Last Day Of School!

At last!  We’ve made it to the end of the Summer Term – it’s been a long one this year (and this last half a week has definitely felt like the longest!).  I have another thank you to show you today – not the last one, as I had hoped, as I realised we’d completely forgotten to count someone…..ooops!

This card is very quick and simple to make, but I love the way it highlights the sentiment.  I have used my favourite Martha Stewart butterfly punch, resting the butterfly on a line of 3mm ribbon and dropping a few sequins around, randomly.  The panel was mounted onto a mat, and the whole thing was popped up on 3D pads to give some extra depth.

Another quick post today – I’m making the most of the last day of term by getting some decorating done!

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Little Birdhouse Gift Box

Last week, I needed to make a little Easter treat for the daughter of a very good friend.  I like to make a little gift bag or box for her and fill it with a mixture of smaller eggs, rather than give her a commercially boxed egg.  I was going to go down the tested route of bunny or chick shaped boxes until I found a cut file for the cutest little birdhouse by Lori Whitlock in the Silhouette Online store…

I adjusted the size of the birdhouse slightly, in order to make maximum use of a sheet of A4 cardstock, but made no other changes, just decided on a paper, lined it up on the mat and pressed cut…  Then I filled it with allsorts of Easter goodies!!

I had little trouble finding the perfect ribbon, so I coloured a piece of natural coloured ribbon with my Pro-Markers – I coloured the underneath, so that the colour of the spots was not changed.  A little glue dot added to the underside secured the ribbon in place without needing to tie a bow.

I hope she likes her little birdhouse on Easter morning 🙂

We’re Off To The Movies!

This week at Crafting From The Heart, we’re off to the movies!!  We’re looking to see your creations based around a movie theme – maybe your favourite film, or actor or even the Oscars!!

We were sponsored by Art By Miran and Sassy Designs Studios.  I chose to use Miss Sunshine, as she has a hint of Elle from Clueless about her!  I coloured her using Pro-Markers, choosing a light and fresh colour palette.  The papers are all from a Papermania collection, but I can’t remember which!  I chose to keep the layers flat as I will have to post this card, rather than hand deliver – I thought the difference in patterns would create some detail anyway.  The two little flags on the right hand side were stiffened with Mod Podge before sticking them down, so that they can stand forward a little.  Finally, for the circles, I simply cut three decreasing size circles, coloured them with a co-ordinating Pro-Marker and topped with Glossy Accents.

The layout was based on the current sketch over at The Deconstructed Sketch – I finally managed to get one completed in time to enter the challenge 🙂

Make sure you pop over to Crafting From The Heart to have a look at the other movie themed cards the DT have prepared for you…and don’t forget to enter our challenge too!

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

The Deconstructed Sketch: Sketch 142 (see above)

Melonheadz Friends – Girly

Created With Love – Girly

ABC Challenges – H Is For Hair

Emerald Faeries Challenge – Girly and Pink

Happy birthday Little Brother!!

Today I’m sharing the card I made for my brother’s birthday recently.  As I’ve mentioned before, he’s not a big fan of coloured images and likes his cards fairly simple.  So, this is how it turned out:

I based the design on an old sketch from the Deconstructed Sketch archives.  I have been wanting to play with one of the layout for a while – it’s just a shame this isn’t the current sketch so I can’t enter the challenge!

For the circles, I cut three identical circles from Kraft card, then embossed with different embossing circles to add some texture.  The dark blue mat was cut from a piece of corrugated card that I forgot was lurking in my stash and the piece of blue spotted ribbon was also an offcut found in the depths of my ribbon box.  The sentiment was printed directly onto a piece of felt-marked card that was an offcut from some Order of Service booklets I made a while back.  For the little dots, I simply cut three different sized circles from blue cardstock and added a little Glossy Accents to the top to make them shiny!

Hey presto! One birthday card for my little brother 🙂

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

Crafty Ribbons – Ribbons and Bows

Cardz 4 Guyz – Typography

Die Cut Divas – Embossing

Flat Friends – Cards for Men/Boys

Mesmerising…..

