Grumpy's Birthday - C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 25

It's my F-I-L's birthday tomorrow and I feel obliged to make him a card, even though their family don't really seem to like hand-made goodies. The C.R.A.F.T. Challenge for this week is a recipe and all submitted cards need to include 1xtag, 1xsentiment, 1xribbon. My tag is more of a ticket, but hey-ho and all of that!

Stamped Image: Like it or Not!!! by Penny Black, coloured with ProMarkers.

Sentiment: Happy Birthday Ticket from Inkadinkado.

Papers: Hopscotch Boy by K&Co.

Ribbon: Rainbow by DCWV.

Now, I'm off to deal with broken glass! My darling (?) kitten has just spotted a shadow on the ceiling and sprung up onto the shelving unit, knocking my glass storage jars flying. C'est la vie, if it's not the kids it's the cat! :)

Daniel's Birthday Card - Quixotic Paperie Challenge

Whilst browsing blogland last week, I came across Craftyc's (Claire) blog and noticed that she wanted people to make a card for her son, Daniel. It was only two days from his birthday, but I really wanted to send him a card as I knew it would mean so much to him. Therefore, it's not the most elaborate card in the world, as I dashed it off in a few minutes - but he seemed to enjoy the cards he received. As a mum to two children with Autism, I know how much enjoyment our children can gain from the simplest of gifts. I was going to write his name on the hoody but I forgot!!

Quixotic Paperie's second challenge has the theme - Stitching and can be real or faux. As I'm deadly near a sewing machine (I think I still have the scars to prove it!), I'm entering this card with my pretend stitching instead. :)

Stamped Image: My Guy Ian by The Greeting Farm, coloured with ProMarkers.

Background Stamping: Sentiment Circles by Autumn Leaves.

Sentiment: Birthday Messages and Whimsical Numbers by Hero Arts.

Papers: Citronella Designer Mat Pad by K&Co.

Faux stitching - Inkssentials Opaque Pen in White by Ranger.

Doggone Birthday!

It may be considered sad by some, but I always send a birthday card to my S-I-L's Black Labrador, Jessie. She's a huge member of the family and is very much considered as one of the kids, she's just turned 10 and I'm dreading the day that she passes away (she suffers from epilepsy and is lucky to have made it this far). I always give her a cat card as she's never been a cat lover although, thankfully now, she's too rotund to chase them!

Stamped Image: X-Large Love by Penny Black, coloured with Derwent Watercolour pencils and stickled to an inch of it's life.

Sentiment: Small Tag Lines by Paper Studio.

Papers: The Green Stack by DCWV.

Border Punch: Valentine Lace by Martha Stewart.

Christmas Card #2......I'm flying (NOT!) :)

Over on the Trimcraft forum, the lovely Eiglas has set up a Christmas card challenge to encourage us to crack on with our festive cards. This weeks challenge is Shades of Blue. I'm also entering this card into Susie's Sassy Challenge #1, which is themed as Christmas too.

Image: Mr Stocking by Sugar Nellie, coloured with ProMarkers.

Papers: Winter Stack by DCWV, blue cardstock embossed with Snowflakes Cuttlebug embossin folder.

Sentiment: Studio G by Dovecraft.

I made the white glittery/snowyish border using Drippy Goo border punch by Martha Stewart, covered in cheapo glitter glue. :)

Kraftin' Kimmie's Gorgeous Moonlight Whispers

Well, it's a bit like buses....nothing for ages, then they all come at once! I've been after the fabulous Moonlight Whispers stamps since they were launched and managed to fool myself into thinking I was being good by buying the stamps from two different craft sites (tut, tut).

The outfits remind me of that Lemony Snickett movie and the girls' expressions are priceless, you just know they're absolute nightmares!

This card was meant to be for my friend's birthday (today, yikes). However, true to form, I forgot to post the bleeding thing or even write it out - Happy Birthday, Jules, it's the thought that counts!x ;)

Image: Lillith - Moonlight Whispers by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, coloured with ProMarkers and paper-pieced.

