Say Cheese!

Good afternoon friends and hope you're well.

I still seem to be hopelessly behind with all my DT makes, so I apologise if this becomes a bit of a post-fest from me in your reading list! I'm gradually getting my crafty time back however, and a huge thank you to all my DT colleagues and team leaders for being so understanding over the last couple of months! It's half term next week here at Casa Mia, so I'm planning to get myself ahead with my makes and posts, and try to stay that way too 😉

It's new challenge time at All Dressed Up and, as usual, it's Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image. Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Esty Store. Haven't got any All Dressed Up images (and why not?) Wendy has very generously provided some freebies here - please make sure you adhere to the terms of use if you're saving these though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!




And here's my card for your inspiration this month:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Snow White Silver Centura Pearl which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base
• Mat - is Core'dinations Card in this lovely shade of pink from the Roy G. Biv pack.
  
• Embossed layer - is a further square of Snow White Silver Centura Pearl which I have embossed using my Embossalicious Birthday Text folder
• Image - is Smile It's Your Birthday by Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. I've brought this arty girl to life using my Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers in the listed shades before fussy cutting her out. I've used another Kit and Clowder lesson from the Skin and Hair Class to create streaked hair. If you're an eagle eyed member of the K&C Facebook page, you will have seen this cutie shielded by a post-it not as I entered her into the "Streaked Hair Challenge" last week - here she is now revealed in her full beauty!
• Skin - FS2, FS3, FS4, TN4,  FS8 (Blush)
• Hair - BT3, BT5, JG6, TN3, EB3, EB8, Silver Gel Pen
• Top - IG1, IG2, IG3
• Jacket and Shoes - PP3, PP5, PP6
• Trousers - TB2, TB3
• Camera - IG5, IG7, IG9, Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen, Silver Gel Pen
• Sentiment - is part of the Smile It's Your Birthday image, which I've inserted behind a film strip frame, from a kit at Pixel Scrapper by Sheila Reid called The Best is Yet to Come. A couple of sparkly gems finished this off.

I hope I've inspired you to play along with this challenge but if you're in need of further inspiration, please do head over to the Challenge Blog and check out the other wonderful creations by my ever-so-talented teamies. Then come back and show us your creations. Don't forget that the Facebook Dressy Girls have their monthly challenge too and the theme is Romance and/or Red.

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

• Challenge #4 - Add a Sentiment at Sweet Stampers Challenge
• Challenge #182 - Add Some Texture at Crafty Cardmakers
• Challenge #71 - One for the Girls at Crafting With Dragonflies
• W2CB #38 - Celebrations at Words 2 Craft By
• Challenge #19 - Anything Goes at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge

In the meantime, have a lovely evening.

Hugs, Helen x

A Jar of Love

Hello again friends!

This week seems a bit like "blog post fest", as my two DT's coincide with having new challenges launching!

This time, I'm sharing the new challenge at Incy Wincy Designs and this time we'd like to see your creations that say Get Well or With Sympathy. 

We're being sponsored this time by the lovely Tammy from A Day for Daisies, who is offering the random winner of this challenge a $12 Gift Certificate to the store. And even if you're not the lucky winner of this challenge do drop by the store as Tammy sometimes has some freebies on offer .... ;o) ! And there's always plenty of inspiration from the ADFD Design Team at A Day for Daisies Blog.

Tammy has also kind been enough to give each member of our DT their choice of image to showcase for this challenge, so here's my With Sympathy card, featuring an image from A Day for Daisies:

I don't know about you, but I always find sympathy cards the hardest to create and they take me a really long time. Maybe it's because I'm trying too hard to make something that's right for the occasion. I've kept this one really uncluttered and I shall keep it stashed safely so that the next time I need a sympathy card, I'll be able to send it straight away instead of being a day or two late whilst I create!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I've cut, scored and folded to make a 6 inch square card base. I've then embossed directly onto this using my Embossalicious Geometric Motif embossing folder, sadly no longer available from Crafter's Companion.
  
