More of the old stuff

The challenges seem to be coming ever quicker from
the Daring Cardmakers. Barely do I have time to finish one when there’s another posted.

This week it’s Keryn’s turn and she says:-

I know you've all got buttons stashed away somewhere, whether they've been purchased at a cardmaking store or you thriftily snipped them off DH's old shirt. I'd like you to find those buttons and use them somewhere on a card. They can be real buttons, craft shop buttons, die cut buttons, faux buttons or another type of button, surprise us all.

I’m still trying to use up some of my old stuff so for this card I’ve dragged out my Vibrant Colossal paper from Papermania. I still don’t know why I brought this because I really do struggle to use it.



Anyway, the pot is a Quickutz die and the flowers and leafs were cut using my punches. Some of these I’ve mounted onto 3D foam to give a bit of depth to the card and then the flowers have been finished off with either buttons at the centre or a spot of Stickles glitter glue.


Other bits and pieces used are Green brads, Green sheer ribbon and a Peel Off greeting.

Last one tonight

And last but not least, a double whammy.

This is a card that covers two challenges.
Daring Cardmakers Dot Dot Dot Dash Dash Dash where they say :-

We'd like you to make a card featuring dots and dashes, spots and stripes - that's it, a nice easy and fun little theme for you to play with - just make sure you get both spots AND stripes on your card.

and I’ve also used yet another card sketch from Di Hickman. I think I’ve caught up with these at last!

.


The papers from Prima and were some of those that Kathy gave to me when we meet up last month. I love these colours, they’re so bright and sunny …….. and as that’s just about all the sun we are likely to see (when will it ever stop raining) I’d best make the most of it I think.

I’ve also used Orange and Lime Green Bazzil, Dunelm and Auntie Sarah’s Blooms, Sheer ribbon and some little Peel Off corners.
The chipboard 50 was from Papermania (I think) and has been inked and then covered in three layers of UTEE, the last layer being mixed with Extra fine glitter and edged with a gold pen.

Di Hickman sketch

Oh boy am I on a roll !

This is the third of the four cards I’ve made tonight and it’s using another template from Di Hickman’s Blog.

This is template No.2 and I have to admit my resolve slipped a bit and I’ve used some of my new’ish Crate papers. These ones are all from the New Garden Collection.
I’ve also used a big Bloom from Dunelm Mill, some Prima Flowers, a Dovecraft Charm Brad, Ribbon, Eyelets and some Seed Beads.

There’s even a bit of Faux cross stitch for good measure.

STC 22

This is another card using up some long forgotten craft stash and a template from Sketch This Card! .





The papers are a combination of DCWV Wedding Print paper stack,
Hot off the Press, Cardmaker’s Icy rainbow Creative Pack and the one with the flowers I think was also from a Hot off the Press 12 x 12 book but I can’t be sure about that.

The corners and wording are Silver Peel Offs……….not really keen on using them but I brought tons of the things when I first started making cards and they need to be used. Also from my stash were the brads, ribbon and charm.

Using Old Stash

Like most of us I have heaps of craft things that I just never seem to get around to using, so I’ve finally decided the time has come to make myself use some of it before breaking into my new stash.
Having said that it's no an easy task as I'm sure you'll all understand.


This card was made following the 2nd sketch (8th August) over on Di Hickman’s Blog.





The papers are both KI Memories Colourful collection and were from an old Self Addressed kit. February 2006 to be precise so I’ve had them tucked away in a drawer for 18 months…..how embarrassing is that! Still I’ve finally managed to do something with them.
The flowers were cut out from one of the sheets and layered with 3D foam.

I’ve also used some Green Bazzil card and diamantes and you’ll no doubt have noticed that my Tapestry stamps have been out again.

CPS 27

I can't believe that I'm actually up to date with this one this week!


I always find making cards for men so difficult but this template seemed to work quite well.


All the papers are from the Crate 'Taylor' collection and I've stamped the word 'Fore' across the lower part of the card using a set of Linedot Alphabet stamps that came with a ScrapGoods kit some time ago.

I've also used some Dress it up buttons, Big Brads, Charms and ribbons from my stash to finish off the card.

DCM Frilly Bits & CPS 26

I’ve been playing catch up today so I’ve made one card that covers two challenges, sneaky err!

First of all it was Jo turn over at Daring Cardmakers to give us a dare and she said:-

You must make a card with a frill - it could be some lace, frilly ribbon, a hand cut or decorative scissor edge or a folded paper frill - or what ever you choose to make.... you decide!
And because I hadn’t done this one yet I decided to use template 26 from the girls over at CPS

This is the template

and here’s my card.

It all started off as plain cream card or paper and I’ve stamped the pattern using my new set of Garden Veranda tapestry stamps and Versa Magic chalk pads. This is my third set of these little stamps and I love them but I really do wish they weren’t quite so expensive because I need them all.

