Boys Boys Boys

Cards for boys are always hard aren't they? Even the boys cards I make I wonder if any boy would actually like them or if they are still a bit too cute! Anyway here is one I like even if no boy would like it :) This is for A Spoon Full of Sugar which this week has a wonderful sketch from Debbie.


Materials:
Stamp - Sugar Nellie
Papers - Kaboodle Doodle All Star
Ink - VersaFine Black
Colouring - Letraset promarkers
Other - Blue cardstock; raffia

Initially.....

A card for the Funky Fairy Challenge which this fortnight is all about initials. A friend's young son is having a his birthday at the end of this month and his name begins with 'A' so:


Edit:
Ooops - I've just re-read the Funky Fairy challenge blog rules and there is a new one that you have to use something from Funky Fairy's in your design. Teach me to not to take more notice! I just saw the challenge and got on with it! Won't do that again!

Materials:
Image - Made by me
Papers - Made by me also!
Card - white cardstock

Cupcakes again.

Ok I confess - No not to a cupcake obsession but to not having that many Penny Black stamps at the moment. So for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge I had to be a bit creative as I have now used all the stamps I have, all two of them! So for this week's challenge, which is ribbons, I have only used part of a stamp :)

Can you guess which stamp it is from....




Materials:
Stamp - Penny Black; HOTP
Papers - Basic Grey Recess
Colouring - Watercolour pencils
Inks - VersaFine Black; Rangers Distress Inks Walnut stain
Other - Ribbon

Blog Candy

I haven't been following the blog candy much recently but here are two I've found today - but you will have to be really really quick as the deadline is today :)

Ros at Stamp and Scrap has posted 400 posts - well done Ros.

Jean at Paper and Cakes (Mmm yummy) is celebrating her birthday - Happy birthday Jean.

Christmas Brights

I'm dreaming of a bright Christmas and here is a bright tag to go with it :) This one is for Tag You're It which has a Christmas in August theme this week.



Materials:
Stamp - Hero Arts; HOTP
Papers - BasicGrey Sultry
Colouring - Twinkies H2O
Inks - VersaFine black
Others - Ribbons; crop-a-dile; eyelet

Secret Messages

A Spoon Full of Sugar have a fab challenge this week - Secret Messages on your card. So here is my go. I love these papers from Kaboodle Doodles they go so well with the stamp from Sugar Nellie.




Materials:
Stamp - Sugar Nellie
Papers - Kaboodle Doodle All Star
Inks - Distress ink Walnut stain; VersaFine Black
Colouring - Letraset Promarkers
Equipment - Cuttlebug, Spots and dots embossing folder
Other - String; Raffia; Coloured staples; mini-bulldog clip; cardstock; Brown cardstock

Blossom Berry Leaving Card

Here is my take on this week's great sketch from Mumur at Friday Sketchers. The papers I've used are from a fab new kit, 'Blossom Berry Brights', that is being launched from Kaboodle Doodles soon.


Elizabeth over at Elzybells Art Stamps has showcased my card on her blog - I'm tickled pink, thank you Elizabeth. You must have a look at her stamps, they are fab.

Materials:
Stamp - Elzybells Art Stamp; Studio G alphabet
Papers - Kaboodle Doodle Blossom Berry Brights
Inks - VersaFine Black; VersaColor Orange and Amethyst
Colouring - Letraset Promarkers
Other - Pearl brads; Orange sead beads; Metallic elastic; White cardstock; Orange Bazzill; White galaxy marker; Notepaper

Flowers for a RAK

Here is a RAK card I made recently. It uses some flowers I made from paper inspired from nature itself.



Walking to work one day I found a petal shape on a flower that I just knew I had to copy. I sketched it then made a template flower which I've now been using in lots of different ways. I've been asked how I did it so here is a step by step, hope it is clear :)

So first using my template I cut the shapes from my chosen papers which in this case are from the All Star set from Kaboodle Doodle.