• Image - is Jar of Wild Poppies by Tammy at A Day for Daisies which I have brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the listed shades together with a tutorial from the Elements of Nature colouring class from Kit and Clowder before die cutting it with my largest Sizzix Framelits Scalloped Square Die.
• Poppies - CR6, CR11, DR5, DR7
• Stems - DG2, DG3, DG4
• Jar - IG1, IG3, IG5, CR11
• Sentiment - comes from a set by Kris at Imagine That Digi Stamp called Thoughts and Prayers Sentiments which I was lucky enough to win from their blog earlier this year. I've cut the sentiment into a fishtail banner, and then very lightly run my CR11 Spectrum Noir Pen around the edges of the banner for definition.

I hope I've inspired you to have a go at making either a Get Well or With Sympathy project. If you're in need of further inspiration, then do head over to Incy Wincy Designs and feast your eyes on the projects which have been made by my fabbie teamies. Then don't forget to come back and share your creations with us. This challenge ends on Saturday 3rd September 2016 and we'll be back on Monday 5th September 2016 with our next challenge.

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

• Challenge #44 - Mason Jars at Scribbles Designs
• Hip to be Square Card Challenge at Cards in Envy
• Challenge #50 - Keep it Simple at Paper Creator's Crafts
• L is for Love at Alphabet Challenge
• Challenge #327 - Embossing (Heat or Dry) at My Time to Craft
• Week 33 - Anything Goes at Digi Choosday

Whatever you're up to today, I hope you have fun!

Hugs, Helen x

Wedding Belle

Good evening crafty friends and I do hope that you haven't fallen off your chair with a second post from me in 2 days!

Whilst going through my computer files, I realised that I made this card a number of months ago but hadn't posted it. Never mind about my PHD in card making (projects half done), I think I definitely deserve a  FTBP (forgotten to blog projects!) ;o)!!!!!!! I was reminded of this card as a number of challenges have cropped up this week with wedding themes, so I thought it high time this card made an appearance!

This card was made to order, as one of my brothers had asked me to make a wedding card. He had been invited to an evening reception and knew that my cards would surpass anything he could purchase, and could I possibly do it in cream and purple as those were the colours of the invitation?

Well, how could I resist that challenge? So here's what I made for him:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Ivory Centura Pearl which I've cut, scored and folded to make a 6" square card base. 
• Embossed layer - is another piece of Ivory Centura Pearl which I've embossed using my Embossalicious "Butterfly Love" embossing folder from the Sugar and Spice Range (sadly no longer available, but there are some other pretty folders still available if you click the link) and I've matted and layered this onto a piece of purple Core'dinations cardstock.
  
• Image - was a freebie download from Issue 86 Papercraft Inspirations Magazine ... another one that appears to sadly be no longer available :( I've brought this tender moment to life using my Original Spectrum Noir Pencils in the listed colours before die cutting it using a Sizzix Ovals Framelits die
• Bride's Hair - 015, 020, small gems from stash for a tiara
• Dress - 082
• Groom's Hair - 091, 095
• Suit - 120
• Skin - 004
• Flowers - 082, small gems from stash
• Sentiment - was part of the Issue 86 Papercraft Inspirations Magazine download. I recoloured this to purple in my word processing package before printing, and then used a Sizzix Fancy Labels Framelits die as a frame and coloured inside it using my Original Spectrum Noir Pencil in shade 082 which I burnished away from the edge. I drew round the outside of the die to get my label shape, which I then hand cut.

I was pretty chuffed with the way this card turned out, and I know that my brother was very pleased with it too!

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

• Challenge #197 - Here comes the Bride at Eureka Stamps
• Purple Team June Challenge - Wedding at Eclectic Ellapu
• Challenge #171 - Love and Romance at A Gem of a Challenge
• June/July Challenge - Wedding Card at I'm a Crafter's Companion Facebook Group

Hope you have a lovely evening - maybe I'll get to writing up some more FTBP posts, or finish some PHDs!

Hugs, Helen x

A very Feminine Card

Good morning crafty friends and hope that this post finds you well - hugs winging their way to anyone who needs them.

It's new challenge time at Feeling Sketchy and we've got a lovely sketch for you this time, with plenty of possibilities. We've also got a lovely sponsor and it's Nikki from Polkadoodles who is offering our lucky winner from this challenge a prize pack!

