water and then stamping directly on the paper.  I made star stencils and cut out the stars and also made the white letters.  I used black backing cardstock so the negative images of the stars would pop.

Thanks for looking!

Bracing Myself ....

.... for the annual Christmas card making marathon!!  Well, I have made a start - this evening's fun will involve twisting copious amounts of fine gold thread around skinny hairy string!!

Before all that started, though, two important things happened - my daughter passed her driving test first time (hallelujah!) and it was my husband's birthday so I made this card for him:

Update 01/12/16- this card was a challenge winner at Seize the Birthday - thank you!!

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Trio-tastic" - I have 3 big stars and 3 tiny stars), ABC Challenge ("T is for Three" - same things!), Crafty Cardmakers ("Embossing" - I have heat embossing), Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes") and Seize the Birthday.

I made the letters, covered them in enamel accents and left them to dry for a few hours.  When I went back up, I couldn't find the "a" anywhere.  After some searching and cursing, I found it stuck to the sleeve of my jumper - it had been there since I put the original enamel on! I added another layer to try to cover the lumps and bumps of wool fibre, but it did still come out a little lumpy in the end.  Here's a side-shot of the card (with lumpy letter a!):

Recipe:

Fonts: "Peanut Butter Cookies" and "Bambi Bold" - dafont.com

Other: Black e.p., black enamel accents, texture paste, hand-made stars and stencil.

Thanks for looking!

Nothing like a family ....

.... birthday to force a clean-up in the craftroom!!

My daughter turned 22 and, although I haven't even gotten into the craftroom over the summer, I had to get in there and make something for her, of all people!  It had become a bit of a dumping ground, especially the desk, but I did a swift tidy away and then made a card.  Wow, I was out of practice!!  After a few false starts, I ended up with quite a girly card for my non-girly girl!!  Here it is:

I loosely used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Celebrate"), Craft your Passion, Lemon Shortbread and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Anything Goes") and Crafty Cardmakers ("Summer").

I made a chevron stencil for the embossing paste using a Simon Say Stamp chevron die - it had three rows and I needed lots more, so I die cut on a large piece of card and repositioned carefully to recut about 20 rows.  Very pleased with the outcome.  I heat embossed the flowers with white e.p. and coloured them, then cut them all out and layered on the card.  I put a little bee on the tag as Daisy loves bees - there's one on her most recent tattoo on her arm.  Here's a side-shot of the layers and texture.

Recipe:

Stamps: Stampendous "Flower Swirls"

Die: Simon Says Stamp "Small Chevron Stripes"

Font: "Bringshoot" dafont.com

Other: White e.p., white embossing paste, Prismacolor pencils, homemade enamel dots

Thanks for looking!

A Scottish ....

.... Valentine's Day.  My cousin got married in Edinburgh last week, so we went over there for a few days.  The wedding was held in Mansfield Traquair - it's a deconsecrated church in the Georgian New Town section of Edinburgh and is the most magical wedding venue I've ever seen.  Here's the front door:

And here's the main interior all set up for eating and a closer shot of the altar area where the ceremony took place:

Isn't it divine?!

The wedding invitation was art deco in style, so I made a card with a nod to that era.  Here it is:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Upcycle/Recycle" - I've used a little heart charm from a Lindt rabbit), Crafty Cardmakers ("Love, love, love"), Creative Card Crew ("Love"), Lemon Shortbread and Creative Inspirations ("Anything Goes") and Moving Along with the Times ("Words Only - No Image").

I used liberal amounts of gold embossing powder, to go with the black/red/kraft colour scheme and the art deco style lettering.  I also gold-embossed some wood veneer hearts - they came out really well.  Here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Paper: Basic Grey "Kraft Basics"

Font: "Betty Noir" dafont.com

Other: Gold e.p., ribbon from stash, Lindt bunny charm, Studio Calico wood veneer hearts

Thanks for looking!

For old ....

.... time's sake - I was very sad to read an email from Basic Grey saying that they are stopping production - they were the first paper company whose products I really coveted.  I think Scarlett's Letter was the first collection I bought - still love that line - and so many others were divine.  Lovely colours, patterns, buttons, brads - there's an awful lot of it still in my stash. 

