Another Happy Birthday!

Hi,

I've made another Birthday card this week, this time for the Receptionist at work who is celebrating her 50th Birthday on Sunday. I've done another Swing or Flip Flop card ... I just love this style ... and this one is a really bold colour scheme!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - Centura Pearl 300gsm card. This one came from a local store, however Crafter's Companion have the shade Blackcurrant (which is fractionally darker than this) in the Dark Card Pack
• Design Paper and both sentiments are by Create With TLC. The design paper is called Purple Passion Val Paper 7 - both it and the word art montage on the rear of the card were goodies in the current February Club. I tweaked the word art montage slightly by exporting the graphic into my normal word processing program and adding the purple 50 next to the "TH" to make 50th! I hope Paulette doesn't mind! I think the sentiment on the front of the card was offered on a blog as a Challenge Freebie.
• Image is called Nanny Queen and she is, unfortunately, a now retired digi from Kelley Kids, who are no longer operating. However, I think she is a real cutie and I used my Spectrum Noir Pens to bring her to life, together with a silver gel pen for her necklace and tiara to add some sparkle. I added 3 bits of silver bling to the points of the tiara, just to add a further accent. She is, after all, a girl who is going out somewhere! :o)
• Ribbon, bow and flower - black organdie ribbon from my stash. I made the flower and used a small purple bead as the centre of the flower.

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

• Birthday Challenge at Catch the Bug
• New Year Sparkle - use glitter and gems at The Crafty Pad
• Challenge #147 - Texture Please! at Stamptacular Sunday - my textures are a visible texture to my design paper, organdie ribbon (bow and flower), gems, bead
• Challenge 129 - Bold and Bright at Incy Wincy Designs
• Challenge #52 - Bows at Ladybug Crafts
• Buttons, Bows, Bling and Blooms at Papertake Weekly - any combination of these, so I've used a bow, some bling and a flower
• What's your favourite Colour Combo! at My Mum's Craft Shop Challenges - has to be purples and adding black to it is just a classic look!
• Challenge #104 - Bingo at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - my line is the top row of Handmade Embellishment (Flower and Bow), Digi Image, 2 Different Papers (I've taken a slight liberty here because the Centura Pearl card is so pretty I just can't cover it up! So, I'm using this as one of my papers with the other being the purple paper behind my image ... hope this is OK ladies!)
• Celebrations at Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog
• Monthly Contest - Birthday Projects at The Stamping Boutique

Hugs,
Helen x

A Bright Happy Birthday!

Hi!

Last Friday was my Sister-in-Law's Birthday and, as she was the person who inspired me to start making cards I couldn't let her down with a shop-bought card, could I ...? So here is the card I made for her:

This card layout is a sketch challenge over at Catch the Bug and proved to be a challenge for me as I've don't think I've ever really got to grips fully with matting and layering. However I love this layout, and I can see it's one that I will use many times as it's very versatile.

My Card Recipe is as follows:

• Base card - embossed snow white card (250gsm) purchased from a local independent craft shop, and cut and folded to a 15cm (6 inch) square
• Red Mat and Layer card - sooooo old, I think I bought it in the mid 1990s (from a local independent photocopy shop which has probably long since gone) for a Wide Game for Guides!
• White Mat and Layer card - my favourite Centura Pearl Snow White 300gsm which I embossed using 2 different sizes of flowers on the embossing board Springtime Sweets & Cupcakes Treats with my Ultimate Pro - all from Crafter's Companion (one of my fave places!)
• Design Paper and Sentiment are both from Create With TLC (my other most favourite place!) The paper is called Birthday Candy Paper 12 which is a goodie from The February Club. If you're really quick, you could join the club as Paulette has very generously opened it to new members for a few hours more -click here to read about it and, I can promise you, you will not be disappointed with the mail-outs. The sentiment is a TLC freebie which was offered on a blog challenge last month that Paulette was sponsoring.
• Image is called Girl in Pretty Dress and she is a Jellypark digistamp, although I'm not sure she's available in the store (plenty more gorgeous images there to tempt you though!) Claire from Jellypark offered her as a freebie image for a challenge she was sponsoring in The Crafter's Cafe December 2012 Open House. To bring this little cutie to life, I've used my Spectrum Noirs in the following colours:
• Skin - 135, 196, 137
• Hair - 104, 100
• Hairband - 11, 12
• Dress - 11, 35, 33
• Shoes - 96, 91
• Outline - CG1
• Design finished with 3 small pieces of Bling from my crafty stash - I think I've now been making cards long enough to be able to say that now! And, that feels good :o)!!!!

