Get Well Card for my Niece

Well, I was minding my own business at work yesterday and had to go to one of the hospital wards and what a shock I got when I got out of the lifts - to see five members of my family.  I thought that they must be there visiting someone until I noticed my 19 year old niece in a dressing gown.  She'd been taken poorly on Saturday night and in the end had the emergency removal of her appendix on Sunday.  All this on top of having a 4 month old baby to look after as well.  She's hopefully coming out of hospital tomorrow so I shall go and see her when I am back at work tomorrow morning but thought I'd make her a card today to cheer her up.  She's a girly-girl and likes her shopping so I used this cute Anya image and coloured her in with Copics/Promarkers and then added accents with Sakura Stardust clear pen.  The backing papers are all from my stash of bits-and-pieces to be used up - I'll let you into a secret - I'm not sure why I even kept the striped pieces as it is two small bits and therefore there's no piece under the stamped image/mount - maybe I must have known that the Anyone for Anya? Challenge this week had a sketch but then A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge had the topic of "spots and stripes" so I thought these tiny pieces of striped paper matched the spotted paper.  The card is finished off with a sentiment off the computer, gems and I have highlighted areas of the backing paper with the glittery Sakura Stardust clear pen.  Hopefully it will cheer my nice up and she'll be on the mend very soon.

This card also fits the following challenges:

CRAFT - Teenagers
Crafty Sentiments - Use your scraps
Crazy 4 Challenge - Bling
Practical Scrappers - Stamps
Crazy Challenge - No ribbon or buttons - I do like using buttons but can live without them but it was difficult using no ribbon!!!
Lollipop Crafts - Glitter, sparkle, gems
Karber Challenge - Hobbies and leisure - I know many people love to spend their leisure time shopping like my niece
Stamping Vacation - Make a card for a person that needs a hug.

A Consuming Passion Blog Candy

Sue, over at A Consuming Passion, is offering some wonderful blog candy - a new blog design in collaboraton with Marcia of Marcia Jane Designs and a calico gift pouch of stamps, embellishments  and all sorts of goodies.  Who wouldn't want to win this?  I certainly would.  Click here to go and have a look.  Hurry the blog candy ends 30/9/10!!!

Happy Birthday Card

I do so love the colours of autumn and like to use these in cards for Halloween but also for birthdays.  Again I have used Crafty Ann's scrap of orange mottled stone backing paper I had left over from my son's card and I also printed off some of the orange/black paper (well I was good and printed off 4 small pieces on one A4 page).  I have used the Sweet Pea stamps image that I won in a challenge recently and coloured it in with Promarkers/Sakura pens.  I have distressed the edges with Tim Holtz's Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot distress ink pads and also distressed the papers as well.  Next came some folding/scrunching/distressing of some paper flower shapes I cut out with the Cricut.  The flowers are held together with some brads which I have had for years and years and never used.  The card is finished off with some ribbon, gems and a Crafty Ann's ticket sentiment.

This card fits the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Your grunge

Paper Playtime - Autumn

Everybody Art - Autumn
Creative Card Crew - Autumn/fall
Craftalicious Challenges - Harvest festival/autumn
ABC Challenge - D is for distressing

Scrap Creations - Fall

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes

Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic

For Fun - Vintage

Paper Romance - Handmade flowers

Sentimental Sundays - Let's see some dimension

Passion for Promarkers - Make your own flowers

Flutter by Wednesday - Any winged thing

Sarah Hurley - Autumn
Flourishes - Celebration
Scrappy Frogs - Flower Power
AiFactory Challenges - Anything goes
Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthday

Meljen's Designs - Autumn colours

Stamp Something - Fall colors

Paper Sundaes - Things with wings

Alphabet Challenge - V is for vintage

Paper Cutz - Stamp/digi/Cricut of a critter - butterflies for me this time

Totally Papercrafts - A kind of magic

One Stitch at a Stitch at a Time - As you like it/anything goes

Stamptacular Sunday - Season's change.