For my frill I stamped onto a strip of paper, cut along the edge with decorative scissors and then put through a ribbler to give it a crinkled effect.

I can’t remember where I downloaded the image from at the moment but it was a lovely site full of fantastic free vintage photos and well worth a visit so when I remember I’ll come but and update this.

The other goodies used to finish off my card were:-
Cream embroidery silk to hand sew around the photo.
An Aunty Sarah’s Cosmos Flower.
Large Prima Daisy.
Heart shaped Pink diamante.
Stickles glitter glue

Now I remember why I put this away!

I’m a week behind with this but here’s my attempt at template 25 from the girlie's over at CPS. Better late than never I suppose.

As I said in my previous post, I’ve decided to get my Pergamano things out again to have a play with but now it’s all come back to me exactly why it was I put it all away in the first place......... Oh boy do I need lots of practice!

Anyway, I needed to make a wedding card for a friend and decided to use the template, although I did turn the squares round at the bottom of the card.

I’ve incorporated two or three different Pergamano templates to make the card and once these were sorted it took me quite a few hours to draw the design in White and Gold ink. Some of the design was embossed and all those little crosses had to be marked out with a pricking tool before being cut out with special curved scissors.

Shopping for a Mapping Pen

I’ve decided to have a go at Pergamano again, that's parchment craft for those of you who are not in the know.

Now I’ve not done any of this for absolutly ages but last night I dug everything out of my cupboard and was all ready to make a start when I realized that the last time I made a card I forgot to remove the nib from the mapping pen after washing it and put it away while it was still wet. The consequence: the nib had gone rusty and I couldn’t get it out of the end of the pen however I tried.

So this morning I had to make a trip over to Imagine That, the crafts shop I use in Upminster to buy a new one.

This is the little devil.

Well, it turns out that they they don’t stock any Pergamano equipment or materials (don't know why I didn't know that) so I would now have to do a detour on the way home and call it at Artbase but how could I leave the shop without buying anything.

Now bearing in mind all I needed was a £1.42 mapping pen this is the little stash that I came home with.

Actually it’s not as bad as it looks really............

I had a full card of loyalty stamps from Imagine That which meant I had £20 to spend and a full card of loyalty stamps for Artbase which was another £25, so I didn't dpend very much of my own money on this occasion.

Photo Finish

It was Tracie’s turn over at the Daring Cardmakers to challenge us this week.

This week I want you to make a card for any occasion but it must include a photograph somewhere! The photo subject can be people, items, locations, flowers, absolutely anything so get snapping. Dont forget to check copyright if you are using someone elses photographs in your art work

This gave me the opportunity to make an Accordion Photo Card, something I’ve been meaning to have a go at for a while. It turned out ok, well I think so anyway but unfortunately it wasn’t one of the easiest things photograph so I’ll apologise now for the poor quality. I don’t know how many goes I had at trying to get the photo all in line and in the end I just gave in to defeat but hopefully you'll get the idea.





First you need to find two photos with the same orientation and resize them, in this case 9cm x 12cm and then print them onto thin glossy/photo paper. I’ve used two pictures of my dad, one when he was just six months old and the other when he was 83. Cut each photo into 1cm strips, numbering them as you go to make reassembling them a bit easier later on.

Next take a piece of thicker paper or thin card 12cm x 20cm. This will become the accordion to hold the photos. Divide the paper into 1cm segments, score all the lines and then fold the paper back and forth until you reach the end.

Now to start adding the photos.
The accordion piece should have two flat ends that will be attached to the underside of the frame. Starting at one end, pick up the first strip from one of the photos and place it in the first ‘V’ shaped space. Continue down the strip with the rest of the pieces from the first photo and then beginning at the other end place the pieces of the second photo in the same way.

Next I made a 13cm x 16cm frame by cutting a piece of Blue patterned card stock from the DCWV Old World Stack and cut an aperture in the centre the same size as the original photos. I placed the accordion strip through the aperture and secured it to the back using the two flat ends that were left.

I stamped a background of buttons onto a White card using a free rubber stamp from Craft Stamper and a Blue Iris Fluid Chalk inkpad and also stamped DAD onto some waste patterned cardstock. The frame was then mounted onto the card and held in place with a photo anchor, two square brads and a metal tag from my stash.

Thank You

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments about my ‘Time’ challenge pyramid.

It was the first time I’ve attempted anything like this completely from scratch and I must admit that I was pleased with the finished result.

DCM - It's about Time

Hi there, It's me, Kathy, here to dare you this week;
OK, Absolutely anything goes this week as long as it's on the theme of TIME."It's About Time" So you can use clocks, calendars, quotes, sayings, pictures, nursery rhymes, or altered art-type stuff, whatever takes your fancy - just take some time out to play and have some fun; remember, time flies when you're having fun!