I then cut a small slit between the petals to separate then a little.











For these flowers I distressed the edges using a felt block (a bit of felt attached to wood with velcro) with small circular motions around the edges on a craft mat. The edges pick up the ink nicely. You can also ink the edges directly or drawn on them - anything really.




To shape the petals I use a thin embossing tool, but a thin knitting needle or a cocktail stick works as well.

I start by bending the centre of the petal downwards over the embossing tool.




Next there is an upward bend on either side of the centre line of the petal.








Then a downward bend on both edges of the petal











I also curl the tips downwards and if you want even more dimension you can use the ball to a larger embossing tool to dent the centre.







For the centre of these flowers I used a flower punch, curling the tips of these flowers downwards, and a brad. But there are all sorts of things you can do - use a sentiment, a decorated brad, gems, buttons - it is endless :)






The finished flower :)








Hope that helps :)


Materials:
Stamp - Elzybells Art Stamps
Papers - All Stars Kaboodle Doodle
Inks - VersaFine Black; VersaColor Pink
Equipment - Embossing tools; small flower punch, felt block; craft mat
Other - Letraset Promarkers; Fine black marker pen; white cardstock

A Mystery Pack Challenge

As I came back from hols last week I arrived to find my Mystery Craft Pack from Susan Daly in my post box - Excitement :). Susan is a Stampin' Up Demonstrator in the USA and has been running a 'Summer Challenge' where she sends crafters from around the world a pack of selected crafty bits and pieces and a card she made and then we make something to post on our blogs and Sue's using the pack. What a totally fun idea - well I had to join in didn't I? Thanks for letting me join in Sue.

I haven't made mine yet - still in the creating process :) But I thought I would blog the fab set I got and Susan's gorgeous card for you to look at :) Then I will post my creation later. Be sure to go look at Sue's blog she has some lovely cards up on it.


And here is the pack she sent me (there is also a square paperclip which I forgot to photograph as it was attached to the letter Sue sent for safe keeping - D'oh).



So what to make......?

Circles in inchy form

Playing today with my cuttlebug embossing folders, a background stamp and some ink I've made an inchy for the Inch By Inch challenge, which this week is circles. The circles were stamped onto the inchy by inking up the square background stamp, stamping it onto card embossed with the dots and spots folder and then stamping the background stamp onto white card. It leaves a wonderful negative empression of the dots and spots embossing.



Materials:
Stamp - Whispers square background stamp
Ink - Versa Color pink and blue
Equipment - Cuttlebug / dots and spots embossing folder; pliers
Other - Button; Wire

Buttons Grow on Trees - Didn't You Know?

Buttons are this week's theme for the Papertake Weekly Challenge and I have a very rare button tree for this one :)



Materials:
Image - hand-drawn fine black marker and coloured with promarkers
Paper - Kaboodle Doodles All Star
Other - Cardstock; Computer/printer for wording and parenthesis

Cakes for Meece

It's party time for mice and here is a card for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge which has a fab stetch for us this week. The papers are a new kit about to be released from Kaboodle Doodles.



Materials:
Stamp - Penny Black
Papers - Kaboodle Doodle Party Picnic
Inks - VersaFine black
Other - Watercolour pencils; Glitter Glue; white cardstock

Sooo Cute

Back in the crafting swing had the urge to alter a photoframe with the Alien Card Kit from Kaboodle Doodles. The photos are of my boyfriend as a little boy - Oh just Sooo Cute.



Materials:
Papers - Kaboodle Doodles Alien Card Kit
Other - wooden photoframe

Normal Services Have Resumed.....

It has been a wonderful week. Haven't had much time to do crafting but have been absorbed in my other obsession/passion in life - Taiji or Tai Chi as most people would probably know it.

At the beginning of the week I packed away my craft table so that we had room for a family friend who was down in London for a week's workshop with the Open University. It was fab to see her. Then my boyfriend and I (luckily we both enjoy Taiji) packed-up to go to a five day workshop ourselves. Five hours of training for five days - marvelous!