Happy Halloween

I know, I know, I haven't got neighbours to give this card to but who could resist using this little witch I won last year.  She is called Witchy Daisy and is made by Squiggle Stamps.  I have stamped her in memento and then coloured her in with Promarkers.  I have distressed the edges with Tim Holtz's Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot distress ink pads.  The orange backing paper is a leftover from my son's birthday card this week but I was naughty and printed out the other orange/black backing paper from Crafty Ann.  I think they are fab for this time of the year.  I recently won a challenge over at Dezinaworld and picked a halloween sheet as my winnings so I have printed it off and used some pumpkins, the black cat and the gorgeous stripey hat to adorn the card.  The card is then finished off with a sentiment off the computer, some grosgrain velvet ribbon and a cat charm.

This card fits the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Your grunge
Paper Playtime - Autumn
Everybody Art - Autumn
Scrap Creations - Fall
Ellephantastic - Charms
Pile it On - Cute and charming
Let's Ink it Up - Use a favourite stamp and a charm
Catch the Bug - We Aint Afraid of no Ghost
Shirley 2 Girls - Critters and something spooky
AiFactory - Anything goes
Creative Card Crew - Autumn/fall
Craftalicious - Harvest festival/autumn
ABC Challenge - D is for distressing
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes
Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic
For Fun - Vintage
Sarah Hurley - Autumn
Flourishes - Celebration
Meljen's Designs - Autumn colours
Stamp Something - Fall colors
Alphabet Challenge - V is for vintage
Paper Cutz - Stamp/digi/Cricut of a critter - spider for me - yikes!!!
Totally Papercrafts - A kind of magic
Crafty Emma - Animal antics
Mark's Finest Papers - Pumpkin on your card
One Stitch at a Stitch at a Time - As you like it/anything goes
Stamptacular Sunday - Season's change.

New Home Card

I needed to make a new home card.  I have followed the Pear Tress Designs sketch with the option of gems.  I made a New Year's Resolution to use up my stash of paper this year that I have bought/been given and I am still keeping that going apart from with commissioned cards/Design Team cards.  It's amazing how much I have used up this year - I might soon have to go out and buy paper!!!

For this card I have used some freebie paper from Cardmaking Downloads and it's a piece I had left over from something else.  It doesn't quite fit across the page but that's where this sketch fitted so nicely for me as unless I told you you wouldn't have known.  The backing for the decoupage that I have had for years and years I made with swirling around alcohol inks and generally having a good time.  I have made the insert in My Craft Studio using again some of the digital backing paper and adding some Summertime Designs ribbon digital flowers and some gem stars for a bit of sparkle inside the card.  The outside of the card is finished off with some paper flowers with Papermania gem brads for the centres, gems and a peel-off sentiment.

This card also fits the following challenges:

Secret Crafter - Anything goes
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes
Charisma Cardz - Anything goes.

Crafty Ann's Challenge No 24

Well another fortnight has crept upon us at Crafty Ann's Challenge blog.  What wonderful entries we had for the last fortnight.  The challenge this fortnight is "anything but a card".  Well I decided to make a Christmas door hanger so I printed off various pre-coloured flower images and various digital images to colour in with my Promarkers/Copics/Sakura pens.   For the base of the door hanger on both sides I used Tim Holtz's Pine Needles and Peeled Paint distress ink pads and then on the front I put a very thick layer of Ranger Crackle Paint.  It was amazing watching it dry.  I the arranged all the flowers/images on before adding any glue to check I was happy with the layout and then it was all glued down with Pinflair glue gel.  I shall look forward to having this on show at Christmas time.

I am entering this into the following challenges as well:

Secret Crafter - Anything goes
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes
Raise the Bar! - Bundle up - Project depicts cooler weather
Sew many Challenges - Santa's on the Way - Christmas theme
Stamping Vacation - Embellish it - Leaf
ABC Christmas - T is for tree and option of buttons
Crafty Creations - Falling leaves
Stampin' Royalty - Anything but a card
Charisma Cardz - Anything goes.

My Son is 14 Today!!!

