tillymint's desk

Spring tote bag progress

2012-01-31T15:02:00.003Z

Just popping in to share my progress on the 'Spring' stitchery from my last post. I'm really enjoying this and am about 3/4 of the way done. I started to pull out some fabrics and I have cut lots of strips ready to make the bag. I'm planning to use the stitchery on a large pocket...

Though it's still all in my head and anything could happen :)
Loving these bright, zingy colours...

Starting something new...

2012-01-24T11:52:00.001Z

It's a great feeling to put the last stitch in a project and sit back to admire it with a sense of achievement. All that time and effort, finally it is done. It may not be perfect but I did my best and I'm happy. And if I've learned something new along the way, all the better!

As I've just finished my Welcome Home Pillow, it's time to start something new. I just love that feeling.. the anticipation.. the buzz I get from choosing what to stitch and gathering the supplies. I think I get as much pleasure from beginning a project as I do from finishing one!

So here's my new project... one I am very excited about. I really want to have a go at making a tote bag to carry my patchwork/applique/stitchery projects in. Something smarter that a supermarket carrier bag :) And it has to have a huge pocket on the front for patterns etc. In search of a stitchery design that I could use on the pocket, I found the perfect thing....

It's called "Spring - The Earth Awakens" - a brand new design by Whimsy Dell. It came as a PDF file that I could print out and use straight away. It's the first time that I've bought a pattern this way and I am very impressed I have to say. Beautifully presented with very detailed instructions.. I couldn't wait to start!

Here it is in the process of being traced on the lightbox.

I've chosen the fabrics I'll use for the bag, the threads are sorted and I'm all ready to begin stitching...

take a deep breath...
make the first stitch...
oh, I just love starting something new :)

A Gardener's Journal

2012-01-23T11:53:00.000Z

As soon as I saw this book I knew it was for me. Stitchery, patchwork and quilting, all combined into a gorgeous quilt... and with a garden theme too - perfect! It will take me some time to complete but that's ok, I have lots of other projects I want to do whirling around in my head. So this is my long-term project. I work on it in between other things, picking it up whenever the mood is right. I know that one day it will be finished!

I decided to use fabrics by Nancy Halvorsen. I love the colours Nancy uses and have been collecting them for a while. I now have a box full - lots of scraps to use up and some larger pieces too. I also have some lovely fabric left from my Welcome Home pillow that will blend in perfectly! The DMC shades from the book match well with the fabrics, so I don't need to make any substitutions there.

The quilt is made up of 9 blocks and this is my progress so far on the first block.

I've traced all the stitcheries for the first two blocks and ironed on the stabiliser so that they are ready to pick up and stitch. I'm using a lovely oatmeal cotton fabric with a thin iron-on fleece (Vilene H630) as a stabiliser. It gives the fabric a lovely body without being stiff or hard to stitch through... and it's great for hiding all those ends too!

Welcome Home is finished...

2012-01-21T16:11:00.000Z

I am so pleased with how this turned out :)

The pattern called for the pillow cover to just be patched but I made a bit more work for myself by adding some wadding and a liner and quilting in the ditch. I figured that it was worth taking extra time over this since I had put all those hours in on the stitchery. I used a piece of wool felt underneath the stitched panel, then attached it to the pillow with blanket stitch. I bought a lovely plump, feather-filled cushion to go inside it and with the quilted cover it feels wonderfully squishy!

and here's the back.... odd buttons and all :)

This has been so lovely to work on, I've enjoyed every minute of it!

Keep it tidy tilly!!!

2012-01-20T12:46:00.001Z

One of my sewing resolutions this year is to keep my sewing stuff tidy and organised. Previously, I had teetering piles of fabric on open shelves that never looked tidy... and I could never find what I wanted. Then I'd spend ages picking up, refolding and restacking the piles of fabric! Annoying and so time-wasting when all I needed was a tiny scrap of yellow for an appliqué flower centre..

I already had several plastic storage boxes from my card making days, so I utilised those for patterns, buttons, threads, etc., then I bought several larger see-through plastic boxes from Ikea for my fabrics. It took me an absolute age to sort everything out but it was so worth it! I also cleared off the bookcase at the side of my desk and moved all my sewing stash on to it. All my fabrics are sorted by colour, with the exception of my collection of Nancy Halvorsen fabrics - they have a box of their own :)

It's absolute bliss to be able to just reach up, grab a box and know that what I need is in there.
The only thing is... I have to keep it tidy and put things away as I finish with them!!!

While I've got the camera in my hand, I've taken a photo of what's on my desk today... my sewing machine! It's a Brother Inovis 350SE, I bought the extension table and also several extra feet for patchwork and quilting. I've had this machine for just over a year and I absolutely love it!

I must finish that pillow......

Resolved to sew - 2012

2012-01-19T15:47:00.001Z

I don't normally make resolutions, probably because the ones I make are too ambitious and I don't have much chance of keeping to them! But this post on the Very Berry Handmade blog made me think. Maybe stitching resolutions would be more achievable? There are some gorgeous give-away prizes too, so do head over there and check it out. You don't have to be a blogger to enter and it's open to everyone, everywhere.

OK, here is my Resolved to Sew 2012 list....

I have so many projects I want to stitch in 2012 and am so tempted to start them all now. I know that if I do that I'll end up in a dreadful muddle, with mountain of half-finished projects and not much hope of finishing anything! So I will try my best to work on one long-term project at a time with a smaller project in between. That doesn't sound so bad!

I made a big effort just before Christmas to tidy and sort all my fabrics. I used to have them stacked on shelves and when I pulled some fabric out it just got added to the top of the stack again. What a jumble! I used to waste so much time looking for 'that little scrap of purple with the lilac dots' or whatever, that by the time I'd found it, I'd forgotten what I wanted it for! Now I have moved all my fabrics into a large bookcase right at the side of my desk, they are all sorted by colour and stored in clear plastic boxes. It is so much easier to find what I need... but I do need to make a big effort to keep it tidy and put fabric back in the correct box!

I'm really enjoying trying new techniques, and that's something I want to continue in 2012.

I really would like to start earlier this year on Christmas projects. I managed to make a couple of stitched gifts in time for last Christmas, but I never got around to making anything for me!

Last one is to make a real effort to keep this blog updated regularly!

Welcome Home Pillow

2012-01-16T16:24:00.000Z

This gorgeous fabric and pattern was a Christmas gift from my younger daughter. I swear she is psychic, I had wanted this pattern for ages but I am sure I never mentioned it to her. The fat quarter fabrics are just perfect... tiny prints in the most gorgeous colours... yum!

This design reminds me so much of my dream home... on a Welsh hillside, looking out over fields of sheep :) How lovely to live there, in a little appliqué house... as long as it had a fast internet connection of course!

The stitchery is finished and the fabric is cut into strips...

Now all I have to do is make them into a pillow!

Starting to stitch....

2012-01-15T15:20:00.000Z

When I was a young girl (many years ago) we girls were taught embroidery at school. We used iron-on transfers, all stitches had to be perfect and precise so I spent more time unpicking than anything else! We made things like tea tray cloths and pretty embroidered hankies to give Granny for Christmas. Nothing very exciting and I didn't continue to embroider once I'd left school.

Now, through my wanderings on the internet, I've found that it doesn't seem to be called embroidery these days... it's stitchery. Wow, are there some clever designers out there! A whole new world of lovely things I want to make for my home. I mean, who uses hand embroidered hankies these days anyway?

So I dusted off my rusty skills, practiced a few stitches on a scrap of fabric, bought a pattern or two and had a go. This was my first stitchery project - Quilt Shoppe Pillow by Lynette Anderson... although mine didn't end up as a pillow, I made it into a wall hanging for my craft room. The pattern came with an iron-on transfer so I was familiar with that part, then came the stitching and the appliqué... I loved it and a new addiction was born! I learned a few new things along the way too, like the benefits of using a stabiliser under the fabric... I wouldn't stitch without it now! I also learned that it does NOT have to be perfect. The things I stitch are for me and my family, I love making them and a little bit of love goes into every stitch. Far more important to me than perfection :)

Once I'd finished the wall hanging I couldn't wait to start stitching something else. I chose the Sewing Angel Tool Store by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. Apart from the fact that it would be very useful for keeping all my sewing bits together whether I was upstairs or downstairs, I love the combination of stitchery, appliqué and sewing. Enough there to keep me interested for sure. I made it a little bigger than the pattern and adjusted the inside to suit my needs.