So here's the sketch we'd like you to use as the inspiration for your project this time:

And here's my take on it:

As you can see, I've rotated the sketch by 90° and rather than using different Design Papers for the border, I've used an embossing folder.

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - is an A5 sized pre-made white card base
• Matting layer - is some Core'dinations Cardstock (the pack I've got isn't available any longer unfortunately) is a dusky pink.
• Top layer - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I've de-bossed with my Embossalicisous Honeycomb Patchwork Border, which was one of the goodies with Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Issue 10
• Flower - is made using my Die'sire Classiques Delicate Flower die (now only available as part of a multi pack here) and the Dusky Pink Core'dinations and Centura Pearl Snow White Silver. Before layering these together, I inked through the die using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and shaped the petals.
• Leaf Sprays - are made using leaf die in the Die'sire Classiques Delicate Flower set, and before I removed these from the die, I inked through using Silver VersaColor.
• Sentiment - is from my favourite sentiment set of the moment ... Swirly String Sentiment Set by Lili of the Valley which I've stamped directly onto the Centura Pearl in Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.

I hope I've inspired you to come over to Feeling Sketchy and join in with our sketch challenge - don't forget that you can rotate the sketch, change the element shapes etc. ... we just need to see that our sketch is the basis for your project!

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs, Helen

Look out ... they're behind you!!!!!!!!

Hello friends, and a very warm welcome to my newest follower, Karen Lunagirl - hope you enjoy following my crafty journey.

Regular readers will be pleased to know that me and "the automatic car" returned to the garage safe and in one piece, and I have been reunited with my own car, which didn't need any work doing - phew!!!!! Mind you, I got took some stick from PapaMia when youngest Bambino blabbed about my efforts at getting "the automatic car" onto the drive yesterday :oD!!!!!! If you're intrigued, please read yesterday's post and all will be revealed ........

After my embarrassment at nearly forgetting my brothers' Birthdays on Monday, I thought I should do something about it and maybe have some masculine cards in stock. So when a challenge reminder popped up in my blog feed and it coincided with the launch of a Facebook Challenge too, I knew what I was going to do.

Ta daaaaaaaaaaa:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I've cut, scored and folded to make a 10.5cm x 14.8cm card with the fold at the top.
• Embossed Strip - is a further piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Silver onto which I've embossed part of my Embossalicious Birthday Text folder, before sticking this onto my card base. 
  
• Image - is by Wendy at All Dressed Up and these fun monsters are freebies on the blog! They do have some text with them already, but I masked this out using my word processing programme before printing them, as I didn't want the text showing on this card. I have brought this wobbly trio to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the listed colours, before hand cutting them out and attaching them to my card with foam pads to make them stand out.
• Spider - TN3, EB3, EB8
• Middle Monster - LY3, GB4, GB7, TN4, TN3, EB3, EB8
• Bottom Monster - TB1, TB4, TB8, TB6, LY3, GB4, GB7, TN4
• Grounding - IG1, IG3
• Sentiment - is by Paulette at Create with TLC and I think this one might have been a freebie on her blog in April last year. Again, I've hand cut the sentiment out to the right size, and stuck it to my card with foam pads.

I've been inspired by and would like to enter the following challenges:

• Challenge #167 - The Double at CAS Colours and Sketches
• April Challenge - Animals or Insects at All Dressed Up Facebook Page I know that a spider is an insect, and I'm hoping that monsters will count as animals ;o)

I would also like to enter the following challenge:

• Challenge #52 - Anything Goes with an ADU image at All Dressed Up

That's about it from me today - the Bambinos and I are off to town to have lunch at the big blue & yellow Swedish store ... yum, yum plus no washing up!

Whatever you're up to today, I hope you have fun.

Hugs, Helen x

Wishing on a Star!

Good morning crafty friends and welcome to Monday ... it's back to normal at Casa Mia as the Christmas holidays are over and it's back to school! Still, I have enjoyed having the last fortnight off but I'm ready to back, I think!