Well my youngest son has turned 14 today.  Yikes!!!!  I struggled with thinking of a topic for his card but in the end I used various images/elements sheet from the My Craft Studio The Collector's Edition Kid's NSR CD of a BMX rider.  The main image I have triple embossed, waited for it to cool and then cracked in places.  I didn't have any suitable coloured backing papers in my stash so I printed some of my Crafty Ann's digi papers.  The card is very simple really as he wouldn't like it embellished to the hilt but at 6.30am this morning it seemed to go down well.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Totally Papercrafts - Happy birthday
Secret Crafter - Anything goes
Cupcake Craft - Transport
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthdays
Charisma Cardz - Anything goes
CRAFT - Teenagers.

Happy Halloween

I decided to make a Halloween card.  Normally our neighbours come round at Halloween with their children trick or treating but sadly they have had to move out this year so not sure who will get this card!!  I have used Crafty Ann's new orange and black backing papers - they are soooooooo yummy.  I printed out two different typed and also used a scrap of a orange mottled stone Crafty Ann's backing that I had - yes I know I am supposed to be using up scraps but I didn't have any orange/black - that's my excuse!!!!

I have used a gorgeous Sweet Pea image that I won in a challenge recently.  It is gorgeous.  I have coloured the image with a mixture of Promarkers/Copics.  Around the edges I have distressed with Tim Holtz's Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot distress ink pads.  In various places on the image I highlighted with Sakura Satrdust clear pen.  All the papers I have used have also been distressed/grunged.  I used a bird stamp which I stamped in Black Soot and used a waterbrush to bleed the colour to make him more crow-like.  I used a scrap of brown paper and tore it into a shape like a branch and highlighted the torn edges with a brown Promarker and then sat the bird on it.  The small piece of orange/white paper has been resist embossed.  The card is finished off with a sentiment off the computer, three different ribbons and some ready-coloured flowers from Crafty Ann's which I have grunged with Tim Holtz's Black Soot distress ink pad and the centres are sparkly/glittery Papermania glitterations.

This card fits the following challenges:

Secret Crafter - Anything goes
Totally Gorjuss - Wild thing
In a Sweet Pea Dream - Show us your dream - my dream is to have a bit of peace like this Sweet Pea fairy
Gingerloft - Happy haunting
Glitterbabe - Anything goes
Pixie Dust - Fur or feathers
The Stamp Man - Distress it
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Fall colours and/or leaves
Paper Sundaes - Fabulous fall
Practical Scrappers - Ribbon
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Your grunge
Totally Stampalicious - 3 different ribbons
Paper Playtime - Autumn
Everybody Art - Autumn
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything goes
Papertake Weekly - Animal magic
Creative Card Crew - Autumn or fall
ABC Challenge - D is for distressing.

Prairie Fairy Challenge

Over at the Prairie Fairy Challenge this fortnight the topic is embossing.  I have had this little ballerina mouse coloured in with Promarkers for sooooo long now so it was about time she made her way onto a card.  The backing papers are from the scraps box, the silver mirri card I put through the polka dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and the card is simply finished off with some fibres, Henbury Lane paper flowers and brads for the centres.

This card also fits the following challenges:

Karber Challenge - Girl
A Pocket Full of Posies - Floral fantasy
Created by Hand - Sapphire - I chose pink sapphire
Crafty Creations - Music and/or dance
Creative Belli - Anything with a "B" - I have used some brads that I have had for 2-3 years now
Sew Many Challenges - Embossing
Stamp Something - Use a digi
Alphabet Challenge - U for unused stash - I have used some brads that I have had for 2-3 years now
Secret Crafter - Anything goes
Totally Gorjuss - Wild thing
Corrosive Challenge - Use unused craft stash - I have used some brads that I have had for 2-3 years now
Stamping Vacation - Use an animal that you would not want running through your house - I would be mortified if I saw a mouse running through my house - especially one wearing a ballerina costume!!!

Card for Charity Stall

I have made this card for my regular charity stall using a piece of backing paper from my scrap box and tearing the edge with an X-cut tearing rule.  All the ribbons, sentiment, buttons, flowers etc are all freebies I have been given.

This card fits the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Photo inspiration
Flutter by Wednesday - Buttons
Daring Cardmakers - Come fly with me.

Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - September 2010

I had made this card for the Whoopsi Daisy Challenge this month of "pile on the flowers" but realised today I hadn't posted it on my blog.  I have used backing papers from my stash which I think are Funky Hand from a magazine, the flowers are digital downloads from The Creative Cottage, the image from Whoopsi Daisy has been colouring with Promarkers and then finally a sentiment off the computer.

This card also fits the following challenges:

Daisy Doodles - Keep it simple
Karber Challenge - Girl
Pear Tree Designs - Pink
A Pocket Full of Posies - Floral fantasy
Papertake Weekly - Photo inspiration
Sarah Hurley Challenge - Polka dots and circles
Stamp Something - Use a digi
Secret Crafter - Anything goes
Totally Papercrafts - Happy birthday.

My colouring pencils have come out to play!!!

Over at the CRAFT Challenge this week the topic is "colouring pencils only".  Well, like a lot of people Promarkers/Copics seem to have taken over for me lately so it was nice to use pencils instead.  I have used an "I'm sorry" image that I was given so I don't know the maker.  The backing papers, heart and buttons are all from magazine freebies.

This card also fits the Totally Gorjuss Challenge this week of "wild thing".

Digital Delights Cricut Candy

Over at Digital Delights by Louby Loo, Wendy is offering up some gorgeous candy to celebrate 500 followers and 140,000 hits on her blog in a year.  Aren't these both a wonderful acheivement?  To celebrate she is offering a Cricut Nursery Rhymes Cartridge and also a complete set of Digital Delights Nursery Rhyme Set of Digital Stamps.  If you would like to be in with a chance of winning these fab prizes please click here.  The winner will be drawn on 8/10/10.

The Sugar Bowl Challenge

I have had the sketch for the Sugar Bowl Challenge sat on my computer desk for over a week now but I have now made it into a card for my regular charity stall.  I have used a gorgeous Gorjuss Girl image which I have coloured in with Promarkers.  I have used some backing papers from a magazine by Funky Hands and some scraps of paper from the scraps box.  The card is finished off with a doily (from Joanna Sheen's website), some paper ribbon and some buttons I must have had for 3-4 years but now they've found a loving home on a card.

This card also fits the following challenges:

Cutie Sunday - Pretty in Pink
Karber - Girl
Pear Tree Designs - Pink
Flutter by Wednesday - Buttons
Creative Belli - Beginning with "b" embellishments - buttons for me which I have had for 3-4 years
Alphabet Challenge - U for unused stash - buttons that I've had for 3-4 years
Secret Crafter - Anything goes.

Commissioned Birthday Card

I was asked to make a card for a customer for a young lady who is physically attached to her i-pod type machine.  I knew this Kenny K image would be perfect for this.  I used my Promarkers/Copics to colour the image in and then cut out with a Nellie Snellon die.  I have distressed the edges with Tim Holtz's Faded Jeans distress ink pad.  The backing papers are all scraps from my scrap box - yest I am still continuing my New Year's resolution to use my "stash up" that I have bought/been given for my charity work - now that we are in September I have come to the conclusion me thinks I had too much paper!!!  I have made up a pattern with the scraps and then distressed the edges with the Faded Jeans ink pad again.  I was a bit reluctant to use this colour as this is the foam bit I have attached the blending tool I got with my Tim Holtz's TSV earlier in the year.  Last year when I was using it I had a little accident and the handle flew out of the base and ended up bruising my left wrist so out came my Pinflair glue gel to the rescue and my distressing tool is once more mended but I am still a bit conscious of the sore bruise I have on my left wrist at the moment!!!  I then used my new Tim Holtz embossing folder which I LOVE and want more and distressed the edges again with the Faded Jeans to tie it all in again.    The card is then finished off with some lace, sentiment off the computer, paper flowers with blue brads in the centre which I must have had for 2-3 years now and never used, flower brads and some card candy.