The tool store closed. All neat and tidy, so easy to carry round the house.

With the front cover open. Even though my scalloped edge went a bit wonky, I loved working the panel for the flap.

And here it is fully opened, everything I need for a stitching session is in there. Pattern and threads, needles and pins, scissors, stitch unpicker, fabric glue and marker. I use it every day!

I really love this stitchery lark :)

Applique

2012-01-13T17:41:00.000Z

I don't know why it is, but autumn seems to be the time of year that I fancy trying something 'different'. Last autumn, I was wandering around the internet (as you do) when I came across the Don't Look Now! blog. As soon as the blog header appeared I though 'ooooh, I fancy having a go at that!'

I'd never tried appliqué so I didn't have a clue where to start. Fortunately, on the blog there is a super tutorial for a Flower Garden Pillow, so I downloaded the free pattern and instructions. I had a little go and absolutely loved the combination of raw edge appliqué and freestyle machine embroidery. I used Steam a Seam Lite2 to transfer the pattern pieces to the fabric. It takes time to do all the tracing, cutting and pressing but gosh, what fantastic stuff it is!

Here's the cushion I made for myself. OK so I've gone a bit wonky here and there on the appliqué and the quilting is nothing to write home about... but I'm really, really pleased with it.

Don't look now! is based in Australia and I had a bit of a job finding the patterns here in the UK. I eventually tracked them down at Creative Quilting, I only intended buying one pattern but ended up with three... oops!

On a trip to a nearby patchwork and quilting store, I bought a felt appliqué kit - Wooly Sheep by Rachel of Greenfield. I found that the easiest way to cut the felt pieces out was to use freezer paper.

While I was buying the felt sheep pattern, I came across the Art to Heart books by Nancy Halvorsen. I made this wallhanging as a Christmas gift for my elder daughter. It's a design from the Cottage Charms book... it was such fun to stitch! It's quite large, the hanger is a 22" one. My daughter has it hanging in her sewing room.

fabric, felt, buttons and beads... this was fun to stitch!

And the gift for my elder daughter was this cushion. I combined elements from my three Don't Look Now! patterns to make up this finished design. My daughter has two mischievous cats, so I just had to include them... on their collars are two tiny silver bells.

in the summertime...

2012-01-13T16:49:00.001Z

During the summer months I spend a lot of time outdoors in my garden. First thing in the morning it's shady on the patio so I sit here with my morning coffee.

By lunchtime the sun moves around and it just gets too hot on the patio, so I move to the shade of the tree. It's lovely to spend a summer afternoon here, sometimes reading but more often than not I have some stitching or crochet in my hands.

But sometimes the need to 'potter about' strikes... and usually I end up pottering in the greenhouse. I love my garden :)

Baby quilt

2012-01-12T16:56:00.001Z

Of course... when the Moses basket was finished, I couldn't stop there! The baby would need cot-sized bedding too, so I made some larger sheets and blankets. Oh, and a quilt... I mean, the baby had to have a quilt!

The fabrics I used are from the Itty Bitty Baby range by Marcus fabrics. I loved the colours in these fabrics so much that I matched them up and made a cot-sized ripple blanket.

And here is the finished quilt, I think the design is called 'Disappearing 9 patch'. Once the baby was born and a name decided, I added a label to the back with his name and date of birth.

and some sewing....

2012-01-12T16:25:00.000Z

In 2010 my first great grandchild was born... imagine how OLD that made me feel!!!

We knew it was to be a boy and decided to get a Moses basket for him. Well.. we soon found that if we wanted something really nice, it would be really expensive. So instead we bought an inexpensive Moses basket and I made new covers for it. The original ones were a nasty, scratchy cotton and that wouldn't do at all for a precious new baby! I stripped off the basket hood, linings and coverlet and unpicked them to use as patterns for the new fabric. I'd chosen a lovely soft, cream cotton with satin spots, accented with beige and coffee trims.

Here it is finished... the 'baby' all snuggled up inside is a small hot water bottle with a little lamb cover :)

I also made embroidered cotton sheets and fleece blankets to match and knitted several blankets to keep him cosy.

and here's the baby sheep all tucked up inside!

A little bit of hooky stuff

2012-01-12T14:59:00.002Z

I learned to crochet may years ago, but to be honest the patterns available in the 60's and 70's were all a bit dull... unless you were into hippie ponchos! A while ago I discovered Lucy's Attic24 blog and from there the Ravelry group. (do check them out, so much inspiration). And colour!!! Lots and lots of bright, zingy colours! I couldn't wait to rush out and buy some yarn and a hook to begin. Since then I have crocheted on and off, in between other projects.. just picking it up whenever it took my fancy. Here are some of my finished projects -

Made with Rowan Pure Wool DK, it's a wonderful cosy blanket to snuggle up with on the sofa.

Based on the log cabin pattern, this was a Christmas gift for a friend.

A gift for my youngest daughter, this granny ripple was so much fun to work on.

This one is called 'Sunny Spread' - the pattern is on Ravelry. It has a wonderful texture.

Granny squares in pure wool. This one lives on the futon in my craftroom.

This is the first blanket I made, it lives in the spare bedroom.

blog resurrection....

2012-01-11T14:25:00.001Z

Goodness... is it really three and a half years since I last blogged???

Since my last post I have worked on some crochet, knitting, patchwork, appliqué, quilting and stitchery... so I haven't been idle, honest!! I guess I just got out of the habit of blogging and now it's time to start again. I will leave all the card making posts where they are - they are a good reminder of what I did with my spare time back then.

Over the next few days I'll add some photos soon so that you can see what I've been doing :)

I took some time off...

2008-06-07T22:47:00.003+01:00

I took some time off from cardmaking over the last few weeks as I had quite a bit of work to do in the garden. At least it looks tidier now, the wild shrubs have been tamed and all the summer bedding has been planted. This last week I have been able to find time to do some card challenges again, I have really missed my crafting time!

This first card was made for the challenge on the Stamp Something challenge blog. The lower section of the card has a slot, along which the flower rolls when the card is tilted. I found a great tutorial for this style of rolling card on Yosemite's blog, thank you for the inspiration Yosemite! The image is from the 'Elephant Walk' black and white set by Cuddly Buddly, coloured with watercolour pencils, and the background papers are by The Paper Company Studio.

The challenge on the My Time to Craft blog this week is 'brads and eyelets'. This card uses digital papers from the 'Spring Wing Ding' digital kit by Kay Miller Designs. I printed out several flowers and cut them out to make the layered flower embellishments. In the centre of each flower I used a glittery brad and silver spacer bead.

This next card is for the challenge on the Scrummy Stash Cafe Challenge blog, the theme this week is 'Layer It!' I have used lots of layering on this card.. the background papers are layered, the Magnolia stamped image is mounted on a layered mat, the flowers are layered... even the ribbons are layered!

This week's theme on the Papertake blog is die-cuts, for which I have used my oval Nestabilities dies. The image is by Hanglar & Stanglar and the background papers are from the 'Katlin' collection by Crate Paper (I just love the colours in this range!)

This final card is for the 'Christmas Card' challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog. The papers were given to me by a friend, I had enough to make four cards of the same design! The Sugar Nellie stamped image is watercoloured with Supracolor pencils and mounted onto matching cardstock which I tore at the bottom edge. I added some Glamour Dust for extra sparkle and also some die cut snowflakes, cut from Doodlebug Sugar Coated cardstock. The cards are very sparkly in real life!

Theme Thursday - Toys

2008-05-01T15:02:00.004+01:00

The theme this week on Theme Thursday is 'toys'. I don't have any arty/vintage toy themed images or stamps but I couldn't resist taking part with this card.

This stamp is from the Dino Friends set by Woodware. The papers used are from the Brenda Walton 'Small Wonders Boy' range by K&Co. I used coordinating cardstock to cut the mats using my Nestabilities dies and Cuttlebug.

