Happy 1st Birthday!!

I have just changed my PC and am struggling to have the printer and my Silhouette plugged into the USB, along with a wireless dongle, so until the postman delivers my USB hub, it’s going to have to be coloured cards or diecut cards, but not both if I can help it!! That said, I have enjoyed leaving my Pro-Markers to one side and going back to my favourite style of card!!

The card I have to show you today is to celebrate a 1st birthday card, made for my best friend’s youngest daughter, who turned one last weekend.

Now, I know that such a deep purple isn’t a normal first choice of colour for a little girl’s first birthday card, but I’ve known her mum since we were in high school and she has always loved purple, so I thought it might be a nice touch! The die is from the Silhouette Online store, I simply cut it from a piece of white cardstock, added a little purple card behind the hole and then remounted the die on some very tiny 3D pads. I cut a second “1” from a lilac glitter card and popped that on top of the white diecut. I then added two panels of the purple cardstock to the sides, tied a little twine around the middle panel and finished off with two little silver beads.

I’d like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Hiding In My Craft Room – CAS

CAS-ual Fridays – Colour Blocks

Top Tip Tuesday – CAS

Aud Sentiment – Any Sentiment Goes

MilkCoffee – Monochromatic

As You Like It – Favourite CAS Style and Why: I love the CAS design of this card as the sentiment is the main  focal point of the card, very simply accentuated by the panels of colour on the side and the co-ordinating twine.

Thanks for reading x

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New Challenge at Crafting From The Heart

Aah well, here we go, the first Monday of the year…!  And that means it’s time for a new challenge over at Crafting From The Heart.  There’s a small change to the challenges for 2014 – we’ve added in some optional  themes for you to follow, if you fancy!

The theme or this fortnight’s challenge is “Buttons and Pearls” and we were delighted to be sponsored by Lacy Sunshine, Angie’s Digi Stamps and A Day For Daisies.  I chose to use Valentina by Lacy Sunshine – it’s the first time I’ve coloured a Lacy Sunshine stamp, but I think I might be hooked!!  She looked cute uncoloured, but I think she looks amazing now she’s had the Pro-Marker treatment!!  I used the print and cut facility on the Silhouette for the image, choosing to add a little stitched border too.

The papers are from the I Heart You collection by Harper Finch.  I’ve used several of these collections now and have found them so versatile – I loved the greys mixed with reds and pinks!  I only managed to include one button on my card – the little heart button on the banner, but I think it works pretty well with the image and papers.

I based the layout on the current sketch over at Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge:

Make sure you pop over to Crafting From The Heart with one of your New Year creations – remember, anything goes if you’d rather not use the theme, we would just love to see what you’ve been up to!!  There’s also a DT Call on right now – if you’re interested, make sure you pop over.

I’d like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Lacy Sunshine – Challenge 24

I Love Promarkers – Frame It

Crafting By Design – Anything Goes

Robyn’s Fetish Challenge – Use a Digi

Silhouette Challenges – Challenge 9: Anything Goes

Card A Day Blog – Valentines

Thanks for reading x

A very quick, last minute post…

I promised to share my three special family cards with you, and here I am with the last in the trilogy….

This card is for my husband; we’ve been together since our late teens and celebrated our 12th anniversary earlier this year!  I chose “Christmas Together” by Sami Stamps as it reminded me of that moment, before we tiptoe up to bed on Christmas Eve, when we just take a look around and count our blessings…

I kept the style of the card very simple, as that is the card style that he prefers – the bright reds and greens bring the tree to life, while the doodle frames it all off nicely.  I paper pieced the jumpers from the Harper Finch Sweater Weather paper collection and coloured the rest of the card in with Pro-Markers, not a spot of glitter in sight on this card!

Anyway, I’ve got brownie mince pies in the oven, so I’d best hustle on…  Best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year!

I’d like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown – What Christmas Means To Me

Try It On Tuesdays – Trees

Top Tip Tuesday – Christmas

Scribble And Scrap – Anything Goes

Partytime Tuesdays – Challenge #152: Merry Christmas

LEJ Designs – Challenge 84: Anything goes

Ladybug Crafts – CAS

The Squirrel And The Fox – Merry Christmas

Thanks for reading x

Crafting From The Heart

It’s time for a new challenge over at Crafting From The Heart.  The theme for this fortnight is Anything Goes; we were lucky to be sponsored by Sassy Design Studios and The Stamping Chef.

Here’s my card for the challenge:

The image, from Sassy Design Studios, was coloured with Pro-Markers.  For the bubbles, I drew some pale blue ink from a marker onto a blender pen and coloured in circles to make the colour follow the shape of the bubbles and also to keep the colour uneven.  I added some Star Dust Stickles to some of the smaller bubbles, while some of the larger bubbles got the Glossy Accents treatment, as you can see in the close up below.

I added the image to a scallop frame, which I coloured using Tumbled Glasss Distress Ink.  The backing paper, vellum and ribbon were all from my stash.  For the sentiment, I added some Star Dust Stickles to a turquoise button as it toned the colour down a little.

