Big News from the DCM

Not only do we have a fab new Dare to announce today, but we're absolutely delighted to welcome our first Aussie to our Team of Daring Cardmakers. Anyone who's followed the blog and clicked through the links list will know Gillian's fabulous work, and we're thrilled that she's agreed to join us and swell the ranks of the Antipodeans on the Team!

So, time for the fun to begin and this time and this week The Daring Cardmakers were challenged by the wonderful Lythan to "Raid Your Wardrobe" - to peer into the depths of our wardrobes, cupboards and drawers searching and rummaging for ideas to get us making cards. Obviously, this didn't mean we had to tidy them all up at the same time - at least I hope that wasn't her intention....

"This weeks dare is to look in your wardrobe for inspiration. It may be the pattern on a skirt, the style of a shirt, the pattern on a jumper or the fringe of a scarf. Your card could be clothing shaped! Just go with your creative flow."

This one was fun, I think we all enjoyed doing it and hopefully you'll all be inspired to have a go too. Don't forget to go and check out all the cards made by the Design Team - they are fantastic and if that lot doesn't get you itching to join in and have a go yourself, well.....

Rightio, here are my contributions for this week

As soon as the Dare was announced I thought of this scarf-shawl thing I bought at a Craft Fair last year, the fabric is gorgeous and the vibrant colours and pattern is stunning - so I scanned it! Ha! bet you thought I'd chopped some off, didn't you? Nooooo I woudln't do that, well not unless I really had to! Most fabric scans pretty well and you can get some great background papers this way. I actually bought two different shawls, but one was for a birthday present - Why oh Why didn't I scan it first?

I printed the scan out twice, once on shiny photographic stuff and once on regular hammered card to see which looked best. I went for the shiny stuff in the end. Cut a piece off then divided this into 3 equal strips which were each mouinted on strips of white and black card. I made the little tassels from gold thread and added a pretty glass bead to each - it deosn't show up so well in the pic but the beads are matt and mottled with the perfect pink and peachy shades to match the paper. I added gold eyelets to the card strips and threaded the tassels through on fine wire - trying to use thread was just too fiddly. The big flower is by Heidi Swapp and the first thing from the stash box MIL gave me for Christmas. The wide gold and the pink ribbons are both from my ribbon stash. I couldn't find a gold button so painted a white one with my gold Krylon pen. Having made the whole embellishment I couldn't decide where to put it on the card - hope I got it right in the end!

Card 2 If you want to get ahead, get a hat!

...or so they say. I love hats - I have quite a few stashed away. I have a few winter hats but mostly they only come out on really chilly days - there's nothing quite so comforting as a cosy hat, when the weather is cold - or when I have a cold and am feeling miserable. Then there's my baseball cap for bright days and my lovely sun hat, the only one with a name - it's called Aussie-Hat, because I bought it in Oz during our Round the World Trip in 2000. I bought it in Kuranda, near Cairns (- thanks forreminding me of the name, Susan :-) ) reached by a cable car ride high over the rainforest - it was a fab trip - just a shame we decided to make the journey back to the car park by way of the old steam train - sounds idyllic, doesn't it? well it wasn't - it was DIRE!!!!!!!!! not only was the journey was long and boring but the train keep breaking down and they kept playing these awful folk songs about "Koala, koala we've taken your homes..." I don't think they were real songs you know, they were way too bad!

Anyway, I digress.......

My second card was inspired by my favourite wedding hat. I made a pattern then cut the hat from green card, covering it with some handmade paper. The ribbon was a bit tricky and in the end I used lengths of narrow satin ribbons to get the effect of the pleats around the hat, and wide organza ribbon to make the bow and the "rose" thing in the middle. I cut strips of a dull matt gold for the edging around the card and feathered some lovely petal paper for the rest of the background. The beads are crystal-like bicones and some small pearl effect ones that were lurking in the bead box

And here's a pic of hubby and I all spruced up (makes a change from our usual sweatshirts and joggers) for the wedding of the guy who was Best Man at ours! We don't have many photos of us together - he's usually lurking behind the camera rather than in front of it. If you're interested in seeing some of his work, check out his photography site - there's a link lurking in the links lists somewhere1