Arty Girlz - open theme

2008-05-01T09:56:00.005+01:00

Arty Girlz theme this week is open, so we we free to make anything we like!

Here's the card I made for this challenge. I found these lovely papers at a local craft shop over the weekend, they are by The Paper Company Studio. The image is by hAnglar and stAnglar, watercoloured with Caran D'Ache Supracolor pencils. The blooms are from Poppicrafts and I added a flower rubon to the large green brad. The sentiment is also a rubon, from a fab new rubon sheet of greetings by Kaiser Craft.

And while I had the scraps from the first card lying on my desk, I made this quick Good Luck card, this time I used a pretty Lola stamp by Sugar Nellie.

ISMAKI sketch #17

2008-04-29T16:52:00.005+01:00

There's a great sketch by Manue this week on the ISMAKI challenge blog and the optional extra is to use ribbons.

And here's the card I made from this week's sketch. The background papers are by Chatterbox and the image is by hAnglar & stAngler, watercoloured to match the papers. The blue and green grosgrain ribbon is from my stash, as are the buttons and brads. I stitched the buttons to the green ribbon tabs with blue embroidery thread. I added a flower to my card as I thought it looked a little bare above the ribbon tabs.

Hey Baby!

2008-04-28T19:26:00.006+01:00

This weeks theme on the Scrummy Stash Cafe challenge blog is 'Hey Baby' - make a baby-themed project.

The background paper for this card was free with a magazine. I've used my Cuttlebug to emboss the central baby motif and the white spotted strips.The tags are made from shrink plastic, stamped before shrinking with Daisy Bucket clear stamps and doodled with a black permanent pen. The flowers, brads and ribbon are from my stash. Te greeting is a rubon by Pebbles Inc.

Black and white plus one

2008-04-28T19:14:00.004+01:00

The theme of this week's challenge on the Caardvarks challenge blog is 'black, white and one other colour'.

I chose lavender as my 'other' colour. The main image and the black and white background paper are by Pink Petticoat. I have coloured the gift ribbon lavender and the gift has been covered in Stickles to make it sparkle. I used the 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder to make the white background and a Nestabilities die to make the lavender mat. Ribbon, ribbon slide and lavender diamantes are from my stash.

The Devil Wears Prada... cybercrop class

2008-04-27T16:42:00.004+01:00

This weekend there has been a cybercrop on the UKScrappers website. Most of the classes and challenges are scrapbooking related, but today we had a wonderful card class from the very talented Marlene. Marlene makes the most wonderful cards, please take a few moments to pop along to her blog and see for yourself. Although this was the last class of the weekend, I was determined to finish it and get it uploaded to the UKS Gallery in time to claim the points... and I managed it yay!!

Here's the card I made from Marlene's class. The background paper and image are by Pink Petticoat, everything else came from my stash. I had to adapt the class slightly to fit in with what I had available, but I am so pleased with the finished card. Thank you so much for an absolutely fabulous class Marlene xxx

I'm still on target...

2008-04-24T08:40:00.010+01:00

Yay... I am still on target to make a few Christmas cards by the end of every month, this month I have made TEN! I'm so glad I took advantage of the post-Christmas sales to stock up on Christmas background papers, I think I'd have trouble getting a nice selection throughout the year. So far, I'm not doing too bad with my target, I have quite a few Christmas cards made already!

This month I have used this lovely sketch on the Papertake Weekly challenge blog for one of my Christmas cards.

I love all the layers in this sketch! I used three different background papers and a scrap of green card run through the Cuttlebug for a bit of texture. I watercoloured this cute Penny Black image and added a liberal amount of 'Star Dust' Stickles to the fur on his hat. For the circle, I used a scrap of vellum with glitter dots... the glitter meant I couldn't stamp directly on to it so I stamped the sentiment around the edge instead. I'm really pleased with how this card turned out, I'll definitely be using this sketch again!

Here's another of this month's Christmas cards...

I just love this background paper, another of my bargain buys! It's from the 'Wrapped Wishes' range by Daisy Bucket. The hAnglar image has been cut out this time and mounted directly onto the background paper. I added a few white glitter snowflakes which were die cut on my Cuttlebug using the gorgeous Sugar Coated Doodlebug cardstock. The greetings stamp is from the Christmas Messages set by SeeD's.

And these are the other eight cards for this month...

These tall skinny cards will be for workmates and neighbours. I've watercoloured images from Pink Petticoat and added a little doodling.The blue papers were free with a magazine and the green paper is more from the 'Wrapped Wishes' range by Daisy Bucket. I used scraps of card for the sentiment embellishments - cut with Nestabilities and the 'Dec 25th' stamp is by Stamps Away.

So there you go! I know I've only used a couple of different designs of cards... but that is still ten cards for my Christmas box!

DCM - hot and spicy!

2008-04-23T13:36:00.005+01:00

The theme for this week's challenge on the Daring Cardmakers blog is 'Hot and Spicy' - interpret it as you wish!

I've gone with hot, spicy colours for this card. The papers used are all from the K & Co 'Mira' range. The image has been watercoloured to match the papers and matted onto coordinating cardstock. Ribbon, flowers and brads from my stash, the leaves and flower centres were punched from paper scraps with Woodware punches.

ISMAKI challenge #16

2008-04-22T10:25:00.005+01:00

This week the challenge sketch on the ISMAKI blog is by Beatrix. There is also an option to use four colour co-0rdinated patterned papers. This wasn't too hard to do with double sided papers!

For this card I used up some scraps of patterned papers from the KI Memories 'Holiday' collection. I watercoloured the image, cut it out and then mounted it on matching cardstock. The Happy Birthday and the birthday definition stamps are from a set by SeeD's. I added a little scallop border down the left side of the main image and also punched some holes in the centre of the printed circles in the right hand green strip. I added some brown striped paper under the strip so that it shows through the punched holes. The leaves are by Prima.

This was a really nice sketch to follow and I managed to use up more of my scraps too! Thankyou Beatrix :)

It's been a blue weekend....

2008-04-20T16:17:00.005+01:00

Yes... there's definitely a lot of blue around here this weekend! Not that I am feeling blue - just that I have been catching up on a few challenges and they are all blue!

Here's the first of my three challenge cards. This one is for the 'It's a Man's World' challenge on Cute Card Thursday, which is to make a card for the men/boys in your life. It's easy making a thankyou card for a girlfriend, a pretty image and a few flowers and that's fine. But what to use on a thankyou card for a man?

This cute fish is part of the 'Best Fishes' set from Pink Petticoat. The background papers came free with issue 28 of Papercraft Essentials magazine - I'm not usually a fan of free papers as they are usually shiny, but these are really nice! I just added a scalloped mat, some doodling and a simple sentiment.. a really quick card to make!

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This next card is for the 'Dragons' callenge on the Lots To Do Challenges blog. It's the first time I've done one of their challenges, they seem to be a very artistic so I hope my cute little dragon will fit in with their challenge!

This cute little dragon was sent to me in a package of stamped images from a friend. I coloured him with Caran D'Ache Supracolor soft pencils to match the papers and mounted him on a scrap of golden yellow card. The background papers are from the 'Hopscotch Boy' range by K&Co. The circle sentiment is from a set of four by Cuddly Buddly, the smaller greeting is from the Celebration Messages set by See D's stamps.

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This last card is for the 'Girly but Blue' challenge at Tilda & Co.

I love this sitting Tilda stamp, she is so cute! The background papers are from a pack by Papermania and I used my Nestabilities dies to cut the darker circle for her to sit on. The doodling was done with a white Uniball Signo pen. I just added a few flowers and dabbed some Stickles around the brads to give some sparkle. The rubon is by Pebbles Inc.

So there you go, three blue cards! I think it's time I tidied my desk and got out some pink stash!!

All that glitters

2008-04-18T21:55:00.004+01:00

'All that glitters' is the theme of this weeks challenge on the Papertake challenge blog. Well, I don't have much in the way of actual glitter but what I do have is lots and lots of Stickles! I just love collecting all the colours and I do use them a lot! My favourite is Star Dust, that's the one I've used on this card.

