Hey Cupcake!

Good Morning Friends and I hope you are well on this lovely Monday morning.

This post is scheduled as we at Casa Mia are back to school this morning after our well earned half term break! I don't know how I ever managed a job with 4½ weeks holiday a year, as I always seem to be looking forward to the next school holiday! :o)

Anyway, it's time for new challenge time at Incy Wincy Designs and this one should be easy peasy, lemon squeezy .... we're celebrating Birthdays! It doesn't matter whether it's for someone young or someone older, or whether it's girly or masculine ... get your card box topped up with us!!!!!

We're delighted to be welcoming 2 new sponsors this week, and they're both offering wonderful prizes.

Our first sponsor is Tammy and her team at A Day For Daisies. A Day For Daisies provides themed categories of over 3000 digital illustrations and a fast growing line of new clear polymer stamp sets, including fairy tales and magical mermaids, cutie kids, vintage illustrations, sentiments and lovely designs for all occasions! And Tammy is offering our first lucky prize winner a $12 Gift Certificate to her store.

Our second sponsor is Sandy at Scribbles Designs which is a world of Sandy's funky imagination and quirky characters. Sandy has loved art, drawing, water colouring and doodling for many years ... and with the digital image world she can now share it with all of you. Brrr (Penguin) was her first main character and her other quirky images followed not long after. And Sandy is offering our second lucky prize winner 3 digital images from her store.


Both of our sponsors have kindly offered the DT some images to use, and I have chosen this lovely image by Tammy at A Day For Daisies for this card:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is normal printer card in white which I have cut, scored, folded and stuck to make 5½" x 4¼" Criss Cross Pocket Card following this tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers. I've distressed all the edges with Craf-T Chalk in Light Brown, to lend a vintage air to my project.
• Design Paper - is from a set called Vintage by Craft with Helix, which I printed onto a further sheet of normal printer card to give some rigidity to this card base. I downloaded the set in May 2011 when I first started making cards (and was greedily devouring whatever supplies I could lay my hands on!) but a Google search has drawn a blank as to their availability now. Shame, because this is a nice set :o( I've tried to give these papers the glitz treatment by sweeping my Versamark Pen across the cherries and icing and added Holographic Embossing Powder before heating it.
• Image - this mouthwatering design is called Happy Birthday Tower and it comes from the pen of
  
  Tammy at A Day For Daisies. I've brought these beautiful cupcakes to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours before I die cut it using my second largest Framelits Oval Die:
• Cupcake Icing - DR1, DR6, Colourless Blender
• Cupcake Cases - IB1, IB3, Colourless Blender
• Decorations - JG1, DR3, DR4, GB5, PL5, LV2, Colourless Blender
• Stand - Silver Gel Pen
• Outline - BT1
• Insert - is digitally put together using another paper from the Vintage set, which I have sized in my word processing programme. I then set a white rectangle with curved edges over this, and then layered the sentiment, from Paulette at Create with TLC, over the top. Once I printed the sheet out, I used a corner rounder before using more Light Brown Craf-T Chalk to distress the edges.

I hope you'll come over to Incy Wincy Designs and see the other wonderful Birthday Cards designed by my teamies. Then come back and show us your creations celebrating Birthdays! - this challenge will end on Sunday 2nd March 2014.

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

• Challenge #25 - Die Cuts and/or Punches at Feeling Crafty Challenge - Second Entry
• Challenge #79 - Happy Birthday at Little Miss Muffet Challenges
• Girly Challenge at Milk Coffee
• February Colour Challenge at Catch The Bug Challenge

Hope you have a great week!

Hugs, Helen x

The Christmas Gift

Good afternoon friends, and I hope your weekend is going well. After a sticky start ("himself" managed to pick up a puncture in a tyre yesterday and after about an hour on the phone, managed to track a replacement down ... 30 miles away!) the wheel is now back on the (well, his wagon!) and 'normality' has returned to Casa Mia.

I've been inspired by a couple of challenges this week, and I also wanted to have a play with the contents of my last parcel from Crafter's Companion ... here is the result:

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Christmas, and now I work in a school I actually get to enjoy the festivities; when I worked in retail I was sooooo fed up of it as it seemed as though the decorations and gift ideas had been in the store for what seemed like months. However, I feel sometimes as though the true meaning of Christmas (one baby who was born as a "gift" to the world) gets lost in the razzle dazzle of the 'must-have-gift'. This very simple image reminds me of the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, when the youngest members of our church dress up as characters from the Nativity.