I pulled out an old collection, Marjolaine, to make a card for my friend's daughter - here it is:

Forgive the slightly blue cast to the colours - we're having yet another dull, rainy January day.  I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Craft your Passion and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Anything Goes"), Crafty Cardmakers ("Punches or Dies"), Little Red Wagon ("They say it's your Birthday") and Moving Along with the Times ("Embossing").

As mentioned already, I used Basic Grey "Marjoleine" papers - such pretty colours.  I stamped a criss-cross background and heat embossed in white e.p. and also embossed in silver around the edge of the sentiment layer.  I hand-drew the number 14.  Here's a side-shot where you can quite clearly see the embossed criss-crosses:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Marjoleine"

Stamp: Hero Arts "Envelope Pattern"

Die: Spellbinders "Pinking Circles"

Font: "Bakery" dafont.com

Other: Hand-drawn numbers, silver and white e.p., hand-made enamel dots

Thanks for looking!

The one that almost ....

.... got away.  I've just realised I never blogged this make, that's because I finished it last Christmas Eve morning in a mad rush!!  It was a commissioned piece that I wasn't even sure I'd have time to make, for my daughter's friend.  He wanted it for his boyfriend, he had organised a surprise holiday as a Christmas present, and asked for a card.  I suggested a gift-box with slider card incorporated into the lid instead.  Here it is all closed up:

And with the slider opened - the gold card is for a secret greeting:

I'm entering the following challenges: Crafty Cardmakers ("Snow"), Shopping our Stash ("Let it Snow"), Creative Inspirations ("Merry Christmas"), Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes") and Daring Cardmakers ("All Wrapped Up").

And here are two further views of the top of the box with the slider closed and the inside with "surprise" tags for writing details of the gifts on, or whatever:

Recipe:

Stamps: Hero Arts "Stunning Snowflakes" background stamp,

Paper: Basic Grey "Granola" 

Other: gold e.p., gold stickles, gold ribbon from stash, navy house paint

Thanks for looking!

One for ....

.... the old man!!  Hee hee, my husband turned 50 a few weeks ago.  How on earth did that happen, I'm sure it's no time at all since he was 40!  We went to a lovely place in Co. Meath with a group of friends last weekend to celebrate, and I was, as usual, up late the night before finishing his card.  Started with some lovely orange paper and a Tim Holtz hot air balloon stamp - but before long realised that the card was beginning to look like a hot air balloon trying to escape from the fiery pits of hell.  Back to the drawing board.  This is what I ended up with:

I'm entering the following challenges: Crafty Cardmakers ("Winter Birthday"), Craft Your Passion ("Anything Goes"), Creative Card Crew ("Sprinkle") and Papertake Weekly ("Let it Snow").

I used a new stencil (that I got for making my Christmas cards) and texture paste, combined with tiny black stars (made with a die that I also got for making Christmas cards - decided it's too much faff to cut out dozens of tiny stars!) covered in glossy accents, tangled up thread in two colours, and some more stars - here's a side view of all the dimension and texture:

Recipe:

Stencil: Simon Says Stamp Stencil "Falling Snow"

Paper: Basic Grey "Urban Prairie"

Die: Mama Elephant "Lots of Stars" 

Fonts: "Impact" and "Bambi Bold" - dafont.com

Other: Texture paste, glossy accents, Basic Grey button, thread

Thanks for looking - now I have to get on to start making the aforementioned Christmas cards - wish me luck!

Something quick ....

.... for Christmas.  For my last craft club of the year, we had to make a Christmas decoration and card to swap between each other.  Inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, I made what turned out to be a quick, fun but really effective looking ornament.  Here's what I made, with card to match:

Those are drawing pins stuck all over a Styrofoam ball, I love the finished effect - I think it looks like an armadillo.  It's amazing how heavy it is too, and it will look fab on a tree with other gold and red decorations.  I made the card in red and gold to match too, with gold jingle bells I recycled from around the necks of Lindt chocolate rabbits or bears or something!  Here's a little side-shot:

I'm entering these into the following challenges: Crafty Cardmakers ("Christmas"), Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and Creative Inspirations ("Anything Goes"), City Crafter ("Glittering Snowflakes"), Shopping our Stash ("Favourite Technique" - mine is distressing), Little Red Wagon ("So flaky") and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Bling it On").