For this card I used a fun image from Pink Petticoat, I just love all Liz's designs :) The yummy green and black spotty background paper is by Kaiser Crafts, they have a wonderful range of papers and embellishments in so many colours and styles. I cut the black mat with a Nestabilities die and marked the white spots with a white Uniball Signo pen. The ribbon, flowers and brads are from my stash. I applied lots of Stickles to the bath bubbles, the flower on the side of the bath and also the three pink flowers. It is a very glittery card but sadly this doesn't show up too well in the photo. I had a lot of fun with this one!

Stars and Stripes

2008-04-14T14:19:00.005+01:00

Stars and Stripes is the theme for this weeks challenge at the Funky Fairys challenge blog.

I desperately wanted to use these papers from the 'Extreme Boy' range by Junkitz... but I didn't have a matching striped paper. So... I chopped up all the patterns and made my own stripes! I only had scraps to work with, but with the paper being double sided I had lots of options. The image is the 'Sk8terboy' stamp by Sugar Nellie, I thought this would be perfect as he has striped sleeves and stars on his skateboard! The image was watercoloured to match the colours in the papers. I've echoed the barbed wire stripes with a little doodling at the corners of the image and the card. I punched out three stars from the black mat to show the red paper underneath, these match the three red stars on the skateboard. I cut the large star circle from one of the papers and stuck it to some thick card, then mounted it on foam pads to raise it a little. The greeting is a rubon by Pebbles Inc.

Scrummy Stash Cafe - sketch challenge

2008-04-12T17:36:00.007+01:00

I love sketch challenges so I was really pleased to find one on the Scrummy Stash Cafe challenge blog this morning! Here's the sketch...

And here's the card I made from the sketch...

I used a DL card so I had to squish the sketch down a bit. The background papers are from the 'Whimsical Ladies' range by Daisy Bucket, I love the purple and the brown together! The cute hedgehog is a stamp by Penny Black which has been watercoloured. I ran the image and the purple mat though my Cuttlebug machine with Nestabilities dies. The word 'Happy' was printed directly onto the patterned paper using Word. I used a scrap of brown card to punch out the circles, then applied white rubon letters to make the word 'birthday'. Ribbon, flowers, leaves and brads are from my stash.

While I was resizing the photo, I realised I hadn't finished off the little flower centres, they have now had some Stickles glitter glue applied... oops!

Things With Wings

2008-04-11T22:49:00.005+01:00

There's another great theme on the Cute Card Thursday blog this week - Things With Wings.

This cute little cat stamp by Penny Black really makes me smile! I coloured the image with Caran D'Ache Supracolor pencils and added some pen doodles on the corners. I also added some doodles to the rust coloured mat. The papers are a mix of Chatterbox and Doodlebug - they just happened to go together perfectly.. I am trying hard to use up some of the scraps in my scrap box! Flowers, spacer beads and brads are from my stash, the leaves were punched with a Woodware punch and the greeting is a rub on by Pebbles Inc.

Arty Girlz - black and white

2008-04-08T13:51:00.004+01:00

I love using black and white on cards, they always look so 'put-together' and I don't have to spend time looking for co-ordinating colours!

I made this card this morning for the new challenge on the Arty Girlz challenge blog. I had only last night printed the black and white papers and they were still on my desk so all I had to do was choose an image! It was very quick card to make.. but I think the black and white sets off the image very well. The papers and image are both from Pink Petticoat, the shoe is coloured with a red Sakura glitter pen and I just added some doodles and a length of ribbon.

One for the boys

2008-04-07T23:45:00.005+01:00

Funky Fairys challenge this week is 'One for the boys/men'

I sometimes find that boys cards can be difficult, especially when they get too old for cutesy teddies! This card uses an image from Pink Petticoat and while it's still cute, it's kinda cool too! The background paper is from my scrapbox, I think it was left over from an old Sweetwater kit. The image is mounted onto textured green card and I made the frame from a scrap of blue card I had left over after cutting a square scalloped mat with a Nestabilities die. Waste not want not! I added some brads and doodling to the frame before mounting it on foam pads. The stamped greeting is from a set of clear stamps by Woodware.

Planes, trains and automobiles

2008-04-07T23:32:00.010+01:00

This weeks challenge on the Cute Card Thursday challenge blog is 'planes, trains and automobiles', but absolutely any form of transport is allowed!

I've used this cute Hanglar image of a little boy with his truck, coloured with Caran D'Ache Supracolor watercolour pencils. The background papers are by Crate Papers and the sentiment stamp is from a new set of four round stamps I bought from Cuddly Buddly.

Shrink Plastic challenge

2008-04-04T14:20:00.007+01:00

This week's challenge on Rainbow Lady's challenge blog is to use shrink plastic. Gosh.. I haven't used any of that since.. oooh, way back when! It took me a while to locate, but luckily I found a box of shapes I'd previously die cut!

Before I shrunk the tag, I used Stazon black ink and a stamp by Daisy Bucket, then added some doodle lines around the edge with a black Zig writer. I'd forgotten how much fun it is shrinking this stuff with a heat gun! For the card I used scraps of paper from my scrapbox and the image is by Pink Petticoat, coloured with watercolour pencils. A sheer spotty ribbon bow and some leaves and flowers finish off the card... oh, I used Stickles on the flowers and also on the brides jewellery and roses too.

The tag was quite large before I shrunk it... here's the stamp I used and the tag after shrinking! Great fun :)

Ooooh la la!

2008-04-03T14:23:00.005+01:00

The challenge this week on Theme Thursday is to use black and orange. I love that colour combination!

Yesterday, Pink Petticoat released a new image stamps set called 'Cheekies'. Ooooh la la they are cheeky indeed, the most gorgeous lingerie and perfect for this girly card. Don't we all wish we had a figure like this!!!

The background paper is by Colorbok and I have used my Nestabilities dies to mat the coloured image. I added a little doodling with a black pen, some ribbon and a few Prima flowers and brads. The sentiments stamps are by Cuddly Buddly and Woodware.

ISMAKI - sketch #13

2008-03-31T15:47:00.008+01:00

Petra, one of the Magnolia Design Team members for Sweden, has designed a wonderful sketch this week for the ISMAKI challenge blog. The sketch shows flowers,but as I wanted to make a card for a young boy, I've replaced those with a frog and some mushrooms.. I thought the recipient would appreciate them more!

I have used another H&S image, all the little boy characters are sooo cute! The patterned papers are by Imaginisce, gorgeous as they are double sided! The cute frog and mushrooms that replace the flowers on the original sketch are by Magnolia. The 'make a wish' stamp is by Daisy Bucket and the 'happy birthday' stamp is from a set by Woodware. I have used a brown pen to dot around some of the swirls on the background paper.

Papertake - sketch challenge

2008-03-30T13:18:00.006+01:00

This week on the Papertake challenge blog, we had a lovely sketch by Katharina to work from. I love working from sketches and have been trying to find time all week to do this one. I finally got it done.. a bit late as the new challenge is due tomorrow!

The background paper is from the Cool Dude range by Daisy Bucket. I love their papers as they are double sided so you get lots of choice. I coloured the H&S image with Supracolour watercolour pencils and used a brown pen for the corner doodles. The sentiment stamps are by See'Ds. I used a punch to cut out the centre from the round sentiment, chalked the edges and attached it to the girls hand with a small length of string.

big tree... little tree...

2008-03-28T16:41:00.008Z

I am supposed to be making a few Christmas cards each month, but this month I hadn't made a single one... so the challenge on Rainbow Ladys Challenge blog this week came at the perfect time for me.

'Your challenge this week is BIG TREE, LITTLE TREE, and I would like you to make a Christmas card using this theme. Yes, I know it is only March but you will have one less to make nearer the time.'

I have used some scraps of Imaginisce double sided paper for this card. The tree images are from Pink Petticoat, coloured with Supracolor watercolour pencils. I added some doodled corners with a black pen before mounting them onto matching card. I also added some Stickles on the baubles, pot and star for a bit of glitz. The larger tree is double matted on red and green card and then on foam pads.

I must get a few more Christmas cards made over this weekend... one a month is just not good enough!!!