My card recipe is follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Snow White which I cut, scored and folded to make a 10.5cm x 14.7cm card. I embossed my card using the Petite Dot Embossalicious Folder
• Image - this stable scene was one of the goodies in the 2011 Christmas Club - The Sequel by Paulette from Create with TLC.  I brought the manger and stable to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens and Craf-T Chalks (together with a Versamark Pen) in the following colours:
• Star - Yellow, Yellow Orange, Gold Gel Pen
• Stable and Manger - Tan, Light Brown, Dark Brown
• Baby Jesus - FS2, FS3, Grey, Gold Gel Pen
• Ground - Burnt Sienna, Tan
• Sky - Royal Blue
• Sentiment - is also by Paulette from Create with TLC and this one came from the 2011 Christmas Club. I made my own banner shape and as the text was larger than I wanted my banner to be, I cut round it (and opened the top of the J so you can see the stable behind it).

This one is (I feel) a very CAS as well as white on white card - hope you like it.

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

• Day 321 - Super Sketchy Sunday at 365 Cards
• Challenge #74 - It'll be All White on the Night at Little Miss Muffet Challenge
• Show It Off ... Party #7 at Create with TLC
• November 2013 Challenge - Christmas/Winter at Crafter's Companion Challenge
• A Month Of Holiday Cards Challenge at Beccy's Place

Hope the rest of your weekend is good!

Hugs, Helen x

A Safe Haven

Here we go with another "post fest" - I got soooooo behind with my "makes" last week, that I'm all behind with my posts too. Sorry folks! I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Heather, my newest follower - hope you enjoy my "makes"!

It's new challenge time at Lexi's Creations and this one is very topical for us in the UK as we'd like to see your creations for Father's Day or a Special Male Birthday.

Our wonderful sponsors for this challenge are the fabby team over at Joanna Sheen who are offering our lucky winner a £10 Gift Voucher to their on-line store. And with postage and packing free if you spend over £9 everyone's a winner if you buy in this Aladdin's cave!

Usually I would use one of Lexi's (Fairy Dust Crafts) beautiful images, but this time I thought I would give one of the images I recently won an airing! So here is a card for my Dad for Father's Day:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Ivory which I cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card.
• Design Papers - are by Summer at Summertime Designs and (in keeping with the nautical theme!) are both from her kit She Sells Seashells. The bottom paper is called "Striped" and the top paper is called "Cream Dots".
  
• Image - this lovely scene has been drawn by Teri over at Delicious Doodles and it is called In The Harbour. I have brought this idyll to life quite simply, using my Versamark Pen (which I used on the heavily shaded areas to give more definition) and my Craf-T Decorating Chalks in the following colours:
• Boat on Left - Ruddy Red, Burnt Sienna, Black
• Boat on Right - Turquoise, Burnt Sienna, Black, Light Blue
• Sand - Tan
• Harbour Wall - Dark Brown
• Sky - Light Blue
• Sentiments -  are computer generated using my word processing package and a font called Goudy Handtooled. 

Do come over to Lexi's Creations and see the other wonderfully inspirational male cards which have been designed by the other DT members and our Guest Designer Silvi. Don't forget to come back and link up the creations you've made for Father's Day or a Special Male Birthday. This challenge ends on Saturday 22nd June 2013.

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

• Father's Day at Going Grey with Scrap Creations
• Spots and Stripes at Joanna Sheen Second Entry
• Masculine / Father's Day at Simon Says Stamp!
• Challenge 17 - Father's or For a Male at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge
• Challenge #103 - Masculine at Top Tip Tuesday
• Card for a Male at Crafty Sentiments Designs
• Challenge 12 - We Love You Dad at Creative Craft Challenge

Phew - that's me caught up now! Off to work on next week's DT projects.

Have a great week!

Hugs, Helen x

F is for ...

.... flowers, and quite a few of them!

Good morning my crafty friends and welcome to another challenge at Incy Wincy Designs.  This week we want to see   Something beginning with F..... (but that doesn't end in the word "off" please!)

Our sponsor this week is the lovely Megan from Dilly Beans Digi Stamps. Make sure you head over to her blog and check out her awesome digis! She also has "Collage Sheets" where she's made a themed coloured digi sheet, and there's a Dilly Beans Challenge Blog too! Megan is offering this week's lucky winner 3 digital images from the store. She also kindly allowed the DT girls their choice of image (thanks Megan!), and with so many totally gorgeous digis there, it was really hard to choose just one.

