Wuv, Wuv, Wuv ....

.... as my son used to say when he couldn't pronounce his Ls!

Yes, it's that soppy time of year again!  My monthly craft meet was on Saturday and I spent a good few hours making a card for Paul.  Someone asked would he be appreciative of all the time I devoted to making his card?  I said "He'd better be!"  Here is the finished article:

There are oodles of Valentine challenges to enter this into: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("It Must be Love"), Little Red Wagon ("Shades of Red"), Creative Inspirations ("Love is in the Air"), Cardz4Guyz ("Something beginning with L"), Moving along with the Times ("Love") and Brown Sugar ("Valentine").

The main focus of my card is the striped red heart in the centre.  I cut strips of different coloured and textured red cardstock, inked some with darker or brighter distress ink to give me an even bigger selection of colours, then lined them together carefully and stuck together behind a cut out heart shape.  I added black embossing round the edges of the card and the heart and stenciled some black on the left hand side.  The stripes look a bit pink in the light in this close up shot, but they are definitely red!!

Recipe:

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Bubble"

Paper: Basic Grey "Urban Prairie"

Other: Cardstock, black e.p.

Thanks for looking!

How time ....

.... doth fly!  Bit too late to be saying Happy New Year, really, but here we are in 2017.  I haven't been crafting as I was sick over Christmas, then we had really busy weekends throughout January.  I've been trying to get time to clear out my craftroom, it was a tip.  Eventually got to it last weekend and did a huge tidy up and clean (the dust!!!) and since then I've made four cards, yes FOUR!!  One was just a photo one that I gave to my mother-in-law on her birthday and didn't take a picture of, two are waiting 'till their recipients have them before I post, but the fourth I can post now!

This time last year, we were headed off to Edinburgh to my cousin's wedding - here's the post I did at the time about it.  I made an anniversary card to match the card I had given them last year and here it is:

It's quite a little card - 10.5cm x 10.5cm so I hadn't a lot of room to work - I used the same papers as last time, had to use different ribbon as I didn't have any left from last year - lots of gold heat embossing and the same art deco touches and fonts.

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Young at Heart"), Little Red Wagon (Colour Challenge - red and/or pink and black), Brown Sugar ("Rhinestone and/or ribbon") and Inspiration Destination ("Anything Goes").  I used some wood veneer hearts and covered them in gold embossing - here's a side-shot of the card:

Recipe:

Paper: Basic Grey "Kraft Basics"

Font: "Betty Noir" and "Yorkwhiteletter" -  dafont.com

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

Thanks for looking!

Blew the dust ....

.... from my craftroom yesterday!  I haven't made anything since my last post, have been knitting instead, as I'm still working through physio.  My neck is much improved, but sorting that out has uncovered middle back problems (yes, middle back - not upper or lower!) and that makes close-up cardmaking a bit painful.  Oh well, it's getting better - and I've ordered my Christmas card stuff - way to undo all the good work!

My daughter's boyfriend is 23 today, this is the same fella I deigned to make a card for last year!  He's still around! Here's what I made:

Update 25/10/16- this card was Featured at Little Red Wagon - thank you!!

I'm entering the following challenges: Little Red Wagon ("Let's Party"), Creative Knockouts ("Embossing" - I've heat embossed the letters with my new embossing pen, not wildly impressed with it though.  I've also dry embossed some vertical lines on the top right of the card - you can kind of see them!), Inspiration Destination ("Anything Goes") and Seize the Birthday ("Anything Goes").

Lar likes cycling and bikes and such, so I was chuffed that I remembered this old IndigoBlu stamp set with a racing bike.  Inked a nice urban grungy brick background stencil and stamped the bike on top.  Here's a closer look:

Recipe:

Paper: Cosmo Cricket "Get Happy"

Stamp: IndigoBlu "Grand Tour 1" set

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Bricked"

Fonts: "Alexis Marie" - dafont.com and Arial Black

Other: Red e.p., Glossy Accents, staples.

Do you like my artificial grass?  The hard landscaping of our new garden is finished - we've just got to finish putting cladding on the walls and then it will be done - possibly this weekend.

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!

Construction ....

.... time again!

