Venturing into ....

.... three dimensions.  I don't often make things that aren't cards, but spent a fair bit of time earlier in January wrangling with a sheet of card, paint, mod podge, etc., making a box to hold three Yankee Candle votives.  I did a card to match, and all was sent to a lovely crafting friend called Margie, who is going through a period of ill-health, leading up to a pretty major operation last week.  She has received her package now so I can post the pictures.  Here's the card, first of all:

I used a sketch a couple of weeks old from Deconstructed Sketches and I'm also entering the following challenges: Creative Card Crew ("Recipe - 1 ribbon, 2 patterned papers, 3 pearls/gems"), Party Time Tuesdays ("Anything Goes"), ABC Challenge ("D is for Dazzle") and Creative Inspirations ("Stamping").

I'm really liking gold and gold glitter these days, there are a lot of companies incorporating this look into their lines - I've had this fab lamé ribbon for years, and I dipped the hearts and brad, which were just plain, into glue and them gold glitter - fan-tab-u-lous!!  I made the acetate banner letters and stamped a pretty scalloped circle lightly on textured cardstock for a shabby look.  Here's a close-up:

And here's the box, it's a little bit bockety at the sides, I've altered boxes before but this was the first I've made from scratch (and I learned a lot whilst doing it!):

And here are the two together.

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Kissing Booth" and Crate Paper "Maggie Holmes"

Stamp: Hero Arts "Scallop Background"

Fonts: "Falling Rain" and "A Little Swag" dafont.com

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug "Textile"

Other: Ribbon from stash, gold glitter, gold hearts

Thanks for looking - and if you're looking, Margie - hope you're safe at home now!

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!

Glad to see ....

.... the back of 2013!!  Happy New Year to everyone - hoping 2014 is good to you all.  We had a lovely Christmas, restful and relaxing, a nice finish to what was a thoroughly and utterly crappy year.  Oh well, don't look back is what I say!!

I had intentions of doing lots of crafting, but we made a snap decision to decorate Jed's bedroom. It hadn't been painted since before he was born, and although it wasn't terribly babyish, it did need to be done now he's almost 12 and nearly finished primary school. Daisy was away for a week so that meant he could sleep in her room.  We are super-slow and pernickety decorators, so to have a deadline of a week was quite a challenge.  But we did it!!!  Then back to work this Monday.  Sigh!

My husband wanted a thank you card for a very nice and generous customer, he said "Oh something quick and simple will do".  What???  Quick and simple???  Do you know me at all???  Two days (!) later, I had this:

Update 21/01- this card was picked as Top 3 on Creative Colors - thank you!

I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Craft your Passion ("Fancy Borders/Edges" - the little tab is a die-cut), Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Blues"), Creative Card Crew and Papertake Weekly ("Anything Goes"), Shopping our Stash ("Use something new" - I've used the buttons which came in a big jar that my Secret Santa gave me just before Christmas), ABC Challenge ("C is for Colourful"), Creative Colours and Moving along with the Times ("Thank you").

I used some incredibly old SEI papers - I think they date from 2008.  I made the flower embellishment by rough-cutting it from patterned paper, glueing down onto a couple of layers of white card and then fussy cutting it.  Here's a close-up of the detail on the card:
 

 

Recipe:

Papers: SEI "Dill Blossom"

Die: Nestabilities "Labels 8"

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug

Font: "Shelter Me" - dafont

Other: Buttons from stash

Thanks for looking!

Julie's Little ....

.... Helper!  Have to share this picture of my cat wrapping the Christmas presents with me the other night.  This is the "before" picture - had there been another photo it would have been Jess going all ninja on the string and me sucking the scratch on my hand!!

Hoping you all had a lovely Christmas.  We had a lovely day, very laid-back and stress-free - that's because we went to my step-mother's for dinner!!! 

Thanks for looking!

I'm a crazy ....

.... scavenging lady!!  At the side of most motorways and suburban roads here, there are bushes growing more or less wild that, in summer, have either red or greenish/yellow leaves, and in winter, the bare branches are also red or greenish/yellow.   I think they're called dogwood, but I am open to correction on that!!  I've been eyeballing them for years as I drive past, thinking "I bet I could make a wreath out of those".  Well this was the year. I decided to make it for my son's teacher, and here's the story!!

Last weekend, my daughter and I made a bunch of pom-poms in a few different sizes.

On Monday, I walked up to the bypass near our house, armed with a pair of secateurs and a sack.  The kids refused to come with me, wonder why!!  With the traffic whizzing past, I scrambled around in the bushes, cut a pile of suitably shaped branches and then carried them home.

Tuesday, I washed the roadside grime off them, and began twisting them into shape.  At this point, the cat joined in - those branches were whippy - and she thought this was the.best.game.ever - there were twigs, cat and claws flying through the air!!!

Last night, with today's last-day-of-school deadline imminent, I grabbed my new hot glue gun and stuck down the pom-poms, some jingle bells and a ribbon and bow.  Wow, how did I ever craft so long without hot glue - it's such a doddle to use - instant drying, super stickiness - fantastic.

And this morning, before school, I hung the finished wreath on my front door and took photos - still not fully daylight and it was a "red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" kind of sky so the light was a bit wonky, but here it is:

A closer look:

And even closer:

I'm really chuffed with how it turned out and even my daughter (my harshest critic!!!) said "It doesn't look homemade, it looks professional" - not bad for a virtually cost-free project!!

I'm going to enter the following challenges: City Crafter ("Jingle Bells"), Craft Your Passion ("Christmas Anything but a card"), Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes") and Make it Monday.

I'm so happy, we're now on holidays - two full weeks off - hallelujah!

Thanks for looking!

The last teacher's ....

.... Christmas card, ever!!  My son is in his final year of primary school, and next year in secondary school, he will have way too many teachers for individual gifts and cards!!  So this is the very last time I'll have this particular task to add to the Christmas panic!!  Yippee!!  I still haven't finished the present, there'll be a morning-dark picture taken tomorrow before we head in to school, but here's the card I made:

I used a recent Deconstructed Sketch and I'm also entering the following challenges: Basic Grey Challenges ("Anything Goes" - very sad, their last challenge - this was the first challenge blog I ever entered back in the day), Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Use a stamp"), Stampin for the Weekend ("Use some Red"), Papertake Weekly ("Last Christmas card of the Year") and Creative Inspirations ("Anything Goes").

 

I used a plethora of Basic Grey on this card - papers from two different Christmas collections and a stamp from another.  How I love Basic Grey at Christmas!!  Here's a closer look at the little scene I created - the roof and windows have been stamped twice on different colours of card and decoupaged and popped up for dimension.  I wanted to put glitter on the snowy chimney and roof, but Jed said he didn't want to give his teacher a glittery card.  OK so!



Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Figgy Pudding" and "Jovial"

Stamps: Basic Grey "Nordic Holiday", Hero Arts "Stunning Snowflakes" background

Die: Nestabilities "Lacy Circles"

Other: Font "Yummy Cupcakes", white e.p.

Thanks for looking - wish me luck with finishing the teacher's present!

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!