Thank God It's Tuesday!

Gosh what a busy few days. I have all but one of my orders done and out. I finished and posted the last of the wedding orders yesterday and so have another happy bride to be on my books. (I really must update the comments page on my web site "oops")

Next is another card I did for the Friday night challenge on Just Bex. The details of the challenge are below. I actually did this one on Friday evening along with the flower card but forgot to photograph it.

I got another text order last night from my dear friend (of Exploding Box fame ;)) This time her friend's son's wife had a baby boy yesterday and she wanted another box and a 'normal' baby card! I did these today. She also collected the lilac DCM card from Friday and was very pleased with it.

And finally, a quickie made for hubby's work collegue who is leaving this week.

I have also been working on a project which I'm rather chuffed about but I'll save that one for tomorrow. :) I've got a couple of challenges to catch up with tomorrow too so at least I'll have something to talk about!

Friday night challenge-Shapeshifters

Samm has set the challenge on the Just Bex forum and said

"I challenge you to make a card but it is not allowed to be a square or rectangle, any other shape is allowed. There's a fab prize up for grabs and the Team Challengers will be decide the winner (grovelling optional, LOL!!!) "

I had just the thing lurking in my drawer so here we are :))

The card base is from an old SA Kit, the papers are from one of the new mini album kits by Papermania (but can't remember which one), the tag and brads are from Crafts by Carolyn and the butterfly is Quickutz. I have nearly finished another card but that will need photographing tomorrow.

Friday's dare

I just love these dares which I can incorporate into an order. Today it was Lythan's turn to set the dare and here is what she had to say

here is a nice broad theme to get your creative juices flowing.
Embossing.Dry embossing with a light box or with a die cutting machine.Using embossing powders or triple embossing.Using pre-embossed papers.Embossing with found items.Just have fun playing!And as I can't resist being a little (em)bossy - why not see if you can get more than one emboss technique on your card?

This is a scan of the card so the detail can be seen clearly. Below is the photo of the whole card.

I have used the Stylized Flowers embossing plate by Cuttlebug. These are brilliant. The detail is perfect and they give a really deep emboss. The large flower stamp is by Anita's and has been stamped with a Versamark pad and embossed with silver powder. They have been mounted onto the card using paper flowers and brads. The actual card is a very pale lilac almost grey stardream card and has a lovely shimmer to it. The backing papers are from one of the new Mat Stacks by K & Co.

This is the first time I have ever made an accordion card and I am really pleased with it. :)

Nosey who??

Yet another challenge for the JB forum This is the (rather lengthy but good for filling a blog) brief

OK so this is something I really NEED and have been meaning to do it for AGES! So the challenge that will unfold over the next couple of weeks will hopefully help you create something that is totally stunning - but also USEFUL! And what is it? Have you guessed yet? Well we will be creating a personal organiser file - TOTALLY dedicated to our crafting! No reminders of dentist appointments etc allowed - ooh no this is ALL about CRAFT. So the first part of the project is the binder itself. We challenge you to decorate a binder and title it with something Quirky. Clearly the next stages will involve decorating dividers AND populating them with all the information we ask for No starting now because the first few WILL be specific sections But I will say - at the end of this you will have a gorgeous reference point which will help you with WHEN to craft, WHAT to craft, WHO to craft with ......... do you get my drift? And have no fears - there is flexibility with some of the sections for you to use how you wish - because this is all about USING it to get supremely organised. POINTS SYSTEM Well of course the little shiny point will be allocated for EACH stage completed in time. SO by 7pm next Friday for this round. We also will be rewarding people who finish the entire project within the deadlines an additional 5 points. YES you read this correctly - a Total of at LEAST 11 points for this baby OK are you ready? Off you go then to create the binder itself. If you would prefer to use A5, or even a Box tabbed system this is FINE - you will be using it daily so make it work for you. I have nearly finished my binder and will make sure piccies go up tomorrow for you all. So READY STEADY GO

I actually finished it yesterday but forgot to ask hubby to photograph it. This is what my folder started out as

and this is what I've done to it!!

and here is daddy's little helper! LOL

Papers are from the original Papermania Colossal Pack, the small flowers are Prima and the large flower on the front is from Dunelm Mill.