The layout was based on Sketch 47, the current challenge over at From The Heart Stamps:

I’m also delighted to let you know that I have been asked to join the Crafting From The Heart team as a DT member – thanks again to Fiona and Erin!  I’m looking forward to some more great challenges in the New Year.

I’d like to enter this card into the following challenges:

LEJ Designs – Anything Goes

Opus Gluei – Circles Everywhere

Thanks for reading x

Happy Christmas Little Star

As promised, I have the second of my three special family cards for you today.  This card was made for my 4 year old daughter, who loves everything sparkly and is very attached to her bear, Poppy.  This adorable image from All Dressed Up was a perfect fit!

I had a background paper in mind, so steered away from too much pink, opting instead to colour the image with a range of turquoise Pro-Markers.  I used the print and cut option on the Silhouette to print the image in this lovely oval frame, then added a little Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to soften the edges.  After hunting through my ribbon collection, I came across some leftover 3mm satin ribbon that I used for some wedding invitations last year – it threaded through the frame so easily and, for once, the bow landed well too!  I added a little Glossy Accent to the big star sentiment and also to the stars clips in her hair, then a little Stickles magic along the edge of the tutu and on some of the gifts.

The paper is from a First Edition Christmas Joy paper stack – not sure if you can make it out from the photos, but there is a striped snowflake pattern running through it.  The snowflake border is from Hobbycraft – I’m not sure what to call it, as it’s not ribbon or paper or card, but is stiff and almost crunchy feeling…if you know what I mean!

I based the layout around Sketch 276 from Sketch Saturday, just flipped it over to suit my card.

Id like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday -Challenge 289: Anything Goes (Any Sketch After #215)

Tuesday Throwdown – What Christmas Means To Me

LEJ Designs  – Anything Goes

Inky Chicks – Christmas

The Crafty Blogger’s Network – Girly

C…Is For Challenge – Modern Christmas

Scribble and Scrap – Anything Goes

Glitter ‘n’ Sparkle – Non-traditional Christmas Colours

Thanks for reading x

 

Pop Up Star Card

I don’t know about you, but I find it really difficult to focus on making a card I really don’t like the design of…  That’s what happened to me this week.  I have been making a batch of personalised Christmas cards for a friend, based around cards I have made previously, however I just couldn’t bring myself to re-create this card – I wasn’t entirely happy with the way it turned out the first time; I had an idea in my head and I just couldn’t make it work.  Luckily, my friend was happy to leave me to it….as long as the final card was in West Ham football club colours (sky blue and burgundy).

I was stuck for inspiration – I’ve been so busy recently that I just came to a screeching halt.  Then I saw this card at www.downloadpsds.com and I thought I’d see if I could come up with something similar.

Here’s my card:

I used my Silhouette to create the partially cut star shapes in the sky blue card, then placed some burgundy card behind and added some 3D pads behind the shapes too, to pop them open.

The sentiment was printed directly onto the white cardstock, using the NeoRetroDraw font.

And, the best bit of all, it only took 20 minutes from start to finish!  By far the quickest Christmas card I’ve made this season 🙂

Thanks for reading x

Wintry Snow Globe

Hi everyone!  I’m excited to share with you today my first DT card for the Crafty Girls Challenge 🙂  The theme is for this challenge is “Anything Goes”, so it’s the perfect challenge to showcase all your Christmas projects!  Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are MilkCoffee and Floppy Latte.

The snow globe image is by Floppy Latte – it’s the first time I have used one of their stamps, but most definitely won’t be the last!!  I really enjoyed keeping this card in cool, pastel, wintry shades – it may have helped that it was also the first morning we had to de-ice the car before we could drive to school!!  I used Pro-Markers to colour the image, choosing light fresh colours and then making them even paler by drawing ink from the chisel end of the coloured markers onto the bullet nib of the blender and diluting the colour down a little further.  For the fresh snow on the ground, I used a Tea Green Pro-Marker around the “edges” of the snow and again, blended it further.  Star Dust Stickles gave my snowy scene a crisp, sparkly finish.  I added the sentiment to the base of the globe as it felt too crowded anywhere else.  The sentiment is a peel-off sticker from the Forever Friends Christmas set – I usually avoid peel-offs as I’m not a big fan, but I liked the way I could easily adjust the letters to follow the slight curve of the snowglobe.

The  background papers are from an old Forever Friends Christmas paper stack and I added little Stickles dots to the centre of the snowflakes, so that it catches the light, even on the gloomiest of days!  I borrowed the layout from Sketch 42 at From The Heart Stamps; I liked the way the two circular cuts of background paper echoed the snowglobe’s shape and the colour I chose for the sky.  Finally, a little strip of narrow satin ribbon and a few gems as the finishing touches!

I’m sure you’re right in the middle of some amazing Christmas creations – why not head over the the Crafty Girls Challenge and show us!  Don’t forget to take a peek at the other amazing DT projects while you’re there!

I’d like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sprinkle n Sparkle – Anything Goes

Paper Crafting Journey – Bling It Up!