It being Monday, it's new challenge time at Incy Wincy Designs. We're changing our challenges a bit this year and we'll be bringing you challenges on the first and third Monday of each month, which gives you plenty of time to get you entries in! Chris has woven some magic with our sponsors which means that most of our challenges will have two sponsors, which means 2 lucky winners will be picked by Mr. Random!!!!! We've also got some changes on the DT. We're very sadly saying Au revoir to our lovely teamie Jenny, who is stepping down for the time being; but we're saying Bonjour to our new teamie Greg who is joining the madcap world here at Incy Wincy!!!!!! I think that covers our changes, so let's get on with this week's challenge which is White, with a splash of Colour.

 We've got 2 fabulous sponsors lined up for this challenge:

A Day For Daisies who are offering a $12 Gift Certificate to the store

AND

That Craft Place Ltd. who are offering 3 digital images

I've chosen to use one of the images by Lisa at That Craft Place Ltd., and here is my card:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - is white cardstock cut to A5 size and folded in half
• Embossing - is done on Snow White Silver Centura Pearl Card using my Embossalicious Petite Dot embossing folder (can't find this for sale any longer unfortunately :o( )
  
• Image - is called Maggie by Lisa at That Craft Place Ltd., and I have brought Maggie to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the listed colours, before die cutting her using my largest Die'sire Essentials Rectangles die and adding some sparkle with my Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen.
• Skin - FS2, FS3
• Hair - GB4, GB7, GB9, GB10
• Clothes, Ribbons, Wand & Stars - GT1, GT2, GT3
• Ribbon - is white organdie ribbon from my stash

I'm leaving this cutie sentiment and further embellishment free as I can't decide whether she'll be a Birthday or a Christmas card!

I hope you'll come over to Incy Wincy Designs and check out the other lovely creations which are White, with a splash of colour. Then make sure you come back and share your projects with us! Don't forget that we'll be back with our new challenge on Monday 18th January 2016.

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

• Challenge #157 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Create a CAS Card/Project at 613 Avenue Create
• Stella Says Sketch #401 - Happy New Year at Catch The Bug
• December Colour Challenge at Whimsie Doodles
• December Challenge - Clean and Simple at Spectrum Noir Facebook Page

In the meantime, have a great week!

Hugs, Helen

Blowing Lots of Love

Morning folks!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Casa Mia was the usual round of Mini Squad Swimming, followed by Rookies Life Guards with a Sunday School session as dessert!

This morning sees our new challenge at Incy Wincy Designs and this week we're Thankful for You - we want to see your projects that say "Thank You".

We've got 2 great sponsors for you this week. First up is the lovely Emma Canning from Flat Friends Boutique and our second sponsor is our very own Nikki from Limited Runs Digital Stamps. Both ladies are very kindly offering our 2 lucky winners a prize pack, and we have also been given digis by both artists to showcase. 

I was fortunate to meet Sara Davies and Debbie Fisher from Crafter's Companion last weekend at a Hobbycraft store near me, as Sara was demoing her Signature Range. They were both really lovely and only too happy to share their talents with us fans! I have taken Sara's idea (rather badly I might say!) of inking an embossing folder before running it through with card to transfer the ink and embossing pattern onto the card. Sara's card looked gorgeous ... mine definitely looks like a beginner's been at work ;o) !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tee hee.

Anyway, here goes with my card featuring a Flat Friends digi:

I must apologise for the wonky photo - I was trying to photograph it whilst out and about and the batteries in the camera I normally use ran out (typical!) so I was using my phone. The card was on a railway sleeper that lines the car park at youngest Bambino's gymnastics club, I was on my elbows and knees, the sun was shining so I couldn't really see the screen ... I must have looked a very peculiar sight, so I just pressed the button and hoped for the best! 

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a premade white card blank which is about 14.8cm square
• Background - is a 14cm square piece of Neenah cardstock which has been embossed with my Embossalicious Geometric Motif  Embossing Folder (unfortunately, this lovely design is no longer stocked for sale) and Distress Inks in Picked Raspberry  and Peacock Feathers. I have matted and layered this onto a piece of pale pink Core'dinations Card
• Image - is by Emma Canning at Flat Friends Boutique and this lovely girl is called Blowing Kisses. I brought her to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the listed colours, before die cutting her (using the "Out of the Box" Technique) with my largest Die'sire Essentials Ovals die.
• Hair - TN1, TN2, TN3, TN6, TN8
• Skin - FS2, FS3, BP2
• Hearts - PL3
• Jumper - BP2, BP3
• Sentiment - was a freebie from the June 2015 Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. I stamped this in pink ink onto Neenah cardstock and then stencilled round the inside of the medium oval die from the Die'sire Tags One set (unfortunately I can't find this one for sale any longer either!). I then die cut the medium oval tag from the pink Core'dinations Card, threaded some twine through it and fixed it all to my card. I added a bow to the side, just for a bit of interest!

