Elegance

I think its safe to say I'm suffering from crafters block! Or maybe I'm just lazy... whatever it is, my productivity has dropped thru the floor so I thought I'd better post the last things I did manage to make (over a week ago now!) utilising some free digi stamps from Lena.

Although I protested in an earlier post that I don't know anybody who's really into fashion and handbags and the like, these images just cried out to be made into a girly girl card! Not sure how well you can tell but I made the backing paper too by randomly placing the ladies over a sheet of A4 in photoshop and applying a sepia filter and a light brown background, aiming for a vintage/aged look. The toppers also had the sepia filter treatment and the easel card image is matted onto gold card. I used the sentiment as the catch to hold the easel by putting foam tape under it n I got away with using ribbon by just knotting it instead of stressing over a bow! Not bad, huh? Now all I need to do is rekindle the spark... here mojo...! Come to Jodpea...!

Edit: Quite chuffed with the easel card so think I'll enter it for Daring Cardmakers - Its A Girl Thing

p.s. I did make a card & bag with Loraine and her ladies this morning but they weren't my inspiration so I'm still grumpy! :S

WOYWW 60 - My First Time!

Hello WOYWWers, been reading ur blogs for a few weeks now n finally decided to join in! To be fair, this will prolly be my only entry as I never have time to take/upload a pic n waffle before I go to work so I'm takin advantage of a day off (n slight crafters block) to partake! If you have no idea wot this is all about, pop over to Julias blog n check out the fun!

Well I moved my craft room around about six weeks ago (mostly during the England/Germany game actually!) and finally set myself up a desk n some natural light... oh n started a blog!

So, what do we have? Nothing very exciting as I've been away for a few days n will be away for the next two weekends as well so my 'studio' will be sadly neglected for a while . My trusty laptop, my i'm-quite-proud-of-this ribbon storage (aka a bit of cardboard with holes in it over a coathanger!). Um, shoe rack from Argos hanging (precariously) on the wall as makeshift shelf (my old workspace was a lot deeper than this so it made more sense then!)...um geez, I didnt realise how hard it would be to point everything out! To the right is an easel card I'm playing about with - I'll explain more if its successful, lol and under the main desk is my Cuttlebug and recycling bag! A slight swing to the right shows the incredibly distracting view out my window (or maybe I'm jus nosy!) a plastic tray in the shape of a butterfly that I got from Matalan n holds odds & ends, another easel card that I will blog about at some point, my rapidly cooling cup of coffee and some other finished cards in the same theme as the easel card. On the wall under the window is a Ikea (yes! Ikea!) hanging rack and the bit of red u can see in the bottom corner is my paper storage, one of those expanding files things that doesnt actually close anymore, theres so much in it!! So feel free to ask any questions, I don't think I have anything to hide!

"It wasnt me!"

Not a lot I can say about this lil creation, except I think I'm gettin a bit better at colouring inside the lines! This is another friday freebie from SJ, man I love those images! The background papers are scraps from my stash except the swirls which is a strip of funky hand which I managed to produce before my idiot printer ran out of ink! SO annoying when it stops not-even half way thru an image!! N its always on paper u can't really afford to waste! But anyway thats enough of my inanimate objects vendetta, the alpha stickers r from Papermania, an old set I got out of a 99p bin last summer on holiday (a true crafter never rests, eh? lol) and the other text is from my trusty dymo sticker maker.. it was meant to be for my cousin in law but I've sold it to a guy at work now so I'll have to make another one before August 15th - any comments would be helpful....?

Entering for C.R.A.F.T. challenge - Babies & Children

Me, Oh My!

I think it safe to say I'm a little bit proud of this, so u might wanna get ur mac ready incase I start to gush!!
Firstly, my inspiration; I saw this card entered for a Simon Says Stamp challenge and thought it was a great shape (great design too, but I'm a sucker for shaped cards!) and really wanted to make one so when I opened the link up again later in the day, what was the first thing that popped into my head? Of course, its never far from my mind! (maybe when the Eclipse hype dies down I can push it to the back of my cavernous mind somewhere?) So, anyway, bit of a leap but here we go: utilising the second friday freebie from the incredibly talented SJ printed on to linen grained card (not for any particular reason) and coloured with Promarkers (tried watered down distress inks first but I need more practice with that!).