ISMAKI sketch 12 by Beatrix

2008-03-27T13:03:00.005Z

Beatrix designed a gorgeous sketch this week for the ISMAKI challenge blog, it was wonderful to work with and I really enjoyed making this card!

The background paper is by Daisybucket - 'Marissa' from the Southern Belle Collection. I received the Hanglar image in a swap, isn't she sweet! I've coloured her with Supracolor pencils and mouted her on dark brown card... the same brown card was used to punch the small circles on the right of the card. The green pearlised card circle was embossed with the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder. Greeting stamp by See'D's, Prima flowers and leaves, the spacer beads and brads from my stash.

Tilda & Co - template challenge

2008-03-24T14:47:00.005Z

This weeks challenge at Tilda & Co is a template, lovely!

Here's the card I made... I found some lovely papers by Fancypants that I'd bought at a show 2 years ago and never used. 2 years!!!! can you believe it!!! I stamped and coloured the image and double mounted it. The two side tags are make from the reverse side of the floral paper. Brad, spacer bead and flower from my stash.

My Paper World

2008-03-23T12:34:00.007Z

I found a new card sketch challenge with lovely examples throughout the week of what can be created from the sketch... do check out the My Paper World blog!

Background paper used on this card is from the Crate Paper 'Blush' range. The cute owl image is from a new downloadable set by Pink Petticoat called 'Yoo Hoo'. As the owl has a scalloped edge, I used a Nestabilities die to add a blue scalloped mat to the green mat around the coloured image. I really enjoyed this sketch challenge and what a great find My Paper World is!

Scrummy Stash Cafe - Get the Edge!

2008-03-23T11:29:00.007Z

Decorative edges are the theme for this weeks challenge on the Scrummy Stash Cafe blog.

The cute image is from the 'Just for Ewe' set by Pink Petticoat. I absolutely love all Liz's designs and check back regularly for new releases :) The design of this card is inspired by one I saw somewhere.. a few weeks ago... on a blog... can't remember whose it was sadly... so if it was yours please shout out so I can credit you! I love this layered look with the scalloped edges and it's worked really well for this card. The patterned paper is from the 'Small Wonders Girls' mat pad by Brenda Walton for K & Co. All the layers are only attached at the left edge, then held together with a ribbon.

Cute Card Thursday - challenge #2

2008-03-23T11:12:00.005Z

Another great challenge from the girls at Cute Card Thursday this week - All Creatures Great and Small!
'This week we would like to see creatures on your cards, they can be animals, birds, fish or even dinosaurs or dragons. Absolutely any creature imaginable!'

I'd bought this stamp just last week from the new releases to the Nellie and Luca range by Sugar Nellie. This challenge gave me the perfect excuse to try out this stamp! I have no idea who the background paper is by, it's been lurking in my scrapbox for ages! I threaded some brown twine through the natural sinamay and attached it to the card with brads. The birthday definition stamp is from the 'Celebration Messages' set by See'D's.

Arty Girlz - Doodling

2008-03-23T10:58:00.008Z

Another great challenge on the Arty Girlz blog this week - Doodling! Although I'm not good with swirls and complicated doodling, I do like adding dots and lines to a card.

I've used one of my scrummy Hanglar and Stanglar stamped images for this card, coloured with Caran D'Ache Supracolor pencils. The background papers are by Paper Adventures, ribbon, buttons, brads and flowers are from my stash. The Happy Birthday stamp is from a set by Woodware and I used a white Uniball Signo pen for the doodle dots.

New Sugar Nellie stamp!

2008-03-21T23:03:00.004Z

I got four of the new Sugar Nellie stamps that were released last week, I've been waiting for more of the Nellie and Luca stamps for ages! These gorgeous stamps are designed by Evelina Wikberg and are available from Funky Kits.

I have quite a lot of 'girly' stamps, so was very pleased to find this footballer, a fisherman and a skateboarder amongst the new range. For this card, I used the colours of my local football team and mounted him onto green lightly patterned paper. I stamped a couple of extra footballs and mounted them on foam pads. The football pitch markings are hand drawn with a white pen - after checking with my other half that I had the correct markings!

Papertake - Weather with you!

2008-03-21T22:50:00.005Z

The theme for this week's challenge on the Papertake challenge blog is 'Weather with you' - use anything associated with the weather.

I've used a cute Magnolia stamp of Edwin in the rain, I love his sou'wester and wellies! The background paper is by Junkitz... the sentiment is computer generated and I added some 'stitching' with a white Uniball Signo pen. The puddle and rainsdrops are glittered with Stickles glitter glue.

DCM - Teen Spirit

2008-03-17T10:57:00.005Z

The current challenge on the Daring Cardmakers blog is 'Teen Spirit'. I made this birthday card for a fashion savvy young lady who is always on her mobile phone. I think she will like the bling too!

The image is from Pink Petticoat, this one is from the 'Lola Rose For Occasions' kit. Background paper is from the Belle range by Amy Butler for K & Co. The greeting is a stamp from the 'Mixed Greetings' set by Woodware. I've added a flower rubon to the large brad at the centre of the flower, the bling down the side of the image were a magazine freebie and I've used a tiny amount of Stickles on the girl's necklace. It's a lot more sparkly than it looks in this photo!

Cute Card Thursday

2008-03-13T12:16:00.006Z

There's a fab new challenge blog starting today, Cute Card Thursday. Their first challenge is called 'New Beginnings', how appropriate is that!

'To celebrate the launch of our new challenge blog we would like you to use the theme of new beginnings or 1sts. This could be new baby, new home, new job, wedding or anything else 'new' or any other 1st you can think of. The only rules are to use or create something 'cute' and most of all have fun!'

This week I managed to buy this Magnolia rug stamp, I had thought to use it with the Thinking Tilda stamp, but I've discovered it's also perfect for the cute little baby to sit on! I used a Nestabillities die and my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder to make the mount. The baby is mounted on foam pads to give a 3D effect. The sentiment is from the StudioG baby set and I've added some flowers, leaves and Stickles to finish off the card.

Scrummy Stash Cafe - foamtastic

2008-03-12T15:10:00.007Z

This weeks challenge on the Scrummy Stash Cafe is 'Simply Foamtastic' - use some foam on your project. It's taken me a while to find a scrap of foam to use on a card, it's soooo long since I used any - and I don't think I've ever used it on a card! So this was a great challenge :)

This card was so quick to make, just a punched foam heart mounted onto white card and then black card. I added a stem with a black pen and a couple of gingham bows. The sentiment is a stamp by Daisy Bucket. The central panel is raised on foam pads (more foam lol)and the hearts around the edge of the card are a stamp from a StudioG set. I used a gel pen to colour some in, then added Stickles for a bit of sparkle.

Pocket card

2008-03-12T13:07:00.006Z

I rarely make cards with pockets, I've no idea why not as pockets are lovely for tucking little notes or messages in. I came across a lovely heart pocket template on splitcoaststampers, so I thought I'd try it out on this card for the 'Pockets' challenge on Rainbow Lady's challenge blog.

The background is a piece of buttermilk cardstock, run through the Cuttlebug with the 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder.I cut the pocket from a piece of K & Co Bailey paper, it's great for these folded pockets as it's double sided. All I had to do is cut out, fold and stick down! I also punched some leaves from the paper scraps. I've used a narrow sheer ribbon threaded through the cream cotton lace at the left then used the same ribbon plus a paler cream for the double bow. The sentiment is one of the new Daisy Bucket clear stamps.. it reads 'Love is in Everyday Moments'. Prima flowers, brads and silver spacer beads finish off the card.

Ooooh - have you seen Katharina's blog?

2008-03-10T15:59:00.003Z

Do make time to visit Katharina's blog - she is showing some tantalising sneaky peeks of the new High Hopes rubber stamps, due for release on the 15th March. Katharina is giving away 3 of the new stamps as blog candy, what a sweet lady she is!

ISMAKI sketch challenge #10

2008-03-10T14:49:00.007Z

This week on the ISMAKI challenge blog, Marsup has designed a wonderful sketch for challenge number 10. I loved working with this sketch Marsup, thankyou!