I hope you'll come over to Incy Wincy Designs and check out the wonderful creations by my fab team mates ... also, please say farewell to Amy who is leaving us after this challenge :o(  Bye Amy, I shall miss your gorgeous creations.

As a result, we are having a DT Call sooooooo, if you're interested in joining our fun team, please send an email to incywincychallenge@hotmail.com with a link to your site, and tell us a little bit about yourself!!! No DT experience is necessary - we are just looking for HAPPY crafters who like to have a good time. You must be able to work with digital images and be able to create on a weekly basis.

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

• #309 - Use an Embossing Folder at Little Red Wagon
• Girls will be Girls at That's Crafty! Challenge
• No Designer Paper Challenge at The Stamping Boutique
• Challenge #144 - Anything Goes with the optional twist of Use Pink (for Breast Cancer Awareness) at 613 Avenue Create

I'll be back tomorrow with a card featuring one of Nikki's Limited Runs Digis - in the meantime, hope you have a great day!

Hugs, Helen x

Faking It ... again!!!!

Good afternoon my crafty friends, and I do hope that this post finds you well and (if you're in the UK) enjoying the beautiful Spring weather we've got! If you've not got sunshine, let me know and I'll package some up and post it to you :oP !!!!!!!!! The start of the new term wasn't bad on Monday - as today's been my day off, I headed to the gym this morning and managed a 4km run on the "trotmill" before stretching out in a yoga class.

If you were here on Monday, you'll remember that the DT at Incy Wincy Designs are on a mission to find your best suggestions for making our projects look like a million dollars but safe in the knowledge that we only spent pence creating them as our challenge for you this week is Faux Techniques! Now if you need a bit of inspiration, why don't you head over to SplitCoast Stampers and have a look at some of the amazing tutorials their designers have come up with? 

This is my second project for this challenge, and I found this fan-tas-tic tutorial by Dina at SplitCoast Stampers for making a background look like embossed vintage tin ... however, I can assure you that nothing more than an old cereal bar packet, kitchen foil, PVA glue, acrylic paint, a die and an embossing folder were used to make this. 

Obviously, this effort deserves some reward doesn't it, and this week we've got 2 kind sponsors. This time I'm showcasing an image by Megan of Dilly Beans as I shared a project featuring an image by Emma Canning of  Flat Friends Boutique on Monday - to see that post, click here.





So, without further ado, here is my vintage-y project.

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a 9.9 cm square card from Kraft cardstock. I quite like making these smaller cards as they fit (opened out) into a regular DL sized envelope, and you can get 3 cards out of an A4 sheet.
• Background - is a 8.9 cm piece of cereal bar packet onto which I stuck a sheet of kitchen foil using PVA glue. I then used my rolling pin (as I don't have a brayer) to ensure that the foil was stuck down. But I think I might have used a wee bit too much glue as the glue "seeped" (OK, more like flowed) out of ALL the edges and went over the rolling pin, kitchen side, me .... I'm sure you get the idea :oD ! Unlike me, you might want to watch the tutorial video on the above link first, before you get stuck in!!!!!!!! Once dry, I die cut a square from the foil/packaging sandwich using my largest Die'sire Essentials Squares die and then painted this with a coat of Pearl White Acrylic Paint. Once dry I ran this through my Embossalicious Spring Meadow folder (I got mine from Crafter's Companion, but they don't appear to be stocking it any more). I added a final touch by wiping some Dark Brown Craf-T Chalk over my tile with a finger tip, just to give a more aged appearance.
  
• Image - is by Megan at Dilly Beans and is called Doodle Flower 3. I printed this up quite big (deliberately) and then tried to stick with a muted colour scheme by colouring it with my Spectrum Noir Pens in the colours listed, before fussy cutting it out and adhering it to the front of my "tin tile":
• Flower - PP1, PP3, PP5
• Leaves - DG2, DG3, DG4
• Outline - BT1
• Lace - is from my stash, and I think came from a local haberdashery store and I attached it to my card base so that the scalloped edge of the lace overhangs the side of the card.