I've discovered an uncanny knack for getting to the end of colouring an image and then doin summat to ruin it, but this hasn't turned out too bad! I was trying to go for the less is more approach (very unlike me!). The only thing missing is I need summat to make Bella's bracelet look like the diamond it's meant to be, need to have a root thru my stash. The text - obv- is a quote from Twilight, I think its from the scene in her bedroom after the day at the meadow *sigh* (also the quote I have on my desktop at work!) and I typed it up on my poota using 'Be Safe' font which is meant to be the same font they use in the books when they feature a piece of Edwards writing (put Twilight fonts into google, they're everywhere!) and I made a rub on with my dry rub on paper from Crafty Computer Paper. Works better on a busy-ish background cos you can't see the outline so much. Talking of background paper, its from My Minds Eye Quite Contrary stack (free with Cardmaking & Papercraft). So, yeah, the reason I called this post me, oh my is because unless I get very very bored of looking at I very much intend to keep this for my very own self! Yay! (lots of very's there - emphatic, thats me!)

...Then Lets Begin!

Stumbled across a new challenge blog yesterday Something Completely Different, they have a monthly item with a weekly theme and this week the challenge is an "Are You Sitting Comfortably" tag which just about perfectly fits this digi stamp (right) from SJs Little Musings, one of her Friday Freebies.



So I printed the image onto stiff white card and then onto two different sheets from the My Minds Eye stack free with Cardmaking And Papercraft magazine and paper pieced them together (my fave method, lol). I coloured the cat and mug with promarkers then paper pieced the book (can u tell wot its meant to be?)

I covered the the tag shape with more of my recycled envelope and the glued the chair on with silicone glue - a skill I'm still trying to perfect! The text isn't very clear in this pic but its dymo labels "Are you sitting comfortably"

So, entering for Something Completley Different - Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Beach Bum

Back in my poppies post, I said I was intending to use the VW van digi stamp freebie from birds cards and here it is.

Again with the paper piecing and again with Funky Hand paper (think I've got my moneys worth outta this sheet now, lol). Not sure you can tell but its actually an easel card with the van stuck to the upright and real shells glue gunned as the prop. The yellow is glittered flocking powder applied to double sided self adhesive sheet (with a strip behind the vans wheels too), the blue is jus plain paper cut with decorative scissors and the white 'foam' is unheated clear embossing powder. I tried to clear emboss the windows with my versamark pen but that wasn't very sucessful!

Entering this for Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Bold & Bright

Put Ur Behind In The Past

Can't remember where I first saw this design now but I immediately thought it was ace! Racked my brains for an occasion to make it - don't really have any female friends or family with a penchant for underwear (or shoes or handbags as a lot of designs out there are aimed, or maybe its just my disinterest colouring my creativity?) and altho it was suggested the bra and pants version would be good for a guy, I don't really feel comfortable presenting that to any of my male friends! So anyway I decided to err on the side of more masculine pants  - do u know they don't have male models on the M&S website anymore?! How rude! - and then the comedy edge came in when I found this paper in my stash (a freebie download from an old Papercraft Inspirations magazine). I covered the cheeks with pink paper, made the sentiment on Microsoft Word and cut it out with nestabilities. I designed the insert in photoshop, manipulating a clipart washing line and finishing the sentiment off with "...so put all your other birthdays BEHIND you!"

Blues Twos

Two similar cards created today, I was researching kraft card when the post turned up and lo behold I  got a large manilla envelope... two mins later it became my second attempt at creating a kraft backing paper - whaddya think?

The first layout is using my trusty lace - which I have tons of so expect to see lots! - a piece of random blue ribbon I've pilfered from somewhere and then my first (successful) attempt at the grunge rose tutorials that seem to be everywhere but the one I followed was here (how talented is this girl?!). Its not so close to her design cos I don't have a six sided flower punch or die so I improvised with nestabilities and I didnt cut the centre out.. til afterwards when I realised it wouldn't lie flat. It still doesn't lie flat so I'm gonna have to work on the method a bit more! The paper is Funky Hand and the leaves were made from my five sided flower punch, cut up n turned around...