Then I stumbled across this simple digi (which screamed "Choose Me!" at me) and here is my really clean & simple inspiration for you this week:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is plain white heavyweight card (from my stash and I'm afraid the wrapper has long since disappeared, so I can't tell where it came from - sorry!), which I have cut, scored and folded to make a DL sized card
• Image - is #344 - Daisy Squares by Megan from Dilly Beans Digi Stamps and it really lends itself to a CAS style of card. I think this image will be so versatile, not just for Birthday cards but also for Thinking of You, Get Well and Sympathy cards. I have brought these flowers to life using my Versamark Pen and Craf-T chalks (which I applied and blended using a cotton bud, and re-blended using the Versamark Pen to get a soft pastel image) and one Spectrum Noir Pen in the following colours:


• Top Left Flower - Ruddy Red, Orange, Yellow Orange
• Top Right Flower - Orange, Yellow Orange, Yellow
• Bottom Left Flower - Magenta, Pink, Flesh
• Bottom Right Flower - Violet, Orchid, Magenta
• Sky - Spectrum Noir Pen in TB1
• Background - Dark Green
• Sentiment - is a cover freebie cling stamp from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. It came from a set of "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" stamps. I inked it up using a Papermania Capsule Collection Pigment Ink Pad in Red Hot, and once I had stamped it on the card I coated the sentiment in Holographic Embossing Powder before heating it. Check out that gorgeous sparkle in this photo below!

It's not very often that a card comes together exactly how I imagined it would, but this one did!

Do head over to the Incy Wincy Designs blog, and make sure that my teamies and this month's Guest Designer Jackie have things beginning with the letter F. Then come back and show us your projects - you've got until Sunday 17th March 2013 to link your creations up.

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

• March Challenge - Anything Goes at Chalk 'n' Stock

Hope you have great week!

Hugs, Helen x

Thinking of You

Good Evening All,

This is another non-DT post from me ... and I'm using up some stash too! It's the beginning of March, and I'm still managing (in some form or another) to keep up with my resolution ... :oD

Here's a card I've made, having been inspired by a Freebie sentiment:

• Base Card - a pre-made A6 card blank in cream
• Design Papers - are from a set by Erica Zane called Grow and you can get this mini pack from Sweet Shoppe Designs. I've used Papers 2, 3 and 4 from the pack for this card.
• Image -a cover freebie cling stamp from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. It came from a set called "The Floral Collection". I inked it up using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad and brought the flowers and leaves to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:


• Flowers - GB1, GB3, GB4, GB5
• Leaves - BT2, BT4, BT5, BT9
• Sprays - Versamark Pen and Gold Embossing Powder
• Outline - GG1
• Sentiment - is called "Thinking of You"  and it was a freebie at Beccy's Place last week. I love the wording of the Irish Blessing behind the main part of the sentiment and it is very reminiscent of a version that I have sung on many occasions at Guide events ... yes, another favourite vesper!

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

• AC157 - Sketch Challenge at Annabelle Stamps - I've rotated the sketch through 180°
• Challenge 55 - Blue and Yellow at Little Miss Muffet
• Inspiration Challenge Group - Photo Inspiration at Crafter's Digital Art Center
• Challenge #50 - Un-Inked Stamp at Use It Tuesday - not only has my image stamp never been inked up before, it's also been sat in my craft drawer since spring 2012 when it was a magazine cover gift, so I'm using my stash too! The card blank I've used was in a pack that I bought nearly 2 years ago, when I first started making cards.

Hope you've had a good weekend.

Hugs, Helen x

Fluttering around

This is my second post of the day - please scroll down to see my first post

Hello again friends! As you're reading this, I'll be back at work dealing with the absences, accidents and illnesses at our local high school. I'm hoping that the students will be rested after their half term break, and I'll get an easy day today!

Anyway, it's time to introduce this week's challenge Incy Wincy Designs. This time we are asking you to showcase a project which thinks outside the box, as our challenge topic is Anything But A Card. 

This week our sponsor is Melissa from Meljen's Designs, who is offering our lucky winner 4 non-coloured digis of their choice. That is a super prize, and I can guarantee you'll be hard pressed to choose just 4 images! The DT were given the choice of which four digis we would like to showcase this week - I can't begin to tell you how many e-mails were flying around before we settled on the four images we're using! :o)

Without further ado here is my project, a door hanger, for your inspiration:

My door hanger recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - made from Centura Pearl in Snow White, which is made from one panel of A4 tri-fold. I found the centre of my panel, judged how high I wanted my door handle 'hole' to be and then embossed the smallest circle shape from the "nest" on the Ultimate Pro Embossing Board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats which I then cut out. I used the corner punch on my Clevercut to round the corners.
• Design Papers - are from a set by Summer at Summertime Designs called "Energy".  Once again, I have digitally put the layout together. The base layer is called Butterflies and the top layer is called Plaid. Because these papers are digitally put together, the corner punch on my Clevercut could only round the corners on the base layer of paper! I also didn't put a border around the layers to give a faux mat, and I think (in hindsight) these papers need that definition.
• Image - is Daisy Butterflies by Melissa from Meljen's Designs. I love the whimsy of this image and it would look just at home on a girl's birthday card. I tool distressed the edges of this layer. I then brought this scene to life using my Versamark Pen and Craf-T chalks (which I applied and blended using a cotton bud, and re-blended using the Versamark Pen to get a soft pastel image) and Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:



• Butterflies - CR8, CR10, CR11, CT3, Silver Gel Pen
• Flowers - CT4, GB4
• Hearts - Craf-T chalks in Magenta and Pink
• Dots - CG4
• Outline - TB2
• Sky - Craf-T chalk in Light Blue
• Sentiment - is computer generated using my word processing package and layering this digitally over the papers.

Do head over to the Incy Wincy Designs blog, and check out the Anything But a Card creations from my teamies and this month's Guest Designer Trudy - sadly, this is team-mate Bettina's last week, so please go over to her blog and leave some love for all the fab inspiration she has shared with us all. Don't forget to come back and show us your projects - you've got until Sunday 3rd March 2013 to link your creations up.

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

• Challenge #48 - In the Garden at Ruby's Rainbow
• Challenge #159 - Flower Power at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges
• February Monthly Challenge - Anything Goes at Chalk 'n' Stock
• Challenge #143 - Flowers, Flowers and more Flowers at Sentimental Sundays
• Challenge #24 - Flowers for Spring at Delicious Doodles
• Challenge #15 - Anything But A Card at Hotshot Craft

Whatever you're doing this week, I hope you have a good one!

Hugs, Helen x

Feathers, Flowers and a Diamond!

This is my first post of the day - please scroll up to see my second post

Hello again friends!

It's time for a new challenge at Lexi's Creations again. Wow, you sure loved the Anything Goes challenge ... I was quite worn out heading round your blogs looking at your creations, and I'm sure the other DT girls felt the same! This fortnight, Susan has set us the theme of Fancy Folds ... no one-fold cards please, but cards with multiple folds.

Our wonderful sponsor this time is Priyanka from My Heart Pieces. The prize that is up for grabs this week is 3 of Priyanka's lovely digital images. Pop over to her blog to check out her cute digis.

 I decided to challenge myself (again!) and use a card fold that I've not tried before, a Diamond Fold Card. There is a great tutorial here on this fold (including a video) at Splitcoast Stampers but the measurements are all in inches and a standard sheet of A4 of paper or card isn't quite big enough to get a strip that is 12" long! So, with apologies to Splitcoast Stampers, here is my tutorial (the first one I've ever done, so I hope it's OK!) using metric measurements and making this card from one A4 sheet of card:

Materials:

1 A4 sheet of paper or card - I used 120gsm card in cream. You could print a digital paper onto your card first to save you having to decorate your card when it's complete. I've left mine blank

Cutting and scoring tools - I have used my Clevercut Paper Trimmer

Bone Folder

Ruler

How to cut, score and fold:

 Cut the paper card so it measures 27cm x 9cm

 Measuring along the long edge (27cm) score at 4.5cm and again at 22.5cm. Fold along these score lines both ways, so folding the flaps to both the front and back of your card.

 On the reverse of your card (especially important if you're using a DP) mark the long edge (27cm) at 13.5cm

Using a ruler (or like me, the straight edge on my Clevercut) line up the 2 marks at the midpoint on the card. Now, take one side of your card and fold it along the straight edge so that top of the strip of card is now folded over and running along the ruler. Move your ruler to the other side of the midpoint marks, and do the same with the other side of your card.

Turn the strip round and repeat the last stage, and you end up with 2 diagonal lines each side of the midpoint going out to the flap and intersecting across the card.

 Now the clever part, folding the card!

I found the easiest way to do it was to pinch the top and bottom triangles with my left hand, whilst teasing the left hand triangle and left hand side of the diamond in to make a sharp point - photo below. The mechanics of this will fold the top and bottom triangles in half.

And then unfold the flap ... one side done!

Repeat the folding process on the other side, and unfold the flap

Turn the card round so the flap are at each side, let the spring in the fold open out naturally and the card will sit nicely on the bottom point of the diamond and the two side flaps. It's now ready to decorate and embellish as you choose - the side flaps measure 4.5cm x 9cm and the diamond is 9cm high by 9cm wide.