This card fits the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss - Flower
Whoopsi Daisy - Pile on the Flowers
Crafty Calendar - Blue and flowers
Kenny K's - Embossing
Paper Sundaes - Minimum of 3 embellishments (brads, card candy and flowers)
Die-cut Dreams - Sweet Little Girls and digi image
Lexi's Creations - Flower power
Karber Challenge - Girl
Pocket Full of Posies - Floral fantasy
Creative Belli - Anything beginning with "b" - I have the colour blue and brads (the blue brads I think I must have had for 2-3 years)
ABC Challenge - D is for distressing
Sew Many Challenges - Embossing
Fun With Shapes and More - Lace
Stamp Something - Use a digi
Alphabet Challenge - U is for unused stash (the blue brads I think I must have had for 2-3 years)
Totally Papercrafts - Happy birthday.

Commissioned Birthday Card

I was asked to make a card for a customer's son who is into golf.  As he's in his 20's I knew that this Kenny K image would be perfect.  I have coloured the image in with Promarkers and Copics and then distressed the edges with Tim Holtz's Faded Jeans distress ink pad.  The matting and layering has been done with various scraps of paper from my stash and some blue mirri card.  I brought the layers together with some faux stitching and some faux ribbon.  The card is simply finished off with a sentiment off the computer and a jump ring and golf bag charm which I've had for many years now.

This card fits the following challenges:

Fab n Funky - What 'eva
Crafty Sentiments - Use a digi
Lili of the Valley - One for the boys
Digi Doodle - Use a charm
Lollipop Crafts - All about family
Digital Tuesday - Sports
Papertake Weekly - Photo inspiration.

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - 13/9/10

Over at the Pollycraft Monday Challenge the topic this week is "autumn colours".  I have had this image coloured in with Promarkers and Copics for months and months but she's not made her way onto a card - that is until now.  I have used a harlequin/diamond piece of scrap paper and tore another scrap of dotty paper to go on the bottom as I didn't like seeing the image legs just cut off.  Instead she's hiding behind the birthday banner.  The other piece of backing paper I made using some glossy card and alcohol inks.  I went over the whole piece of card with yellow and brown, then sprinkled in a tiny amount of mica and then used the alcohol ink blending solution in drops to get the circular effect and then added brown alcohol ink on top to get a sort-of tie-dyed effect.  I have used alcohol inks before by dabbing a few colours onto card - I thought I'd take it a bit further this time with the mica and blending solution.  I quite like the effect.  The card is simply finished off with a handmade flower (shapes cut out with my Cricut and then distressed with Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade Tim Holtz Distress Ink and then finished off with a cord texture brad), peel-offs and diamond gems.

This card also fits the following challenges:

Fab n Funky - What 'eva
Crafty Sentiments - Use a digi
Paperplay - Autumn is coming
Charisma Cardz - Something new or not done before
Totally Gorjuss - Flower
Allsorts - Colours of autumn
Karber Challenge - Girl
Crafty Cardmakers - Alcohol Inks
Incy Wincy - Autumn colours
Creative Card Crew - Autumn or fall
Spoon Full of Sugar - Fall into autumn
Tuesday Taggers - Diamonds are forever
My Time to Craft - Jewelled.

Crazy Challenge - Monday 13/9/10

Well, here's a card that's taken me a few days to put together, a little bit here and there.  Over at the Crazy Challenge the topic is "friends forever".  I have used a scrap of backing paper from my stash box - not sure where it came from - three different coloured backing papers from Crafty Ann's Digi Store which were leftover from my Design Team card for Crafty Ann's last week.  The pearlescent card with the flower stalks I was given and I am almost certain it is a Dawn Bibby Design but not 100% certain.  I then used my Cricut to cut out two different sizes of flowers from scraps of paper, screwed them all up, inked them with Tim Holtz's Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans Distress ink pads and then put brads through the middle.  I used a butterfly die-cut and inked with the same Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans and used some very tiny brads up the centre of the body - boy they were a nightmare to pick up and then open!!!  The card is then simply finished off with some ribbon, glittery gem stars and a sentiment off the computer.

This card also fits the following challenges:

A Pocket Full of Posies - Floral fantasy
Paper Sundaes - Minimum of 3 embellishments (brads, ribbon and sticky star gems)
Lexi's Creations - Flower power
Fab n Funky - What 'eva
Everybody Art - Handmade flowers