I have my card for the new Crafting From The Heart challenge to share with you today.  As always, you can choose to play Anything Goes or to use our theme, which is “Flowers” this fortnight.  (Little confession…I forgot about the theme!  I got carried away!) We are very lucky to be sponsored by Aurora Wings and MelJens Designs – I chose to use the beautiful Princess of the Sea for my card, as I fell totally under her spell, and couldn’t look away!

I have to be honest, as beautiful as I find these images, I wasn’t rushing to work with one.  They are so intricately designed, that I couldn’t myself sitting still long enough to focus on colouring one, let alone presenting it in a style that suited it!  I thought these captivating images were about as far away from my comfort zone as possible!!  So, in the spirit of trying new things this year, I set myself the challenge!  And here she is, all coloured and simply presented…

I used ProMarkers to colour the image.  Unfortunately, it took three attempts, due to a very juicy marker leaking all over the almost completed image twice (you’d think I’d have learnt after the first accident…!).  My original attempts both had blonde hair, but I’m glad I swapped to brown for the final version as it makes the shells easier to distinguish.  Once coloured, I added Glossy Accents to some of the larger water bubbles and Star Dust Stickles to some of the shells, smaller bubbles and the Princess’s eyelids.

I cut the frame on the Silhouette using a pearlescent pale gold card, and popped the image behind.  I added a bow, with two little starfish (that have been hiding in my stash for at least 5 years!) sewn to the centre.

Make sure you head over to Crafting From The Heart to add your creations to the challenge!

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

Scribble and Scrap – Anything Goes

Craft-Dee Bowz – Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations – Fantasy (mermaid)

Fairy Tale Challenge – Frame cards

Thanks for reading x

More Than 3 Layers Challenge

I’m back this afternoon to share my first DT project for Sentimental Sundays.  The theme for this week’s challenge is “More Than 3 Layers” and we are fortunate to be sponsored by Paper Pretties.

I chose Pink or Blue  for my card, as I have a friend who is due to add to her family any day now – I played the odds and made a pink card for the challenge, you’ll soon know if I made the wrong choice as there will be a similar, but distinctly blue card making an appearance 😉

I coloured the image with Pro-Markers, adding touches of shadow to the stork with a blender pen and a little Cool Grey 1.  The frame was cut on the Silhouette, and I threaded a 3mm pink satin ribbon through the cut-outs, finishing off in a bow to the side.  For the bottom layer, I embossed a piece of white cardstock, using a quilting folder and then gently rubbed a pale pink chalk ink pad over it to highlight the embossing.  I popped it up on foam pads to add a little depth, and added a strip of pale pink card beneath the image.

Finally, the sentiment and stitching were both created using the print and cut option on the Silhouette.  The sentiment is one of three included with the image.  The little heart was made from scraps of the pale pink cardstock under the image.

I think I managed 5 or 6 layers on my card – how many can you add to your card?  Make sure you pop over to Sentimental Sundays and show us – hope you have time to look at the other DT projects while you’re there!

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

Less Is More – New Baby

Allsorts – Buttons and Bows

Alphabet Challenge – Y for Young One

Jellypark – Buttons and Bows

Paper Pretties – Monochromatic

Enjoy the rest of your weekend – thanks for reading x

One Image, Two Cards

I’ve been busy making two very similar, but obviously different, cards today.  Both feature Abi Ballerina from All Dressed Up; Abi is an old favourite of mine – my daughter even had a top with her picture on when she smaller!  I also based both cards around the same sketch from the current challenge over at Sketch Saturday:

For the first card, I coloured Abi in shades of lilac and purple, and gave her brown hair.  There are little touches of sparkly Stickles on tutu and hairband.

I used a patterned cream and lilac paper from the Dovecraft Back to Basics III paper stack, added a little Bazill card circle with daughter welded to the edge and popped it on a final layer of cream card, embossed with the X-Cut quilting folder.  I cut the wording out twice and added the second layer on top, just to create a little more depth.

