Little Treat Bags - A Quick Make!

Hi,

I hope you had an awesome Christmas!

We're now at that gap between Christmas and New Year, which can sometimes be rather awkward depending on whether you or your loved ones are working this week, as it is in our house at the mo. If you're at home with either some time on your hands, or you need to escape from the family!, why not head on over to The Crafter's Cafe Open House where there are fun and games to be had right through this weekend.

One of the challenges is "So What is Hybrid?" which has been sponsored by WendyBird Designs -Wendy has given The Crafter's Cafe a template for a small gift bag, which can be downloaded, made up and entered into the challenge. And if this free template isn't enough to tempt you, Wendy is also offering every participant in the challenge a $2 voucher to use in her store! So without further ado, here are my small gift bags. The template is for 2 bags side by side on a sheet of A4 paper/card, and Wendy has offered several styles of aperture. As I wanted to try 2 different colours, I used digital papers and cropped them so they each fitted on half a side of A4. The contents of these little bags are a piece of homemade "Jewelled Flapjack" which I wrapped in clingfilm - however they could be used for all sorts of things as long as the items are put in a sealed bag e.g. sweets, hair bands (for little girls' party bags), wedding favours etc. 

This small green bag is made using a digital paper called The Stockings Were Hung 4 which was a goodie sent out by Paulette of Create With TLC in The December Club. I printed the paper on one side of my card, and the template on the other, and then cut and scored the template as per the instructions. The sentiment is also by Create with TLC, although I think this was a freebie download from the blog. I sized the sentiment to suit the bag and punched 2 holes in it to match those holes in the bag flap. The bow was tied using 5 lengths of raffia to give a bit of body to the bow and the only embellishments I added were 3 bits of 'Bling' at the bottom of the heart.

The pink bag was made in the same way as the green one, this time using a digital paper called Hip Christmas Paper 4 (again from the Create with TLC December Club). The sentiment on this bag is another freebie which I downloaded from Paulette's blog ... if you haven't discovered her blog yet, you simply must visit as she is sooooo talented and completely awesome in her generosity! Again the sentiment was sized to suit the bag, cut out and had one hole punched in it for the tie to go through. This lovely pink ribbon was on a blouse I got for Christmas and I think it goes perfectly with this paper. I left the ribbon longer at the back, so that the bag can be hung on the Christmas tree. The only embellishment I added to this little bag was a bright pink flower gem.

I would like to enter these little treat bags into the following challenges:

•  So What is Hybrid? at The Crafter's Cafe December Open House
• Challenge #3 Anything Goes at Card Crafters Circle
• Challenge #88 Anything Goes at Digi Doodle Shop Challenges

Thank you all for your support and encouragement (both on my blog and other forums where we have met) since I started card making, just eight very short months ago. I truly value all the comments that I've received.

I hope that you and your loved ones have a great New Year's Eve, and that 2012 proves to be happy, peaceful and prosperous for you all.

Hugs,
Helen
xxx

"Holiday Havoc 2011" Blog Hop with Craft Your Passion Challenges

Welcome to my stop on the Craft Your Passion Challenges "Holiday Havoc 2011" Blog Hop!!

We are very excited about holidays and wanted to add to the chaos and havoc. 

What better way to do that, than to have a BLOG HOP!!!

If you have hopped over from Julie's blog (what wonderful projects she has shared on this hop!), then you are in the right place. If you just happened to stop by and would like to join our hop from the beginning, please go to Craft Your Passion Challenges and follow along for a chance to win some AMAZING blog candy along the way and PRIZES at the end.

All Craft Your Passion DT members are going to be playing along in the hop with some very special guest designers.

Each designer along the way is featuring a project that showcases a digital image from at least one of our amazing Blog Hop Sponsors.

What’s more exciting is you can participate too by creating a project and linking it up over at Craft Your Passion Challenges for a chance to win one of several prizes.

But, there’s a twist. Be sure to visit all the stops and leave a comment (we will be checking). Once you have finished the hop, we would like you to create a HOLIDAY project using at least one digital stamp and enter it with our Linky tool.

While you are hopping, be sure to check out the blog candy the designer's have to offer you. You don't want to miss out on any of it!