I haven't made our Christmas cards for three years, twice because Jed designed a card in school and last year because I .... gulp, whisper .... bought them!  So I was quite excited by the prospect of making them again.  Had a design in my head and went about ordering the supplies back at the end of October, they arrived, I put them in a pile in the craftroom and they sat there for a few weeks until last Monday week ago, when I made the first one.  Very nice, very pleased - had a craft club meeting on the Saturday so I figured I would make all the components and make up kits to bring along and I'd get the whole lot put together in one go.  Oh Lord, what a palaver.  I spent the whole week making the kits, then went to the club and got only 20 .... TWENTY .... out of 50 done in the day.

But the story has a happy ending - I got most of the rest done on the Sunday and finished up on the Monday.  The second big job of writing the flippin' things is now also done (yay!).  Here's the product of all that sweat and tears:

The light is terrible, we've been having biblical quantities of rain here in Ireland lately.  The cards are white, not blue!!

I'm entering this into the following challenges: Our Creative Corner ("Wish upon a Star"), Creative Knockouts ("Winter Wonderland"), Moving Along with the Times ("To a Special Someone at Christmas" - all my relatives and friends are special!), ABC Challenge ("W is for Warm Winter Wishes"), Crafty Creations ("Happy Holidays") and Little Red Wagon ("Snow Much Fun").

Here's a side-shot of the card, showing all the layers:

And here are all fifty cards finished.  I always think at this point "Isn't it a shame to split them up"!!!

  Recipe:

Stamp: Hero Arts/Basic Grey "Nordic Holiday"

Dies: MFT "Stitched Mountain Range" and Mama Elephant "Lots of Stars"

Stencil: Simon Says Stamp "Falling Snow"

Font: YorkWhiteLetter dafont.com

Other: Bakers' Twine, texture paste, glossy accents.

Thanks for looking!

Thinking about ....

.... stars, specifically 3 small shiny red stars, at 6 o'clock in the morning!!

I woke up early this morning (most unusual for me!), and was thinking about the card I made last night.  I thought it was finished, but had a little niggly feeling that there was something missing.  As I tried to get back to sleep at 6am, I decided that three small shiny red stars would be just the thing.  So when I got up, I made them, left them to dry and headed to church, and when I came home I added them to the card.  Anyone else do this?  Or am I the only sad sack?!!!

The card is a thank-you for one of my husband's customers, and here it is:

I'm entering the following challenges: Cas-ual Chic ("Tic-Tac-Toe" - I've gone with stitching, colouring and distressing), Little Red Wagon ("Tags"), The Kraft Journal ("Take your Pick" - I've gone with stamped, tag and die-cut), Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Watercolour"), Craft your Passion ("Anything Goes") and Craft Stamper ("Take a Technique" - mine is stitching)

I haven't sewn on a card in ages and ages - it's too time-consuming, but this card needed that pop around the edges.  I used white ink to stencil on the kraft background, stamped and white-embossed the woodgrain and the flower, then coloured the flower with watercolour pencils.  Here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Nook & Pantry"

Stamps: Hero Arts: "Hello Circles"

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Bubble"

Font: "Shelter Me" - dafont.com

Other: needle + thread, glossy accents, colouring pencils

Do you think the stars look right?

Thanks for looking!

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!

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!

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!

On the road ....

.... again!  Our lovely piano teacher at school has just retired, and I wanted to make a card that didn't include any of the obvious music/keyboard/piano motifs.  She and her husband head off with glee each summer holiday to travel the roads of Europe in their caravan, so I decided to base my card around that.  Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from last week's Deconstructed Sketch (flipped) and I'm also entering the following challenges: City Crafter ("Chipboard"), Creative Inspirations ("Distressing"), Fab 'n' Funky ("Feels Like Summer"), Little Red Wagon ("I need a Vacation") and Charisma Cardz ("Anything Goes").

I used some very old papers by Cosmo Cricket - my starting point was the cute car and caravan chipboard image - never thought I'd get to use it!  I highlighted the vehicles with glossy accents.  I cut the foliage from one of the patterned papers.  Here's a side-shot of the dimension on the card.

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Mr. Campy"

Font: "Alexis Marie" - www.dafont.com

Die: Nestabilities "Blossom"

Other: Glossy Accents

Thanks for looking!

Pretty birds and ....