I got the inspiration for the second layout from this card in the practicing creativity gallery. My dandelion is a smidge smaller than hers but then I think my card base is smaller too so it kinda works! I'm pretty chuffed with it actually, it didnt take me long to do at all. I can't remember where I got the stamp from except it was in The Glitter Pot sale! The flowered paper is from Funky Hand Dreams Come True and the ribbon is from an American Crafts bundle.

Intending to enter this second one for Daring Cardmakers - Seeing Silhouettes

Warm Summer Days

What is with me creating work for challenges that I have a month to think about way before the deadline whereas I keep missing week long ones?! Grr @ working for a living!

Well anyway it seemed prudent to combine two or more challenges so in reality I only had a week to make it! The layout is based (loosely) on the sketch at 2sketches4you but I went with the bythecuteandgirly theme of 'Warm Summer Days' which to me almost always means beach (altho I hardly ever get to go to one! Did I mention I live in THE MIDLANDS!). The colours are actually a little more obvious on this pic than they are in real life as the scene is layered from Coredinations whitewash cardstock, torn and slightly sanded to reveal the colour. The ribbon was from a 99p pack from Hootys and the shells etc are beads I got from The Early Learning Centre about two years ago! Oh the backing paper is from the free gift stack from this months Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine; My Minds Eye 'Quite Contrary'.

Ruby Tuesday

(even though its Wednesday, but I did make this yesterday!)

Last week Daring Cardmakers had the theme of ice and snow and the way people use the word ice to describe a diamond/diamond ring popped into my head. I didnt get chance to create anything before the deadline but I still wanted to make the card so when the theme of rubies came up this week, I decided it was an omen!

I cut a base card into a 130mm circle (preserving a small hinge) then cut a 50mm wide ring of silver card. It started off with a patterned paper middle but I changed my mind half way thru and cut this out too. I then found clipart of a gem on the net and copied it onto the back of red card, pressing down with a ballpoint pen to create a crude kind of embossed pattern. The tag is also heat embossed with silver embossing powder (and the bow? tied by my mom cos I suck at them!)

Entering this for:

Daring Cardmakers - Ruby
Shabby Tea Room - Lets Make An Impression

OMG I've won my first challenge!

Yippe! I've won the Funky Hand June challenge and now I feel really sick with excitement! I'll come back n let you know what I buy with my prize (if I can ever choose!) Hurrah!

Its been noted that I probly should've added some more details to this post but I was just that amazed! So here is the link to my post showing the entry! Anice has also sent me a lovely blinkie which I'll post in a min! I think I'll take her advice and get the new papercraft cd, seeing as I've had so much use out of the first one! ...yup, still pretty gobsmacked!

Love Books

Do I have to claim reading is my second favourite pastime now?! Sam would say sleeping comes first! I think reading and crafting are about on a par, they r wot I would prefer to spend most of my time doing, they both take up a lot of brain space when I'm not doing them n they have both been known to stress me out!!

Anyways to business, this is based on the lili of the valley sketch and I've used a stamped image of the Little Girls - Story Time kindly donated by my luvley cuz, the background is from a charity shop book - which unfortuantley has a description of a whale attack on a boat but hey ur not meant to b looking at that!! - and the panels r scraps from my stash. I've stuck very closely to the sketch as I didnt feel brave enuf to vary it too much! And the colours went thru many variations before I settled on these! Njoy!

P.s. I brightened the photo a lil, naughty me :)

Performance Anxiety...

I decided yesterday that that is what I'm suffering from! And in the still warm light of today it seems even more ridiculous cos this piece isnt half as hideous as it seemed yday!

Its not the best thing I've ever made but I'm still finding my feet as a crafter so I need to be a little less hard on myself! (yeah like thats ever gonna happen!)

Anyways to business (and then I might write a post to show why I've done no crafting this weekend!): This is based on the sketch challenge from 2sketches4you and as I had some of the ingrediants on my desk I combined it with the 'Black, Lime & Lilac' challenge from C.R.A.F.T. (honestly that panel at the back is lilac, I promise u!) The four squares are cut from some junk mail and are meant to be chameleon skin! I have some more so they may well feature again... Right back to watching Muse @ Glastonbury on the Iplayer - yum!