I'm so excited about being a GDT for this Blog Hop - thanks for having me Jenn! I have been asked to showcase this very cute, and rather cheeky, Christmas Mouse with Mistletoe by Bugaboo Stamps. I have chosen to make a Flip Flop (or Swing) Card for this project - it's the first time I've tried this fold, and it's one I'll be doing again because I l-o-v-e it! Make sure you check out the Bugaboo website, because as well as the gorgeous image I'm sharing with you this weekend (and others like her), you can try out the free image that's on offer!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Christmas Red and White Centura Pearl Printable Card, and Neenah Classic Crest Card are all by Crafter's Companion 
• Backing Papers, Word Art on reverse of card (I decided to keep with the cheeky theme) and Snowflake Stamp in the sentiment on the front are all by Create with TLC,
• Christmas Mouse has been brought to life using Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours and then finished with a dusting of Iridescent Spray and Sparkle (both from Crafter's Companion):

• Fur - CG0.5, CG1, CG3
• Clothes - 178, 171, 68, 65
• Nose - 196
• Shoes - 120
• Bow - 14, 11
• Mistletoe - 109, 43, 175, 42
• Sentiments on the front of the card were computer produced and coloured using my normal word processing package.
• Sparkly red 'Merry Christmas' ribbon by Fantastic Ribbons

Showing the reverse of the card

Next stop by Alethea's blog, to see the lovely cards she has in store for you today.

Remember, once you have hopped to all the stops and left your comments (we will be checking), it's your turn to show us your "Holiday Havoc" project.

Make sure to include a digital stamp somewhere on your project, and link up your project over at Craft Your Passion Challenges by Midnight CST December 23 to be eligible for the prizes. Winners will be announced on our Monday, December 26th Challenge post.

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the rest of the Blog Hop!

Hugs, Helen x

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

• Challenge #7 - Use a Sentiment at The Cutie Pie Challenge
• Challenge #43 - Any Winter Holiday Sentiment at Aud Sentiments Challenge
• I'm Dreaming of a Traditionally Coloured Christmas at Papertake Weekly

Snowy Little Penguin

Hi,

Firstly, I must apologise for not having 'blogged' last week - my other half was at home on my days off, which kind of cramped "my style" and definitely my ability to craft! So I've got alot to catch up with this week. Here is my first card of the week:

I've done another joy-fold (J-fold) card this time as a square, although I messed up the dimensions, so the lower flap is slightly narrower than it should be. Oops!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card stock for base is 300gsm Centura Pearl in Snow White and image is printed onto Neenah Classic Crest card, both available from Crafter's Companion
• The very cute digi-stamp is called Little Penguin Winter, available from Bugaboo Stamps
• Little Penguin has been brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens (from Crafter's Companion) in the following colours:
• Body - 120
• Beak - 33
• Hat - 84, 82
• Boots - 82, 81
• Snow - 144, 0 (Colourless Blender)
• The octagonal and circular shapes have been embossed using the "nest" of circles on the embossing board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats which I used with my Ultimate Pro, both from Crafter's Companion. I then cut these shapes out and mounted them on the top flap of the card.
• The backing papers came from The Snowman Papercrafting CD-Rom (Crafter's Companion again!)
• Snowflakes were punched from the Snow White Centura Pearl Card using 2 different sizes of punch, available from Hobbycraft
• The ribbon came from Fantastic Ribbons, and was part of the blog candy bundle I won in October from the lovely Annette. I just love the glittery edge it's got.
• The sentiment on the inside of the card (I couldn't fit anything else onto the outside of the card!) is from the wonderfully generous Paulette at Create With TLC. (This has to be my second favourite site after CC! :o) Lots of smiles!) The sentiment is perfect for the occasion as this card is for my 6 month old niece who is celebrating her first Christmas. Awhhhh!

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #124 with a Bingo Twist at Tuesday Morning Sketches - my Bingo is the right side vertical line of Funky Christmas Colours (Purple and Pink), Embossing (Shapes), Snowflakes (punched and on one of my BPs)
• Challenge #1 - Celebrate (Baby's First Christmas) at Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges
• Challenge #7 - Use a Sentiment at The Cutie Pie Challenge
• Challenge #43 - Winter Holiday Sentiments at Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog
• Challenge #164 - All Creatures Great and Small at The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge
• "I'm Dreaming of a Lilac (My Fave Colour!) Christmas at Papertake Weekly Challenge
• Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow Challenge (snowflakes punched and on one of my BPs)  at Winter Wonderland Challenge
• Challenge 19 - New Beginnings at Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge
• Holiday/Winter Projects at The Stamping Boutique Challenge Blog

I hope you like my card.

