A friend is due back to work tomorrow so I thought I'd make her a card to cheer her up. She LOVES cats so I had to have cats on it. I have used some Scrapbooking Mad downloads and some Bearlymine backing papers and flowers. As it is a very personal card I have put a bit of post-it note on when photographing as I have put her name on it. This card fits there criteria for the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - animals
Charisma Cardz - flower power.
The regular charity stall was shut down today and had made £4.20 for the whole week. This in itself is disappointing but I am a little more hardened to the fact that things fluctuate. The thing that made me sad/disappointed is that I had to speak to the staff as my two A4 cards were gone and they were £2.50 each which means I am short if no other cards were sold. There were gaps on the shelves but I never keep a tally of exactly all the cards. I was told they'd speak to a higher body and see if they'll look through the CCTV or not. About 2 years ago when I did a stall with my sister we had nearly £40 worth of stuff go missing, some of my cards and some of her jewellery. We couldn't do anything as there was no CCTV so we had to share the loss between us. That's bad enough when it's your own money but when it's money for charity like my share was it felt even worse.
I feel very sad and disappointed that this has happened. I was raising funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and I feel robbed for them. My cards aren't expensive compared to a lot ie A6/5" or 6" square at £1.20, A5/8" square at £1.40 and A4 at £2.50 - but obviously someone wasn't happy with that fee.
Obviously I shall have to monitor this situation and if it happens again I might have to give this regular stall up.
My son told me this afternoon that his dad had said I'd help him with his homework after I got up. He said he was told that he had to use cold tea on a piece of work to age it. Decided I'd use the tips I'd picked up from Sheena Douglas and also other things I picked up so I:
1. tore the edges of his work, tearing towards me to get a rougher edge
2. screwed up the paper to accentuate age
3. used My Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink pad around the edge of the paper and all over the surface of the paper using cut and dry foam
4. went around the edge with a Brilliance Starlite Black ink pad with cut and dry foam
5. finally went around the edges with a Brilliance Lightning Black ink pad with cut and dry foam.
Steven was pleased with the outcome. Nice to know that my stamping techniques I keep learning are not just put towards my cards!!! I so love watching stamping programmes and could watch Sheena all day long. I just wish I could have made it to her Workshop in Kettering but I'm not up to going that far - maybe she could come and stay with me for the night and give me some tips - problem is I wouldn't let her leave though!!
This card fits the criteria for the following challenges:
Our Creative Corner - Happy Fall
Digital Tuesday - Fall card
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Fall into Autumn
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Faking it.
After putting this post on my blog on Wednesday last week I couldn't believe it when I saw the topic of Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog of owls!!! Well obviously I couldn't use the owl I wanted to use - I wonder why - so I used one I got free with the Craft Stamper Magazine I bought a few months ago and did some masking. I have distressed the backing papers with Adirondak and Distress Ink ink pads and then stamped some U-mount swirls on with the Distress ink pad.
It is on my youngest son's 13th birthday on 23/9/09 and my Mum asked me to make a card for him. She needs it by Thursday so a friend can take it to her to fill in etc so I had to make the card idea I thought for my husband and myself to give to our son. I wasn't sure how to lay out the card especially with it being a boy card so I used the sketch from Sketch and Stash this fortnight - the new item is my little boy digital download from Lily Boo's Boutique and the unloved item is my Card Toonz Special Edition CD by Andy Carolan. Not sure why this CD hasn't been out for a while but it's back in my head again.
This card also fits the criteria for the Saturday Secret Crafter Challenge Blog this week as the topic is teenage boys. My "baby" is going to be 13 very soon - yikes!!!
This card also fits the criteria for two other challenges:
Lots to Do Challenge - watercolouring
Dutch Dare Inspiration - to use the picture as inspiration
I recently bought some chalk pencils as I'd seen them used on a Stamp Addicts show. I use watercolour and I know there are mediums like Promarkers, Sakura pens etc but sometimes you don't want it bright but subtle. These certainly do the trick. I struggle with normal chalks with my dodgy hands and eyesight but these are perfect. they feel strange to use but are fab.
This card fits the criteria for four challenges:
After seeing the wonderful work of Lisa (http://allissa-designs.blogspot.com) on her blog banners/signatures etc on her own blog and that of others I asked if she would kindly make one for me. I had chosen a blue background to resemble the sea and asked if Lisa could do a seaside themed banner with dolphins etc as I would so love to live by the sea.
My banner set has arrived and it has brought tears to my eyes!!! It is wonderful, - very beautiful and better than I could have even imagined. The dolphins certainly add that bit of magic to the scene as they are so amazing. I LOVE IT!!!!!
Lisa has an amazing talent. I certainly couldn't do anything like this. If you would like something done with your blog, go and have a look at Lisa's blog specifically for banners here - you won't regret it. I can't thank her enough for what she has done.
Click here and pop over to Crafts by Bee for a chance to win this wonderful blog candy. This is what you have to do:
Well, I had a break from the regular charity stall each month in August so it was time to set up again today. This month I am raising funds for the Royal national Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as they do such a wonderful job.
Over at the Digital Ink Co Challenge Blog it is their first ever challenge. Good luck on its long life in the challenge world. I thought I'd have a go at this one as I so love poppies. The image I have coloured with watercolour pencils and Inkintense pencils. The poppy backing paper is from the My Craft Studio Garden of Romance CD and the corner detail is from the My Craft Studio Floral No Stamp Required CD. I'm not all of these work together and whether I've gone on poppy overload!!!