Sentiment: Small Tag Lines by Printworks.

Papers: Paperie - Rouge by Making Memories, DCWV Brights matstack.

Punch: Apron Lace by Fiskars

Ribbon: Local Haberdashery

Pearls: E-Line by Prima

Again, apologies for the dreadful photography! It would probably help a bit if I took the piccies during the day. :)

Ooh, I'm entering this into Elaine's new Quixotic Challenge. This week's theme is Birthday.

Passion For ProMarkers - Challenge 24

After both boys having had the flu, I've not had time for much more than lurking about in Blogland and leaving the odd comment when I've had the chance. I thought it was time to get back in the saddle and get cracking with some cards, as I'm massively behind schedule (looks like most of my Xmas cards will be charity ones, again *lol*).

This card is for my brother-in-law and the image is too cool for the old so & so, but I think that's how he sees himself anyway (bless his little deluded cottons)! PFP Challenge this week is to use the colour combo Grass and Canary.

Image: My Guy Ian by The Greeting Farm.

Colours used: Grass, Canary, Lime Green, Lemon, Denim Blue, Pastel Blue, Vanilla, Pastel Yellow, Primrose, Ice Grey 1, Ivory & Blush.

Papers: Citronella Designer Mat Pad by K&Co.

I clagged the yellow paper to a chipboard circle and added Remarks Letter Stickers and Sidekick Rub-on both by American Crafts. The string is garden twine from Wilkinson's (upmarket or what?) and the wooden button is recycled from my dead knitted slipper socks. Hope it fits the bill and sorry for the super-pants photo, I really must get the screen replaced on my new camera (oops!)...... :)

Back from Lurgyland!!!

Well, what a fun couple of weeks I've had? Not only have I had a rotten fluey bug, which has completely knocked me off my feet but I've also had to handle problems at Lou's school. Bullies, don't you just love 'em (and their vile parents)....not!!! I've not made a single card since my last post, as I really haven't had much other than fluffy cottonwool-type clouds floating between my ears and have struggled to concentrate on anything creative. I have been trying to keep up with all of the gorgeous projects on my favourite blogs, apologies if I haven't commented on them all.

I decided that I needed to crack on with my crafty "To Do" list, so I made a few larger Hallowe'en boxes for Lou's new group of friends at school. He's now decided that he doesn't want me to make anything for the rest of his class (yippeee!!!), but wants at least another six of these for his favourite teachers too. I found the link for this box on someone's blog (sorry, my brain's still not working), it was a freebie by Monica Gale on the Stamp With Us blog. I do love these boxes and already have a few in mind for Xmas gifts for teachers and support staff.

The stash I used on the boxes is:

Papers:

Boo! to You! by My Mind's Eye.

Eerie by BasicGrey.

Boo Crew by Bo Bunny.

Tim Coffey Hallowe'en Chipboard Stickers by K&Co.

Spooky! T for Transparent Stamps by Penny Black.

Hopefully, I'll have a craftier head on by the weekend and can think about making some cards. :)

My First Xmas Card.... PFP Week 19.

And about time, too! I'm hoping that this will give me the kick up the pants I need to start making my Xmas cards early enough to be able to post them out in time for the big jolly fella's visit. Christmas has never been a terribly exciting time for me, personally I much prefer Hallowe'en (does that make me a bad person??). So, I always struggle to get all festive and worked up to make Xmassy things.

I bought this stamp from my fellow Trimmie, Jenni (cardmadfairy). She's just produced a range of Xmas themed stamps that I think are great. (Although she colours them a heck of a lot better than me!!) I've decided to make this card for the Passions for ProMarkers Week 19 challenge. The requirements were to use Apricot and Cool Aqua and to include a flower. As I'd decided on a Xmas card, I thought I'd make snowflake flowers instead of the usual ones. If this isn't okay, then apologies all round. :s

Recipe:

Stamped Image: Skating Josie by Cardmadfairy's Creations.

Clothing: Apricot & Cool Aqua.