Well seeing as Kathy over at Daring Cardmakers
has given us complete freedom to do whatever we like this week I thought I would do something a little bit different.
I needed to make an anniversary card for some special friends who have been married for 32 years (I think) so it seemed a perfect opportunity to have a go at making a Pyramid Box/card. (I hope they don’t see this)

I found the template on the Stampington site and resized it to fit onto a sheet of 12 x 12 card. There are loads of different templates on there so it’s well worth a look.

Outside of Box
All the papers used are from the Crate Avenue Collection that I brought from Funky Kits

I started by covering the four side triangles with patterned paper and then using a VersaMark ink pad I inked all the edges and embossed them in gold. I stamped and embossed a dandelion clock (Penny Black) onto each of the sides and then added the couple’s initials which were finished off with some Diamond Glaze. Finally, the last job on the front of the box was to stamp some small flowers onto the parts that would fold inwards when the box is complete.

Inside of Box
Much the same as the outside really but this time I inked the edges of the triangles before covering them with the patterned paper. The wording was printed onto cream card, the edges torn and inked before sticking them into the box and then each side was decorated with a verity of ribbons, flowers, gems, sequins, and buttons and finished off with some Stickles glitter glue.

Top and Pin
I cut the top from thicker card, covered both sides with patterned paper and then finished off the edges as before with gold embossing.
The pin is an old knitting needle. I coloured it using distressing inks, attached a glass bead to the end and hung several more beads onto ribbons which were tied to the pin along with a little tag. Indecently none of my beads matched the colours used for the project so these too were covered using my alcohol inks.

The only job remaining is to make two small holes opposite each other at the top of the pyramid for the pin to go through.

CPS 24

This is the template from over at CPS for this week and also my card.

I love working from these and it great when you have a look and see how everyone else has interpreted the same template. Every one is so different.

All the papers on my card are from the Crate Cowgirl collection which are all double sided but for the top mat I decided to use the plain side and stamp onto it.
I used an Anita’s doodled flower, stamped using a VersaMark pad and then dusted over the top with Red Perfect Pearls (Ranger) and Gold Pearl Pigments (Blond Moments)
The greeting has been cut on my Craft Robo.
Other items used include a Maya Road ribbon slide, ribbon, cord flower and eyelets.

OMG - I’ve been tagged!

Now that I’ve been blogging for just over two weeks Kathy has decided that it’s time for me to receive my first tag, so apparently all I have to do is follow the rules below and I get to proudly display this tag for the Global Bumper Card Society

The Rules

1) Send ONE card to someone you know within 7 days! (family, friends, associates, cyber people, etc.) ANYONE!!! Doesn't matter who... just do it. Can you imagine the smile on their face when they open their mailbox and see a card from you?

2) Tag (yes, I know, but this is the only way to spread this) 5 people you know to do the same thing (Tag means tag them to send their own cards to their own people).

3) Proudly display this on your blog to spread a little sunshine and pass it on.If you get tagged again (we can all hope, can't we), send another card!There's more information about how this tag began here

Now as I said before, bearing in mind I’ve only been blogging a short time I don’t really know that many people yet but I think I’ve managed to come up with a list of five people so here we go…….

Lythan (Slightly Squiffy)
Lythan has become a true friend to me since we meet on the Crafts By Carolyn forum. We are lucky enough to be able to share crafting time together and she has the most amazing talent when it comes to scrapbooking and making cards.

Anice (Funkyhand Thoughts)
Now, I don’t know Anise at all but she was one of the first people to welcome me to blogging. So this is my way of saying hi and thanks for the warm welcome.

The next two people are also old friends from CbyC

Sheila (Manicstamper)
And
Wendy (Craftybutterfly)
Both of these ladies are so so talented, just check out their blogs and you’ll see what I mean. Even the most simplest of cards that they make look absolutely amazing and I hope that given time I can pick up lots of tips in the hope of improving my own attempts at rubber stamping.

And last but not least another lady who I don’t really know.

Rainowgirl (One Day When I’m Feeling Blue)
Di makes beautiful cards and scrapbook layouts but she also paints the most amazing pictures.
Not only that, she’s a Virgo the same as me.

DCM - I’m Sorry

It’s time for the mid week ‘Little Extra’ over at Daring Cardmakers , well it was on Tuesday and I’m a bit late but never mind, I’ve still had a go.

We want you to say "Sorry"!So, we're looking for things likeBelated Birthday cards, "Sorry to hear you're unwell", Sympathy/Condolence cards, "Sorry you're leaving" or maybe Sorry, but we can't come to your wedding/party/etcWe all need this sort of card every now and then, so here's a chance to be able to Say Sorry in Style

For this one I’ve used paper from the English Paper Company to cover the card.
The lettering is faux chipboard which I cut on my Craft Robo and then covered with Diamond glaze. The Prima paper covering the letters was some that Kathy brought from herself but very kindly shared with Lythan, Anita and myself on Monday.
I’ve also used some gems, ribbon and Prima flowers