and.....Action!

Hello there
Another Friday eh?  They do come quickly, don't they? 
I'm looking forward to meeting up with some of my cousins this weekend.  It's been ages since I saw them.  
Today though it's Daring Cardmakers Day and I've used the challenge to make a card for one of my nephews, so at least he'll have a card, even if I can't think what to get for his birthday present!.

  

This week we have just one word for you
  Action
 It's a one word challenge - the idea is that you use the word however it inspires you, or whatever it makes you think of.
For example it could be sports action, or film, or an Action phrase like 'Action Stations', 'Take Action' or 'Lets see some Action!, or the card itself could have an action or moving element,
Or anything else inspired by the word - it's all up to you.

Check out the BLOG HERE to see what Actions the team took

Info

I made a clapperboard from a square of chipboard, I cut the top section away then painted both pieces with Blackboard Paint.  

The paper for the stripes came from a MME paper pad

I added the white paper stripes and cut the letters using my Silhouette Cameo

My plan to write the numerals with a white chalk pen were abandoned when I tried it out on a scrap piece of black card and saw what a horrendous mess my hand lettering looked - I couldn't even manage to make two numerals look presentable for goodness sake!

For the background and embellishing pieces I used some digi papers and clipart.  The clipart pieces were resized and printed a few times each so that I could create some dimension with them

Once the background papers were in place I added the cjapperboard, using a large white brad to join the two pieces together, then added the clipart embellishments,

To finish I cut a few gold stars using one of my latest dies from Spellbinders

Superstars  Die D-Lites Etched Dies

By the way, this is a really cute die set, one of the stars is about 5cms, the others are smaller, with the littlest one being about 1.5cms - they are all different shapes and patterns, which is great as I didn't have anything like this before

That's the lot for this time, thank you so much for coming by - please don't go without leaving a message 😀

 

Little Notes

Hi there

It's lovely and sunny here in Hertfordshire today. I like it even if my hayfever doesn't.  Perhaps when they've cracked that old chestnut and found a cure for the Common Cold they could turn their attention to Hayfever!  I know in the great scheme of things it's not the worst of afflictions, but I think we could do without it.

Right, here's my little crafting project for this time.  I used the August Sketch File LO to decorate a small notebook.  This is a fun, quick project and I'm gradually building a little stock of these (well ok, I've only done 2 so far, but the intention is there!) with the aim of adding them as cute little extra Christmas presents, or just to give away for the heck of it.  These are thin enough to pop into an envelope with a card to give someone a Happy Mail surprise too.

Info

Strip of card to cover front, back and spine of notebook, with a small margin at the edges.

Selection of other card scraps

 Prima flowers, medium brads, ricrac braid, gems

Tiny 'notes' is pc generated and printed onto white card

EK Success border punch

Scalloped Circle die cut

This sketch:

The Sketch File, August 2017

 And one of these 10p notebooks!

 

How easy can it get?

That's all for this time.

Thank you for visiting

 

Poinsettia Card and Gift Topper- Spellblogging for Spellbinders

Hello there! 

Thank you for joining me for another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders

I've finally succumbed and made my very first Christmas card of 2017!  But don't worry, this won't herald a whole host of them, it's just that I received a beautiful Layered Poinsettia die set and couldn't resist trying it out. Really, I wanted to see whether this poinsettia would make lovely toppers to decorate some of my gifts this year, I think it works beautifully for this purpose and of course, having made one, I just had to use how the same

 layout worked on a card

I paired the Layered Poinsettia die set with a couple of dies 
from the Untamed Tags set 

 Info
Soft sheen gold card, smooth cream card
Red and green card for the flowers
Red glitter card
patterned paper for background on card
Various ribbons, Stamens and glitter dots

These wonderful die sets from Spellbinders:
  
 Layered Poinsettia (Shapeabilities  Etched Dies)

Untamed Tags from the Rebel Rose Collection by Stacey Caron  

Shapeabilities Etched Dies

I love the way the Poinsettia works with the gorgeous label set, I always find making tags a bit of a chore, but a tag and gift decor all in one works a treat!!

The other thing I love about the Poinsettia set is that I can vary the dies I use to make different sized flowers - I'm already planning to make a few smaller flowers using just the two smaller rosettes and one of the larger ones in green will make the leaves.  Yes, I know they are bracts 😜

.  All in all, I'm quite pleased with my first foray into Christmas crafting - usually it takes a good few attempts being 'filed in the bin' before I find my Christmas mojo and make something I actually like!

 Anyway, that's all for this time - thank you for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store where you will be tempted by lots of lovely dies, stamps and much much more!

Happy Crafting

A Little Splash of Colour

Hello!

Happy Friday to you - though it would seem that most of it has just disappeared in a bit of a blur.  Why do some days fo that?
Anyway, at least the weather here has got better as the week has gone and we've had some lovely sunshine for the last couple of days.
We've been watching a lot of the World Championship Athletics and I did feel sorry for poor souls out there trying to compete and give their best in all that torrential rain the other evening.  The British weather always keeps us guessing, doesn't it?
Anyway, this is supposed to be a quick post because I'm so late getting it done, so I'll stop waffling and get on to this week's challenge from The Daring Cardmakers.