And here is my finished project using the card base photographed above using a gorgeous digi by Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts (thanks Lexi!):

 My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - made from cream card, which I cut, scored and folded (using my Clevercut) as above to make a Diamond Fold Card
• Design Papers - are called Green Paper and Yellow Floral Paper. They are both from a kit by Summer at Summertime Designs called Moments.
• Image - is by Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts  and this little cutie is called Lillie with Tulips. I brought this very happy feathered friend to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:
  

  • Beak & Feet - OR1
  • Feathers - GB3, GB4
  • Bow - DR3
  • Petals - GB1, GB3
  • Stamens - DR3
  • Stalks, Leaves & Grass - DG2, DG4
• Outline - TB1
• Clouds - Chalk in Light
• Sentiment - is by Paulette from Create with TLC, and is simply called "Thank you, Thank you". This was a freebie on her blog in May 2012. I have used my Versamark Pen and Holographic Embossing Powder to highlight the script on the sentiment. Click on the photo to supersize it and check out sparkle!
  
  

  
  

  
  Do come over and join in the fun at Lexi's Creations with us, and check out what Fancy Folds the other DT girls and our talented Guest Designer Jen Zeeb have made. And then come back and link up your creations. This challenge ends on Saturday 2nd February 2013.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

• Challenge 252 - Diamonds are Forever at Cute Card Thursday - my diamond is the shape of my card
• Challenge AC154 - Colour Challenge (Artichoke, Pineapple, Pumpkin) at Annabelle Stamps - I'm hoping that the splash of red and blue sky is OK
• Challenge 63 - Emboss It at Pink Gem Challenges
• Thank You Challenge at Pixie Dust Studios
• Bingo at Aud Sentiments - I claim the upwards diagonal line of Flowers (as I've got flowers on both my DP and image), Embossing and "You" 
• Challenge 25 - More than One Fold at Artistic Inspirations

Don't forget to let me know what you thought of my first attempt at a tutorial! Hope you have a great week!
Hugs, Helen x

A Guiding Light

This is my first post of the day - please scroll up to see my second post

Good morning friends and a belated Happy New Year!

It's the end of our holiday break at Incy Wincy Designs,  so we're back with our first challenge of 2013. We want to know what you got for Christmas, so this week's challenge is Something NEW!

We've got two lovely sponsors for you this week who are both offering amazing prizes as well as kindly providing the Design Team with some gorgeous images to showcase this week.




Our first sponsor is the lovely Kim from Care 2 Stamp who is giving one lucky winner a $15 Gift Certificate to her store.






Our second sponsor is the team from Cedar Chest Designs who are offering our second lucky winner a $10 Gift Certificate to their on-line shop.

And here is my card for you this week featuring a new image from Cedar Chest Designs and a technique that's new to me called Poppin' Pastels:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - pre-made A5 card in Kraft card
• Design Papers - are called Large Dots and Blue Waves from a kit by Summer at Summertime Designs called She Sells Sea Shells.
• Image - is called Framed Lighthouse by Cedar Chest Designs. This image would make a great Birthday card for a Dad or Grandad, as well as a "Thinking of You" card. I brought this scene to life using this technique called Poppin' Pastels . As my image is a digi rather than a stamp, I used just my Versamark Pen and chalks to colour the cottage and the lighthouse and I used the following colours. I quite like the effect this is, putting a layer of Versamark down and then applying chalk over the top - what do you think?
• Lighthouse - Black, Yellow, Yellow-Orange, Red, Grey
• Cottage - Dark Brown, Grey, Red
• Grass - Dark Green, Green
• Sky - Turquoise
• Sentiment - keeping with the nautical theme is, of course, by Paulette from Create with TLC and was a freebie on her blog last summer. I have tool distressed the edges of this and then colour distressed it using the turquoise chalk.

I'm sorry about the quality of the photos. I've really struggled to get decent photos of this project as it's so grey outside there's precious little daylight, and using a flash just seems to wipe the colour. Roll on summer!


Do check out the Incy Wincy Designs blog and see the other gorgeous  projects featuring Something NEW! from my talented team-mates and this month's Guest Designer Sandra. Kim from Care 2 Stamp has made a GDT project too so make sure you leave them both some blog love for joining us!  Don't forget to come back and show us your projects, and make sure you tell us what it is that's NEW! This challenge finishes on Sunday 13th January 2013.


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

• Something New (Image and Colouring Technique) at Going Grey with Scrap Creations
• Old and New (Old - Chalks & DPs and New - Image & Colouring Technique) at Jellypark Friends
• New Something at Simon Says Stamps (New Image and Colouring Technique)
• R#105 - Something New at Crafts 4 Eternity (New Image and Colouring Technique)
• Challenge #26 - Something New with Chalk at Chalk Ah Lot (New Image and New Colouring Technique)

Hugs,
Helen x