Back home now with sore, but happy legs. Craft table is back up and I am chopping at the bit to get started. Took the Kaboodle Doodle papers from Andrea with me to camp for inspiration - so even though I couldn't do any crafting I was still thinking about it :)

So some new cards and stuff will be going up shortly, particularly as I got home to some goodies which I will tell you about later. Meanwhile here is a card a did for a Post Pals Child - Zachary, through the Cardmaking Friends Forum.



Materials:
Pens - Promarkers; fineline black pen; galaxy markers
Card - White cardstock
Stamps - Studio G typeface mini-alphabet
Ink - Versafine black

So a doodle card where I made a doodle car shape template coloured it then placed two onto white cardstock and doodled the passengers. The cars where then cut out leaving a small white border. The sun and clouds where also cut-out and layered onto the background. The greeting was stamped into circles and cut-out and layered onto white card. The whole scene was then placed onto a card front leaving a white border

More felt things

Cake, yummy cake - sorry it is made from felt and beads. This one went on the front of a friend's little girl's birthday card.

So a question for you - what do you call them? Cupcakes or fairy cakes :) If you are old enough and from the UK you probably remember them as fairy cakes? We all seem to call them cupcakes now - did that start in the USA? Or perhaps fairy cakes are just the ones with the little sponge wings - do you remember them?

Talking of cupcakes have any of you seen the amazing cupcakes made by Hanita. She posts them on Flickr you must take a look. She has a blog too.

Birthday Card for my Mum

A new card to post. I made a card for a challenge in May but halfway through making it I decided that it would be a lovely birthday card for my Mum and as I did not want her to see the card before her birthday I have waited 'til now to post this. Of course I then had to make a different card for the challenge but hey ho.



This has to be one of my favourite stamps. It is a Tim Holtz stamp and it was one of those things that as soon as I saw it I knew that I had to have it :) As my Mum has a keen interest in sewing and vintage style, well it was a must for her card as well. The image stamped twice and the woman on one image coloured with watercolour pencils and cut out and layered on the monochrome image with 3D-foam. The patterned cardstock is from the DCWV 'All Dressed up' glamour stack.

Playing with Felt

I haven't posted any sewing for a while as I've been concentrating on the papercrafts. So I thought I would put one of my felt flowers up. Made from felt, embroidery silk and buttons.



I love working with felt, you can get it in so many colours and it looks fab. This flower is to put on a make-up bag but I'm going to make some smaller ones for cards :)

Kaboodle Doodles Altered Box

Just thought I would blog one of the creations I sent to Andrea at Kaboodle Doodles for the design team call. Particularly as I can't do any crafting because my stuff is all packed away at the moment :(
I needed a new buttons box so thought I would alter a large crispbread tin I had been saving to make into something (I horde everything, literally everything). So here is the result. I used some wonderful free download papers Andrea has on her site and scanned some buttons then using Adobe Photoshop Elements put together the label with the lined paper from Kaboodle Doodles. So here is the result:

Before:



After:



Mmmm might need another Buttons box soon, this one is almost full already!

I'm Sooo Excited

Andrea over at I'd Love to Wear a Rainbow has had a Design Team Call up for her papercraft company Kaboodle Doodles and she has picked me to be one of seven. I'm ecstatic! I can't wait to get started. You must go have a look at the papers they are fantastic :)

The other design team members are:

Leann New
Steph Smith
Tracey Vincent
Zoe Stupples
Jo Nevill
Lisa Swift

Go have a look at the lovely blogs of this talented lot :) I can't wait to get to know them all better.

No Excuse Blogging

Been a bit busy recently having to clear away my craft stuff so that we can make room for a guest! So my craft desk, which is a fold-up garden table, is being dismantled and put away :( Therefore thinking about crafting more than doing crafting for the next week. Ho Hum. If you live in a tiny flat.....

But it will be nice to have guests :) And so that is what our living room looks like again :)