Back briefly ....

.... hello there, I've been missing in action for almost a month.  We've been having a load of work done on our house - it was originally to happen later on in May, but then the contractor got a "window" for us - so everything, including my craft room, had to be packed away.

I couldn't get away without making a card for my husband's aunt, whose 60th birthday is this weekend, so I scrambled at the outer edges of my packed away craft stuff and used the first paper I found - bits and pieces from a line that I think dates from 2008!!!  Here's what I made:

Bright, isn't it?!!!  I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering this into Shopping our Stash ("Scrap Attack") and Simon Says Stamp ("Flower Power").  Here's a close-up of my image, lots of sparkle on that cupcake, and a side-shot of the card, lots of dimension.

 

 

Recipe:

Papers: SEI "Ally's Wonderland"

Image: Pure Innocence "Hello Cupcake"

Colouring Media: Promarkers and Prismacolors

Other: SEI embellishments and Pink Paislee letters, white pen, glossy accents, diamond stickles

 

Thanks for looking - off to not make anything for a little while more - can't wait to get back to my room, just have to be a little bit patient!!



Not so ....

.... shabby.  I made a card without doing any ripping or distressing!  It was very difficult not to, but it wouldn't have suited it, so I held myself in check!  It's a card for my step-mother's birthday. She loves the Irish rockabilly/jazz singer, Imelda May, and we got tickets for a gig for her birthday present.  Imelda is all about quiffed hair, razor sharp red lipstick, with 50s clothes and accessories to match, so I decided to personalise the card to suit the gift.  Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from this week's Deconstructed Sketch and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: Make it Monday ("Anything Goes"), Corrosive Challenges ("Life's Special Occasions") and Totally Papercrafts ("Monochromatic" - I've got red - plus black/cream neutrals - not sure if that's OK, though?).

I found an album cover with a caricature of Imelda May, including her trademark red lipstick and black/white quiff and drew it for the image on my card.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, but I bet my step-mother doesn't notice it - she's famously non-visual!!  She'll open the card, the ticket will fall out, she'll read it and then she might make the connection, but I'd bet money she'll have to have it pointed out to her!!!  Here's a side-shot of the card:

Recipe:

Papers: October Afternoon "Modern Homemaker"

Image: Hand-drawn

Other: MM brads, ribbon from stash, laser-cut border sticker from stash

Thanks for looking!

It's been ....

.... a while.  Almost a month since my last post, can't really account for all that time, bit of illness, bit of Easter Holidays, bit of family stuff, and here we are in mid-April, just like that!!

It's Sunday and that means a challenge from Sentimental Sundays - we are sponsored this week by

Dilly Beans Digi Stamps

Our challenge is called "Tags".  I chose to make a card with tags on it and it's for my nephew's 18th birthday.  Here's what I made:

I'm also entering the following challenges: Moving Along with the Times ("Inspired by a Song or Film" - mine is "Night of the Living Dead"!), Charisma Cardz ("Tags"), City Crafter ("Birthday") and Creative Inspirations ("Anything Goes + Heart").

I made the numbers from chipboard - embossed with a cuttlebug folder and then heat embosed with a mixture of distress e.p. sprinkled with a bit of normal black e.p. - I think I meant to end up with this grungy look!!!  Here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Tim Holtz "Destinations"

Stamp: Dilly Beans "Monster Boy 2"

Colouring Medium: Prisma Pencils

Other: Distress e.p., black e.p., glossy accents, ballchain, needle + thread

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!

Last minute ....

.... finishing my card for this week's Sentimental Sundays challenge.  I haven't been crafting this week, as the cursed vertigo has come back, thankfully not really bad - I haven't been sick, just dizzy!!  I've been able to go to work just about, but have been splat on the sofa when at home.  Such a botheration!

Our Sentimental Sundays challenge this week is called "3 embellishments that start with the letter B", and we're sponsored by A Day for Daisies

A Day for Daisies very kindly gave us our choices of images to play with, and I picked a lovely one very aptly called "Daisy Girl" - this is what I made with it:

My "3 embellishments beginning with the Letter B" can be interpreted a few ways - either 3 buttons - or buttons, bow and blonde!!!  I was thinking of keeping this card for my daughter's birthday in the summer, it's a perfect image given that her name is Daisy!!  But then, I've got several friends' birthdays coming up sooner, maybe I'll give it to one of them and make another one for my Daisy!

I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Basic Grey Challenges ("Spring is in the Air"), Papertake Weekly and A Day for Daisies ("Anything Goes") and Cute Card Thursday ("Spring Fever").

Rather than colouring the daisy petals in the image, I used white enamel accents for a bit of shine and dimension, it worked quite nicely and you can kind of see it in this side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Wisteria"

Image: A Day for Daisies "Daisy Girl"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Other: Buttons and ribbon from stash, Ranger Enamel Accents

Thanks for looking!

 

Think it's about time ....

.... we had some good spring light around here, I'm getting a bit tired of shockingly lit photos!!  I don't often make identical cards (apart from the Christmas production line!), but I needed two sympathy cards in a hurry.  Of course, while I was merrily making the cards at a crop yesterday, the sun was blazing away outside, and when I was taking the pics today, it was a dull grey day!  Here's what I made:

I used a Mojo Monday sketch from a few week's back, the three circle layout suited this card.  I'm entering it in the following challenges: My Time to Craft ("Embossing"), Daring Cardmakers ("March colour combo") and Simon Says Stamp ("Anything Goes").

Here's a side-view of the card, followed by a close-up of the heat-embossed stamp:

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Crickets "Everafter"

Stamp: Hero Arts "Dandelion"

Other: Doodlebug brad, Clear embossing powder

Thanks for looking!

What an output ....

.... those of you "card-a-day" gals will be chuckling when I say that this, my seventh post this month, is my highest monthly total in about two and a half years!!!  Dang, am I on fire or what?!!!

Today's card is a commissioned card for a new baby.  Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday, and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: Lili's Little Fairies ("Butterflies"), Shopping our Stash ("Tag it"), Crafts and Me ("Tags or Punches") and Basic Grey Challenges and Simon Says Stamp both have "Anything Goes".

I used the ever-versatile Lili of the Valley baby stamp yet again (!), coloured with distress inks.  Here's a closer look:

And here's a side-shot of the layers and the little tag with the baby's name on it.  For any non-Irish readers, in case you were wondering how to pronounce the name on the card, it's an old Irish name(apologies in advance to any Irish Mammies of Oisins reading but it's not a name I particularly like!!).  Anyway, take the first syllable of the rapper, Usher's, name, and combine with Charlie Sheen's surname: Ush+sheen = Usheen.

Recipe:

Papers: October Afternoon "Thrift Shop" and Basic Grey "Oxford"

Stamp: Lili of the Valley "Baby Blanket"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Punch: Nestabilities "Lacy Circles"

Other: Butterflies from cupcake wrapper, hairy string, needle + thread

Thanks for looking!