A friend has moved house so I thought I would make her a new home card. I used my Bearlymine Designs Country Garden Download for the backing papers (apart from one on the inside which is a Papermania one which I got in some blog candy recently - it's a while since I bought their paper and think it's fab now that it comes in a glue ended pad rather than loose which I've had before), the flowers and the images are all from Lily Boo's Boutique. They have been watercoloured with a mixture of Lyras and watercolour pencils. I have inked the edges with a distress ink pad.
This card fits the criteria for the following challenges:
Lili of the Valley - green, brown and orange
Cute Card Thursday - pink and green
Charisma Cardz Challenge - patchwork.
Oh I am soooooooooooooo excited!!!! I had an e-mail from Karen yesterday to say I'd won her blog candy. Until recently I'd never won anything in about a year and now in two months I've won two lots of blog candy. I have to admit I've nearly used up my first blog candy - well I couldn't leave it neglected could I? I have put it all to good use for my cards I make to raise funds for different charities.
Just wanted to thank Karen for her kind offer of blog candy and to all other bloggers that do the same.
When I was prep'ing for the Demo Day I prepared many decoupage/invertage/pyromage cards but also did some stamped cards. One image I stamped out I loved. It was one of Lindsay Mason's gorgeous owls from Personal Expressions. After the event the owl is nowhere to be seen. Normally I wash the stamp and leave on the side in the kitchen on kitchen towel, it then progresses to the hatch from the kitchen to the dining room and then I put it away. Sadly this mustn't have happened. Since I've been back from the event I've checked and re-checked everything I took and everything that sits on the dining room table and not found it. I've also searched all my crafting area, all around the house in case I did something with it that I didn't realise and I also took everything out of my craft waste bin and went through it bit-by-bit but haven't found it. Needless to say I am very annoyed with myself as that is the main reason I bought that set of stamps as I loved the image when I saw it on QVC.
The moral of this story is watch out for your rubber stamps. Obviously the clear ones are more easily thrown out when they shouldn't as you can't really see them.
To celebrate the launch of The Divine Influence Challenge Blog they are offering some Gorjuss candy. Aren't they lovely? Click here if you would like to be in with a chance of winning.
I thought I'd make a card for a friend who was burgled this week. Don't get me started on what I think of people that do this. I just wanted to make her a card to say that even though I'm 100's of miles away I am still thinking about her. I used my new Bearlymine Country Collection papers on the front of the card and for the inserts inside. I took the flowers into My Craft Studio and shrunk them down - only problem with my naughty eyes was trying to cut them all out. I did a selection in one corner over the top of a Charmed Cards and Craft Digital pixie download which was pre-coloured and I cut with a Nestabilities die. I have used a clear Sakura stardust pen in the centre of the flowers and on the fairies' wings.
This card meets the criteria for the Papertake Weekly Challenge which is angels and fairies.
The last of the commissioned cards is a get well soon card for a bus driver. Oh bus cards ..................... they seem to be catching up with train cards for me!!! I have kept the card very masculine looking and just did some embossed lines around the images and used some art deco style peel-offs which I've had for some time but only had two left so this card was ideal as I couldn't fit four on. I have decoupaged up the buses on the front but not too high as I wasn't sure if the card needed to be posted or not.
Off to package up the 7 cards as my husband will take into work with him tomorrow. Fingers crossed they go down well.
Well, I did the post this afternoon and went into it this evening to change some wording as I was tired when I did it and somehow I've deleted the post and need to re-type and re-link to challenges. I'm not a happy bunny!!!
As predicted the demo day on Monday has affected me with my tiredness and pain but I've worked through it. In the midst of my preparations a customer called for 7 commissioned cards but I warned her she'd not get them until this week and she was OK with this. I've done a bit of printing, done a bit of cutting and the last two days I've been putting them altogether.
This is my favourite card just because of the colours. I would NEVER have put these three colours together but I followed the colour combinations on the Stampin' for the Week-end Challenge Blog. I do like them mixed together. The layout is from the Friday Sketchers challenge this week. The backing papers are a mix of Raspberry Road Designs, Summer Driggs and Digital Scrapbooking and one is a two coloured mesh effect, one with orange and teal dots and a pink one with splashes of white. The image is from Sketching Stamper is a little girl called Vicky.
This cards fits the criteria for four challenges:
A Spoon Full of Sugar - distressing - as the edges of the paper have been distressed with a nail file and then inked
Craft Creations - to use three or more patterned papers
Stampin' for the Week-end - to use the colours orange, teal and pink
Friday Sketchers - to follow their sketch
I've got to the stage now that I'm too tired at the moment to see if this meets the criteria for any challenges.
I was asked to make an anniversary card for a lady's aunt and uncle. I was going to use Joanna Sheen's Victorian Romance CD that I was given by a blogger last year but my new virus checker said there was a trojan on it. Not sure how it's got on the CD but I can't use it and I'm so disappointed as I've used it often.
This card though has been made with Sharon Duncan's Flowers Just for You CD that I won recently. I have used the faded backing paper and green pearlescent card and wrote on the insert for inside of the card. It's finished off with organza ribbon.
This card fits the criteria for Rainbow Lady's Challenge this week of roses.
