One for Dad

My daughter often helps daddy in the shed at the weekend - he's always tinkering with motorbikes and she always says she needs "a screwdriver, a wrench but no hammer!" - so this little image was perfect for a dad card.
Sorry for the rubbish photo but it's late and the light poor. Coloured with promarkers and then I added diamond glaze to the boot toes and tool handles. Edges inked with distress ink.

Experimental Alice grunge and oh suprise an easel card!

I just found the cutest Alice in Wonderland inspired digis here at Sassy Studio designs - with there take on the upcoming movie, Alice in Sassyland. I spotted a fab Miss Hatter image on a card and had have her.... this led me to the Sassy Studio blog and this challenge.
"The Challenge:
So what is the challenge you ask...well this is the fun part..... It MUST be out of the box!
No standard cards allowed!
I want you to think outside the box I want you to do something that in you mind represents the whole idea of wonderland, something different and not normal and fun what you do is up to you. the only requirements are you must use and SSD image...any SSD image don't limit yourself only to just the sassyland release images consider ALL SSD images. And your project MUST be inspired by the film (what do I mean by that? like I said it must represent wonderland .... but I encourage you to also be inspired by the qualities Tim Burton brings to this film. I have found some wonderful images online to help inspire you"
I have to confess I misread it and thought it said no cards - not no ordinary cards and so I altered a clock... I followed the Burtonesque bit by painting my clock an orange that reminded me of the Depp photos as the Mad Hatter. I grunged up my bunny (when I tried to seal everything with decoupage medium, the inks ran and he ended up very grungey)and added bits and pieces that bring together cute, dark and bizarre which I imagine the film will be.
Maybe I should rename my blog I love easel cards.... here's another.
Again for the above challenge - It's a sorry it's late card, hence the white rabbit (he was a bugger to colour cos what do you do with a white rabbit? So I used a good shaking of glamour dust and diamond glaze on his glasses.)
I also printed a BIG hat - cropped the digi image of Miss Hatter from Sassy Studios to just leave the hat, inspired by the film to colour it Olive Green and then the Wonderland bit is that I would love to live in a world where it was acceptable, nay even normal to do your shopping in such a hat. I love big, extravagant and/or quirky hats but never have occasion to wear one; so a mad hatter world would suit me perfectly. I guess I could always internet shop in a mad hat and no one would comment...
I added some Tim Holtz tickets and purple ribbon for a creation I'd be happy to pop to the shops in.

Mo's sketch challenge and a Mami doodle

Mo's design team blog has a sketch challenge finishing today - so I'm just sneaking this in just about on time...
Papers are from Memory Box Co, the tape was a Xmas cracker gift, the image is of course by Mo Manning. The flower is another scrumpled delight and the ribbon from the market. Brads are three bugs in a rug and the pearls were pink, I coloured them with an orange promarker.
It's past bedtime so I better call a night, or rather a morning.
Do something fun today - we picnicked in the park today in 5 degree weather.... kids just don't seem to notice the cold.
Back again to add a bit more to this post - another Mami doodle, this time in pastel hues, I'm using a lot of blue lately but I'm desperately short of pens suitable for hair colour so her hair's a bit flat looking - I tried layering colours but she looked like a DIY hair colour disaster so it was cocoa all over after that.
I've incorporated the following challenges to make this card -
raise the bar - threes "groupings of 3"
cute card thursday - Ribbontastic
resq challenge - use something digi (the image)

Layered flower box

Having a play with the gorgeous "scrumpled" flowers using nesties and circle punches - they are so fun and easy, all you need is the above some thin paper, a brad (I used some ancient cloud paper and some pearly insert paper) and a 3 year old child to do the scrumperling.. her word, not mine. And she scrumpled up a storm, there's plenty left over for her Easter baskets. I inked the flower edges with a bit of distress ink and just gave them a little tweak and they were done. Gorgeous. So I made a box with an acetate aperture and layered the flower inside - to keep it from damage and the box opens up to reveal a Mother's day gift (but that bit isn't quite finished). I added a Magnolia image from a swap last year - it was stamped on the back of some linen card with dye ink, so it didn't colour that great but it's ok....
So this is for the following challenges -
paperplay - something for a Mother
passion for promarkers - buttons and bows - last week!!
Magical Craft Challenge - something for mum
oh la la - acetate

New Mami Doodles girl with fairy wings

I just got this very cute little girl in my inbox - with her fairy wings and gorgeous dress she is all ready for a party. I coloured her with promarkers and then decoupaged the wings, covered with glamour dust and I edged her dress with tiny pearls. She is simply layered onto nestabilities ovals. The sentiment was printed onto cardstock in dark brown and I also stamped dark chocolate swirls from Autumn leaves, then embellished with more pearls. This is a long card and needs a legal envelope - it also needed a good length of ribbon, sometimes I can tie a bow first time, sometimes I can't... tonightI couldn't. So it's a half bow attached with large pearl brads. Red pearlescent heart finishes the ensemble.
I used the colour combo at The Play Date Cafe and it's also for cupcake craft challenge "Friends" challenge this week.
And you can find the fabulous Mami doodles here