Hello, it's Enfys here to set this week's dare.
This week's dare is using colour in a way that isn't found in nature, so I am calling it
Unnatural
So think of purple trees, pink elephants, yellow pigs and multi coloured forests........ we look forward to seeing where your imagination takes you!

Well it just had to be another outing for the  Spellbinders 'Ele-fant' dies, didn't it?

Info

I resized some digi papers from Funky Hand so that the patterns were very small then printed them onto white textured Bazzill card

The elephants were then die cut and put together in different ways, using lots of scrap cardboard between the layers to give dimension

The sentiment was created in Paint Shop Pro and printed directly onto the cardstock, then the elephants arranged and adhered above the text

The water 'spouts' and the splatters were die cut from coloured card and I added a layer of Glossy Accents to some of them

Dies:

Ella-Fant Etched Dies from the My Little Red Wagon collection by Debi Adams (Spellbinders)

The paint splatters are cut using a die from Joanna Sheen.  It has paint tubes, brushes and other artist's paraphernalia on it too, but I can't find it on the website now.

Just a simple card really, but I had fun putting those cute elephants together!  It's such a fun little die set. 

That's all for today, thank you so much for coming by.  I hope you'll leave a comment - and then pop over to tThe Daring Cardmakers blog to see the wonderful and fun array of cards we have to share with you this week.

Have a great weekend

Simple Scraps

Hello

I'm pretty sure we're in the month of August, and living in the Northern Hemisphere, so it should be Summer - so what has happened to the weather?  Only a few weeks ago it was baking hot and we were all melting..... I said then we shouldn't moan!
Today's crafty project is a really simple card using the new 'Bouquet' LO from The Sketch File,  I raided my box of spare and scrap digi papers to make this

Info

Selection of Digital download papers from my box of scraps and unused pieces

Punched flowers

Die'Namics Doily die

Hand cut strips

Card Candy for flower centres

Smaller circles are die cut from more Card Candy using various dies (holly berries etc)

August Sketch from The Sketch File

The Sketch File - August 2017

I don't know about you, but I always feel quite virtuous when I manage to use a few little scraps - never mind the whole deskful of other untouched stuff.   I can always manage to overlook all of that.
Anyway, that's it for now
Thank you for visiting

 

Octagonal Box - Spellblogging for Spellbinders

Hello there! 

Thank you for joining me for another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders

This time I've made an eight-sided box so that I could decorate it with using the beautiful Labels 46 - Decorative Element Nestabilities Die set

You don't need much to make a beautiful box - this dies set does the hard work.
I made it difficult for myself deciding to make an octangular box, but a square one would have worked just as well

Info
Apart from the dies all I used was
Bazzill card in white, and an aubergine shade

Ribbon for the closure
Small lilac pearls

Here's the die set I used this time:
Labels 46 - Decorative Element Nestabilities Die set (Spellbinders)

For the flower 'button' I used the smaller two sizes from Cinch and Go Flowers Two 

I really love this die set, it's so intricate and pretty!  The packet included some advice on using an extra shim because of the intricacy of the dies, but everything cut perfectly without any extra help

 That's all for this time - thank you for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store where you will be tempted by lots of lovely dies, stamps and much much more!

Happy Crafting

Totally Tropical

Hello!
I'm starting yet another post by saying what a bad blogger I've bee this week - it's getting to be a habit and I need to break it!
I had a little excuse this week as we spent a couple of days away from home to celebrate our anniversary.. The weird thing is, that although it comes round on the same date every year, we always manage to leave it till the last minute deciding what to do.

Anyway, back to the crafting, and as its the first Friday of the month its Elemental Inspiration week over on the Daring Cardmakers.
Miri is a teacher in Germany and I have a feeling she was longing for the Summer holidays when she chose her picture!
I chose the flamingo, the flowers and the watery background to use, and made this

I'd planned to use some other kind of bird rather than a flamingo on my card, but then last week the Shapeabilities Tropics Wild & Free by Debi Adams  Die set came to live with me and I just had to use them, didn't I?

Info: 

 The papers all from two 6x6 paper pads called "Summer Feelings" by Studio Light

Flamingo and leaf shapes all from  Tropics Wild & Free  Die set (Spellbinders)

I used a punch for the Large flowers, then the stamen from Create A Lily   Shapeabilities Die set  (Spellbinders)

The small flowers are made with a couple of dies and stamen from Create a Peony set  (Spellbinders)

The flamingoes were each cut twice, a thread was adhered between the layers of the first one so that it could be attached inside the aperture.

Other items used:

Smooth white card blank

Scraps of coloured card, Inks to add shading to the flowers

Circle die to cut aperture

Ice Stickles to add interest to the 'water' inside the card

Miri's Inspiration Picture:

You just need to pick a minimum of three elements and use them on your card to join in with us this time. For example a flamingo or other bird, flowers, leaves the colours, a huge sentiment, a pool or the sea, a swirling background pattern etc.

That's it for this time - except to let you know that the Daring Cardmakers have a fabulous new Guest Designer sharing her first creation with us this week - so I hope you'll pop over to meet her and say 'Hi!'

