Break out the yellow ....

.... because the sun is shining!!

It's been a very dank and grey spring here in Dublin, bar one sunny week way back in March (not that I'm complaining, as such - as I've said before, I like our weather). But today, the sun made a surprise appearance and it's to be fine for the whole week. My, what a good mood everyone is in!! And we've got Sports Day in school on Friday - it is so strange to hear people talking optimistically about the weather a whole 5 days in advance! Normally, we'd be hedging our bets and waiting until Thursday before deciding whether or not it can go ahead!

So when doing a commissioned card for a confirmation, I included a colour that I almost never use - YELLOW!! Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from this week's Sunday Sketch + Stamp and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: Paper Sundaes ("Pretty in Pink"), Basic Grey Challenges ("Anything Goes" - my third entry!), Sugar Bowl ("Free for All" using Sugar Nellie stamp), The Ribbon Girl ("Pinks and Creams") and Simon Says Stamp + Show ("Summer Holiday").

I used this cute Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girl image - but masked out the heart and envelope seams and added a cross so it looks like a prayer book.  I was told that Róisín, the girl who the card is for, has reddish-blonde hair - so I had a go with the distress inks - quite pleased with the result.  Here's a close-up and then a pic of the distressed, inked and rolled flowers.

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Ambrosia", "Kissing Booth", "Nook + Pantry" and "Capella"

Stamp: Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girl "Sent with Love"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Punch: MS "Branch"

Other: Ribbon from stash, needle + thread

Thanks for looking!

Big Girl ....

.... Colouring!!  I went to a workshop last week, where the lovely Mina was teaching how to colour with Distress Inks.  I've been itching to try this technique for a while, and I really enjoyed the class.

I sat down to make a card for yet another friend who is about to turn 50, and is a real girlie-girl, so I decided I'd do a Gorjuss Girl card for her, using the Distress Ink technique.  I had great fun colouring, and it's amazing what tiny quantities of ink are needed - very economical!!!  Here's my card:

I used this week's lovely sketch from Friday Sketchers - really nice to work with.  I'm also entering this into Totally Gorjuss (use a Gorjuss Girl!), Daring Cardmakers (Die-Cuts - I've used die-cut ribbon), A Spoon Full of Sugar (Happy Birthday) and The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge (Distressing).

Here's a close-up of my colouring:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey Urban Prairie

Stamp: Gorjuss Girl "Sent with Love"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks.

Other: BG Buttons, Needle + thread, ribbon sent to me by Elisa (thanks, hun!)

Thanks, Mina - I hope I've done your tuition justice!!!  Everyone else, thanks for looking!

Pink, White ....

.... and Green. That's the colour combination on this week's PaperPlay Challenges. It's a very popular combination for many people, but not one of my usuals!!

I had a card to make for a friend's daughter who will be 8 soon, so I decided to go for full on girlie and dig out some Doodlebug papers. I bought these a few years ago at my first crop, they were the very first scrapbook papers I had seen and I was overcome with the gorgeousness of everything!! Of course, shortly afterwards I discovered Basic Grey and the poor Doodlebugs were pushed to the back of the pile, where they've been languishing ever since!!!


And Totally Gorjuss are looking for "Dimension" in projects this week. There is certainly a lot of that on this card. I've stamped the image twice and popped the second one up for added dimension. I also popped up the circle sentiment and number. The flowers on the image are highlighted with Glossy Accents. The number 8, made from Doodlebug Sugar cardstock, is also covered with Glossy Accents (mainly to keep the glitter under control!!!).

Here's a close-up of the layering. The background card and punched border are actually hot pink, although they look red in the pics.
/

Recipe:

Papers: Doodlebug

Image: Gorjuss Girl from Sugar Nellie

Colouring Medium: Prismas and Promarkers

Other: Doodlebug brads, MS punch, Stardust Stickles, Glossy Accents, needle & thread

I'm hoping to do more crafting this week, I've been too too busy the past month, not nearly enough time for fun stuff!!! I've received two lovely blog awards from Sandie and Carol, will upload and pass on in the next day or so - thank you ladies!!!

And thanks for looking!!

P.S. "Chloe's" card from last week is still on my desk - I haven't heard yet if they've picked a name - well, they are not getting the card until they do!!!

Snow Days ....

.... I love 'em. Off again today, and the forecast is really bad for Sunday and into next week. We could be stuck here for days!!!! Yippee!!!

Thankfully, we got to the dentist on Tuesday and DS's bad tooth was extracted. Our dentist is so wonderful, he ensured the whole procedure was as untraumatic as possible, and DS was very, very good (I had had my doubts about that!!!). I was very good too!!! (Well, I was dentist-phobic for years!).

I've made another card - the productivity is great with all this enforced house-dom!! Our friend is turning 50 shortly and is having a huge party, yet she doesn't want anybody to shout about her age - we think this is very funny!!! I thought she'd kill me if I made a card emblazoned with big 5s and 0s, but yet I feel I have to mention the age achievement, so I tried to think of a sneaky way to do it!!

And when I saw Dena's lovely card, I had my answer. Here's my card:


Notice the "Sshhhhh" printed on the left hand side - and when you pull the tag, it reveals this:

I'm entering this in three challenges:

.

Quixotic Challenges and Simon Says Stamps Challenges both have "Hot Chocolate" as their challenge this week - I've used lovely pink and chocolately colours.

