Tuesday, 14 August 2012

First Attempt at a One Layer Card

This fortnight's challenge at Top Tip Tuesday is to create a one layer card.

Well, for an embellishment addict like me, this challenge was soooooooooo hard.  My fingers were just itching to get stuck into my various tubs of pearls, gems, ribbons, flowers etc.

Without any layers of pretty papers, I felt that I needed to create some interest another way.  So I created a shaped card.

What do you think ... ?


I'm not sure that I will be rushing to make more one-layer cards as I think I'm going to need therapy to overcome the lack of embellies, but it's not too bad for a first attempt.

We're sponsored this fortnight by Simon Says Stamp and Robyn's Fetish so play along to be up for a chance to win some fab prizes.

See my cards available to buy on eBay
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Card Recipe:
Please pop on over to the Top Tip Tuesday Challenge Blog to see the other creations by the talented design team, and to enter our challenge.  I look forward to seeing your creations this week.

I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting.

Monday, 13 August 2012

A card from the fairies

I've been busy over the weekend making cards, but today's post is a bit different.  A lady who'd bought one of my cards wanted to give a card to her daughter that was made by the fairies.  So I put the word around in fairyville, and luckily enough one of the fairies volunteered to make her a card (as long as she could use my stash!).   She used some of my ribbons, flowers, pearls, and my lovely glittery papers !!   ;-)

I asked the little fairy if she minded if I blogged about the card that she'd made before I sent it off in the post (apparently she was all out of fairy postage stamps too, so I'd have to post it for her).  She said that she didn't have her own blog so she was happy for me to share the card with you, so here it is !!!

The sentiment inside reads 'Spread your wings and let the fairy inside you fly'.



See my cards available to buy on eBay
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Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Wild Orchid Crafts - Pink & Green
  • Sketch Saturday - Sketch
  • Simon Says Stamp - Bingo (ribbon, free, blooms - also got some glitter in there!)
Happy crafting.

Sunday, 12 August 2012

Pretty in Pink

Well I've had a really crafty weekend.  Hubby's been away visiting his family in Sheffield, and in between a tiddly bit of housework (I'm a bit high on the fumes of Windowlene at the moment) I've made lots of cardies.  I've been playing with some of my old stash, one of my older LOTV images, some old papers, and even my oldest colouring tools being my Twinkling H2O watercolour paint.  I'd forgotten that I used to use these on all my images before I got my copics.

Here she is, pretty in pink, with some sparkles (of course).




See my cards available to buy on eBay

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Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting.

Saturday, 11 August 2012

Simply overloaded

I've got a just for fun card today, with a cute little image from Tiddly Inks.  I've also followed a bingo recipe from The Ribbon Girl, and despite thinking my card was actually quite simple, I've actually managed to include all of the bingo items rather than just a single row (talk about using up lots of stash items!!).  And yet somehow the card still feels like there is something missing.  I'm not sure if the phrase 'less is more' should actually be 'more is less' in this case cos that's what it feels like to me !!!  LOL



See my cards available to buy on eBay
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Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Sketch 'n' Stash - Sketch (old stash = lace & charm, new stash = ribbons)
  • Tiddly Inks - Favourite TI image (you can't go wrong with bunnies!)
  • The Ribbon Girl - Bingo (all of 'em!)
  • Papertake - Anything Goes
  • Simon Says Stamp - Bingo (bottom row : buttons, lace, blooms)
  • Totally Gorjuss - Lacy Lacy
Happy crafting.

Friday, 10 August 2012

Snow Bear Barry

It's Friday so there is a new release and freebie at StampFairy called Barry Christmas 2.  My favourite bear in snow, it couldn't be any cuter!



See my cards available to buy on eBay
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Card Recipe:
Please pop on over to StampFairy to see the newly released digi images.


Here's a preview of the set being released today:



    I've been inspired by:
    Happy Crafting

    Thursday, 9 August 2012

    Purple Tones

    The theme this week at Lili's Little Fairies is Monochrome, so you can only use different shades of the same colour.  I've chosen purple, and made a cute wedding or anniversary card.  I've embossed the front, and then rubbed a pale purple ink pad over the embossing to make it show up more.  In addition to my purple ink pad, I've used a purple card to make the base and added an array of purple embellishments; flowers, pearls, ribbon, butterfly, and stardust pens for some sparkle.