DCM dare/Just Bex Challenge

This is the brief from the DCM web site

This week we have a recipe challenge for the Little Extra. There's an old rhyme that tells brides what they should wear on their wedding day to be sure of good luck, it goes:
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue.This week we'd like you to incorporate these four things into your card -
It doesn't have to be a Wedding card, despite the verse - just as long as your card features each of those things on it.
Borrowed could be borrowed from another card, some ribbon from a chocolate box, a tiny piece "borrowed" from a child's hair ribbon, even a postage stamp from an old envelope, it could also be an item or technique borrowed from a different crafty sphere...And before you ask - whilst you're allowed to use a sewing machine to make your card - it CAN'T be your borrowed item - as that would be just TOO EASY and this is supposed to be a challenge, isn't it! hehehe

Here is my card

So my something old is the vintage image from Joanna Sheen's Romance cd, my new are the mat stacks by K & Co, my borrowed is the template from JB challenge and the blue is the colour which pulls it altogether.

The brief from Just Bex is

We want you to use this template and complete BOTH our tasks.

Here's your template and we need a LAYOUT - minimum size 8 x 8 and a CARD BUT you must remember the template rules - there are NONE twist it, flip it shrink it YOU DECIDE

Finally managed the layout too :)

All's well.......

.........that ends well! The kitties came through their op brilliantly and so far there are no ill effects. They do look strange though with a baldy bit on their sides. It's not as big as I thought it would be. They have to go back to the vet tomorrow just for a quick check up and then next Thursday they have the stitches out.

I finished the first birthday order last night and this is the third card.

I am really pleased with this one as it is the first time I've made a pop out card. I saw it a few years ago on tv (using expensive templates) and thought "I can do that" but never actually got around to it. The papers used are a mixture of Kate by MM Kids and Hopscotch mat pad by K & Co.

I have an order in at the moment from a friend who said "we have 2 weddings to go to in July and I went to town the other day to get horse shoes off our Billy (grandson). Then I thought, "No I won't Jackie can make me something!" and that is all she said.................ouch! lol I've been having a play this morning and this is what I've come up with.

I shall hang it from white organza ribbon through the marks on either side of the plaque. I will also switch the initials round so that the 'L' starts the first word. This one is only a sample and not the real thing, it's just to give Anne the idea of what I'm on about! Not sure about the 2nd one as the couple are Spanish and are getting married in Spain.

I shall now see if I can catch up with my challenges (I might have said this yesterday) as I have a wedding order to do this afternoon.

Oops

I meant to add this one last night but forgot. It was late and I went to bed after I'd blogged. Anyway, the cards fits 2 of the challenges on the fabulous J B Forum Samms challenge was to make a Father's day card without using the word father or dad on the front and Sue's was this template

and here is my take on them both.

The papers used are from the new designer scrap pads by K & Co. I just love them and have 6 so far. The charms are from Mad About Cards and the buttons and ribbons are from the fabby June kit from Ribbon Oasis.

Here are more up to date piccie of my 'little girls' They are just so adorable.

This is Squirt, the little one. We are hoping that some day she will grow into her ears. lol She is the cheeky one out of the 2 of them. She causes mayhem then stands back so her sister gets into trouble!!

This is Tigger, so called for obvious reasons and at 4 months she still can't run properly. She bounces everywhere. The house is very empty at the moment. hubby dropped the kitties off at the vets this morning on his way to work as today is the day they are being speyed.

Right, work beckons. I need to wash the kitchen floor then I have a couple of orders to fullfil. I also need to do some crafting for me as I have a couple of challenges to catch up on.

Monday, Monday

After doing very little craft wise over the weekend my intention last night was do do a couple of challenges from the Just Bex Forum but that wasn't to be. I shuffled lots of things round my desk and made a mess but didn't actually come up with anything constructive apart from cutting out an Explosion Box. Today, however, fared better. I started this morning at 7.30 am by putting together the Explosion Box seen here

Next on my list came some work cards for hubby as he has 2 weddings at the weekend and no cards. I actually made 5 altogether so am now in front. They were all varieties of this one.

Not very challenging but quick to make!

I then had another 'special' birthday card for the baby who I've done the box for. She will be 1 on 25th June and her cousin is the baby I did the last pink box and other Christening cards for. I decided to make this one. It was originally a challenge, before Christmas, by Sheila (Manicstamper) on the Crafts by Carolyn forum and I won! Sheila gave us written instructions only, no pictures or diagrams, and it was quite tricky as we had no idea what we were actually making! lol

The card is like a long concertina which folds up into a small box.