Arsenic & Old Lace

Ooh am I finally beginning to understand this vintage craze? I was tidying the room that my stash is slowly but surely taking over and I found a big reel of lace of my moms (hope she doesn't mind!) so I thought I'd have a go at the C.R.A.F.T. Sketch challenge which asked for strips of ...something across the design! I attacked a bit of graph paper with my new Tim Holtz Distress Ink (old paper flavour - not sure I bought the right shade but its too late now!) and some bronze ink then I attacked the lace too and stuck two lengths across the card. The oval is from DCWV Mango Frost cardstock - drawn around an aperture card, lol! - and the scallop is quite dodgily constructed from three Nesties circles which works ok at times but I found the position of my flowers was rather dictated by the dodgy side that doesn't line up!

I added a strip of narrow gold ribbon (recycled from somewhere!) to make the third stripe, added some paper flowers and some I die cut and sponged orange and blue ink across. The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed and raised up on foam pads...

...oh and after all that I missed the deadline! DOH!

Butterflies Flutterby...

Again, with the paper piecing - can you see a theme developing here? I just can't help it as I said in my poppies post, it hides a multitude of sins!

Not sure where I got the butterfly image from, I put a search for colouring pages into google and again I printed it on white card and onto, well by the end four, different sheets of Funky Hand Dreams Come True paper and proceeded to cut each individual section out! The design kind of evolved as it went a long cos originally I was gonna use a proper patchwork effect but as the patterns were just a smidge too big, that wasn't very effective so I ended up completing whole sections in the same pattern! I got the letter stickers from Tesco and the antennae are those things you use in jewellery making whose name escapes me! Just one last thing to find out - is it a big mistake to give this to a two-year old??

p.s I think I'll enter this for the By The Cute & Girly June Challenge as its “something old (I've had the CD for a while), something new (my new technique that I love), something borrowed (I pinched the template for the diamond card from...somewhere...), and something blue..(my fave shade of teal/blue)”

Field Of Poppies

Really pleased with how these have turned out! I saw the idea on Kaths blog and thought it was beautiful but (as I heard a trimmie say) I'm on a 'stash diet' so I wasn't about to rush out n get that stamp... but as a real stroke of luck, later in the day I found this almost identical digi stamp freebie from Birds Cards (Theres a fair few good un's on there, I'm gonna use the VW van next, I think!)

In fact I liked it so much, I made two! The first one is actually more teal than the grey it looks in this pic and I spent AGES tying the blumming bows! Its not so easy to tell on the pic but the flower heads r actually paper pieced, the paper is printed from the Funky Hand Dreams Come True CD (using that LOADS lately!), I printed the design onto white card then onto the patterned paper and combined the two! I'm really gettin a taste for this cos laying the one design over the other hides the imperfections in my lack-of-cutting skills!

Blog Candy!

Have a butchers at The Stamp Man blog - where my very clever cousin has just been made design team member *sigh* if only it ran in the family! - as they are giving away blog candy (way easier than making cards, lol) and I'm hoping it might be jus the impetus I need to enter the scary ass world of Tim Holtz!

The Holy Trinity...

...of the seaside! This should be a simple post "what does Summer mean to me?" A day trip to the beach for sun, sea, sand, chips & ice cream! Ok thats a quin-ity but still!




Technically this is me trying to emulate someone elses style and I've really not succeeded! On the up side I don't know where all you's r gettin ur brown card blanks from so I made my own from the inside of a roll of wrapping paper (the cheap 'roll of card' kind, I'm not the hulk!!)

Entering this for The Shabby Tea Room - Fun In The Sun
http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/

Sail Away With Me...

Well everybody seems to be at it so u can't accuse me of not jumping on the bandwagon!

My first entry is a card thats been in my Trimcraft gallery for a couple of weeks now but as I made it with The Funky Hand Challenge in mind I'd better get it blogged before I run out of June!

Its a digi stamp and papers from the Funky Hand Dreams Come True Papercraft Factory. I printed it out on three diff papers, glued it to my card and cut it out (and that was a mare let me tell u! Don't look too close u'll see where I slipped up!)

So I'm entering it for June - Pink, Brown & Cream http://getfunkyandcraft.blogspot.com/