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

• Stella Says Sketch! at Catch The Bug Challenge Blog
• Old Year/New Year Challenge at Jellypark Challenges - Something old is the red mat & layer card & something new is my digistamp.
• Challenge #102 "Somthing New" at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Something new is my digistamp
• Simon Says ... New Something at Simon Says Stamp! Challenge - Something new is my digistamp
• Happy New Year at Card Makin' Mamas - Showing off my new digistamp
• Challenge #198 "What's New" at Cute Card Thursday - My digistamp is new
• Challenge #34 "Anything (Something Old, Something New) Goes" at Digistamps4Joy - Something old is the red mat & layer card & something new is my digistamp.
• January Anything Goes at Catch The Bug Challenge Blog
• Challenge #38 "Something New" at My Mum's Craft Shop Challenges - Something new is my digistamp
• Challenge #51 "Anything Goes Using Your New Stash" at Ladybug Crafts Ink Challenge - My new stash is my digistamp and design papers
• Birthday Projects at The Stamping Boutique Challenge

The wonderful Paulette at TLC has also showcased my card in one of her Creations Posts. Thanks Paulette!

Hugs, Helen x

Crafter's Companion's New Launch & Leann's Surprise!

Hi,

If you are a follower of the Crafter's Companion Blog, then you'll already know that they're launching a new range of Stamps with an accompanying CD-Rom called Strawberry Kisses. This artwork has been drawn by Sally Hunter, who brought us Humphrey and his family. To celebrate the official TV launch on Friday 6th January, the Crafter's Companion Design Team have been giving a sneak peek of this new range and there is a Blog Hop starting here at the Crafter's Companion Blog.

I've just heard that in addition to this, Leann (from Crafter's Companion) is offering an additional surprise of a pad of Core'dinations So Mod Card to one lucky person who leaves a comment on her Blog.

So, what are you waiting for? You've got to be in it to win it!

Good Luck!

Hugs, Helen x

Design Team Call at TLC - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all!

Those of you who read about my creations regularly will know how much I use digital images, word art and design papers produced by Create With TLC. Imagine my joy at the weekend, when I opened up a Blog Update from Paulette saying she's got a Design Team Call on! Here is my application card which uses an image, sentiment and design paper which Paulette has given away on her blog over the last week:

My base card is Ivory Centura Pearl, which has been folded and cut to a DL sized card using my trusty Ultimate Pro, both by Crafter's Companion. The design paper is called Let's Party 3 and I chose it because the colours on it tone very nicely with my base card. The main image is one of Paulette's vintage images and is called New Year in Paris - well, a girl can dream can't she! I printed the image twice: The first was printed onto plain white card, and given a coating of Iridescent Spray and Sparkle. The second was printed onto Neenah Classic Card, and I then chose an area to "Hot Spot" (my Top Tip), cut this small circle out and coloured it using Spectrum Noir Pens in the shades 147, 86, 175 and 42 (as these tone in with the design paper). I matted this circle onto some plain black card from my scraps box, cut it out again with a slight border of black and then layered the mat onto the main image in the right place.

The sentiment is called New Year Square and this was printed onto the Neenah Classic Card and coloured using the same shades of Spectrum Noir Pens as for the "Hot Spot". I embossed an octagonal shape using one of the "nest" of circles on the embossing board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats which fits onto my Ultimate Pro. This shape was then cut out and mounted onto the card. I added a ribbon rosette made from a black organdie ribbon (from my stash) to the sentiment. I completed my card by adding 3 clear gems which, rather aptly, were bought whilst on holiday in France last summer!

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

• Design Team Call at Create With TLC 
• Challenge 67 "Anything Goes" at Top Tip Tuesday - my TOP TIP for making one area on a black & white digi stand out is to "Hot Spot" it by cutting a small circle out of a second print of your image, colour it, mat it onto a slightly larger piece of black card and layer this onto your main image.
• Challenge #3 "Anything Goes" at Card Crafter's Circle
• Challenge #96 "New Beginnings..." (a New Year Card) at Sassy Cheryl's Challenge
• Challenge #88 "Anything Goes" at Digi Doodle Shop Challenges
• Challenge #52 "Rainbow of Colors" (Pink, Green & White) at Do You Stack Up
• Challenge #25 "Anything Goes" at Little Miss Muffet Challenges
• "Anything Goes with the option of New" (a New Year Card) at Papertake Weekly Challenge
• Challenge #166 "Anything Goes" at Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge
• New Year/New Beginnings Challenge at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog

Hugs, Helen x

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