Amazin blog Candy from Jak

Jak, designer of all those "flippin things" has one flippin mad and is giving away an amazing blog candy
look here and good luck!
and it's Sharon's birthday and so she has some fab candy too here I have been lusting after some pro markers so fingers crossed!

anniversary card

A last minute card as usual - so it's quite simple. A lot of Spellbinders dies - I seem to be using them a lot lately, labels nine and locket, some cuttlebug embossing and prima hydrangeas, club green ribbon and a few diamantes. Can't believe it has been a year since their wedding, dd2 will be one very soon - I missed the craftzone weekend last year as it clashed with the wedding but I have my car packed ready to head off to Athlone in the morning - yipeeee! It is crammed with stash, I couldn't decide what to bring - I must remember to pack a change of clothes!
So here's to a weekend of crafting yumminess and shopping delight.

Paperplay - tag it! and papertake - fake it! challenge

I combined 2 challenges for this card - the paperplay use a tag challenge and the papertake fake it challenge (faux stitches and paper button).
The overall design looks a bit wonky but truth be told, I'm too busy to redo it. The other baby card is slightly more successful I think.
Anyhow's it all Pay per box card from different eras, cuttlebug embossing, prima hydrangeas and odds n ends from my charm box - the feet I made a long time ago from sculpey, they are really cute and a great any use baby embellishment.

cupcake socks

These are my favourite ever gift for a mum to be. The original idea came from the ultra talented Lauren Meader - I just expanded on the number of "buns" and used 2 different sizes of sock.
Each bun is made up one pair of baby socks - size 0-2.5 for the topping and one single ladies sock size 4-7 for the bun base. So my finished box has 6 pairs of baby socks and 3 pairs of socks for mum.
They were pretty tricky to get a picture of and I think they look much cuter in real life.
Lauren has a brilliant video showing how to make the socks - you can find it here Her cupcakes look really full compared to mine but I think that is because she uses different sizes of sock...

no patterned paper

This week's paperplay challenge - set by Kate, is to make a project using no patterned paper. Here's my take on it - I've been meaning to try these bowls for a long time and finally (with a bit of help, made enough strips to construct a soup bowl sized dish and mini flower pot).
Can you tell they are made from the Sunday Times magazine? A real recycling recession busting craft project and while you can't eat your dinner out of them, they will withstand a damp cloth and so I use mine for MM's or peanuts. Basically it is folded sheets of magazine paper with the ends glued down then you stick all the strips together with sellotape and roll into a "snail". Tape the ends down and carefully lift the edges up, bringing up the middle just as if you where making a clay pot. I painted them with black acrylic paint and then sealed with 2 coats of PVA and water glaze.
The flower is a Spellbinders die with swiss dot embossing and brad centre stuck to an inked kebab stick . Chipboard is three bugs and charm from E-bay.
And I've finally nailed by Nestabilities class for Athlone - I have far too many projects for the time frame but they'll be there for inspiration.

I am making stuff really,

Just it all seems to be work in progress or is for my GBCE class - I'm revising my ideas every week, but have to make a decision this weekend as to what I am doing. At present have enough for a 7 hour class! So have to whittle it down to a manageable 3 projects - all I'll say is it's Christmas Time and there are no cards...
Here's a baby rattle I made using only Spellbinder dies - nestabilities for the base and the bottom, pendant die for the the rattle (and there's a little shaker made from 2 small circles of card edged with foam tape and filled with rice in the middle, so it really rattles!)
I also decorated bth sides of the card to make it more like a real rattle, I've seen quite a few cards recently that are decorated inside and on the reverse and while it's a lot of work, I think the results can be stunning - I barely have time to finish a front and I confess I hate putting inserts in cards, but I do try and make the effort and usually add a verse or quote as well.
I did my GBCE profile as well here, near the bottom with the dorky photo and I had intended to add an "odd fact" about myself but forgot - so, here it is - I had my tongue pierced 16 years ago by a guy who had practiced on pig skin and jaffa oranges...

Paper Play - Back to School

Ok, so mine is more finished school than back to school but it's for a guy who's going to be a teacher - so it is back to school in a sense....
"Spring fold" card - embossed with Cuttlebug herringbone folder, it adds gorgeous texture, The tassel came off Marina's cushions (she gave them to me, I didn't go round with my scissors and surreptitiously castrate her scatter cushions). Scroll is a scrap of paper and red ribbon, sticker letter on nestability circle.

paperplay challenge, procrastinating and new rubber

So I should be making 140 wedding invitations but I've run out of little sparkly crystals - I know I have them somewhere but they are eluding me and so rather than face the tedium of insert printing I thought I'd blog instead.
Here's my this weeks paperplay challenge - set by Mandy, she gave us a sketch to work with and I thought I'd use it to show a preview of the new rubber stamp line that crazy crafts will be showcasing. Don't you think Alana is just the cutest and she's homegrown Irish to boot. The card has a nestabilities aperture inset with a cuttlebug panel, the new Morrocan folder - and wow, the new folders are fabulous - all the embossing is so deep and crisp, I'm using them on everything.
The paper is old Sassafrass "In Stitches" and the borders are by - oops I forgot, possibly very old sassafrass now I think about it.
tfl

My poor neglected blog

I'm struggling to find the time to do all I want. Things that get made are last minute and gone, so never see a camera - while other things are piling up - not least 140 wedding invitations for mid week, eek!
The potatoes are being dug and I'm replacing them with purple kale and some green cabbage - I admit I am no gardener but I love going out and then bringing in something we can eat. Other than my spasmodic efforts the slugs, snails and nettles are welcome to the rest of the space, I just invade the wilderness now and again but so far this year we have had radish, lettuce, sorrel, potatoes,carrots, peas, beetroot,runner beans,onions and blackcurrants - the cauliflower and courgettes were a disaster but still it's not too bad for the first attempt by a city girl.
A little flower card I did in the week - the greeting is in the text on the leaves - I thought it was cute. Card base by petaloo.

CRAZY CRAFTS, Ennis are looking for a DESIGN TEAM!

Mary and Bendy at the Ennis based craft store, Crazy Crafts are looking for a design team - I have to say I am over the flippin moon that they have asked me to be part of that team already. They are looking for 4 talented crafters who can each bring their unique style and design to the fore to create beautiful cards, layouts and projects. The requirements are simple - you have to love to craft! Entries are being accepted from any part of the globe, even interglactically - so get the entries rolling in and make it hard for them to choose.
The chosen team members get free craft goodies - Mary and Bendy are currently working hard to bring a brand new line of rubber stamps to Ireland but that's all the info I have for now. Both Bendy and Mary will be at the GBCE in Athlone along with the shop. So if you are interested click the link on the right and you'll find all the info you need on their blog.
later,