,

And Crafty Angels are looking for something recycled. See the hairy string on the tag - I got that from the postman - he had tied a load of post together with it and was going to dump it - so I rescued it!!!!

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey Bittersweet

Colouring Medium: Promarkers and Prismas

Inks: Chestnut Roan and Dark Brown Colorbox Chalks

Font: Excellentia in excelsis

Other: Hairy String and Eyelet from stash

.

Thanks for looking! And thanks for taking time to leave a comment - I love to read them!

My first card ....

.... using my Promarkers. I've been fiddling about with them, and this is the first image I've coloured. Few observations, first being that I used the wrong paper, it was quite difficult to blend the colours and they bled a bit too, but I'm happy enough with it as a first experiment.

I've followed the lovely sketch on this week's Sugar Bowl - I've used their sketches before, but hadn't used Sugar Nellie stamps, so couldn't enter the challenge. Well this week, as I've got my Gorjuss Girl image, I can enter - here's my card:

There was an extra requirement to use lace. Well, I don't have any lace, so I used my MS Doily "Lace" punch, hope that fulfils the brief!! The papers are Cosmo Cricket Lil Man - I love 'em!!

.

Thanks for looking - and thanks for lovely comments left on my last post.

Bit of repetition ....

.... going on here, now that I look at my last few blog entries. Seems to be a preponderance of spots and Sugar Nellies!!! Maybe it's something to do with this being my week to set the challenge on PaperPlay Challenges, I've called it "Spot This":

"Pretty self-explanatory really. I am a sucker for buying spotty paper (and stripy - but we won't go there!), then I don't use it up because I don't want to cut into it. So this week, I'd like everyone to make spotty things (using paper or indeed anything else spotty you wish).

Have fun (I, on the other hand, will be weeping with a pair of scissors over my lovely spotty darlings!!!)."

So here's what I made:

Yes, it's my lovely Gorjuss Girl, coloured with Prismas and distress inked to within an inch of her life!! Papers are Crate Paper Avenue - I soooo love this line - the colours are my favourite dusky blues, creams, and dark browny/black.
I am also going to enter this card in this week's Simon Says Stamp challenge, which requires stitching. Seeing as I was insane enough to be sitting doing hand-stitching and cross-stitching on this one at 12.15 last night, I think it might just fit the bill!!!
Thanks for looking!

Late nights and ....

.... early mornings. I'm soooo tired today, had a very very busy weekend, most of it same old same old and some unbelievably boring (committee meeting - blah!). When I got home last night I stayed up quite late getting this card for my friend's daughter finished. Then my mind was buzzing and I couldn't sleep, so I was not at my best this morning!!!

I've used this week's sketch from Friday Sketchers and I'm also entering it in this fortnight's challenge on Basic Grey Challenges - which is to incorporate embossing - I've embossed the oval panel and I've used papers from BG June Bug and Mellow and a teeny Ambrosia button. Sorry the light is bad - I took the photo early this morning as I had to get it in the early post to make sure it arrives on time - fingers crossed anyway!!

.

Thanks for looking!

More Gorjuss ....

.... stuff.

It was my teenage daughter's confirmation last weekend. We had a super day (bar the weather, which was dreadful!), church service was lovely, tea/coffee and homemade bakes in the parish centre afterwards, then home for lunch and chat with family and friends.

DD adores the Gorjuss Girl stamps I had bought from Funky Kits, but she didn't know that the artist who designed them, Suzanne Woolcott, does a whole lot more than stamps. We ordered a print from her shop and got it framed for DD as her confirmation present. I can't get a good picture of the print in the frame, so HERE is a link to it on her site.

.

The picture below shows the framed print on DD's bedroom wall - it's a lovely pewter colour distressed frame with a very soft powder blue mount and it shows the print off really well (even though you can't tell in this pic with the nasty flash!):

.

To complete the theme, I made this card for her (her name is the blurry bit!)

.

Thanks for looking!

Fun with ....

.... Fonts - the title of my first DT challenge on PaperPlay Challenges:

I love using letters on my projects:- alpha stamps, thickers, or my absolute favourite - downloading fonts from the internet and printing the font I want in the colour and size that suits best.

So, this week, I'd like you to use lettering as a strong feature of your work. Feel free to do anything else, use images, embellies, whatever - just make sure the sentiment or title stands out!

I made a set of ATCs using my Gorjuss Girl stamp. I haven't made any ATCs before, I enjoyed it, although I did get a bit obsessive about making them identical (hee hee!!!), but I am happy with them!

Seems a shame to split them up!

Black & Grey ....

.... + One.

The challenge on BasicGrey Challenges this week was to use the aforementioned colour combo:

For this weeks challenge we would like you to use this colour combo :)Black + Grey + 1. Now you may be asking what does the +1 mean, well this means that you can choose the third colour for your creation :)

Now it doesn't happen very often (in fact, I think it hasn't happened before now!) that I have already made (and not posted) a card that EXACTLY fits the bill, but woohoo, this one does:


Black + Grey + Orange - a birthday card for a Tigger-lovin' friend. I bet 90% of the challengers use BG Ambrosia, like I have!!!

Thanks for looking! And thanks, Sandie, for lending me your stamp. I have since ordered my own Gorjuss Girl stamps - they are yummy!