And last but not least, I've finally done Nicky's Friday night challenge. The challenge was in 2 parts, the first of which I did on Friday. This was the brief for the second part

Create a LO using only cardstock, paper and pens (and photos, of course ). No stamps, no ink, no embellishments, no computer-journalling, although cutting-tools can be used for card and paper, such as die-cutters, punches, etc.

What a wonderful back drop-my trusty old camping table. This comes out when I have seating plans to do. It hasn't been put away yet as I have just done three in the last two weeks.

Till tomorrow when hopefully there will be more to show. :)).

Check out my Slide Show!

Friday challenge

Just a quick visit to add a card I've made for Nicky's Friday night challenge on the JB forum. The brief is

Create a card using only one sheet of paper. Double sided paper is allowed and recommended. NO inking, doodling or any other embellishments allowed. All components of the card HAVE to be made using the paper only...You can die-cut, punch, decoupage etc.

So here is my first card.

I have used a sheet from my new 12 x 12 Sparkly Sweet pad by K & Co. The papers are just gorgeous. The flowers are just cut from the sheet and decoupaged. The word BLOOM at the bottom was cut using the Thin Cuts Small Stuff alphabet and mounted onto circles cut with the small circle punch by X-Cut.

I've just realised that I haven't uploaded the DCM challenge for today. Today was Keryn's turn to set the challenge and here is what she said.

Hi it's Keryn here and it's my turn to set the dare this week. This time I asked my family for ideas for this weeks dare and the best amongst a lot of ideas including power tools etc, etc was Lachlan's ideas for Space. It's been his topic at school this term. (Lachlan is seven and in Year 3). To make in a little easier on you all I've called it Celestial to also include horoscopes as well as planets, spaceships, stars, suns etc. How you use these items is up to you.

The image for this card is bt Elzybells and is stamped onto pale pink paper and coloured with Twinkling H2Os It is backed onto a piece of pink striped paper from the first Colossal pack by Papermania. The sentiment is printed onto vellum and held on by mini buttons. The pale pink paper and vellum quote is from a mini album kit I bought a long time ago and found when sorting my drawers looking for something else!

Samm's challenge

...........over on the Just Bex forum is to make a Father's Day card without using the words Father of Dad on the front so here is my take on the card.

I used a cream textured card as the base card and to mount the 'greeting'. The blue tag is from a tin I got in Lakeland ages ago (and I keep forgetting I've got them). The ric rac and the tiny buttons are from Crafts by Carolyn and the charm is from Create n Celebrate (it is actually their featured product this week.) The greeting is a rub on from the Father Sentiment sheet by Royal and Langnickel

We were taken out for tea last night by my eldest daughter and went for one of those all you can eat Chinese buffets. It was really lovely and the food was gorgeous but I am so thirsty this morning. DS didn't come with us as he doesn't like Chinese food. We called for him a pizza on our way home! I was going to do allsorts when I got back but couldn't move so made the card above.

The blackbirds are growing really fast at the moment. I went out to check on them yesterday and they now have feathers. I will see if I can get another photo later today. No point in waiting for the sun to come out though, it's forcast to be another grim day. This is the third one on the trot and not only is it grey and miserable, it's not very warm either. I think I might have to emigrate to Zakynthos for part of the year ;) If only it were that simple.

Spooky!

I have just had a really spooky coincidence. I put my card on the scanner ready to scan to add here and Terry Wogan put the track on.........Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy.

I managed 2 challenges at once with this card. It's not the most brilliant card in the world but it does fill both briefs and I quite like it!

Samm's challenge over at Just Bex is to Create a card or Layout based around the film 'The Wizard Of Oz', this could include Lions, doggies, Courage, shoes, Kansas etc etc, you get the idea.

The midweek challenge over at the DCM is set by Gillian and this is her brief "how's about a dare where you can't use any adhesives at all... You have to put them away...No tape, no gluesticks, no Xyron, no modpodge.... and all other sticky things....the only things you can use are things like staples, stitching, brads, eyelets, pins.... that sort of thing to attach all the bits to your card."

