Paper Piecing Monday

I'm shattered, I think the week as caught up with me and I hit a wall late afternoon. But I've had a fabulous time. Saturday was full of laughter, food and yes I did do some scrapbooking.
Ally Pally was brilliant, not a lot of stash that I didn't have how bad is that. I did manage to pick up the some new stamps from LOTV and the few stamps from WOJ that I didn't have, Katharina is so full of fun and adorable, couple of quick chats with Bev and Jacqui and I met the lovely Marianne and her hubby Graham. (Sorry for the Tilda post)
It's a good job I made this card on Friday it was suppose to be a quick card so I could make another but funny the paper piecing took forever. I've made it for Just Magnolia and Moving with the times wanted an easel card so I couldn't resist. The papers is Linen Closet from DCWV, I say papers but they're cardstock and it was a bit more tricky to paper piece with them. I used my MS doiliy punch and I used the largest scallop square nestabilities, roses from Wild Orchid.

She loves me not

You can blame me for the challenge on High Hopes blog it was my idea for 2 or more stamps and sentiments not included. I had an idea at the time and then went for something completely different.
I made a frame card and put the tractor and the grumpy cow inside and used MS iron railings. I printed the sentiment off and not forgetting the cutie Andrea with her kittens (my DD is called Andrea so she was a must have).
I used a cloud stamp to make a template for the clouds and using a mixture of funflock and flower soft to make them fluffy. Oh and not forgetting the DCWV citrus pad for the outside frame.
I think this would be a perfect card to sent to Post Pals

Friends

I'm still struggling on with 52-10 project, this is prompt 9 My Friends which is nice and easy I've met some fabulous people over the years through craft.
The prompt 10 is for A Special Friend, I'm so glad this project gave me the opportunity to remember my best friend. I stuck an envelope on the back of the layout using the flap to decorate and inside is a letter that I wrote to my BFF. The letter is quite personal and I've decided not to show it. The papers are left over from the Wedding album I made for my Sis and the pics on BFF layouts were originally slides that we used to have in the 70s.
The prompst are on 14 so I'm really behind but I'll get there in the end.

Just write me a letter

We've a fabulous challenge today over on Secret Craft Saturday Challenge for a Get Well Card. The idea of a card in a envelope crossed my mind when I sorted out this cute image. The envelope was made with a Hot off the press template that I've had for ages.
I used Papermania papers with roses and used the MS round the page punches. Just a few roses to finish off.
Poor Mr Blogger as being working hard this week with schedule posts and I'm afraid he's going to be doing them again.
Today I'm off down to Newbury to spend a fabulous day with MJ's Every Moment Matters All day crop, lots of food, laughter and hopefully some scrapbooking.
Sunday we're off to Ally Pally hopefully you've left me something to buy.

Candy Winner

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105 

Timestamp: 2010-04-09 12:02:32 UTC

So did you think I would forget to draw the Sarah Kay, well you would be right. Lucky I saw a Sarah Kay card while blog hopping and eventually realised I hadn't drawn the candy.

So Numer 105 is kaylou so can you e-mail your address to me at debby4000craftystuff@hotmail.co.uk

Couple of Gems

Oh my goodness who didn't realise that yesterday was the 8th and there's another super challenge on Gem of a Challenge. I have to confess yesterday wasn't my best of days but my cards are here now. It's a great challenge Special Birthdays since Christine aka Nanaseaside has a very special birthday today. This little Gem is Mimi and those papers are once again My Minds Eye Penny Lane.
This is the surprise inside a pop up 50 although I wish I had used some patterned cardstock rather than white cos it does seem bright.
This little Gem is Kaya and this time I used the Green at Heart papers from Basic Grey and since this card I made for Christine it gives you a huge clue to how special her Birthday is, hope the postman arrives before she looks at my blog.
I know there are Digi images lovers out there and Janet has put a freebie on the challenge blog so come and join us this month.
Well here down south in the UK we're having some beautiful weather and the garden is springing into life.

Checks and Frogs

The challenge on Penny Black Saturday Challenge is for checks and I knew the background paper was perfect although I only had a scrap of it along with a bit of doodlebug paper which all worked with the cute frog image. I've also used the Create 4 fun sketch again so perfect for the image. Even though there is no blue in the papers I think it works.
My visit to Wales was to visit a sick friend and left me feeling how cruel life is. But Sis and I stopped overnight in Swindon and drank a bottle of red wine in our friend's honour and the following day we did some retail therapy. I'm sure Lynne will have approved.

Card for a Child

Oh I do think this image is adorable is a Boefje stamp and we're show-casing them over on Simon Says Stamps Challenge. You can find them here at Simon Says Stamps shop.Last year on Simon Says Stamps Challenge we asked you to make a card for a child and send it to Post Pals and we would like you to do the same this year. I believe there's a US one called Make a child smile so that would count too.
I''ve used Basic Grey Kioshi paper again, I know but I love the colours and I've used EK success retro flowers with MS lattice punch.
Do check out the rest of DT fab creations and remember there's a prize of $25 to spend at Simon Says Stamps.