Hugs, Helen x

CDAC Progressive Challenge #7 - What's Cooking?

Hi,

I'd stumbled across the Crafter's Digital Art Center Progressive Challenge a couple of months ago. I though I'd challenge myself to make cards to meet a given purpose, rather than purely making cards because I need them for an occasion. The first challenge in the current series is underway, and you have until 30th November to get your entry in. This is mine:

My base card is 300gsm Centura Pearl card from Crafter's Companion in Red which I have folded into a Joy Fold Card, or J-Card. I just love the Centura Pearl for its sheen (even under an electric light source) and its pure luxury! I used Beate's tutorial on Split Coast Stampers to make my card - it was really easy to follow. I used my Boxer Board to go with my Ultimate Pro (Crafter's Companion) so I could measure, score and fold in inches, and I managed to produce the card in next to no time! I'll certainly be using this fold again.

The apple digi-stamp is part of the challenge, and was donated to the challenge by Heart Songs Designs. I coloured this lovely image with my Spectrum Noirs from Crafter's Companion in the following colours:

Pips - 96, 91
Stalk - 92
Flesh - 175 mixed with 0 (colourless blender)
Skin - 11, 43
Leaf - 48, 43
Outline - WG1

I completed my card by adding word art (made into a designer paper) and a backing paper from Create with TLC. Both the apples word montage (which I recoloured in olive green to tie in with my card) and the apple design paper were freebies from the wonderfully talented and exceedingly generous Paulette.

I have deliberately chosen to leave a sentiment off this card at the moment ... as I have no idea who the recipient will be and why! :o) However, when I do add this, it will be in the form of a small circular element which I will use to slide the top card under so the whole thing stays shut.

If you want to join in with this challenge, just head over to the Crafter's Digital Art Center, join the Progressive Challenge Group and you can pick up your free images too.

I hope you like this card, which I would like to enter for the following challenge:

•  CDACPC#7 - What's Cooking? - cdadpc7, heartsong

Hugs, Helen x

Happy Birthday with "Lenny Cupcakes 2"

Hi,

My eldest came home from school last night and said it was her friend's birthday; could I do a card? Luckily I had this topper sat ready to mount on a card, so I quickly finished this card off. I apologise for the poor quality of the photos, but they were taken in great haste before school this morning (and it was quite foggy here so the light levels were not brilliant!).

My base card is 300gsm Centura Pearl in White, available from Crafter's Companion, which I folded to make a 6 inch square card base. The digital image on the topper is "Lenny Cupcakes 2" available from Stamp Fairy. This was the image I won from Karen in July, when the Stamp Fairies organised a Blog Hop to celebrate Gerda's birthday. Thank you Karen :o) !!!!!! It is mounted onto a digital paper from the set Urbanized 2 by Heather Jolly's Digital Scrapping. I've just tried to link to the site from this post but I get a message saying the blog has been removed :o(  I do hope this is just a blogger error, because Heather had some stunning sets on her blog available for download.  The "Happy Birthday" ticket is a freebie from Stamp Fairy. The red organza ribbon came from my stash (it was bought from Hobbycraft) and was tied into a little bow using the bow maker on my Ultimate Pro (from Crafter's Companion).

I used my Spectrum Noirs (Crafter's Companion) in the following colours to bring Lenny and his little friend to life:

Lenny

Fur: 96, 91, 98

Nose: 120

Paws: 33

Hat: 84, 82, 81

Friend

Fur: 104, 100, 92

Nose: 120

Paws: 33

Balloon: 12, 14, 11

Cupcake

Case: 171, 68

Icing: 137, 8

Cherry: 15, 48

I embossed the coloured image and my backing paper using the 2 largest sizes of circular 'nests' on the  Ultimate Pro Embossing Board "Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats" and cut these out so they could be layered. Before I did this I sprayed (quite liberally :D!) my coloured design with Iridescent Spray and Shine (Crafter's Companion again! lol!), although this layer of glitter really doesn't show up terribly well in the photo above - sorry :o(

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

• Glitter Challenge at Stamp Fairy
• Challenge #5 Bears at The Cutie Pie Challenge

I hope you like this card.