I really like this card and am so pleased with the way this project turned out - think it could be one of those cards that goes in my box labelled "Never Give Away"!!!! Hope you like it too, and that I've inspired you to have a go at a Faux Technique yourself. Please check out the wonderful projects by my very clever teamies at Incy Wincy Designs and our challenge ends on Sunday 26th April 2015.

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

• Challenge #14 - Flowers at Aurora Wings
• April #70 - Use Flowers and/or Leaves at Fitztown Challenge
• Monthly Challenge #56 - Use Kraft Card at Little Claire's Designs
• Monthly Digi Stamp Challenge #4 - Flowers at Little Claire's Designs
• April Bingo Challenge at Catch the Bug Challenge - I'm claiming the left hand vertical line of Flower Theme (floral embossing folder and image), Scallop (on my lace) and 3 Layers ("tin tile", lace and image)
• Challenge #37 - Flowers at Paper Creator Crafts
• Challenge #113 - Ribbon and/or Lace at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge
• Challenge #256 - Lace at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges

That's it from me for today - hope you have a great evening!

Hugs, Helen x

Butterfly Wings

Morning All!

Hope this post finds you well and I also hope that you've had a spot of spring-like weather. We have been enjoying some glorious sunshiny days here on the south coast of the UK. I've still got another week off work, so I hope this fine spell continues!

Over at Incy Wincy Designs this morning, we're starting a new challenge - this one is a lovely challenge as it's Embossing - Wet or Dry. As usual we have a fantastic sponsor lined up for this challenge and this week it's Nikki Burnette who draws fantasy art. Nikki has been kind enough to let the DT have a selection of images to choose to design with, and here is the card I've made using one of Nikki's wonderful fairy images, Analiese:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is pre-made white card, approx 15cm square
• Mat & Layer Paper - is from a now retired Bearly Mine Designs collection called "Plain and Simple". I've used colourway 34 and I love how Donna digitally distressed the edges of the paper ... kind of gives it a worn look doesn't it.
• Embossed Layer - is made using Centura Pearl in Snow White Silver (I got mine in a bumper pack from Crafter's Companion but they don't appear to be stocking it at the mo) which I ran through my Big Shot together with an Embossalicious 6 x 6" Folder called Butterfly Love. I've added a small gem to the centre of the bow and have also cut away one part of the bow to lift it up so I could slip my image underneath.
  
• Image - is called Analiese and she is by Nikki Burnette. I have brought Analiese and her fluttery friend to life using my Spectrum Noir Pencils in the listed colours before die cutting her using my largest Die'sire Essentials Rectangles die and then ink distressed the edges with the lightest shade in my Papermania Capsule Collection Red Hot Ink Pad.
• Skin - 4, 5, 9
• Hair - 84, 107, 87, 99 (I'm really, really pleased with the way this looks!)
• Dress - 36, 32, 105, 117, 119, 120, Silver Gel Pen
• Wings - 61, 50, 52, 78, 80, 82, Silver Gel Pen
• Butterfly - 104, 61, 50, 52, 78, 80, 82, Silver Gel Pen
• Sentiment - is by my blogging buddy Annette and this was a freebie on her blog last year. She still has some freebies there, so if you drop by please be sure to say that you came from my blog! I also ink distressed this with the lightest shade in my Papermania Capsule Collection Red Hot Ink Pad.

I hope I've inspired you to dig out your embossing folders and boards or ink pads, embossing powders and heat guns and join in with our Embossing challenge this week - the challenge ends on Sunday 19th April 2015.

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

• Challenge #136 - Wings at Crafty Cardmakers and More
• Spring Challenge at The Stamping Boutique
• Challenge #141 - Distress at Brown Sugar Challenge - the backing paper has been digitally distressed and I have inked distressed the edges of my image and sentiment
• Aloha Friday Challenge #45 - Fairytales/Fantasy at Kitty Bee Designs
• Challenge #132 - Include a Butterfly at Glitter n Sparkle
• Challenge #101 - Things with Wings at Deep Ocean Challenge

That's it from me for today - hope you have a good day and I'll catch you later in the week!