The final touch was the band of lace across the centre – I have been dying to use some lace on a card, but haven’t yet been brave enough….hope it looks OK!

The second card features little Abi again, this time coloured in light greens, with touches of Stickles on the tutu and hairband.

This is for a little blonde girl, so I changed Abi’s hair to reflect the intended recipient!  The layout is the same as the first card, but as I kept the colours much simpler, choosing to add texture to white cardstock instead, I feel there is a much cleaner look about the card.  Unfortunately, the coloured mat hasn’t come out too well in the photo – in reality, it is Celtic Green by Bazzill, and is a much springier green, which is similar to the colour of the tutu.  The band of ribbon across the centre should look a few shades darker….but again, hasn’t been treated well by the photo, despite my best efforts to digitally redress the colour balance!

Which do you prefer?  For me, it has to be the first one – I prefer Abi with darker hair and I’m so pleased that I finally managed to use some lace 🙂

I’d like to enter these cards into the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday – Challenge 291: see sketch above

Thanks for reading x

Crafting From The Heart GDT

I’m delighted to share a little news with you today…I was recently asked to be GDT over at Crafting From the Heart, a new challenge blog which opened its virtual doors for the first time in late November.  I am very lucky to be joining them for their December and January challenges.

There are two sponsors and two great prizes up for grabs this fortnight.  Delicious Doodles have 4 images up for grabs and Dilly Beans are offering 3 digis to a lucky winner – definitely worth popping over there to enter!!

I have two cards to share with you today.  My first card uses an adorable framed penguin image from Dilly Beans.

I had great fun with this little chap; after colouring most of the image with ProMarkers, I paper pieced his hat and scarf using a knit-style paper from the Sweater Weather collection by Harper Finch.  I also added a second layer of holly and popped his beak up on 3D pads to create some depth.  I embossed a piece of white cardstock using the ???? folder to echo the chevron knit of the paper.  For a final touch, I coloured a textured vinyl snowflake with the same blue as I used for the sky in the background, added a button, some silver beads and a little baker’s twine.  Hey presto!  An adorable little penguin, all bundled up warm!!

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My second card features a wonky 3-tiered cake image from Delicious Doodles.

I coloured the image with a selection of ProMarkers, and the added some Stickles to give it a little shimmer and sparkle, which I hope you can see in the photo above.  For the background, I laid a layer of shimmery pale pink wrapping paper over a card blank, then added a layer of white card with some sparkly vellum.  In the centre, I added a piece of pink polka dot satin ribbon and some square pink gems to a happy birthday sentiment from  a Forever Friends paper stack.

I hope you’ll get a chance to pop over to see the DT projects over at Crafting From The Heart; they’re such a friendly bunch of crafters, I know they’ll make you feel welcome!

I’d like to enter the following challenges:

Framed Penguin card:

MelonHeadz – Christmas

Craft Your Passion – Let It Snow

CAS On Sunday – Christmas

My Time To Craft – Cute and Cuddly Christmas Animals

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

Christmas Tree Cut

Sorry it’s been a quiet week from me this week…  I have been rushed off my feet, catching up on household things and getting ahead on DT projects!  Anyway, here’s a card I tried out a few days ago..

I have seen lots of intricately cut trees and baubles and decided to try my hand at creating my own, now that I have almost got the hang on manipulating images in Silhouette Studio.  I combined several swirls and flourishes, creating one row of the tree at a time and then editing out some of the pointless cut points, before committing the image to cut.  Here’s what the final cut looked like:

I punched small circles of red glitter cardstock to add to the tree as baubles, and cut a trunk which I coloured with Pro-Markers.  I used 3D foam pads to pop it off the plain white background, then mounted it on a layer of card embossed with a swirly Cuttlebug folder, which is very similar to the swirls and flourishes in the tree.  I added a little red and white ribbon before mounting it all on a card blank.

I was pleased with the end result, didn’t think it was too bad for a first attempt at creating my own image to cut…and it’s another Christmas card for my ever-growing pile!

Thanks for reading x