Hugs,
Helen x

"Let It Snow" .....

Hi,

Given the temperatures we've got in the south of the UK at the moment, snow is definitely wishful thinking! But maybe my latest project will help you cool down a little. :o)  I've made this gorgeous little Gift Tag for the present I'm buying for my office "Secret Santa" lucky dip.

My base card is from Kraft card, which was actually a pre-made card blank purchased from Hobbycraft. I chose the tag shape on the Teddy Surprise and Butterflies Embossing Board together with my Ultimate Pro (both from Crafter's Companion) and embossed the largest size and it's border onto my Kraft card. I then embossed the border size onto my Mat and Layer card. For this I used a sheet of Centura Pearl 300gsm card in the shade Christmas Red. This came from the Christmas pack which is available from Crafter's Companion. I just love the pearly sheen on this card, so I decided not to use any extra backing papers.

This lovely snowman is a Digi Stamp which was one of the goodies in Paulette's Create with TLC December Club . Unfortunately this offer has now finished, but I can thoroughly recommend following Paulette's blog and signing up for this club next autumn. I used my Spectrum Noir Pens (from Crafter's Companion) in the following colours to bring my snowman to life:

Hat - 96,91,48

Nose - 24

Scarf - 14,11

Jacket - 48,43

Star - 34

Outline - CG1

I then cut carefully around my image and mounted it onto the red card using sticky pads. My TOP TIP here is to cut in an anti-clockwise direction if you're right handed (clockwise for left handers) and then you can always see the border/line you're cutting out. This will minimise the risk of cutting the wrong part of your image!

My sentiment is another digi-goodie from the Create with TLC December Club which I sized to go with my tag and the ribbon is beautiful double satin called Holiday Green - this came from Fantastic Ribbons and was part of Annette's Birthday Blog Candy which I won last month. Thanks Annette! :o) I mounted the sentiment onto the ribbon so it will swing and then used the bow maker part of my Ultimate Pro to make the gorgeous little bow, which I then fixed to the ribbon above the sentiment. I completed my project by tying a further length of the ribbon through a hole which I had punched in the top of the gift tag.

I would like to enter this project into the following challenges:

• Challenge #84 "Let It Snow" at Craft Your Passion Challenges
• Challenge #60 - Tags at Top Tip Tuesday
• "When is a card not a card. When it's a ..." Gift Tag at Papertake Weekly Challenge
• Challenge #120 Tic Tac Toe (Bingo) at Incy Wincy Designs I've got a diagonal of Red, Any Christmas Sentiment and Ribbons
• Monthly Challenge of Holiday/Winter Projects at The Stamping Boutique Challenge Blog
• Challenge #83 Colour Combo of Red and Green at Digi Doodle Shop Challenges
• Challenge 18 "Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow" at Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge
• Challenge 148 Festive Cheer - Traditional Colours (Red & Green) at The Crafty Pad

I hope you like my project.
Hugs,
Helen

I'm so excited ..... !

Hi,

Why am I so excited? Because I've just received an e-mail from Jenn at Craft Your Passion Challenges inviting me to be a Guest Design Team Member for their Holiday Havoc Blog Hop on 17th and 18th December 2011.        :o) - BIG smiles here!!!!

I can't tell you anything else about it just yet, but please put these dates in your diary and watch this space!

I'm really looking forward to sharing this event with you.

Hugs,
Helen x

Another Wedding Card - this one's got TLC!

Hi,

I'm on a roll this week with my second blog post in 3 days ... but this is only because my blogging can't keep up with my card making! ROFL :o) Do you remember my post about my first easel card which was accepting the invitation to my brother's Wedding Celebrations? This is the card I made for him and his new wife, who got married in Cyprus during October.

My base card is a Centura Pearl 300gsm card (slightly lighter than the Blackcurrant shade) which I bought at Hobbycraft. I used 2 sheets of card to make an 8 inch square card base, and a triangular side to the card. The sentiment is one I made using the word processing package on my computer. I used one of the embossing shapes on my Ultimate Pro in the right angled corner of the triangle to add detail, and finished the front of the card with 3 gems from my french stash.