Ornament Recipe:

Styrofoam ball, drawing pins, ribbon from stash

Card Recipe:

Paper: Basic Grey "Ambrosia"

Stamp: Hero Arts "Stunning Snowflakes" background

Font: "Apex Lake" - dafont.com

Other: Ribbon from stash, Lindt bells, gold e.p.

Thanks for looking!

It's been a while ....

.... since I've posted, and with all that's going on around here, I'd say my crafting and blogging opportunities over the next few months will be pretty limited. I haven't actually made anything over the whole month of August, and now my son, my daughter and I are all back at three different schools, with three different timetables and collection schedules so life is going to be horribly hectic for the next year.

Having said all that, I made a card for my little godson's 2nd birthday.  We spent some time on holidays with him and his family in August, and he is just the most sunny, happy little chap.  Here's what I made for him:

I used last week's sketch from Deconstructed Sketches and I'm also going to enter the following challenges: Corrosive Challenges ("Let's hear it for the boys"), Crafty Girls ("Anything Goes") and Crafty Cardmakers ("Make an Impression")

I used some very old Cosmo Cricket papers (I could probably keep making cards for the next decade and still not run out of paper!) and added buttons and a double-embossed number 2.  Here's a side-shot of the dimension on the card:

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket ("Lil Man")

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug "Tiny Bubbles"

Fonts: "Learning Curve" and "SimHei" - www.dafont.com

Other: Basic Grey buttons

Thanks for looking!

Forgot all about ....

.... this one.  I started making this card well over a year ago, at a crop I think.  Then bits of it sat on my desk for months and months until eventually I finished it at another crop.  Then it sat on the desk again for a while, then I put it in a storage box, and when I took it out to write for a friend's birthday today, I realised I'd never photographed or uploaded it!!  Here's the slow card:

I'm entering this in the following challenges: Crafty Cardmakers ("Slap it On"), Papertake Weekly ("Anything Goes") and Shopping our Stash ("3-2-1" - I have 3 banners, 2 flowers, 1 brad).

This card covers the change in style of my card-making - see, I was still spending ages and ages stitching when I started it (the background paper and the circle base for the flower) and then the other layers aren't stitched at all!!  Here's a little side-shot of the dimension on this card:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Ambrosia" and MME "Stella Rose Hattie" - I think!!

Stamp: Hero Arts "Doodle Leaf Flower"

Colouring Medium: Prismacolor Pencils

Die: Nestabilities "Eyelet Circles"

Other: Hero Arts pearls, Julie Frog's washi tape, Basic Grey "Sugared" brad

Thanks for looking!

Triple ....

.... trouble.  A colleague was having difficulty finding a card in the shops for her friend, who has just had triplets, all boys - can't imagine there's a huge mass-market for the taking there alright!!  So she came to me and this is what I made:

Update 17/02 - this card was chosen as Top 5 on Crafty Cardmakers - thank you, Carole!

I took my inspiration from the babies' biblical names - this is little Noah and his brothers safe in their cozy ark - and as they were born very prematurely, but fingers crossed are holding their own so far, I like the safe and sound on the stormy sea analogy too.  I've done a couple of similar cards before using this lovely October Afternoon wave paper - it's so good for little scenes like this.

I'm entering the following challenges with this card: Craft Your Passion ("Pick any Challenge" - I'm going with #174 "All at Sea"), Crafty Cardmakers ("This is a Man's World"), Totally Papercrafts ("Hey Cutie") and Crafty Girls Challenge ("Anything Goes").

I love the little swinging name banner on this card, here's a side-shot of a giant thumb and a close-up of the banner doing its thing!!

Recipe:

Papers: October Afternoon "Seaside" and "Weathervane"

Other: Bakers' Twine

Thanks for looking!

Back to ....

.... basics - or back in black - either phrase will do for the card I made for my friend's husband, who turned 50 recently.  I haven't made a card with no patterned paper for a long, long time - but somehow this had to be that way.  Here's what I made (excuse dark photos, pics taken at night!):

Update 08/02 - Wow - this card has been picked as overall winner for January's Our Creative Corner - thank you Claudia!

I used the sketch from this week's Deconstructing Sketches and I'm also entering the following challenges: Our Creative Corner ("No more Shopping Sins"), Totally Papercrafts ("One for the Boys"), Stampin' for the Weekend ("Happy Birthday"), Brown Sugar ("Embossing") Crafty Cardmakers ("Black and White") and Charisma Cardz ("It's a Boy Thing").