I have used one of the precious Hanglar images sent to me by a very sweet lady, Marlene. I have had them sitting on my desk for over a week and have just been too scared to colour any in case I messed them up! I seriously ADORE these stamps, I just wish there was a way to get them here in the UK.

The background paper is a new double sided paper by Imaginisce, from the 'Go For Baroque' range. I love the murky greens, purples and browns on this design, the reverse side is paler green with purple dots. The purple paper is from my scrapbox and the green cardstock has been run through the Cuttlebug with the 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder. I used a rubon for the greeting and added some flowers, antique pewter brads and photo anchor. The heart and wings have a little touch of Stickles glitter glue.

From Boys to Men - Tilda & Co

2008-03-09T15:39:00.004Z

'From Boys to Men' is the theme of the week 10 challenge on the Tilda & Co challenge blog.

'Making feminine cards with Tilda etc is fairly easy so we thought we would make the challenge a little harder this week, well I gave you 2 easy ones lately! You could make something for a new baby boy, birthday boy or the tougher challenge something for the man in your life!

This morning I rediscovered some scraps of this gorgeous paper from the French Market Collection by Daisy D's. It's amazing what's lurking in the bottom of my scrapbox! I must have had these scraps at least a couple of years, but they are way too nice not to hang on to... I even found some scraps of matching cardstock. As soon as I read the new challenge at lunchtime today, I thought 'oooh, I can use up some of those scraps!'

I've used three Magnolia stamps on this card, Edwin sitting, Edwins dog and the mushrooms, all coloured with watercolour pencils. Edwin and his dog are mounted on foam pads. The birthday definition is a stamp from the Celebration Messages set by See-D's and I've added a few bronze brads, Prima flowers and Prima leaves. Oh, and a few smudges of Dark Moss fluid chalk ink too :)

Be there or be square!

2008-03-09T10:31:00.008Z

This weeks challenge on the Papertake weekly challenge blog is Squares! Square cards, square patterns or squares on your layout!

After working with pastel colours on my last couple of cards, I thought it was time for something bright! This paper comes from the K& Co Designer mat pad in the Mira range. I don't think the camera has quite captured the true intensity of the colours, but wow these papers are seriously bright and I love them! I wish I could wear colours like this, they really make me smile :)

I've used a square card and cut 7 squares from the patterned paper. Three of these I mounted onto co-ordinating cardstock, two of which I mounted on foam pads for a bit of dimension on the finished card. The greeting is from a clear Woodware stamp set and I found some tiny square jewels in red, green and orange to finish it off.

Tilda & Co challenge #9

2008-03-08T16:29:00.007Z

Well I wasn't going to make Easter cards this weekend, but when this cute stamp arrived in the post this morning, I thought he would be perfect for the challenge at Tilda & Co. I've had to be quick as there is a new challenge tomorrow - I am not usually this late!

I'd bought this stamp to make new baby cards but I think he looks so cute with these Easter eggs from a Studio G set! The colours are pretty much the same as the Spring card I uploaded on Thursday, some of the scraps just happened to be lying on my desk so I used them up!

Arty Girlz - Spring

2008-03-06T17:09:00.006Z

I bought some gorgeous Bunny Stampz the other week from Aunty's Store, they really are so cute! I've used the 'Pot of Bunny' stamps for this Spring birthday card for this weeks Arty Girlz challenge.

The background papers are K&Co 'Small Wonders Girl'. I stamped the greeting on the plantpot using a stamp from the See-D's 'Celeration Messages' set. The 'Make a wish' greeting is one of the new clear stamps by Daisy Bucket. The flowers and ribbon are from my stash and again I have used my new leaf punch.. .I think I might need to get another shape leaf as I love this one so much!

ISMAKI challenge #9

2008-03-06T16:59:00.005Z

Quite a complicated sketch this week on the ISMAKI challenge blog, I got a bit lost in all the layers. Still, it was nice to have something that really made me think and I've ended up with a nice card even if I haven't followed the sketch too closely!!

I've used K&Co papers from the Bailey range and a Sugar Nellie stamp, the ribbon, flowers and brads are from my stash. I bought a new leaf punch, I'm really pleased with it... and I bought the fab silver spacer beads last week too. They really give the flowers a whole new look!

A new challenge!

2008-03-03T12:24:00.004Z

While I was blog surfing I came across a new challenge blog, Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog. Do check it out, it's week 2 and the challenge is to use one or more feathers.

I haven't used feathers for such a long time, so this challenge was the perfect excuse to hunt them out and use! I haven't used any patterned paper on this one, just a Cuttlebug embossing folder to add some texture to the card. The dragonfly is a stamp by Penny Black and I used a black Sakura Glitter pen to highlight parts of the body and wings. I mounted the image on to black card and used foam pads to raise it up from the torn mulberry paper. I really enjoyed this challenge, roll on week 3!

Blue and green should never be seen?

2008-02-26T14:22:00.005Z

That's the theme of this weeks challenge over on the Papertake blog. I often use blue and green together, I think it's a lovely colour combination!

The patterned paper is from the K&Co 'Small Wonders Boy' range and the main image is a Magnolia stamp. I cut down the Magnolia stack of gifts to make a smaller stack and mounted them on foam pads - the stamped definition is on foam pads too.

I think green and blue look pretty cool together!

Look - no patterned paper!

2008-02-26T08:39:00.005Z

There's no denying it, I love my patterned paper! It is very, very rare for me to make a card without using at least a little bit... but this card has none at all! If I'd sat down yesterday and tried to do that deliberately, I'd still be sitting here now! This card is one of those that just came together and I really love it. I'm thinking that it would make a great Christening or Confirmation card. I followed this week's ISMAKI challenge sketch..

The central panel is white card, embossed with Swiss Dots on my Cuttlebug. The lace, ribbon, flower etc are from my stash. I had this new church stamp from Magnolia last week, I thought it would be perfect for wedding cards. The church building I coloured in a very pale grey. The windows I watercoloured first, then I went over the individual panes with a clear Sakura Glaze pen. It gives them a nice 'glassy' look. I drew the little hearts with a Zig pen and coloured them in then added a little Stickles to the flower. The church panel is raised from the background on foam pads. I am really pleased with this card!

Look - no patterned paper!

2008-02-26T08:39:00.003Z

It's that time again..

2008-02-25T19:13:00.007Z

Gosh, the 25th has soon come round.. which means that once again it's Rudolph Day! Over on the Cardmaking Forum at UKScrappers, some of us are aiming to make a few Christmas cards on the 25th of each month, hopefully this will avoid the last minute panic in December!

While I was blog-hopping earlier, I noticed that Fabrizio has also issued a monthly Christmas card challenge. Why not pop over to his blog to see what it's all about?

I showed you one Christmas card in my last post, that one was made for the challenge at the Scrummy Stash Cafe, but here are two more I've made.

I wish I'd made note of who this paper is by before I stuck it down.. and I wish I'd bought more of it too! The Tilda and Edwin stamps are by Magnolia and the Dec 25th stamp is by Stamps Away. I've added a bit of Stickles for some snowy sparkle!

Another Magnolia stamp for this one, I just love all their stamps! I've used a torn strip of glitter spot vellum over the background paper for a bit of sparkle, The snowflakes were cut on the Cuttlebug from Doodlebug sugar-coated cardstock, so they are very sparkly too! The greeting is from the See-D's 'Christmas Greetings' set, stamped and heat embossed in silver.

Two cards today!

2008-02-25T10:00:00.009Z

This week's challenge at the Scrummy Stash Cafe is to use numbers. As I don't have any special age events coming up, I decided to use my new 25th Dec stamp and make a Christmas card. Well... 25 is a number, so it does fit the challenge yes?

The sparkly background paper is from the DCWV Christmas stack, the stocking stamp is by Magnolia and the tiny tags and 25th Dec stamp are by Stamps Away. As you can see, I've been playing with my new Nestabilities dies again!

Now for the second card. This weeks challenge at Tilda & Co is to make a Get Well card - here's mine.

The Magnolia teddy bear is perfect for sending a hug, I've mounted him on foam pads to make him stand out. Paper is from the K&Co Hopscotch Boy range and I added a bit of bandage, a safety pin and a small tag to finish off the card.