The sentiment comes from set called "Simply Put", by Paulette of Create with TLC. You can find her store here. I imported this piece of word art into my word processing package and resized it so that it fitted in a triangular insert for the card. 

This lovely image is also one of Paulette's. It's one of her vintage pictures and is called "Happy Dance" and was a freebie in September. If you haven't discovered Paulette's blog yet, you simply must as she shares a great piece of Word Art for free (and in return for plenty of blog love) every day, and sometimes she shares other goodies with her followers too!

My image is coloured using my Spectrum Noirs in the following shades:

Bride:                                                                             Groom:

Skin - 132, 133, 135                                                       Skin - 133, 142

Hair - 104, 100                                                               Hair - 100, 92

Dress - 196, 137 109, colourless blender                       Suit - CG3, CG5, CG7

Shoes - 120                                                                     Shoes - 120

I added a floral sequin in pearlescent pink as a detail to the bride's hair, and finished the card off by adding a bow made with white satin edged, organza ribbon and 3 more gems.

Paulette has been kind enough to showcase my card on one of her "Creations" posts - click here to see the wonderful projects made by my fellow 'Creators' . I would also like to enter this card into the following challenge:

•  #136 Anything Goes at Digital Tuesday Challenge

I hope you like this card.
Hugs, Helen

A Wedding Card

Hi,

This is my latest creation, a "classy" wedding card:

My base card is 300gsm Centura Pearl in Blackcurrant from the Crafter's Companion Darks pack which I folded into a 6 inch square card with the coloured card inside. I then folded one half back on itself so that the lovely rich coloured card can be seen!

The sentiment on this front part of the card is one I genereated using my computer's word processing package - the font is Kristen ITC. The ribbon is a satin edged organza ribbon which I tied into a lovely bow using the bow-maker on my Ultimate Crafter's Companion. The gems at the bottom came from the bumper bag I bought whilst on holiday in France.

The sentiment comes from a package called "Simply Put" which is sold by the wonderfully talented Paulette at Create with TLC. The image of a bride and groom came from Papercraft Inspirations and was coloured using my Spectrum Noir Pens from Crafter's Companion. The bride's bouquet had been intentionally left blank for crafters to embellish as they pleased. I chose to add pink sequins to the bouquet, and also small pink flower sequins to some of the larger flowers on her dress and those tumbling around the happy couple. These also give the card some depth as well.

All my pieces of white card were treated to a glittery coating of Iridescent Spray and Shine (Crafter's Companion) before they were fixed to my card base.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
* Challenge #82 BINGO at Craft your Passion - a diagonal of Flowers (sequin embellishments), Free Square (ribbon and/or glitter) and Bling (gems)
* Anything Goes (plus a bit of bling if you want) at Papertake Weekly

I would like to apologise firstly for the poor quality of the photos but they were taken in holiday accomodation which didn't have the best light and also for not adding links into this post - I've been tweaking with my blog layout and have obviously done something rather silly!

Hope you like this card.

PS: Monday evening - I've now sat at my computer and have sorted out my "link" issues! Tee hee, of course it was 'user error'! :D  Got it sussed now, and have reinstated my prettier blog layout.

Create-d with TLC

Hi,

This is my latest creation and it has been made with TLC: tender loving care as it is for my daughter's 10th birthday on Tuesday, and I also used a sentiment from the wonderfully generous Paulette at Create with TLC

My base card is a 6 inch square 220gsm embossed white card which I bought from an independent local craft shop. My image is of the world famous Hello Kitty  (© Sanrio Co. Ltd.). This picture is one I found by doing an internet search for Hello Kitty colouring sheets. My backing paper is from a set called Country Girls Birthday which I got from Card Making Downloads - I got the detailed edge on the paper by cutting it into the right sized rectangle and then used one of the embossing borders on my Ultimate Pro (Crafter's Companion) to shape the edge, which I then cut out. The ribbon is white organza with a satin edge on each side. I've tied this into a bow which is then mounted sideways on the card, and I tucked the ends inside. The pale blue gems came from a bag of assorted gems which I bought in a french supermarket whilst on holiday in the summer ... I knew they'd come in handy!