.... flowers.

I had a sympathy card to make for a funeral this morning.  I had bits and pieces of a card that I'd started months ago but never finished and it came together nicely.  Here's how it ended up:

Update 02/07 - this card was Featured on Little Red Wagon - thank you.

I'm entering this into the following challenges: Craft Your Passion ("Ribbons"), Crafty Creations ("Things with Wings"), Little Red Wagon ("Animal Antics"), Crafts and Me ("Add Wings") and Dragonfly Dreams ("Anything with Wings").

I've used an old Hero Arts cling set to make the cherry blossom branch and the individual blossoms, which added a little something to a very plain sentiment.  Here's a close-up of the detail:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Oxford"

Stamps: Hero Arts Sparkle Clear "From our Home"

Other: Bird cut from wrapping paper, ribbon recycled

Thanks for looking!

Inch by inch ....

.... I haven't made an inchie card in a very long time - before I had my blog I think.  I like the fiddlyness of them - the precision of stamping on the little grid of squares, adding colour, splatter or whatever, then separating them, inking, backing them and finally ever so carefully mounting them with a little, hopefully perfect, bit of a gap between each one.  Here's the finished inchie card:

I'm entering this in the following challenges: Stampin' for the Weekend and Crafty Girls ("Anything Goes"), Little Red Wagon ("Truly Dimensional"), Creative Inspirations ("Favourite Colour Combination" - I love blue and brown), Crafty Creations ("Happy Birthday") and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges ("D is for Distress").

The map stamp is from a Tim Holtz set, which also has an airplane that I could have used, but as this card is for a Mini friend, I stamped a Mini instead - and combined with the awful punning sentiment!!  Here's a side-shot of the dimension of the card:

Recipe:

Papers: Authentique "Abroad"

Stamps: Tim Holtz "Warehouse District", Mini

Colouring Medium: Watercolour paints and distress inks
Font: Cheddar Jack - dafont.com

Other: Clear embossing powder, baker's twine, Doodlebug brads

Thanks for looking!

Don't forget the ....

.... Christmas birthdays!  My birthday is in December, but far enough away from Christmas to have always been treated separately by everyone.  But my friend's son has was born perilously close to Christmas, and it's very easy to overlook it.  He is old enough now to realise if people don't mark his special day, so I make a concerted effort to separate Christmas and his birthday.  I will send off his card so it will arrive in the post specially addressed to him on the right day (hopefully, fingers crossed the over-worked posties can make it happen!) and his birthday present will definitely not be wrapped in Christmas paper!!  Here's the card I made for him:

Update 19/12 - this card was chosen as one of the Top 3 on Charisma Cardz - thank you, ladies!

I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Little Red Wagon ("Holiday Birthday") and Charisma Cardz ("Your Favourite Word" - I reckon Happy or Birthday are everyone's favourite words!).

I always hold on to string and cord, especially if it's coloured, from parcels, new clothes, old notebooks or whatever, so I was happy to recycle some black cord on this card.  I have no idea where I got it originally, but the hoarding is now justified!!  The card ended up being quite a bulky one with lots of dimension - here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Get Happy"

Font: Computer Generated - "Little Bird"

Punch: MS "Drippy Goo"

Other: Glossy Accents, eyelets and black cord from stash

Thanks for looking!

And another ....

.... one - the usual "end-of-summer why didn't I make more cards?" guilt fest!!

This is for a friend of mine who, as you can see, is turning 50.  Her favourite colour is black, and she's a bit of a glamour-girl, so I went for black with a bit of glitz on her card.  Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering Little Red Wagon ("Layers").

It was difficult to photograph - there's so much glitter.  I've been meaning to make one of these rolled-up paper candle cards for ages - it's so easy and so effective.  Here's a side-shot of the candles and dimension on the card:

 

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Little Black Dress"

Die Cuts: Spellbinders "Lacy Circles"

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug "Textile"

Other: Black Diamond and Platinum stickles, sequins from stash

 

Thanks for looking!

 



The challengiest ....