Face: Ivory & Blush

Hair: Buttercup & Saffron

Stars: Canary

Blades: Cool Grey 1 & 2

Background Stamp: Snowfall - Stamp Duo by Papermania.

Papers: Winter Stack by DCWV and Gemstones cardstock by Core'dinations.

Pearls: Papermania.

Glitter: Diamond Stickles.

Apologies for the super-pants photo - it's probably just as well, really. :)

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 20

Can't believe I've managed to squeeze another card making session in this week. To be fair, I was up until 2am this morning - kids.....when will I ever get a full night's sleep? (I actually made 1 1/2 cards - got to finish the other one off later!)

Took advantage of being wide awake to make my entry for The Sugar Bowl Challenge 20, as I really enjoyed following the sketch for the last one. This time, as well as following Gayle's fabby sketch, you have to also paper piece. Another first for me, although I've been wanting to try it out for some time.

Recipe:

Stamped Image: Luvvie by Leanne Ellis @ Sugar Nellie.

Papers: Cherry Hill by October Afternoon.

Heart Mesh eyelet and brads: Making Memories.

Ribbon: Local Haberdashery.

Border Punch: Martha Stewart.

This lovely range of stamps was my first Sugar Nellie purchase and I love them to bits. Hope the card fits the bill. :)

Ooh, and I've just found out that I've won the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 18 - can't believe it, even though it's a random pick, I'm chuffed to bits!!!! :))))

C.R.A.F.T. and Sketch Challenge Cards

Had a little time to myself last night, once the boys were safely tucked up in bed (one of them was my bed, however!!!!). I've got lots to do later this week, so took the opportunity to make a couple of challenge cards.

Sketch Challenge 17 - Trimcraft

Following Tracey's sketch, I decided to make a Hallowe'en card. Have been dying to use some of my new stash. Love these cute little die-cuts and you get so many on a 12x12 sheet!

Recipe:

Die-cuts and DP: Boo! to You! by My Mind's Eye.

Sentiment: Frightful Collection by Little Yellow Bicycle.

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 18

Just one rule of no backing paper! I thought I'd break out another recent purchase and try them out. Love Kraft cardstock.

Recipe:

Stamps: 59004 Sentiments LG by American Crafts.

Ribbon: Local Haberdashery section of Dept. Store.

Diamond Stickles to give a little glisten.

That's probably my whack for this week, roll on the weekend and International Card Making Day on 3rd Oct. (Any excuse to sit on my botty and make a mess....) :)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Week 68

I've been neglecting the old rubber this past week, so I thought I'd try to be organised enough to make even one card for a challenge. I had planned to make one last week for the PBSC Lace & Pearl challenge, but just ran out of time. So, I've picked up on this week's challenge, which is a colour combo of Chocolate, Pink and Lemon. It's only my second blog-based challenge, but I'll get there eventually.

I've chosen my all-time favourite animal, I'm a pig-lover and proud! This image makes me smile from ear to ear.

Here's the recipe:

Stamped image: 2614H Pinky Package by Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers.

Sentiment: 2912D Happy Birthday by Penny Black.

DP: The Glitter Stack by DCWV.

Ribbon: Hobbycraft's finest (lol).

Punch: Mini flower by X-Cut.

Gems: Cheapy pack of gems, (meant to bling up yer phone) bought from a market stall.

Hope it fits the bill. :)

Anyone for Edward...................?

As a responsible parent, I know I shouldn't be lusting after younger men but I do have a bit of a thing for Robert Pattinson, aka Edward Cullen. All other lusters, form an orderly queue behind me (lol)! My 10 year old rolls his eyes with disdain when I seek out new trailers on our weekly movie web-hunt. Can't wait for the new movie, shall be going several times whilst the kids are at school.

So, I jumped at the chance of buying the gorgeous Wide-Eyed Sprout Edward stamp from The Greeting Farm. I've not had an opportunity to make a card with him until now, as my friend's son's birthday is approaching (and he's becoming even more of a brooding teenager). I've also tied this card up with Funkymotha's Sketch Challenge #16 on the Trimcraft forum.