To bring this little cutie to life I have used my Spectrum Noir pens (also from Crafter's Companion) in the following shades:

Fur: 109, CG1
Nose: 37
Bow & Dress: 183, 72
Drink: 137, 8, 15, CG0.5
Grass: 163, 175, 42



I would like to enter this card into the following challenge:

• Show Your Stuff Saturday at Create with TLC and, yes, I do know it's Sunday but this "Show 'n' Tell Blog Hop" is still running! :o) The sentiment was yesterday's freebie from Paulette, and I recoloured it in blue to tie in with the colours of the dress and set it into an oval of the same colour.

I've just now got to keep both the card and this post safely hidden until Tuesday morning when the birthday girl will receive her card!

Blog Hop-tastic!

There are 2 great Blog Hops on this weekend.

The first is with Crafter's Companion - you know I suffer from CC-itis! Is there anything I can take for this do you know? LOL!!!! This coming Friday (14th October) at midday, they are launching their latest collection - SWALK Winter Cheer. To celebrate the launch, they are offering one lucky bloghopper the chance to win the new set of 12 stamps and CD-Rom! Check out the Crafter's Companion Blog here for all the details and to start the "hop"!

The second is with the wonderfully talented and generous Paulette at Create with TLC. If you haven't visited Paulette's Blog before then you should, because she offers a great piece of Word Art every day for free. Today though, she is really treating us because she's introducing her new Design Team through a Blog Hop, and each 'teamie' is giving away a free, vintage image on their blog. So, what are waiting for? You need to click here to start this "hop" and check out those talented DT members!

Happy Hopping!

Cute Anniversary Card

Hi,

Last weekend saw us celebrating our Wedding Anniversary. I knew he was expecting a hand-made card, so I couldn't disappoint him could I? This is what I made:

The digital stamp is called Roger Bear, and he came from Card Making Downloads . Everything else came from Crafters Companion - it really is a 'one stop shop'! Roger was coloured in with my Spectrum Noir Pens in shades of Cool Grey and the heart on his paw is shade 11, just to add a highlight. My base card is the green from the Centura Pearl Brights pack which I cut and folded in a 6" square card. The papers were a freebie (from the member's section) and are aptly entitled Valentine Project! I used my normal word processing package to produce the sentiment - the font is Tempus Sans and I really like this on the front of cards.

I wanted to make the inside of the card a bit special too, so I made it into a pop-out card. I used the embossing board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats to go with my Ultimate Pro from (where else but) Crafters Companion . The pop-out heart is the middle sized one on the board. I also embossed and cut out the smallest one in the same green card as my base and then suspended this in the larger heart using a gold thread.

The sentiment is from the wonderfully generous Paulette at Create With TLC and says brilliantly what I'm not very good at telling my other half! The sentiment is matted onto the same backing paper as my image in order to tie the inside and outside of my card together.

  

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #9 Happy Anniversary! at Kelley Kids Challenges
• World Cardmaking Day Impromptu Blog Hop at Create With TLC - sorry that it's only the sentiment Paulette!

Happy World Cardmaking Day everyone!

5/10/2011 - UPDATE!!!!

I've just found out that this card was Runner Up at Kelley Kids Challenges. Whoop whoop whoop and smiles all round! :o)

Christmas is coming ... with Humphrey! :o)

Hi,

Those of you who are Crafter's Companions will already know about Humphrey, the little elephant with a BIG heart.

Well, the fabby team at CC are launching Humphrey's Christmas today! Yippeeeeee! I can't wait. Click here to get to the Crafter's Companion website where you can find more info.

My First Easel Card - Wedding Acceptance

Hi,

I decided to extend my knowledge and abilities and have made my first easel card. This is the result, together with an envelobox to go with the card. I also wanted this to be a very special card as it is in response to the Wedding Invitation from my brother and his Fiancée. :0) !!!!!!!!!!

Not only was this my first easel card, but it's also the first time I've coloured in a digital stamp and the first time I've used buttons in a project! I decided that because my stamp was tall and narrow my card should reflect this, so it is a slimline card - the finished size of the card when it was folded for posting was fractionally bigger than A5. The card base is ivory and it looks like it has some form of hammered finish to it, but as it has been a long time in my daughters' craft cupboard I've no idea where it came from!