PCP Adela's Saturday Sketch challenge

Thanks to everyone who has taken time leave me a comment, it's greatly appreciated and I love peeking at your blogs too. Your kind words spur me on to keep "Making Stuff".
First time trying this sketch challenge - I love Adela's 3d work and bought some of her templates last year, so I was chuffed when she left little ole me a comment on my recent craft efforts.
Anyhow - I have made this little Mo Manning card for a special birthday and I think she is gorgeous. Her pose is one I see very often with my eldest daughter - I think that's why Mo's images have such appeal, you look at them and can relate it someone you know. I purposely angled the panel on the easel cards, just for the heck of it to make it look a bit different. I love lime green and red (who said red and green should ne'er be seen?!?)together, the lime flowers are Prima, the ribbon cheap and the stitching fake!
The second one is for the same sketch this time using a little heifer from soft pencil, animal collection. A really simple card with nestabilities frame and cuttlebug embossing, satin ribbon, die cut flower and scrabble sticker letters. The devil is in the detail and while the card was quick and simple, I added glamour dust to the heifer, curled her ears forward and diamond glaze to her nose. Studded the frame with pink pearls and the embossing at card base with tiny seed pearls, which I repeated on the i and ! in the sentiment.
And finally - this week's pencisoft blog challenge is "anything but a card" - so i made a picture frame using 3 layers of black coated chipboard, cut with a Sizzix originals die - frame 2. I sandwiched acetate between 2 layers to make the front - then inserted the picture and attached the final layer. I used a photo turn attached with a brad to hold the back piece in place.
On the front, i used die cut foam flowers - I heated them slightly, as they cool they will curl to give some dimension, secured with brads and attached with diamond glaze. Dog and cat images printed in dark brown on textured card, coloured with promarkers and covered with diamond glaze.
That's all for this cold and sunny Sunday - there's logs to bring in, laundry to put out and children to feed .... I'd rather be crafting....
tfl

new baby card and nappy cake

Sometimes you have to knock a card out in double quick time and that was the case with this one - I managed to do the card in under half an hour and the nappy cake took about the same, although I had the nappies already rolled - it just needed assembling.
The card features a digi pic from Eline Pelkinhof, I bought it from daisie.comlast year, simply layered with nestabilities and a gingham bow. You can also get these images in black and white for colouring from squigglefly My lovely pearl swirls (down to my last quarter of a pack - boohoo)and pearl brad from ZVA creative, prima hydrangea flowers and scalloped punch edge.
The nappy cake just has some euro shop bits and pieces, a little knitted cardi, a blanket and some baby wash inside it - with the nappies on a BOGOF offer, it all cost less than €20. Could not get a decent picture of it, I think they look better in real life than in a photo.

first anniversary card - raise the bar 6.

I'm not a big fan of box making but every so often I feel a card deserves a box and this one did, an envelope would have just squashed it flat. I made the square box using my diamond card craft folding board ( my second crafters companion one snapped, as did the first - seriously thinking of getting a Scor Pal - just can't decide between metric and imperial). I layered 2 panels embossed with swiss dots and then made a layered topper using various Spellbinders dies. The card is, suprise, suprise an easel card. Simple printed sentiment with layered nestabilities and patterned paper edged with Prima flowers and chiffon ribbon. The easel "ledge" is Fiskars threading water border punch with silver peel off.
Raise the Bar challenge 6 (see link on blog list) - is stamper no stamping. An easy
one for me as I often have no stamping on my cards!

A whole bunch of challenges.

First off I've been a member of the PCP3d Tuesday group for ages but while I have used the projects ages after this is the first time I've made the challenge on time. It's Adele's little flower pot treat box - and I've teamed it with Mo's digital pencil challenge blog I had a go at the monthly challenge - a sketch that I found really difficult - my first attempt looked like I had made it in the dark and then added glitter (that good!). So I went back to basics, there's a slight deviation - the sketch had a row of 3 embellies in one corner - one of mine has moved to make it all balance. Forgive my impudence! I was also trying "quick colouring", I haven't time to be spending all night on one image like I had been doing. And I'm happy enough with the results. These are also for this week's cute card Thursday which is metal mania - I've added little silver tutu.
The flower pot has a matching pick using Mo's image - the box is smaller than I though and I put maltesers in for the photo but I'll be adding a mini muffin with frosting when I actually give it and the card for my friend's birthday later in the month.
Secondly, is the Sarah Kay card using Sandie's sketch at this week's Paperplay and again a large metal brad makes it eligble for Cute card Thursday
This card is a ten minute colour using promarkers, the paper left over from yesterday's card and lots of layered yummies from my embellishment box.
tfl