Hugs, Helen x

Having a Monster Day

Hi All!

I think my blog is going to be a bit like buses - you wait ages for one post, and then a "post fest" turns up!

I've been making a few cards for a colleague at school - he is running in the London Marathon next month raising funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and as well as running he is doing other fund raising events. Yesterday evening he held a social at school: quiz, music from the Staff Band, a fish and chip supper (yummmmmmy!), an auction of promises and a raffle. I had offered a pack of cards to raffle and this was one of the cards I put into it.

I apologise for the poor quality of the photo - I took it late yesterday afternoon, by which time the natural light had gone, so I've had to lighten this a bit so you can see the details :o(

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - pre-made 14.7cm square card in white
  
• Embossing Folder - is a 6 inch Embossalicious folder by Crafter's Companion and it's called Geometric Motif. This folder came as a freebie with an order I placed last weekend, and I thought it was perfect for this card! I'm not sure if the folder is a new one or an old one ... either way I can't find it on the Crafter's Companion website, but there are plenty more there to tempt! ;o)
• Image - this cute furball is Monster Chris and he comes from the pen of Tammy at A Day for Daisies. I have brought Chris to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens and Spectrum Noir Pencils in the following colours, before cutting Chris out using the largest Die'sire Essentials Scalloped Circles die:
• Body - BT5, BT7, BT9 and 071 ... I made little 'c' shapes with my pencil to add "texture" to the fur
• Eyes - CG2
• Legs and Feet - TN7, TN8
• Outline - BT1
• Papers - are the "dotty" papers from a set called Lime and Chocolate Fusion which were a free download from docrafts. I cut narrow strips from the papers to make the cross and cut a pennant shape into the horizontal strip.
• Sentiment - is computer generated using the Word Art function in my word processing package. I've tried to use colours which match the chocolate, lime and turquoise dots in my papers.

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

• Challenge #117 - Add Polka Dots at A Day for Daisies Challenge
• Challenge #136 - Anything Goes at Addicted to Stamps Challenge
• Birthdays at Polkadoodles Challenge

That's it from me for today - hope you have a great weekend!

Hugs, Helen x

Flower Power!

Good morning friends and I'd like to wish you all a Happy Easter weekend. The weather here on the south coast has been fabulous all week- hope you've enjoyed some sunshine too. It may be Good Friday, but as long as the weather stays fine "himself" will be repainting "T' Shed" so the girls and I are off out - they'll swim and I'll hit the treadmill!

This is my third post during my sojourn as a GDT for Delicious Doodles, and again it's time for a new challenge. After some topical challenges, this one will encourage your feminine side, as well as raising awareness for Breast Cancer. So, we'd like to see your creations that are Pink! 

Teri again opened the doors to the Delicious Doodles Shop so that I could help myself to another gorgeous designs. If you're a regular reader, you may be pleased to know that Mr Mojo is still recovering from last week's creation (I'll let you know next week how well it was received by my M-i-L!) so this week's card is back to a more normal style :o)

Regular readers may recall that last year I designed a piece of artwork for Karen, a friend and colleague was organising a Grand Ball entitled 50 Shades of Pink - you can find the post here. Karen is holding another Grand Ball this autumn and I'll make her a box of handmade cards that she can use as a raffle prize ... this is the first card!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl in Fresh Pink (from the Pastels multipack at Crafter's Companion) which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card. I then embossed the front of the card using my Embossalicious "Floral Stitch" embossing folder. I carefully masked round each raised embossed square (part of the design is "de-bossed") using Post-It notes, and then swept a Versa Color Ink Cube in Silver across the raised "stitches". I'm not sure I've got this swiping quite right,  as there are some traces of silver ink in the squares. Still, when you look at it from the side, it makes the embossing pop!
  