I used three background stamps on this card - the houndstooth one I've had for yonks and never used.  I did clear embossing over the sentiment with another background stamp - but you can't see it in the photo.  The embossed pattern on the black card is really back to basics, I used a marker cap to make the repeat pattern.  I dry brushed a load of housepaint on the edges of the black card and the corrugated card.  The numbers are hand-drawn, and the pointy finger is from a set of stickers I bought in IKEA (a nod to my friend, who works there - Liz, can you tell me the product name of this set?!!).

Here's a close-up of some of the detail:

Recipe:

Stamps: Hero Arts "Grid" and "Houndstooth" backgrounds

Font: 28 Days Later - dafont.com

Other: Corrugated card, IKEA sticker, paint, eyelet, clear and black embossing powder.

I've been working on something else in January, which has now been posted to a crafty friend - I will post it here once I know it's been received.

Thanks for looking!

Top o' the Morning ....

.... to you!  It's St. Patrick's Day, or Paddy's Day, whichever you prefer, here today.  And of course, the weather is horrendous - cold, windy, rain and sleet - classic St. Patrick's Day weather!  We are not going into town to the parade, not my favourite thing at the best of times and in this weather, no thank you!

It's time for another Sentimental Sundays challenge, and this week, it's "Anything Goes".  Our prize sponsor is Redonkulus Designs and our lovely Calypso and her husband, Patrick, have also contributed prizes.  One of the prizes will be for a randomly-picked commenter, what a nice idea.

My card has, again thanks to the yukky weather, photographed really darkly.  Here's what I made:

I used a sketch from Deconstructed Sketch and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: Crafty Cardmakers ("Masculine Birthday featuring technology or a gadget"), Simon Says Stamp and Show ("Shabby Chic"), and Totally Gorjuss ("Something Old" - mine is the Mini stamp, it was one of the first stamps I bought back in about 2005).

I went all Tim Holtz-y on this card, using Destinations papers, and the tag was coloured by spritzing water onto swipes of distress ink and then mashing the blank tag about in the ink.  I repeated a few times, between drying sessions, and it came out really shabby which is what I hoped for!  The gears and sprockets have been copper heat-embossed.  Here's a side-shot of the dimension:

Recipe:

Papers: Tim Holtz "Destinations"

Stamp: "Mini" by Blade Rubber Stamps

Die-Cuts: Nestabilities "Sprightly Sprockets" and "Labels 21"

Other: Copper embossing powder, Doodlebug brads, twine

Thanks for looking!

I would love if this ....

.... was the last birthday card I'll have to make for this nephew!!  I've moaned and groaned before about my husband's nephews and how difficult it is to make their cards.  Husband was wondering aloud the other day if we're done with marking the oldest guy's birthday now he's hit 21?  Could I be that lucky?  Probably not!! 

Last year's card was a corker, I used an image of a heavy-metal drummer and he just loved it.  This year, I couldn't get into it at all.  Coloured up another image and hate, hate, hated what I was doing, was as close as I've been in years to actually ..... eeeek ..... buying a card! In the end, I dumped the image and made this:

I used the sketch from this weeks' Deconstructing Sketches (loving these!) and I'm also entering this into Crafty Cardmakers ("More than one punch/die cut").  Here's a side-shot of the dimension on this card:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Skate Shoppe"

Other: MM letter stickers, Doodlebug brads, crackle accents

Thanks for looking!

Howzat ....

.... another card done!!

This one is for my brother - the cricket-playing one.  Here's what I made:

I used a cute Lili of the Valley cricketer image, but given that my brother ain't so cute, I tried to come up with something different to add to it, and I'm very chuffed with how it worked out.  Here's a side shot of my spring-loaded cricket ball:

I used the sketch from this week's Totally Gorjuss, and I'm also entering this into the following: Papertake Weekly and Lili of the Valley ("Anything Goes"), Kaboodle Doodles and Shopping our Stash ("Masculine") and Crafty Cardmakers ("Distress It").

Here's a closer look at the image.  Doesn't the little guy look nervous as that giant cricket ball comes hurtling towards him?!!!

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Oxford"

Image: Lili of the Valley "Cricket"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Other: Spring from an old notebook, needle + thread, twine

Thanks for looking!