Now, I need to get back to my new crafting project - I had a bit of a brain melt yesterday and ended up feeling a right fool when the penny dropped as to why something didn't work - just as I was asking my OH what I should do. I'd sat and looked at it on my own for ages earlier........ Ah well, at least, even after 24 years of marriage I can still make him laugh......

Have a great weekend!
 

Ornamental Doily Shaped Card/ Spellblogging for Spellbinders

Hello there! 

Thank you for joining me for another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders

I've just received a lovely new Nestabilities set called Ornamental Doily
 oh my!  it is sooooo pretty!

I decided to try using the largest of the dies in the set to create the actual card, just to show off the delicate shape and pattern, and because the little 'points'' in the outer edge looked just a little like the feet of one of those vintage ornate silver photo frames. 
I also wanted to use another of the flowers I shared the other week - though I did end up making two more of the same type to go with it.

There are three dies in the Nestabilities Ornamental Doily Etched Dies
set;  I used the largest to create the card itself; the base is cut from my usual 300gsm cardstock and hinged about 1cm from the top. Then I cut the doily again in white Bazzill, which was adhered carefully to the base making sure all the 'holes' matched.
 I used the same card and the middle sized die for the piece behind the three flowers - this was inked in the same peachy pink colour used to edge the flowers and also colour the leafy swirls, stamped sentiment and the mat behind it;
There are also some peachy pink pearls for the flower centres and some deeper peachy organza ribbon for the double bow
The third of the dies is the little finial piece on the sentiment tag.  It matches the design on the large doily so would look beautiful cut lots of times and fixed in each of the curves with some dimensional tape or glue behind.

Products used

Nestabilities Ornamental Doily Etched Dies

Cinch and Go Flowers Two 

Sprigs  
Die D-Lites Etched Dies

from Tiny Sentiments (Happy Grams #3) by Tammy Tutterow 

As mentioned, I made another 2 flowers in white card. One is slightly bigger than the original from a couple of weeks ago, and the other is smaller.  I used some ink of a small piece of old baby-wipe to add a little colour to the curled petals.
 Each petal is curled around a bamboo skewer to get the shapes, then all the sizes glued 'inside' each other together to get something like a dahlia

Well, that's all for today, so thanks for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store and explore the huge array of dies, stamps, machines and so much more!

Happy Crafting

 

In Wonderland

Mornig All/
Gosh, I've been a rubbish blogger this week, I really must do some catch-up blog posts before I forget what I've made.  
Do you listen to music, tv, audiobooks etc when you are crafting? 
It's a 'Work from Home' day for Hubby today and as we share the study we usually find listening to ClassicFM on the radio is a more pleasant sound than all the clicking of computer keyboards - plus it masks the various crafting sounds I make when I'm at my other desk!  
It's very quiet here, and usually when I'm on my own I don't tend to bother with background music etc. - its just other peoples' noise that bothers me haha
Okay, enough of the waffle, time to talk Daring Cardmakers again as its Friday - yes, it really is a whole week since the last one!

It’s Svenja here and I’d like to take you to a wonderful place this week:

Welcome to Wonderland!

On July 28^th in 1951 the Disney movie version of Alice in Wonderland premièred in the US and I’m asking you to celebrate this non-un-birthday with cards referring to wonderland itself and/or its beloved inhabitants.

And of course the Design Team have prepared some inspiration for you- so do check HERE to see them:

I knew Svenja had a love of the Alice books because earlier this year I made a "Through the Looking Glass" card for another of our challenge, so I wasn't really surprised when this one appeared on our calendar!  

I checked out the download papers I'd used for that, but in the end I went on a hunt for something new.  As usual my first port of call was Etsy, especially as I'd left it way too late to mail-order anything.  I LOVE the instant gratification of buying download collections!  These papers are by NanaVic and there are actually 3 sets of Alice in Wonderland designs.  Yes, of course I bought the lot!

I do love the various clock charms, papers, embossing folders etc that so many manufacturers make, but I'm also a bit unnerved about using them on things like birthday cards.....will people want to be reminded that life is short and their days are numbered.....?  Or is it just me who thinks people might be a bit offended?  Probably just me!
So anyway I thought I'd use one of the gorgeous charms that came in a recent "Craft Box", but try to put a more positive spin on the theme with the sentiment.

Info:

Digital papers from NanaVic- resized to fit my card and printed onto white textured Bazzill card.  The March Hare paper was printed twice, and then I cut out the lower part and adhered over the first layer with some chipboard between for dimension

The pocket watch is actually two embellishments fixed together.  Both from
Craft Box

"Enjoy" is die cut (Creative Expressions), "EVERY" and "minute" created in Paint Shop Pro and cut on my Silhouette Cameo.  All cut from black card

2 widths of yellow gingham ribbon, various pearls and gems  

I wish now that I'd made the whole sentiment in one piece, I think it would have looked tidier, but there you go, eh?

I mentioned the other Alice card.  It was this one, and you can see more about it HERE

  Rightio, off to try and fit in a bit of crafting before the "What's For Lunch?" query comes my way from Himself ;)

Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment - See you soon!