    See my cards available to buy on eBay

    eBay



    Card Recipe:
    I've been inspired by:
    • Totally Papercrafts - Monochrome
    • The Ribbon Girl - Bingo (ribbon, pearls, image)
    • Simon Says Stamp - Bingo (ribbon, free, blooms)
    Happy crafting.

    Wednesday, 8 August 2012

    Paper Pieced Winter Bunny

    It's the letter 'P' this fortnight at the ABC Christmas Challenge which is Paper Piecing.  We're sponsored by Simon Says Stamp and The Ribbon Reel so there are some great prizes up for grabs.

    I've paper pieced the boots, bow and scarf on little Clementine Bunny, and used digi papers printed out to a much smaller size so that the little pattern on the paper shows up in the small areas of the paper piecing.  I've also then used the same paper printed out in its normal size for the backing paper.




    See my cards available to buy on eBay

    eBay


    Card Recipe:
    Please pop on over to the ABC Christmas Challenge to see the other creations by the talented design team, and to enter our challenge.  I look forward to seeing your creations this fortnight.

    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Tuesday, 7 August 2012

    Pingu Igloo

    I've got a fun little Christmas card to share today (I'm certainly getting into the Christmas spirit lately!), and this time a cute little pingu pair using "Igloo for Two", one of my favourite and oldest Christmas stamps.  I've kept it kind of simple, and kept quite a monochromatic colour scheme, with black complementing the grey of the penguins and aqua blue with some red accents.



    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay


    Card Recipe:
    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Monday, 6 August 2012

    Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice

    I'm playing along with Incy Wincy again this week, but this time because Stampfairy is sponsoring the challenge. The theme is an easy peasy challenge of all things girlie.  I've used sweet Molly to create a pink and girly card, with a shaped base, pretty lace and bling.



    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay



    Card Recipe:
    Please pop on over to the Incy Wincy Challenge blog to see the other creations by the talented design team, and to enter the girlie challenge.

    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Sunday, 5 August 2012

    Wooden Fairy Hanger

    I've got a different little project to share today. I bought this rustic looking wooden hanger from my local book store.  I wasn't sure what I was going to create when I bought it, but I knew that I'd love to stamp on it.  I was worried about how the ink would take to the wood, because although the front is rubbed smooth, it is slightly "fluffy".  A light dot from my copics created quite a spread of ink, so a light touch was necessary!!

    I printed the sentiment onto paper, and then traced the words like I used to when I was young, by rubbing a pencil over the back of the printout to create a type of 'carbon paper' and then writing over the words on the front to make a pencil mark onto the wood underneath.  Then I wrote over the feint words with Sakura Stardust Gel pen, and then used my white gel pen to create a bit of 'snow' on the lettering.

    I added a few flowers (ok quite a few flowers!), some pearl strands, liquid pearls and quite a bit of glitter!

    Hope you like it.  It does look better if you click on the picture to enlarge it (and even better in real life!)





    See my cards available to buy on eBay

    eBay


    Card Recipe:
    • Image - Winter Fairy from Lili of the Valley
    • Sentiment - Typed
    • Colouring - Copics, Sakura Stardust Gel pens, White gel pen
    • All flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts
    • Wood hanger - The Works bookstore
    •  From my stash -  Stickles, Liquid pearls, pearl strands
    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Thursday, 2 August 2012

    Girlie Notes

    I've got a pretty little girlie project to share today.  I've decorated a little notebook and added lots of girlie embellishments; pink gems, pretty lace, pink brad and ribbon, glitter, flowers, swirly die cuts and some pretty papers.  This is my kinda notebook !!!






    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay



    Card Recipe:
    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Tuesday, 31 July 2012

    Not "Mushroom" for Ribbon?

    This fortnight's challenge at Top Tip Tuesday is to focus on the ribbon.  I found this quite hard to do when I was also showcasing a digi image, especially when I'd printed out the digi quite large.  So I had to put my thinking cap on.