Crafty angels week 22 - fantastic flowers and ABC one paper challenge

Following challenges means that I am using lots of old stash as I start to think about what I have to make the challenge. Crafty Angels this week wanted flowers - so I broke open some fairly new Prima roses and mixed them with some really old flower buds and leaves. All the card came out of my recycling box (it's headed for the local community group eventually) and the paper is some 7 gypsies that has been in my stash for several years at least.
Layered nestabilities make the frame with a printed sentiment embellished with a few pink pearls.
I'm going to try this again with a stamped image for Mother's Day I think....

have a great day whatever you get up to....

baby on the way

A long card today - pregnancy congratulation card using Lil Davis chipboard letters, sweet pea from Primsy doodle designs and paper by Sassafrass - I really like the colour combination, I was thinking 70s formica kitchens. I used diamond glaze on the peas and they really look glassy and very dimensional. To go with it, I made 4 sock cupcakes, added a baby vest and packaged them in a cupcake box. Nestabilities circle for the label with red velvet bow.

Moving along with the times challenge

My first time trying this challenge - it was a sketch and theme cute companions not the Jayne Nesterenko ones but your own favourite cute stamps. I had two goes - once following the sketch to the letter and then on the second I rotated it 180 degrees. I also used the same image just coloured it with different colour themes each time. Once with my "natural" colour group - the ones I feel happy with and then again, this time using colours I wouldn't normally use in my colouring. Can you tell which is which???
I'm not telling - see if you can guess.
Need more colouring practise but I am gaining knowledge and it's all about practise, I love to colour, even if it's not great - it's a welcome distraction at the end of a day with 2 demanding toddlers.

bind it all gifts

A couple of makes using my Bind -it-All, I really do not use this gadget enough to do it justice. The calendar uses a digital template and went into sister's birthday parcel and the button book is for a birthday gift. It's kind of shabby looking and inside has card and acetate pockets with the cards of buttons stored inside. There is also a wheel of pearl headed pins in the back and some needles in the front. The inside cover has an old dressmakers pattern printed on it and I've added the recepients name to the page.
I've resolved to try and make more gifts this year - I have 2 boxes full of things I have hoarded for altering, so it's time to start using them.

paperplay and friday sketchers plus Paper Cutz

Wow, this is organised for me - 2 challenges in one card. I look at blogs where girls are entering one card into a dozen various challenges, I just never remember to combine more than one... maybe next week I should try a three challengeli card!
So Paperplay asked for a special Birthday card and I've made a diamante monogram card using the sketch from Friday Sketchers, which I turned around to fit my design.
It's quite dimensional in real life - lots of Spellbinders layers mounted on foam pads and just a tiny bit of stamping under the diamante letter using Tattered Rose distress and I've used more of my delicious pearl brads, I'm down to the last dozen so I'll go into conservation mode with them very soon!
This weeks Paper cutz challenge was to make a card for a teen, so mine is for a young teen - using a Mo Manning digi image. Coloured with Pro markers - do you see the little pink dots on the blanket and in her hair? They were tiny seed pearls that I painstakingly glued on and then - doh! I ran it through the Big Kick to cut the square out and squished them all flat. Oh well better luck next time.

Phindy's place challenge

Love digi images at the minute and I got this one at Phindy's Place on Papercraft Planet. Her challenge was "Love with a humourous sentiment and a cut out" - so here's my effort.
Coloured with promarkers and then I used diamond glaze sprinkled with Glamour dust to highlight the strawberries and then used glue and glamour dust for the filling.
The card is a scalloped nestabilities circle and the sentiment has Prima say it in pearls accents.

Photo Easel Cards

I love easel cards. They have a real wow factor on the mantlepiece and I also love photo cards, so combining the two was a no brainer. One was a comission for a baby card and candle, although I wrapped the candle before I thought of the photo, so you can't really see it. The card uses my star nesties for the first time and they are just fabulous - I love all Spellbinders dies, I haven't dared to look and see what they released at CHA, I still "need" too many of the previous ones to add any more!
The others are for the girls second cousin and also for nana - all quick and simple just patterned paper and a bit of bling.

just in time.... paperplay love notes

for the Paperplay challenge this week - love notes. Yet another Mo image - it's a tribute to my dog, I loved that mutt. I've also tried a new colour combo, I'd never normally think of black, white, red and purple but it's good to try new things.
The bling is a link from a bracelet I picked up in Penneys for 50c, there's about ten on it - so far cheaper than any embellies I could buy.