Its those pesky Mice again

Today I've had to go to Wales with my Sister so I hope Mr Blogger is on his best behaviour and posts this schedule post. It's for my Everybody Art Challenge which is a fabulous sketch, love sketches.
Now my glossy accents was very naughty and cracked, I've a feeling my room was too cold so when I touch the glasses it just went, but the chances are if they were real glasses they wouldn't be on the floor unless they were broken.
My MS zigzag embosses and I checked my card to see whether only one side embossed but it looks like the camera is being difficult too.
I've used My Minds Eye Penny Lane again, that pack I brought from The Range is so useful. Since the sketch is quite busy and I want to give this card to a man I've kept it quite simple but I'm really please with the embossed letters. Its a Crafts Too embossing folder which I've used with a white core cardstock and the letters are a perfect fit in the orange coloured Woodware punch, I'm kicking myself now cos I should've have brought the numbers too, when I was at The Art of Craft.
Not sure whether I shall be back tonight, we're going to playing it by ear, but will schedule tomorrows post just in case.

A couple of Easel Cards

I thought I better get this on my blog before the challenge runs out on Spoonful of Sugar who wanted a shaped card. I thought I would have a go at using a nestability for the shape. It turned out quite tinky and the little High Hopes fairy fitted pefectly, lucky for me she was all coloured up but I missed the challenge I was going to use her for.

The papers are Basic Grey Origins and the small roses from Wild Orchid.
Now on Just Magnolia they wanted a card with two folds or more and while I did experiment with an idea which didn't work as I was at my Sis and it was her card stock. I thought I'll better use it so with it I made an easel card which does have two folds. I've also used the sketch on Friday Sketchers.

Papers are My Minds Eye and I used my MS doiliy punch to go round the oval. OK I know the brown ribbon sticks out like a sore thumb but in RL its not that bad.
I've realised I didn't put a end date for the little Sarah Kay stamp so I will draw it on Friday.

High Hopes Guest DT

So my other big news I've been asked to be a guest DT for High Hopes, I love their stamps. My first challenge on the High Hopes blog is to make anything but a card. My heart sank . I'm not very good at being that original and I didn't just want to make a box. So I trawled through the Wide World Web and found a Bottle Tote by Kitty Franke. It just cried out for a trio of ducks but two sides meant six ducks
Duckprints wandering along two sides too,
A label for the one you love, I already know who I'm giving this box to, unfortunately the bottle of wine is for demo purposes only, since its mine, I will get some cheap red plonk to replace it.
I didn't think a card handle would hold so I decided to use ribbon and using an eyelet to strengthen the hole for the ribbon.
Just in case you missed the duck prints this is just one side, all stamped, coloured and cut out, before placing them on the box.
I'm really pleased how this turned out and from now on, I shall be making my own bottle boxes/bags but no more duck prints. Here's the pdf file from Scor-pal for the wine tote here.
I had a great day at my Sis she was experiementing with a couple of recipes she saw on GMTV, have to say they were fab.

How does your garden grow

With bunnies well it used to, we used to keep bunnies when my children were children. At one point we had far too many bunnies because my Son who was study leave, decided to put the boy and girl bunny together he called it his biology revision but the seven bunnies that were born later were a bit of handful. We had mice too, living in the greenhouse till they decided it was warmer in the house, it called for drastic action then.
Back to the card its for the new challenge on Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge now you know why I decided to use this Penny Black stamp. I've used Basic Grey Kioshi and since the papers are quite busy I've kept the card quite simple, using MS doiliy punch and a cuttlebug die for the corner.

Truly Sarah Kay

I've had to schedule this post since Hubby is working with BIL but they've an early start and we're staying over. So I had to make sure my pics are loaded into blogger in case they're late back and we're here another night.
My card is a sketch from the Truly Scrumptious challenge although from the rough copy of the sketch I drew, to the completing the card I think it went a touch wrong, my border I'm sure should be under the card mats not above it.
The papers is a Papermania pack, flowers from Wild Orchid and I used the daisy embossing folder.
The image is a new Sarah Kay which I actually have two stamps of. Why, well I pre-ordered them, then all the other stores got them first and I started to panic and decided I will buy the one I wanted the most from another store at the time I was buying something else.
So if you would like a chance to have my spare Sarah Kay then just add your name to Mr Linky and I will use that random thingy to choose where she goes and I'm sure I can find some ribbon to send too.



Have you seen the challenge over on Sir Stampalot, good grief it's a CRICUT.