    I decided to use ribbon in a colour that I'd used in my image, but the dusky pink didn't show up much, so I used a thinner ribbon in a bolder red, and layered it on top of the wider dusky pink.  I also made a huge bow, and used up the scraps that were left over in a little loop, again layered, and stuck it underneath the image panel.

    Here's what I came up with:


    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay

    Card Recipe:
    Please pop on over to the Top Tip Tuesday Challenge Blog to see the other creations by the talented design team, and to enter our challenge.  I look forward to seeing your creations this week.

    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Monday, 30 July 2012

    Pillow Box George

    Wohoo, I'm playing along again this week with the Incy Wincy Challenge where the theme is 'not a card'.  I just love making little boxes and therefore couldn't resist making this ickle pillow box.  I've used some ribbons by the gorgeous Fantastic Ribbons who are providing the prize this week (from my rather *ahem* significant purchase a couple of weeks ago).   OMG they have such GORGEOUS ribbon.  I just couldn't help myself.  Loads of it just 'fell' into my cart.  It got kinda dangerous with all the ribbons just 'falling' in, I can tell you!! LOL    But I did get 50% off (cos I bought so much !).




    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay

    Card Recipe:
    I've been inspired by:
    Happy crafting.

    Extinguish the flames

    I've got a fun little card to share today. This one is made for my blogging friend and Stampfairy creator, Gerda.  It's her birthday today and she's 21 (plus 10 !!!) LOL.  I made a conscious effort to use her favourite aqua blue colour scheme and quite a C&S design which I know she favours,  but I really hope she didn't take offence at the sentiment I created for her card.

    Happy birthday honey.  I hope you have a great day full of fun, laughter and pressies.


    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay

    Card Recipe:
    I've been inspired by:
    Happy Crafting

    Friday, 27 July 2012

    I Believe in Father Christmas

    It's Friday so there is a new release and freebie at StampFairy called Santa's World 2, and I've been lucky enough to play with one of the images from the new set.  I've used an aqua and red theme which seems to have worked quite well, I think?



    See my cards available to buy on eBay
    eBay


    Card Recipe:
    Please pop on over to StampFairy to see the newly released digi images.


    Here's a preview of the set being released today:



      I've been inspired by:
      Happy Crafting

      Thursday, 26 July 2012

      James Cracker Bear

      Oh My Goodness - this is my second Crimbo card in as many days, and it is still July!!  However, the theme this week at Lili's Little Fairies is Christmas in July.  I must admit that I had such fun with this card because I just love these papers and colour scheme so I felt really pleased when I'd finished it.  With the pretty papers, glitter, flowers, pearls, ribbon and of course a LOTV image, this card really is all of my favourite things on one card (even though there is no pink!).




      See my cards available to buy on eBay
      eBay



      Card Recipe:
      I've been inspired by:
      Happy crafting.

      Wednesday, 25 July 2012

      The Countdown to Christmas Starts Here

      Well, I've got some more fabulously exciting news today that I can finally share.  No only am I now officially on holiday from work for nearly a fortnight (woohoo!!!)  but also the lovely Samantha at The ABC Christmas Challenge asked me to join her design team.  I'm not sure if she actually likes my work, or whether she is merely trying to tell me that there has been a distinct lack of Christmas cards on my blog this past 6 months, despite my good intentions back in January!  Honestly, I'm getting better.  Slowly!!!

      I was slightly nervous about accepting, partly because the girls on that team are freakin' talented so I'm really going to have to pull my socks up in order that I don't show myself up next to them.  But I was also worried about taking on another commitment.  But it is a fortnightly challenge so there's plenty of time to get creative.  Plus it really will help me to make my Xmas cards throughout the year, instead of having a repeat of the frenzy I had in November last year.  


      And of course it gives me a great excuse to use glitter on every card!  


      So of course I said yes.  


      Thank you Samantha for having me on your wonderful sparkly team!  I hope I make you proud!

      So today is my first card, and the theme this fortnight is O for Open it up.  You need to decorate the inside (with option of decorating the back).  I decided to cheat a little bit, cos the front is mostly acetate and therefore most of the inside shows through to the front!  Oh dear, it's only my first card and I'm cheating already!  LOL

      I'll show you some pics, and then explain what I did.