Arty Girlz - Green

2008-02-24T09:54:00.008Z

I made another card yesterday, this time for the challenge at Arty Girlz. The postie brought a couple of new Magnolia stamps, including the wrought iron fence.. perfect for a green outdoorsy card!

The paper is from the 'Fresh Linens' range by Front Porch, the fence, grass and blossom stamp are all by Magnolia. I used a Sugar Nellie stamp, coloured with watercolour pencils and mounted on foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the SeeD's set 'Circle Words', mounted on circles cut with Nestabilities dies.

I'm way behind...

2008-02-23T13:49:00.008Z

I'm way behind with my challenges this week. Earlier in the week, I had this daft idea to spend a couple of hours tidying the shelves in my craftroom. Hours?? It took days... really it did. I found stash I'd forgotten I'd bought, stash I'd meant to put away after using but had just pushed into any empty space, there was stuff everywhere! Sound familiar? It really was in desperate need of a good sort out, and I'm so glad it's done... but it's put me way behind with this weeks challenges!

I've just finished this card using the ISMAKI sketch #7

The papers are Blonde Moments 'Sugar Dumpling' and the wedding cake stamp is from Studio G. I added two rosebuds I found lurking in a box, some Prima flowers, a bit of sparkle with Stickles and a metal heart charm.

Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on a couple more challenges over the weekend... if I can find things after my tidy up!

String-Aling!

2008-02-18T19:13:00.008Z

There's a great card challenge this week on the Tilda & Co blog, it's called 'String-Aling'.
'String, I would like to see the use of string on your Art Work, be it a bit of tying holding the project together, or what about it being the main focus of the work? Or even could be used as a hanger to hang your project up. there is many uses of string on artwork , so please get exploring and see what you can come up with.'
I'm like a magpie with string, I have a little jar full of bits saved from parcels, wrapping etc.!

Here's the card I made for this challenge. I used some knotted parcel string on the edge of the matting under the stamped image of Edwin fishing. After I'd inked the stamp, I wiped off the fishing line and float before I stamped the image. My idea was to use very fine string for the fising line, but I'd used it all up, so I had to make do with some fine black thread instead. I cut three hearts from cardstock and stuck them together, trapping the thread inside them before colouring the heart red. The other end of the thread is stitched through the paper at the end of the fishing rod, so that the heart swings freely. I coloured the fish with Sakura Glitter pens and they look very shimmery! I created the sentiment in PaintShop Pro and printed it directly onto the background paper.

This was a really fun card to make... I really must keep my eye out for some more fine string :)

Love and friendship

2008-02-16T15:54:00.007Z

This week's challenge theme at Daring Cardmakers is to 'make a card in the theme of love and friendship for one of the special people in your life.'
Here's my birthday card for a special friend :)

I've no idea who the background papers are by, I've had them in my scrap box for so long! I used Nestabilities dies for the ovals and a stencil template to cut the hearts down the right hand side. Tilda is mounted on foam pads. Stamps are by Magnolia, SeeD's and Stamps Away.

Two posts in one day....

2008-02-13T16:17:00.006Z

now there's a first LOL I just finished another card and managed to get a photo of it before the light starts fading.

This card is for the 'Stamping' challenge at Arty Girlz. I know I use stamps on all my cards, but they are usually watercoloured and I wanted to do something different for this challenge. The background is a muted swirly blue/lilac/green and I used the same paper to stamp my two images on before matting them on pearlised card. The lace background stamp is by Inkadinkado and the hydrangea stamps is by Anna Griffin. I used denim blue Adirondack ink for the stamping. The velvet ric rac is in fact deep purple, though it doesn't look very purple in the photo!

yummy stripes

2008-02-13T09:50:00.004Z

I'm a bit of a sucker for stripey paper, if there's a new line of papers out I always seem to pick up the stripes and dots papers before anything else. So when I saw this weeks 'Simply Stripes' challenge over on the Papertake blog, well... I knew I had striped paper aplenty!

I bought this lovely Christina Cole paper ages and ages ago, it's one of the few papers I bought several sheets of as I love it so much. I don't have much of it left now, so I'm getting a bit miserly with it! I'm still playing with my new Nestabilities dies... I'm using them in a Cuttlebug machine and they are brilliant! So far I have ovals and circles - next on my list will be rectangles :)

Kissing frogs...

2008-02-12T14:48:00.001Z

I've been playing with my oval Nestabilities dies that arrived yesterday!
This card is for this weeks sketch challenge over at ISMAKI The sketch was just perfect!

Background papers are from a Brenda Pinnick stack, stamps are by Magnolia, I home printed the greetings , ovals cut with Nestabilities dies and a Queen & Co sparkly flower and brad. The felt flower is from a pack at my local pound shop. The frogs crown has three bright yellow glittery Stickles dots at the top (I love my Stickles!) I used a white Uniball Signo pen to mark the white dots on the large green oval.

Two challenges in one day...

2008-02-11T15:40:00.003Z

Yesterday was so nice, the sun was shining in my craftroom and I had time to play! I ended up making these two cards for challenges...

The first one is for this weeks challenge at Daring Cardmakers -this week we had a sketch to work from. The background paper is from a stack by Brenda Pinnick and the birthday cake stamp by Magnolia. I used a super duper punch for the white scallop circle and finished it off with gel pen and Stickles.

And this card is for the challenge at Scrummy Stash Cafe. The theme this week is Love, and I decided that rather than make a mushy card for 'im 'indoors, I'd make a birthday card for my special friend 'cos I love her to bits :) This is a kickstand card so I've added an extra photo to show how it looks both closed and standing open. I'm really pleased with it, I can see me making more of these kickstand cards. The background paper is from my scraps box, the main stamped image is by Sugar Nellie and the swirl stamps are part of a floral set by Rhonna Ferrar (Autumn Leaves). The tag stamps are from a set by Stamps Away. I really enjoyed making this one :)

Baby love

2008-02-10T11:09:00.001Z

I am spending far more time lately visiting other blogs. There are so many talented cardmakers out there whose work I admire, I love to see their latest challenge cards and I can only wonder at the thought process that ends in these wonderful creations. For me, I guess that's what blog surfing is all about... picking up inspiration, seeing how colours work together and how other people interpret a challenge. Many times I've looked at a card and thought 'how come I didn't think of doing something like that?' But that's what makes us all different... my cards are my cards and I enjoy making them using the supplies I have to hand.

So yes, I do enjoy blog hopping... it beats channel hopping on the tv hands down and I always find something interesting to look at! I like to leave a comment on the blogs I visit - I know how much I appreciate it when someone takes the time to stop and comment on mine. Remember when the teacher gave you a gold star for your homework? Yep... it's that sort of feeling :) So a big thankyou for all the lovely comments I've had in the few weeks since I set this blog up.

Ok.. enough waffle. The point of this post was to say that I found yet another challenge as a result of my blog hopping. I came across the caardvarks card challenge blog - and here's the card I made for this week's challenge - Baby Love.

The background paper is by Sandylion, the stamps are Magnolia and See'D-s and I used a little
Stickles glitter glue on the soap bubbles.

la la la la Lola!

2008-02-08T13:37:00.001Z

My first card using one of the gorgeous new Lola & Simon stamps by Sugar Nellie, available from Funky Kits Isn't she absolutely gorgeous!!! The designer is a very talented Canadian illustrator, Rachelle Anne Miller, you can see her lovely work on her website

There's a new bi-weekly card challenge blog started up this week,Sweet Sugar. I made this card for their very first challenge which was to use a Sugar Nellie stamp, with stars and stripes. I used a diagonal stripe background paper and incorporated the stars element by using three brads I found lurking in a box :-)

Turn it around...

2008-02-07T12:32:00.001Z

Last night, I decided to try the ISMAKI challenge again, this time using the brown/turquoise colour option as well as the sketch. Ok, so I could tell you I got all creative and looked at the sketch from a different angle.... but the truth is I had my card the wrong way round when I stuck the papers on LOL! It's ok for you to laugh at me... really it is... I laughed myself when I realised what I'd done!

But hey.. I think it looks good this way round too and it's taught me that I don't have to follow a sketch too closely, turning it around IS an option! And it taught me to double check the card orientation before I stick anything down!

