One more before ....

.... the end of the year!  Last night, Jed told me he was going to his friend's house today.  Some time later, he "happened" to mention that today is his friend's birthday.  WHAT?!! No lazy morning lie-in for me this morning so - I was up making a last-minute card for the poor birthday boy, who was this close to getting neither card nor present thanks to my ditzy son!!  Here's my rushed offering:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Creative Inspirations and C.R.A.F.T. Challenge ("Anything Goes") and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Party Time").

I used a similar design and layout to a card I made a few months ago, no time for innovations today! My original intention was to print a silhouette of a cat walking along the bottom of the card (as Patrick has a lovely cat in his house), but I was told in no uncertain terms that Patrick doesn't like cats that much, he mostly just likes football!  So I printed out a football, also a bunch of road signs, including one with his age on the front.  Here's a side-shot of the layered up signs.

Recipe:

Paper: Cosmo Cricket "Get Happy"

Stamp: IndigoBlu "Ink Splats"

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Bricked"

Font: "A Dripping Marker" dafont.com

Other: staples, thread, signs printed from internet

Thanks for looking!

They're finished, and ....

.... it's only the 4th of December!!

I finished the last batch of Christmas cards last night, here's what this year's offering looks like:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("O Christmas Tree"), ABC Challenge ("U for Unconventional" - Christmas card with no red or green), Crafty Creations, Moving Along with the Times, Creative Inspirations, Fab n Funky ("Christmas") and Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes").

I made a little scene with heat embossed Neat and Tangled stamps, watercoloured the background, added more heat embossed stars and did edges in gold.  I twisted thin gold thread round hairy string to give and extra little twinkle.  I made up a sentiment and printed onto the card blanks, as I didn't really like the sentiments that came with the stamp set.  Here's a side view:

And here they are all together, before I have to split them up and send them to people!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Neat and Tangled "Winter Wishes"

Font: "KG Sorry Not Sorry Chub" - dafont.com

Other: Black e.p., gold e.p., distress inks, hairy string, gold thread

Thanks for looking!

Typing an ....

.... elephant!!  I love fonts - picking the right one for a card, picking those I like even though I may never use them and every so often, finding that a font has a funny little extra when you press a certain key.  I found one a while back where, when you type the symbol | a little elephant appears! "Hmm" I thought "that might be good for a baby card".  So when one of our teachers had a new baby, I got to type an elephant and here's the card I made with him:

I based it on the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Inspiration Destination and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Anything Goes"), and  Cute Card Thursday ("Toys and Transport" - an elephant can be both, can't it?!)

Here's a little close up of my elephant - I printed him out onto white cardstock, slathered him with glossy accents (there are a few bubbles - oops!) and finally added a googly eye!

Recipe:

Font: KG "Piece by Piece" - dafont.com

Papers: Echo Park "Jack and Jill"

Other: Glossy accents, punched hearts, googly eye.

Thanks for looking - back to the Christmas cards - I have 25 completed and another 25 ready for construction stage!

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!

One that nearly ....

.... got away! Just going through photos and I realised that I never uploaded my brother's birthday card (back in .. gulp .. May!).  Better late than never, I always say, so here it is:

Quite difficult to see all that white against the background - in retrospect, I ought to have put a contrasting something or other behind it, but never mind!

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and Inspiration Destination ("Anything Goes"), Brown Sugar ("Birthday") and Creative Knockouts ("Something to Say"). 

I like the elements combined and layered on this card - stamping in two colours, washi tape, sentiment panel with string and homemade sort of melted hama beads!  Here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Stamps: IndigoBlu "Ink Splats" and Hero Arts "Grid"

Font: Arial Black

Other: Washi Tape, homemade enamel dots, recycled black string.

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!

Bit of a ....

.... mad scramble here yesterday!  I haven't been crafting much this summer - partly because we've been redesigning our back garden, much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair as we tried to work all our "must-have" requirements into a pretty small space.  And the other thing is I've taken my stiff neck/shoulder to a physiotherapist after rather a long time (4 to 5 years!!!) of ignoring.  My entire lifestyle from working as a secretary to hobbies of reading, crafting, etc. has conspired to create a perfect little storm of seized muscles, joints and nerves!  Oh well, will all be sorted eventually.  And the garden landscaping is underway - hooray - I'll post some before and after pics when it's done.

But .... yesterday was my little godson's 4th birthday, so a card had to be made.  My son's football match went over time, my step-mother called in for coffee unexpectedly, and the traffic was appalling as I raced to buy a present (ok, I left that very late!), so the card happened in between all that.  Here's what I made:

I'm entering the following challenges: Craft Your Passion, ABC Challenge and Simon Says Stamp("Anything Goes"), City Crafter ("Birthday Wishes"), Try it on Tuesdays ("Children") and Crafty Creations ("Use a Number").

I drew a little template for the balloons and cut out four in bright colours.  I printed out the numbers and letters onto white card and cut them out.  Had I had time, I would have glossy accented either the balloons or numbers or both, but that didn't happen!!  Here's a side-shot of the balloons:

Recipe

Paper: October Afternoon "Weathervane"

Fonts: "Bringshoot" and "Impact" - dafont.com

Other: Sharpie marker

Thanks for looking!