Image: Edward by The Greeting Farm.

Papers: Lime Rickey by BasicGrey.

Buttons: Boxer by BasicGrey.

I just hope Connor likes the card, then again, he is a teenager so I suppose a grunt will have to suffice! :)

My First Blog Challenge......

Well, I thought, I've been here nearly two weeks and haven't entered a blog-based challenge yet. Been quite scared and intimidated to be perfectly honest, as there are some incredible crafters out there. *sighs heavily*

However, I'm never going to learn if I don't try. So here goes....

I've chosen The Sugar Bowl Challenge 19 to start off with, as I saw Marlene's sketch on someone's blog this morning and thought it looked interesting.

The image is Manga Girl #1 by Sugar Nellie coloured with Promarkers, papers are Earth Love by Cosmo Cricket, flowers are from the new E-line at Prima (cheap as chips!) and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.

The brief was to follow the sketch and include pink and brown. Even though it doesn't really look it, thanks to my marvellously pitiful photography skills, the almost orangey colour is actually Coral Pink....honest!

Hope it's okay, looks a little busy to me (almost in a 70's kind of way) but what the hey! Thanks for looking. :)

P.S. - Ooh, just realised the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge this week is Pink and Brown too - yaay, two challenges in one go!!! :D

Spooktacular Stamps!!!!

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas, although since having the boys I have to admit, it's a whole lot more interesting. However, my all-time favourite celebration has always been Hallowe'en. I've always been a sucker for all things spooky and I'm really getting into the "spirit" of things this year. Although, I'm technically starting my stash diet, I've been tempted to buy some super-cute spooky stamps and am awaiting their delivery so that I can play with them.

Tracy over at Dies to Die For has an offer on every day this week, as she's celebrating her birthday. Today's special offer is for the fab new spooky Pink Cat Studio stamps, Itty Bitty Halloween along with your choice of two 12x12 papers from My Mind's Eye's Boo To You! range. Needless to say, I bought them and am looking forward to making some cards with them.

I've already bought the gorgeous Spooktacular stamp set from The Greeting Farm at the fab Quixotic Paperie and am eagerly awaiting their delivery....if the peeps at Royal Mail will kindly stop striking!

In the meantime, I've saddled myself with a pretty large task. I'm a keen fab of Youtube tutorials and one in particular caught my attention. It's posted by ChicnScratch and demonstrates how to make Frankenstein favour boxes, which I thought would be fab to make up for Alex's classmates. He goes to a Special Needs school, so only has 6 children in his class. Ideal. However, Lou came home from school and saw the boxes I was making. He wanted some for his school, initially for a handful of friends but as he's now told everyone about them, his whole class want them. So, that's just 30 more boxes plus the additional ones I was originally going to make for my nieces and nephews and friends' children. I think we're looking at at least 55!!!!

The Frankie one is as per the video, the other two are just trying out different stamps. I've used the Frightful Collection by Little Yellow Bicycle and embossed them. The Spooky Skull is really difficult to capture, as it's on pearlescent card and is embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Lustre Embossing Powder in Arctic Frost. I'll try to get a better photo later! :)

Get Well Soon, Angela!

My best mate injured her back last week and has a slipped disc, which is causing her no end of pain and very limited mobility. To cheer her up a little, I decided to make her a card or two.

First card: I bought this stamp on ebay in a bundle and I can't say who made it or what the image is called, as there's absolutely nothing on the stamp - just a plain wooden block. If anyone knows, please tell me as I like to know who to credit for their lovely designs. I've coloured the image with Promarkers and mounted it onto Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock and embossed it with the new Cuttlebug folder, Daisy Pattern. Papers are LilyKate by BasicGrey and the sentiment is from HOTP.

Second card: The image is Snuggle by The Greeting Farm, coloured with Promarkers and Copics. I've mounted the image onto Core'dinations Gemstone cardstock, embossed with the same Cuttlebug folder. I haven't bothered with a sentiment, as it's a hug-in-a-card.