Crafter’s Cafe – Anything Goes

TTCRD – Anything Goes

Paper Minutes – Christmas CAS

I Love ProMarkers – Anything Goes

MIM – Contemporary Christmas

Happy Campers – Glitter It!

Lexi’s  Creations – Christmas

Sister Act – Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges2 – Non-Traditional Christmas Colours

Handmade Harbor – Winter Fun

Thanks for reading x

Star Card

I wasn’t sure whether I should share today’s card, if I’m honest…  It looked soooo much better in my head, and I’m quite disappointed with the way it turned out, but I thought it might be a good way to get some feedback on how I could have done it differently.  So here goes…

I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug (the embossing is only just about visible on the photo!), using the new star folder that I recently treated myself to and have been dying to use!.  I then pieced together some contrasting colour stars, which I cut on the Silhouette, using this amazing free scrapbooking layout from Creating Keepsakes and added them to the left hand side of the background with 3D dots for a bit of height.  I then set about highlighting some stars on the background, either with small red glitter die cut stars, or just by outlining with an ultra fine nib glue applicator and then sprinkling glitter all over.

I’m not sure what it is that I’m not keen on; maybe I picked the wrong colours, maybe I should have left the embossed stars well alone?  Still, I’d be grateful for any feedback and ideas for improvement – I’ll be trying it again in the next few weeks and any advice would be welcome!!

Thanks for reading x

Rory and Sketch Saturday

I fancied a break from Christmas cards this morning!!  It is my 2nd cousin’s 5th birthday on Wednesday, so I figured that would be an ideal direction for my crafting to take!

I decided to base the card around the current sketch layout over at Sketch Saturday – Sketch 286 is a very clean and simple layout, which I hope I can do justice to!

Here’s my finished card:

I used a square card blank, adding a yellow chevron embossed circle, with Rory (by Pollycraft) in the centre.  I coloured Rory with Pro-Markers, keeping things simple.  I popped a little green and white baker’s twine under the circle, which was raised with 3D pads.   The little dinosaur footprints were cut by the Silhouette – I found a set of three types of footprint in the Silhouette store and mix them up a bit, so that I have feet that resemble Rory’s dinosaur feet from the image.  I welded the toes on the the foot too, to make it a little easier when it came to popping it all together, and once mounted on the card, I coated them with Glossy Accents  The sentiment banner was also cut by my Silhouette, taking a crest and banner file from the library and getting rid of the excess pieces before I pressed cut.  I chose the free Jurassic Park font, just for a final dinosaur related touch!  Just in case you were wondering, the sentiment is in French – one of the benefits of making my own cards has always been the flexibility to personalise and tailor-make cards to their intended recipients, especially when most of the family (on my side, anyway) is across the Channel!

I’d like to enter this card into the following challenges too:

Sketch Saturday – Challenge 286 (see sketch above)

Cards For Men – Challenge 24

Crafty Cardmakers – CAS

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge – For the Men In Your Life

Love To Scrap – Boyz Rule

Addicted to Stamps – Embossing

Partytime Tuesdays – Anything Goes

The Male Room – Little Boy and Babies

Thanks for reading x

Jack’s 7th Birthday

This weekend was my son’s 7th birthday!  We had a great (although, slightly crazy busy!) weekend, with a trip to the London Motor Museum on Saturday (perfect birthday treat  for a car-mad young man!), followed by a trip to a soft play centre with friends Sunday morning, and rounded off with a lovely family gathering at home, complete with cake and candles!!

I’d like to share the card I made for Jack’s birthday.  I apologise in advance for the photos – the colours are not as vibrant as they are in real life, but another gloomy morning in Essex is draining all the warmth from them – must get a lightbox sorted, pronto…not sure I can wait for Santa’s visit!

I cut the candles from the cardstock using the Silhouette – unfortunately I’m still having issues with papers snagging, so I abandoned the more intricate detailing and instead used a patterned paper behind it to decorate it.  The spotty paper was just from an offcut of wrapping paper, nice to use something from the ever-growing stash of offcuts I just can’t discard!  The name was cut, offset and cut again and then mounted on 3D pads for depth.  The striped border is one of the cut files included with the Silhouette, which allowed the orange mat to show through.  There are 7 candles, as it was Jack’s seventh birthday and lots of orange as it’s one of his favourite colours 🙂

The bright and colourful theme popped up again in the form of his birthday cake a little later on!  I tried my hand at a Rainbow Layer Cake – and, apart from the uneven layering, it was pretty successful, as you can see here:

Not long after the last guests had left, I had two happy, snoring children wrapped up warm and cosy in bed, followed shortly after by two shattered but smiling parents!

I’d like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Lia Stampz – Use Your Scraps (I used odds and ends of gift wrap for the candles)

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes With Texture Topping

Dream Valley Challenges – Clean and Simple

Scribble and Scrap Crafts – Always Anything Goes

Totally Papercrafts – Clean and Simple

Paper Creators Crafts – Birthdays

Natalie and Amy’s Challenge – For The Boys

The Cupboard Trilogy – Spots and Stripes

Sister Act Challenges – Anything Goes

Wags n Whiskers – Cards For Kids