• Images - are both by Teri at Delicious Doodles and they are Floral Elegance - Wild Rose and the butterfly from the Awareness Ribbon Set. The ribbon set is a freebie (thanks to Teri's generosity), so why not treat yourself to another digi as well .... 2 for the price of 1! I printed 2 copies of them both and decoupaged some of the flowers, and also lifted the second butterfly's wings to give more depth to the images. I brought these gorgeous images to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:

• Roses - CT4, PP3, PP4, PP5
• Foliage - CG1, CG2, CG3
• Butterfly - PP1, PP2, PP3, GB8, GB10, Silver Gel Pen
• Outline - BT1
• Sentiment - is by my generous blogging buddy Annette and this is one of her freebies. If you head over there to take a look, please let her know that you came via my blog! I recoloured this using my word processing programme to a shade of green to tone in with the foliage.

I hope you'll come over to the Delicious Doodles Challenge Blog and enjoy the wonderful Pink creations from Teri's talented Design Team and my fellow guests. Don't forget to then come back and show us your creations - you don't need to use a Delicious Doodles image to enter the challenge but if you do, you get a second entry in the draw to win 5 of Teri's images AND your work may be Spotlighted on the challenge blog! This challenge will end on Thursday 24th April 2014 at 6pm BST (UK time!)

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

• Challenge #212 - Flower Power at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges
• Challenge #202 - Embossing (Wet or Dry) at Sentimental Sundays
• Challenge 173 - Use Ice Cream Colours at Penny's Paper Crafty  My favourite ice cream flavours (preferably made by our local ice cream manufacturer!): Pistachio, Strawberry and, not shown here, Ginger, and Toffee Crunch. 
• April Facebook Challenge - Floral at Crafter's Companion Third Entry

I hope that you all have a blessed and joyous Easter and that the Easter Bunny is kind to you and yours!

Hugs, Helen x

And All That Jazz

Morning friends! How are you are today? We had a simply gorgeous weekend here and yesterday was wall to wall sunshine with not a cloud in the sky. Hope you had a great weekend too!

It's new challenge day at Incy Wincy Designs and this week we're looking for your Monochromatic creations. Skin tones are OK, but otherwise your creations should be tones of one colour!

This challenge is being sponsored by Rick St. Dennis and this week's lucky winner will receive some Digital Stamps from his store. Pop over and take a look at all the fun and quirky stamps he has, which are beautifully drawn which makes them a breeze to colour! You can also read all about Rick here.

Rick kindly supplied each DT member with her choice of image to use for this challenge, and here is my card for you:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is made from Centura Pearl in Teal which I have cut, scored (using my Ultimate Pro and Boxer Scoreboard) and folded to make a 14 x 16.5cm  Centre Step card. I then embossed the card base using my Embossalicious Petite Dot 6" x 6" Folder, sadly no longer available from Crafter's Companion.
• Design Paper - is a blog freebie from Paulette at Create with TLC which I think I got in April last year. I die cut this using my largest Framelits Fancy Labels die.
• Image - this gorgeous songstress is called Chanteuse 2 JaZz BaBY and she has been beautifully
  
  drawn by Rick St. Dennis. Rick's shading on the drawing made it very easy to bring this cabaret star to life with my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours before die cutting it with my second largest Framelits Fancy Labels die:
• Hair - IG2, IG4, IG2
• Skin - TN2, TN3, TN4 (this is the first time I've tried a darker skin - how did I do?)
• Jewellery - BT5, Silver Gel Pen
• Gloves - BT2, BT5
• Dress - BT2, BT5, BT6, BT9
• Shoes - BT6, True Black, Silver Gel Pen
• Microphone - True Black, Silver Gel Pen
• Shadow - IG2
• Sentiment - is another freebie by Paulette at Create with TLC from May last year. I hand cut the banner shape before mounting the image on my card.
• Pearls - from my stash and coloured using my Spectrum Noir Pens in BT4

I hope you'll come over to Incy Wincy Designs and look at the other wonderful creations by my teamies. Don't forget to then come back and show us your Monochromatic projects - this challenge will end on Sunday 23rd March 2014.


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (with some help from the girls at Paper Playful):

• March Challenge - Monochromatic at Crafter's Companion
• March Challenge - Let's Emboss It at Die Cut Divas
• Challenge #20 - Emboss It at Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge
• Challenge #210 - Shaped Cards at Totally Papercrafts
• PWC301 - Birthday Cards at Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge

Hope you have a great week.

Hugs, Helen x