I used the "Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats" embossing board with my Ultimate Pro (both from Crafter's Companion) to produce the hearts and ribbon border on the left side of the card. My Top Tip for embossing is to rub some soap at the top of my card (I used a freebie guest soap from the bathroom of the ferry we used to travel to and from France on!) and to run my embossing tool in this - it makes your tool run ohhhhhh soooooo smoothly across the card! :0) I used the same embossing on the left side of the envelobox to tie the project together (unfortunately it hasn't come out too well in the photo above!) :0(

The digital stamp is called "Simply Daisies" by Daisy Doodles, available from The Printable Craft Shop at Card Making World. Having printed this onto my Solar White Neenah Card, I coloured it using my Spectrum Noir Pens (from Crafter's Companion) in the following shades:

Flowers: 12, 14, 11, 1
Stems: 48, 43
Water: 171, 68
Grounding under Vase: CG1
I then cut the stamp out and mounted it onto my card using a 3D glue.

The sentiments on the easel part of the card and on the stopper both came from a Crafter's Companion Member's Monthly Download called Luscious Ladybirds. The circular "Thanks" was already on the download, and additionally there was a blank oval. I imported this oval into my normal word processing package, and superimposed a text box with the font Tempus Sans  to produce the additional wording. I printed these out onto card, cut them out and coloured the edges using my Spectrum Noir in Shade 1 to tie these in to the flowers. These sentiments were mounted using sticky pads. I bought a red organza ribbon, some coir fibre and these delightful handmade ceramic buttons in the shape of a heart from Hobbycraft. I fixed the buttons the ribbon by running the coir fibre under the ribbon, threading it through the holes in the button and then finished it with a bow. I think it gives a lovely "Shaker Style" look to the card, don't you?

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

• Challenge #6 All About Easels at Paper Creator's Crafts
• Happy 1st Birthday Challenge - Easel Card / Easel Card Box at Top Tip Tuesday. My tip for smooth embossing is above!

I hope you like this card. Now what am I going to make as a Wedding Card :0∫ !!!!!

Can YOU help a cyber-Buddy?

You may or may not know Karen (Krafty Karens) who makes simply divine cards. Karen became one of my cyber-Buddies through the Crafter's Companion Forum and whilst I knew Karen had health problems, it has only been in the last few weeks that I have been aware how much they impact on her everyday life ... things you and I probably take for granted. One of the things that has kept Karen going through this is her card making (and how she produces such inspirational cards I will never ever know) and, more lately, designing new card kits.

How can you help?

1. Please, please, please follow this link to Wendy's Blog (Wendy is another CC Buddy), read the whole post
2. Then go over to Paper Creator Exclusives which are Karen's 5 UK designs AND/OR go to Paper Craft Kits Exclusives which are Karen's US designs. Karen receives a payment for each sale, so this is something tangible which we crafters can do to help a fellow crafter in need.

Whatever you can do to help will, I can assure you, be very gratefully received as Karen seeks private medical treatment to combat her constant pain.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, thank you in anticipation of your purchases to help Karen's "Consultant Fund" and please keep Karen in your thoughts and prayers at this time.

xxxxxxxxx

Boy's Toys!

Hi,

Now I'm back from my holiday, I've had to turn my attention to a card for my Nephew's birthday ... today!

This great card is called Boys Will Be Boys, and it is one of the 30 kits in the £5 Summer Grab Bag, still available from Paper Creator. It's a Pop Out Stepper Card and, despite this being the first time I've made a stepper card, was very easy to put together thanks to the instructions provided. The set also includes a backing paper and envelope.

Depth is added to the card with the use of decoupage layers ... and this time, I did remember to use sticky pads to raise the layers! LOL :o) !!!!! The stars are only raised by 1 layer, the sentiment tag "Boys Will Be Boys" is raised by 2 layers and the central image of skateboard and handcart is raised by 4 layers, although I've only used 2.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

• Challenge 48 "Masculine Card" at Top Tip Tuesday
• Challenge #5 "Red and Blue" at Paper Creators Crafts

Hope you like it!

Wow!!! I'm a Blog Hop Winner

Last weekend I participated in the Stamp Fairy Blog Hop in celebration of Gerda's Birthday. All her DT Fairies had made cards for the celebrations, each with different themes. For those who left comments on the DTs' Blogs, and a birthday wish for Gerda, was the chance of winning the Digi Stamp that was used on that particular blog.