The song on my card is printed onto rainbow paper, mounted onto yellow striped paper from one of the mini scrapbook kits by Docrafts (some of the papers are really lovely but apparently they are not bringing the papers out on their own!) and fastened on with Quicklets The ribbon is from Maya Road fastened on with brads and the word 'wish' is a freebie rub on.

Maze Book 2

After making a Maze Book last week for one of the Just Bex challenges, I decided to make another for a very special friend who celebrates her birthday on Saturday. I really enjoy putting the books together, they are so simple but very effective. I'm into brown at the moment so the card base on this one is brown Bazzil too!

Front cover
Pages 1 & 2

Pages 3 & 4

Pages 5 & 6 Pages 7 & 8

Back cover and tags

I would love to know how other people stop their pages from 'flopping' out when the book is open. I have tried gluing or taping some of the pages together but this just seems to make the book incredibly tight when open!
I have used various papers from old SA Kits, spotty Prima Flowers from Craft Obsessions, Quickutz dies, ribbons from my lovely stash from RIbbon Oasis and my lovely new Cuttlebug embossing folders.
Thanks to my gorgeous kitty cats, housework beckons. One of them has just knocked a plant over in the conservatory so I have to go and clean up the soil. I wish I could get them to use a dustpan and brush, it would make my life easier. LOL

Jen's June Challenge

Jen has done a challenge over on the forum at Just Bex for this month and it is to make a card with a handmade flower on the front. I took the easy way out and used a template which was in a lovely pink kit which DH bought me for Christmas from Craftwork Cards

The flower and backing papers are from K & Co and the greeting is printed on the pc, inked and mounted on foam pads. I curled the flower with a nail file (!) to give it that 3D look.

Look whats just arrived, I love my postie on days like this :))

I saw the link for these on Kathy's blog and decided to order them from Ribbon Oasis and they are just gorgeous. All different shades of brown and cream ribbons and flowers packed into a paint tin ready to alter. The service is value for money is excellent and I shall definitely be returning. :))

I also got these.

I have never used the Cuttlebug embossing folders or dies before but have seen loads of good revies about them so I went in at the deep end (as you do). I got the wedding, birthday and word filled hearts and the little train die all from Janet at the Top Topper Shop on ebay. I have ordered from her quite a few times as her prices and service are excellent. I'm very pleased to hear that she has now opened a web site in addition to the ebay store. This can be found at http://www.toptoppershop.co.uk/

I also received a set of celebration stamps by Anna Griffin bought from Canada. I lost my trusty birthday cake stamp and couldn't find it singly anywhere so bought the set again. Now I have spares just in case I lose any more. Having said that, the couple I've lost will probably turn up now.

I always love my job but days like today make it even better. I can collect craft goodies without having to justify my spending. All in the line of business ;))

DCM dare

Just a quick one today. I had a wedding card to make to be posted tomorrow so I used the DCM dare for this week. The brief was:

Kel says- Okay, this week I would like you to use some acetate, vellum, plasma or anything else remotely 'see-through' on your card. That's it!

Although it isn't noticable on the card, the bride and groom are stamped onto acetate and tied to the card with silver ribbon.. The greeting is then printed onto the actual card.

I'm off to see my mum and dad now :)

A bird in the hand

..........is worth more than two in the bush, but I'm not sure exactly how many!! We have a huge Passionflower growing across the front of our sheds and I got sidetracked this afternoon on my way down to the greenhouse. Upon further investigation, this is what I found. Of course I had to come back in for the camera. Mummy blackbird had disappeared by the time I got back out so it was a case of shove the camera into the bush and hope for the best! What with hubby, kids, cats, fish, frogs and now baby birds, it's beginning to feel like living in a zoo. LOL

I've managed to do my first card for Sue's template challenge on the Just Bex forum. It started out as a unisex card but I think it has finished up as a male card! See what you think.

And this is the template.

Won't get much crafting done tomorrow as I am going to see my mum and dad's new cottage and it will be the last time I see them before they jet off to sunny Florida next Sunday.

Typical!

Just a quick one today. I got a frantic phone call earlier from DD. It's their anniversary tomorrow and she hadn't got him a card, but she would be calling for it in 30 mins! Isn't that just like kids!! They don't change as they grow up either. He is an avid LFC fan and I'm running out of ideas now as I have made his birthday, Christmas and anniversary cards for the last 5 years, not only from DD but from us too. Anyway, this is what I came up with.