Rub a dub dub

I've had this chap coloured up for a while it was just waiting for the right sketch and the one on Sketch Saturday was perfect for him.
The image is a Dustin Pike one from High Hopes and worked with the idea that he can work for a mans card, which is why there's not many embellishment. The papers are Kaiser and I used embroidery thread to decorate the side and the brads are fabric.
I'm really pleased with the flower soft and fun flock together it works a treat and you get such a good coverage, so much so I now have a pot already mixed. Love the sentiment which is also from High Hopes.
The furniture arrived yesterday and the new lampshades too, now I can slowly get the house sorted out and be in less of a muddle. I do have problem I broke the string in the curtain tape and needed to get some more to rethread the tape, the curtain shop recommended crochet thread from the Craft shop next door how convenient.
It happened to be The Art of Craft and Jane was over the moon with her new Crafts Too embossing folders, one of which is a 5inch SQUARE of dots, no more matching the dots up. She had some alphabet ones too and only another crafter can get excited about the forthcoming Christmas ones. A new punch fell into my hands too but I was hoping to get that at Ally Pally so I've saved my Sis from having to carry it!

Check out my Scrapbooking for the By the Cute and Girly in the post below

Fairytales

Where did March go, so its the first of the month and a new challenge on By the Cute and Girly. This month the challenge is Fairytales. So I chose titles to fit the photos and a fairy tale. The first one I had to stretch the title a bit since there were two of them. The papers are out of a Scrapagogo kit.
I used a shaped page as a template and them made the holes with punches and the cropadile. I've done cheese-holing before, one of the girls at the Mod Scraps Crop used to do it often. The rose FairyKaren showed me how to make it, conveniently in the paper I was using. The papers are K&Co.
I didn't use this one over on the Cute and Girly blog because I was using a Scrapbooking mag for inspiration and it turned out too much like the original so I can't show it has my own work. Once I worked out the paper pleating this was the quickest layout I've ever done. Not sure on the papers, I've had them for a while.
Do check out the DT creations on By the Cute and Girly.

Hedgie Roll

Just in case you had a shock and found a distressing card here' s a little something cute. The challenge on Penny Black Saturday Challenge is for Butterflies and Bees. Bit of cheat I've used my MS butterfly punch and some tiny pearls for some butterflies then I could use any image I fancied. I found a sketch on Our Creative Corner which would work with this image and inspired the layout. Papers are My Minds Eye and the MS lattice punch. The ribbon is not that bright and works a treat but you wouldn't think it to look at the pic.

Something Completely Different

Well this is something completely different, the challenge on Simon Says Stamps Challenge is for Distressing and since Heidi loves Tim Holtz stuff and she would like us to showcase Tim stuff. I'm hyperventilating just writing this.
So I started with choosing the background paper I wasn't up to making my own, I then distress round the edges with a blending tool which is great till you need to change the pad and having to accept inking fingers are the order of the day.
I have the Life's Possibilities clear stamp and I used the clock but I needed a bigger one so I have a set of clocks from Kelly Panacci and I used the largest one as well. For one of the clock handles I used a nestablities that look like clock hands and grungepaper my poor Cuttlebug wasn't happy with me so probably won't try it again, the hands were than duly coloured attached with a brad and glossy accented.
Sentiment came of the Kelly stamp set and grungeboard shape. The man looked lost so I found the word atc stamp from Crafty individuals and covered in the rock candy crackle. The man I stuck on with silicone glue to give him dimension and his brolly is covered in rock cand stickles. Phew that just left the crackle paint corners and MS border punch.
I do have one complaint, I've watch Tim videos and I watch the fabulous Leandra and Jean Hardy do they take HOURS to make one creation, think I shall stick to my cute cards less stress.
Of course you don't have to take Distressing this far, I think I was trying to prove something to myself and trust me it out of my system now.
So don't forget to check out the rest of the DT and there $25 dollar prize.

EveryBody-Art-Challenge

Remember I said I had two piece of new well one of them is that I've been asked to be on the DT on Everybody Art Challenge.
How could I say no, so my first challenge as a DT is a card for Spring. I've used my Sarah Kay's stamps for spring before so I thought it would make a change for another type of stamp so I chose a Sugar Nellie stamps and since she holding a baby lamb its definitely spring.
The papers are Cosmo Cricket and I've used the funky flower punch, a touch of lace from a friend and bit of ribbon to finish.
Do check out the challenge and see all the fab DT creations.

Surprised Tilda

First of all just want to let you know about a challenge on Simon Says Stamps Challenge blog . I've copied and pasted the following/
Welcome to our first challenge dedicated to everyone between the ages on 2 and 16 ,,,, we thought 1 year olds may be a bit too young !! :-) We would like to encourage all you Mum's to let your children loose in your craft rooms ha ha :-) The challenge is open for 2 weeks and will close at 10am GMT ( 9 am CET ) on Sunday 11th April

ANYTHING YOU LIKE

The theme is open so you can make whatever you like, cards, masks, bonnets, notebooks, anything you like, it does not even have to be Easter themed :-)

Heidi of Simon Says Stamps is offering a prize of $25.

Now back to my card I've used the Friday Sketchers sketch for this week, the papers are Basic Grey but without the front cover I'm not sure which one.
The sentiment is Craftwork cards and love how they fit in the stampin up oval punch.
The border punch is a MS one but it should emboss as well, not sure if its me or the punch but it doesn't emboss. The circle I cut on the Cricut and embossed with the daisy cuttlebug folder.