      I followed a tutorial for the Snow Globe card on Split Coast Stampers (which I actually found via Stempeleinmaleins but that wasn't in English and my Google translate was coming up with some dodgy translations, so I hopped over to Split Coast Stampers).  

      The snowdrift on the top of the front is covered in Woodware "Fluffy Stuff" to make it look like snow.  Then I put some white liquid pearl dotted over the inside and the acetate to create more snow, and a couple of small snowflakes that were the cut out parts from another die cut.  The bear's nose and paws are glittered with Glossy Accents and Crystal Glamour Dust, and there is some stickles on the tree and around the edge of the acetate and the inside panel.

      Here's the back which is decorated with a die cut, a sentiment and some more liquid pearl 'snow'.



      Our sponsors this week are Bugaboo and The Ribbon Girl




      I hope to see you all at The ABC Christmas Challenge.  It really is a great challenge to give you the motivation and inspiration to keep your Christmas crafting alive throughout the year, and let's be honest, who doesn't love to be elbow deep in glitter, snowflakes and mistletoe !!!


      See my cards available to buy on eBay
      eBay



      Card Recipe:
      Please pop on over to the  ABC Christmas challenge blog to see the other creations by the talented design team, and to enter our challenge.  I look forward to seeing your creations this week.

      I've been inspired by:
      Happy crafting.

      Monday, 23 July 2012

      Yummy ... Birthday Cake Anyone?

      I've got a fun little card to share today, another LOTV image (I'm sooooo loving playing with these images that I've not used much before).  I've used alcohol markers and sakura stardust pens, with a bit of glossy accents for some added sparkle.  The pin is one I've made myself too with some spare beads.





      See my cards available on eBay
      eBay



      Card Recipe:
      I've been inspired by:
      Happy Crafting

      Sunday, 22 July 2012

      Mirror Mirror on the Wall

      A lovely pink and girlie card to share with you today.  This is the first time I've coloured this image and I've kept the layout simple with some stitching, flowers, pearls and some embroidery thread.  It is so sweet and I love all the pink.



      For those of you who read my post yesterday where I was preparing to start on my 15 mile night walk in aid of the local hospice, well it took 5.5 hours, but I made it!  We started at 7.30 and finished at 1am.  Walking through Torquay town centre in my PJs at 1am when the late night pubs and clubs were kicking out was, erm, interesting.  People come from all over the UK to have Stag & Hen nights at Torquay, and we got a few comments as we marched past in our PJs.   At least I can actually remember what I did last night, where as I suspect most of those people we passed in the wee hours, who were staggering in a similar fashion to us (though for different reasons), might not remember what they got up to last night.  I'm paying for it this morning though. My legs, especially the backs of my knees and my ankles, are so stiff that I think I will be spending most of the day sat down.  I think tomorrow will be worse as it always aches more 2 days later, right?  Oh dear, still, at least I can sit and craft today.  Thanks to everyone who left sweet motivational comments on my post yesterday.  It was much appreciated.


      See my cards available to buy on eBay

      eBay



      Card Recipe:
      I've been inspired by:
      Happy crafting.

      Saturday, 21 July 2012

      On yer bike !!!

      I've got a JFF card to share today, handsome Edwin on his bicycle.  I followed a recipe, which required ribbon, but I almost forgot to add it because I always struggle to add ribbon to a masculine card and not make it look girlie with a bow.  So I folded it over and stuck it underneath the image panel in a loop.  Not bad, huh?

      I didn't add many embellies, just 4 little pearls, 3 in a row at the top, and one on the sentiment tag.




      By the way, please wish me luck for tonight peeps, and keep your fingers and toes crossed that it doesn't rain cos I'm doing a 15 mile night time sponsored walk in aid of our local hospice.  If it doesn't kill me off, I'll probably sporting some mighty blisters to prove I did it by this time tomorrow!!!  I think all I'll be good for tomorrow is sat at my craft desk with my comfy slippers on.  Shame!!!  LOL



      See my cards available to buy on eBay

      eBay


      Card Recipe:
      I've been inspired by:
      Happy crafting.