.... challenge of the year for me, card-wise, is my husband's Valentine's card!!  In the days before I started making cards, we used to compete to see who could buy the most non-soppy, yet still recognisably Valentine-y, Valentine's card!!  I remember winning one year with a card that was just plain matt black, no sentiment, with a tiny embossed foil red heart in the centre.  Nice card it was too!!  I was reminded of it when I was thinking up this year's effort.  Here's what I made:

I used last week's Deconstructed Sketch, and I'm also entering this into a few of the Valentine's challenges around: Craft your Passion, Kaboodle Doodles, Little Red Wagon, Moving along with the Times, also Basic Grey Challenges ("Your Favourite" - it's my favourite BG Christmas papers - "Jovial"!), Card Crafters' Circle ("Paint the Town Red") and Stampin' for the Weekend ("Distressing").  Phew, that's quite a list.

Here's a side-shot of the layers of this card, I like the enamelled hearts.

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Scarlet's Letter" and "Jovial"

Sentiment: from an MFT Pure Innocence set

Punched Hearts: MS Valentine Lace

Other: Black Tulle, zig-zag scissors, Tim Holtz black enamel accents, glossy accents

 

I was chuffed when I found out that my last card won not one, but two challenges, nice to see the old name up in stars!!!  Not to mention getting a blinky for the sidebar and winning a set of stamps too.  Yippee!!

 

Thanks for looking!

 

It feels stranger when ....

.... your little brother turns 40 than when you do!!!  Well, that's what I'm thinking about it!! 

It's been a very busy few weeks - my daughter was Head of Costume, Hair and Make-up at a production of Hercules her school year put on, and I ended up helping her with some of the props and costumes (having said I wouldn't!!).  We had some very distinguished visitors here in Dublin - first Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, then Barack & Michelle Obama.  I didn't go into town to see either visit, mostly 'cos I was working and the weather was really bad too, but I watched avidly on TV and enjoyed every moment.

I've not had much time for crafting, but I had to make something for my wittle baby brudder!!  I find it difficult to make cards for him for some reason, even though he has quite a few interests.  He wouldn't like anything fussy or fancy either -  finally, I decided to go with a cricketing theme, as he loves the game and plays for his local club too.  Here's what I ended up with:

The papers are actually baseball themed ones, but it looks close enough to a cricket ball to me!!!  I didn't have time to check out many challenges when I was making this at the very last minute, but I'm entering the following:  Simon Says Stamp ("Something Sentimental"),  Little Red Wagon ("Use a Number") and Truly Scrumptious ("Anything Goes").

Here's a side-shot of the card, showing the shiny popped up numbers and the wiggly banner:

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Lil' Man"

Sentiment + Numbers: Computer generated

Other: American Crafts eyelets, needle + thread, lots of Antique Linen distress ink

Thanks for looking!

Begorrah, bejaysus ....

.... and beshamrocks - it's Thursday again and another week of PaperPlay - our challenge this week is a very Irish one - Shades of Green - the challenge is to make a St. Patrick's Day card, a good luck card, or simply use shades of green.

I'm not a big fan of St. Patrick's Day, the only good thing about it is that it's a day off!!!  I have too many  memories of having to attend parades in the freezing rain and the howling wind as a child.  My own two poor deprived offspring have never been to a Paddy's Day parade, they'll have to wait 'till they're old enough to go by themselves!!!

So, I didn't make a St. Patrick's Day card - I made a good luck one - here it is:

I've used the sketch from Totally Gorjuss, and I'm also entering this into The Shabby Tea Room ("Luck of the Irish"), A Spoon Full of Sugar (vintage/shabby), Little Red Wagon ("St. Paddy's Day Green"), Simon Says Stamp (anything goes) and Colour Create (green/brown/cream/black).

The colour scheme is not one I'd normally use, but I really like the combination - especially with the added touches of gold on the ribbon and the gold stickled hearts - very leprechauny!  I've used one of my Sugar Nellies that I haven't inked up for a while - love these Leanne Ellis images - here's a close-up:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Origins"

Stamp: "Choose" by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Other: Gold stickles, ribbon from stash, needle + thread

If you were wondering where I got the title for this post, I've added a link below.  If you've got 4 minutes to spare, have a listen.  It's an Irish comedian called Mario Rosenstock doing his version of Michael Flatley on a spoof radio interview - I've listened to it over and over and it makes me cry with laughter every time.  Enjoy!!

And thanks for looking (and listening!!).