Lost week...

2008-02-06T10:37:00.002Z

I've had a really nasty cold for the last week and haven't felt much like doing anything crafty. I feel like I've lost a week! I hate that feeling and missed taking part in all the super challenges out there! Thankfully, my head feels a bit clearer now and I'm able to concentrate on cards without having a wad of tissues firmly clamped to my nose! It was so nice to sit down yesterday and make these two cards :)

This one was made from the sketch challenge at ISMAKI but then I realised it fits in with the Papertake 'flowers' challenge too! The background paper is by Paper Adventures... it's sparkly, though it doesn't show up in the photo. I handcut and punched the scallop strip behind the magnolia stamped image. I've had these huge flowers for ages so it was good to use them at last! I added extra sparkle to the flowers with dots of bright yellow stickles.

I needed something for this cute little Magnolia bear to sit on, so the frames challenge at Artygirlz was perfect! The white oval scallop frame was cut on the Craft Robo and I added some sheer ribbon with baby feet on and three pretty fabric daisies. The blue frame inner and greeting were printed on my pc. Don't you just love those cute weeny button brads!!!

Black, pink and white

2008-02-03T13:47:00.000Z

This week there is a one off challenge over on Maisymary's blog.
Thanks for inviting me to join in Pearl :-)

Here's the card I made card using black, pink and white, it was fun and I've used up some paper scraps, which is always good!

I love new challenges!

Ribbons

2008-01-28T13:45:00.002Z

The challenge over at the Scrummy Stash Cafe this week is to use ribbons. I've got a huge box of ribbons but isn't it always the way that I never have exactly the right shade I need... so I go and buy more! I just can't resist them... a metre of this, a metre of that...and I must have some of that one... it's like buying pick and mix sweeties! And then there are the 'special' ribbons, the lush velvets, the sparkly edged ones, the pretty printed ones... beautiful to look at and stroke but oh so hard to actually cut up and use!!! I did intend to grit my teeth and use one of my 'special' ribbons on this card... but wouldn't you know it, I didn't have exactly the right shade so I used plain satin ribbon instead!

I tried to make it a bit more interesting by twirling the tails on the bow :-)))

Paper by Brenda Pinnick, stamps by Magnolia and See-D's, Prima flowers

Daring Cardmakers - foiled!

2008-01-27T13:05:00.004Z

Well the challenge on Daring Cardmakers this week had me thinking - use kitchen foil on your project!!!

I stuck foil to a piece of card and ran it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I was amazed how fab it looks. What a super challenge, I'd never have thought of doing this in a million years!

I used the foil, a Magnolia rubber stamp, sorry I can't remember who the patterned paper is by!

It's Rudolph Day!

2008-01-25T15:41:00.002Z

So what is Rudolph Day? Well... over in the cardmaking forum on UKScrappers, one of the members suggested a new monthly challenge to make our Christmas cards all through the year, instead of in one mad rush just before Christmas. Sounds good to me! The idea took off and starting today, the 25th of every month will be Rudolph Day on UKS :-)

So here it is, the first of my Christmas 2008 cards! I've only managed one card today, but I hope to make a few more over the next few days. For this one I used a Magnolia snowman and the Winter Nellie stamp from Funkykits. I used a Cuttlebug die for the glittery snowflakes and added quite a lot of Stickles Frosted Lace. I used most of my Christmas papers up for cards last year, so if I'm going to be making Christmas cards every month from now on, I need to hunt a few more down! Honestly, I really do 'need' to go stash shopping!!!

ISMAKI Challenge #3

2008-01-23T15:02:00.001Z

I don't normally like to work from sketches but I'm finding the weekly card challenges over on the ISMAKI blog really inspiring! There's always an option b to work from if you don't fancy the main sketch and there are really lovely examples from their Design Team too. Today it's really grey and miserable outside so I decided to make a really bright card for this challenge :-)

The double-sided papers are from the Sugar Plum range by collagepress, stamp by Magnolia and the felt flowers from my local pound shop. I've added some Stickles glitter to the icing on the cake just to give it a little sparkle.

Violets are blue!

2008-01-22T14:20:00.001Z

This weeks challenge from Papertake is Violets are Blue.

'We'd like to see Blues or Purples this week please!'

I 've had quite a productive morning as I ended up making not one, but two cards for this challenge!

The decoupage card has a pearlised pale apple green card background which I embossed with my Cuttlebug. I love decoupage, I find the cutting out really relaxing. I don't even mind the smell of the silicone glue :-)

I used a Magnolia stamp for the blue card, the background paper is from the K & Co Hopscotch Boy range and the sentiment stamps are by See-D's.

Shiny Silver

2008-01-21T15:17:00.001Z

I made this card for the Week 3 challenge over at Tilda and Company. The challenge was to use silver, which for some weird reason is a colour I only ever seem to use at Christmas. I found some gorgeous textured silver card which I've been hoarding for ages and ages. The biggest part of this challenge was to actually cut it up and use it!

I've used my gorgeous silver card (which doesn't show up that well in the photo), paper by Karen Neuberger, Prima flowers with silver brad centres and of course, Magnolia stamps! Stickles 'Star Dust' on the torn paper edge and on the wings.

Chips anyone?

2008-01-20T21:58:00.001Z

I spotted this challenge over at the Scrummy Stash Cafe blog
Anyone for Chips!
'Use 3 different pieces of chipboard on your layout or card.'

As I'd only yesterday been sorting out some stash on a shelf and unearthed a box of chipboard shapes that haven't seen the light of day for months and months, I thought I'd give it a go!

The heart, wavy line and plaque are chipboard, painted with MM paints. Papers are from the K & Co Small Wonders Boy range and I used one of my lovely Sugar Nellie stamps for the main image. I hadn't used any chipboard on my cards before so although this was a quick card, I had a lot of fun making it!
Needless to say, the box of chipboard shapes has now been left in a handy place :-)

another challenge!

2008-01-17T12:39:00.002Z

I found another card challenge to do! This time on the Papertake weekly challenge blog.
'This weeks challenge, Roses are Red.. is to use red on your card! Any shade or shades of red that you like from bright pillar box to deep burgandy'

I had a lot of fun getting inky with this one! Papers is from the K&Co McKenna range and I stamped the image with Adirondack cranberry. I've had this photo stamp for so long that I've forgotten the name of it and who makes it! I really like this stamp so it was nice to pull it out of the box and use it again

Tilda & Co challenge #2 - numbers

2008-01-16T12:44:00.001Z

This weeks challenge on the Tilda & Co challenge blog was to use numbers as well as Magnolia stamps. We have an 11th birthday coming up in the family in April, so I'm feeling well organised with this one! I wanted to get some texture on this card, so I layered some corrugated brown card behind the stamped image. The frayed netting is sewn on with fine string, which I've used to attach the tag. The stamp is by Magnolia and I used chipboard numbers, inked and chalked.

I'm loving all these challenges, they really get me going and actually making cards. It's also nice to browse round the different design teams work too, not to mention all the challenge participants blogs. I can spend hours ooh'ing and aaah'ing over all the lovely cards!

I'm off for a hunt round for more challenges to take part in!

Ismaki Challenge #2

2008-01-15T12:14:00.001Z

I made this card last night, based on this weeks challenge sketch at ISMAKI
The stamp is by Sugar Nellie, available only from Funky Kits - I love these stamps! They stamp so cleanly and the images are really detailed but very easy to cut out.

The background paper is by All My Memories, text stamps are from a set by See-D's. I used some thin beige suede strips for the criss cross elements - very strokable!

Tilda & Co Challenge

2008-01-13T12:52:00.001Z

I made this card today for the first challenge on the Tilda & Co blog. This week's challenge was to use flowers as well as a Magnolia stamp.. or two.. or three LOL.

I stamped some small flowers in the grass under the bench and added 3 Prima flowers. Stamps used: Magnolia and the small flowers and butterfly are from a Tapestry set.

I've also finished another two cards this weekend - the first is a new baby card and the second is a birthday card. Used Magnolia stamps for them both of course! I so love these stamps!

I must tidy my desk and then plan what cards to make next!