The lovely Karen chose me to win her stamp and you can find her stunning card here.

Thanks Karen - I can't wait to start playing with my new stamp, oh and my new speccies!

:o)

Out of disaster came ...

Well actually, this lovely card.

This card should have been the Patchwork Flower Pop Out Stepper Card from the Summer Grab Bag from those Crafty Gals over at Paper Creator. However, following a card/printer malfunction (I've discovered that my printer now doesn't like printing the final 5cm of 290gsm white card :o(, so I'm going to have to find another base card to print on) I had to change it to something else! However, all was not lost as I had printed the decoupage layers onto a very lightweight card, and the pop out part of the stepper card had printed OK as well.

I decided to use the central part of the stepper (the base of the flower) as a layer on my card and mounted this onto a square card base made from Blackcurrant card from Centura Pearl Darks pack from Crafter's Companion. This pack just has to be my absolute fave at the mo! :o) As you can see from the picture on the right, I then mounted 2 layers of decoupage petals on the top, and pulled these forward a bit to give some depth to the card.

The sentiment also came from the same Pop Out Stepper Card, and needed to be tweaked slightly in size so it would fit onto my card.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenge:

• Say It With Flowers at Paper Creator's Blog

A Floral Thank You Card

Hi,
This is the third card I made last week to say Thank You to my childrens' teachers!

If you have been reading my earlier posts, you'll know that a few weeks ago I bought a bumper pack of cards from Paper Creator. This card is Just Flowers 1 from the Summer Grab Bag. As you can see from the photo on the right, this is a pyramage kit, although I don't think I have done justice to the pyramage 'cos I forgot to use sticky pads to raise each level ... lol!

The base card is Regal Blue Centura Pearl from Crafter's Companion, which I cut and folded to a 6" square card (with the fold at the top) using my trusty Ultimate Pro. The pale blue layer and darker blue backing paper came with the kit and the main picture has a dark blue surround, although I cut this off. There are 4 layers of pyramage circles to build up the design.

I completed my card by using a floral Thank You stamp on the front of it.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenge (and I hope I'm not cheating in that I made the card last week, but didn't have time to do a blog post about it until now!):

• All About Flowers at Paper Creator's Crafts

Card Sketch Challenge card

Hi again ... post number 2 of the day! Told you I'd been busy this week - lol! :)

This is another card that I made to give to someone at school. My eldest probably has Autistic Spectrum Disorder (but we're not sure at what level as we're still awaiting an assessment - long story) and since she started at secondary school last September, she has been supported by a Pupil Support Officer, who has helped eldest greatly! This card came about because I had a DigiStamp which I was desperate to use, I wanted to try a different card shape/technique and then realised that I could put these together and use it for a Website Sketch Challenge!

I started off by printing the "Lilac Sparkle" backing paper onto 290gsm white card, which I then cut and folded into a 4" square gatefold design, using my Ultimate Pro from Crafter's Companion. To make the central layered shape, I used my Ultimate Pro with the additional embossing board "Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats" which has a 'nest' of 6 circular designs. I realised that 2 of these would fit my small card perfectly, so set about resizing the Mannequin digital stamp to fit the smaller circle that I'd chosen and printed this onto 100gsm white paper using a light coloured backing paper from the set "Purple Heaven". I used a darker solid colour from the same backing paper set for the wavy octagonal shape. Once these shapes were embossed, I cut them out and matted and layered them together. These were mounted onto the card using double sided sticky tape.

I didn't want to make the rest of the card too fussy, so I just used a small floral stamp for the corners of the card, and mounted a small bit of "Bling" in the centre of each large flower.

The printables (DigiStamp and Backing Papers) were all downloads from Card Making Downloads. The floral stamp and "Bling" came from Hobbycraft. The card and paper came from my stash. The card sketch stipulated that a ribbon should go horizontally across the middle of the card. However, I must confess to completely forgetting to put a ribbon across my card, and it has now gone to it's recipient! However, I do think it may have made the card too "busy" anyway as it is only a small card!

I would like to enter this card for the Monthly Challenge at Card Making World.

Hope you like it!

It's now 7/9/2011 and I've just found out that this card was one of the runner up entries for the Monthly Challenge I entered - whoop whoop whoop!!!! :0) So I've done the very proud thing and made myself a 'button' for my side-bar.