I haven't had a chance to play with my new Promarkers yet, so I'm looking forward to a crafting session later in the week. Before I do that, I've got to get stuck into tidying up my crafty stash and sorting out stamps, papers and embellies to get rid of. My hubby shakes his head every time he walks by my boxes of stash, bless him! I've decided to give the stash diet another go, as I have spent a lot lately and need to save up for Santa coming. It begins just as soon as I take delivery of the stamps and papers I've just ordered......hmmmm. ;)

Santa's been early........ :)

Oh, my, I'm soooo excited today! Got a Parcelforce delivery this afternoon and didn't even look at the box, as they're usually for hubby. It wasn't until I was about to make tea that I realised it was addressed to me and was my new Promarker colours. Had forgotten all about them (how could I??), so I let out such a squeal of delight. Now, I just have to find somewhere to stash them. I still haven't told hubby that I've bought them......oops!

Rambling.....not just verbally for a change!

After a busy couple of days, including taking Kitty for her first booster jab and feeling sooo guilty afterwards when she gazed at me with those sad eyes, I thought we could all do with a nice day out.

Lou went on a trip with my mum to Holy Island this morning, so hubby and I decided to take Alex out for the day. We've walked for miles up and down hill and eventually ended up in a fab Adventure Playground, where I had to physically wrench Alex from the wooden beams!!

Fabulous weather, I thought it was Autumn but have a cherry-red nose to prove otherwise. I managed to complete the above card for Lee-Anne's Sketch Challenge 14 on Trimmie, but only just.

The image is Little Star by Suzanne Woolcott for Sugar Nellie, coloured with Promarkers. The papers are Eva collection by BasicGrey. I have decided that I've fallen in love with my Martha Stewart punches but with Doily Lace particularly lately! Still haven't gotten my head around the other Trimmie Challenge yet. I really must get more organised!

School's Back In........Hooray!!!

I'm an avid (nay, obsessive) member of the Trimcraft forum, joining way back in April this year and have been toying with the idea of starting a blog, if only to try to get my hands on some of the scrummy Blog Candy that I see all of the time!

Well, I did say that once my boys had returned to school, I'd try my hand at blogging. Haven't a clue what I'm doing, so please bear with me!!

I went into hibernation on Tuesday after I dropped off Lou at school, just me and Kitty (our gorgeous new kitten) and good old peace and quiet. As I needed to make a couple of cards this week for family and friends' birthdays, etc., I decided to take advantage of the free time and got stuck in.

Firstly, I needed to make a card for my fishing-mad brother. The photo is pants, but the fisherman's hat, fish and hands are decoupaged. I used the Gone Fishing stamp set by Woodware and coloured with Promarkers.

Next, I needed to make one for my mate, Elaine. I used the Bloom and Grow papers from My Mind's Eye and my stamped image is Loves Me Tilda by Magnolia, coloured with Promarkers and a blob of Stickles. The glittery flower is by Prima and had a beige brad in the centre, which I "stickled" over with Eucalyptus. The sentiment is by American Crafts, embossed with their Zing Embossing Powder in Vanilla.

Finally, I've had this image coloured and in my "To Do" shoebox (how glam am I???) for absolutely ages. I've set myself the challenge of making cards with all of the images that I've pre-coloured. Again, the photo is pants, as you can't really see the design on the papers. It's fab clouds and is called Chicken Little by Cosmo Cricket. I sort of wish I'd done this differently, as it didn't quite turn out how I'd have liked. Anyway, the image is from Rain, Snow, Shine by The Greeting Farm, coloured with Promarkers.

Got a busy schedule for the rest of the week, although I'm hoping to have time to make a card for Lee-Anne's (funkymotha) Sketch Challenge on Trimmie before Saturday and have a stab at the new Trimmie Challenge 34, with it's Autumnal theme. Fingers crossed........

BTW, the photos are coming out in the wrong order and at the top of the post....HEEEEYYYLLLPP!!!