DCM’s - Inchies

I’ve had to make this a scheduled posting this morning because as you’re reading this I’m somewhere on the A127 on my way to visit my Aunt and Uncle with my dad and brother.
So with that in mind I’m apologising now if there’s loads of gaps and things unaligned because blogger isn’t always very kind to me when I post and I usually have to lots of tweaking afterwards.

Right then, on to this week dare over at the Daring Cardmakers and guess what………..it’s me setting the challenge!

It’s not always easy trying to come up with something each week that’s a little different and a bit challenging and believe me I was struggling to think of something for this week.

The idea for Inchies came to me when I was chatting in the garden with my good friend Pat and we were having a discussion about people taking liberties, especially teenage kids and she came up with old saying, ‘Give them an Inch and they take a Mile’.

So there we have it, my dare this week is ‘Inchies’ and I would like you to make a card with just five on……..an odd number I know, but I’m intrigued to see how many different ways you can come up with of arranging them on your cards.

It’s strange how a conversation can influence your crafting, isn’t it?

So here’s what I came up with:-

And here’s how it was done:-

Using VersaMark ink, stamp around the edge of your card using just the ‘bloom’ part of the stamp and then give it a dusting of Pearl Pigments.

Cut five ‘Inchies’ from plain White card and arrange them in the way you want to place them on the finished card, securing them with sticky tape on the back.

Using Black Staz-On, Stamp the Hydrangea flower twice, first onto a new piece of White card and then onto your pre arranged Inchies.

Taking the full flower image, rip the edges, ink with VersaMark and emboss with fine Gold Embossing powder.

Rip the edges of a piece of Mauve paper and mat the flower panel onto this.
Secure the panel to the card with small brads.

Colour the Inchies with Prisma pencils and then remove the sticky tape from the back.

Ink all the edges of each square with VersaMark ink and emboss with fine Gold embossing powder.

Chalk the background.

Position the Inchies over the main image, mounting them on 3D foam.



Add a paper flower to the lower corner and a ribbon to finish.

Rubber Stamp - Rubber Stampede (Hydrangea)
Inks – Tsukineko Staz-On (Black) VersaMark (Clear)
Embossing Powder – Stamp’n’ Stuff (Detail Gold)
Pencils – Prisma Color
Pearl Pigments – Blond Moments – (Sugar Cool Lustre)
Chalks – Readicut Decorating Chalks

Other StuffSmall Brads
Ribbons
Paper Flowers

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Somehow I completley forget about this on Julie’s Blog last week and would have forgotten this week too if I hadn’t been doing a bit of blog hopping instead of working.

Still, I day late is better that not joining in at all so here goes.



On my table there’s……

My second Christmas card this year……..I feel a bit faint saying that!
Basic Grey ‘Dasher’ papers.
Ribbon,
Distress Ink
Cut’n’dry foam pieces
A couple of rubber stamps
Peel-Offs
Paper cutter
Scissors
Foam Pads
Pricking tool
Double sided tape
All the usual pens, pencils and rulers

And last but not least the ‘C’ plate from my Cuttlebug that I’ve been searching for all afternoon………found it!

I really should do this every week, I might just find some of the other things that have gone AWL. Lol!

OMG… I’ve Only Gone And Done It.

Made my first Christmas Card, that is!

I can never face the thought of making Christmas cards while the sun is shining, it’s almost like wishing the Summer away in my books but the thing is I always seem to have so many to make, the sooner I get started the less of a rush it ends up being.
So when I saw this nice simple sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. on Monday



I decided it would be a nice gentle way to started on them all.

Now don’t expect anything spectacular…..it’s simple and ‘very’ basic, but it’s a Christmas card never the less!


There’s no point in me filling in my usual ingredients list because there’s only about four things gone into making this card.

Dasher paper from Basic Grey, EZ Rub-On Snowman, Happy Christmas Rubber Stamp and some Snowflake stickers. Sorry, I forgot about the pen for the faux stitching.

Off to lie down in a darkened room to steady my nerves now!!

Di Hickman- (Aug3)

This is my fourth and final post today, now that is a record!
It’s a card made with Di Hickman’s latest template.

Sunglasses might be need for this one because it’s a bit bright, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Are you ready, cos here it is………..


A6 Card - PDA
Patterned & Plain Papers – Basic Grey (Lime Ricky)
Paper Punches – EK Success, Woodware & Xcut. (Flowers)
Ink – Ranger Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick)
Brads – Basic Grey
Clip – Making Memories Cheeky Flat Clip
Rub On – Letraset (Happy Birthday)
Pen – Sakura Soufflé


Other BitsRibbon

Friday Sketchers #66

And yet another post from me today, that make three....….whatever is going on!

Well, I hope you all sitting down because I’ve actually managed to do this one on the day the challenge was launched and believe me, that doesn’t happen very often.

This is the template from Friday Sketchers and I’ve decided to use it as a topper rather that making the design cover the whole of the card.


Don’t you think those two little birdies are cute?


They were in a freebie stamp set on one of the craft mags recently and they’re not half bad. In fact they stamp better than some of the ones I’ve paid the earth for so I’m really impressed and can see me using them a lot more.

I wanted to keep this card simple, so I stamped the image onto some patterned paper and stuck it over the top of a second stamped image. All I’ve added to this is some beads and flat backed pearls……and the greeting of course.

A5 Card Blank – Craft Creations (Embossed Hammer)
Patterned Paper – Basic Grey (Bitter Sweet)
Inks –Tsukineko Staz-On (Black) ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Pink)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Birds & Swirls)
Dies – Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Classic Oval)

Other BitsFlat Backed Pearls (Pink)
Beads
Embroidery Thread
Computer Generated Greeting

Sketch Saturday #64

Second post today and another challenge in the bag but I'm only just in by the skin of my teeth!

This time it’s using this fabby template from Sketch Saturday.



I‘ve used a digital stamp on this card but for the life of me I can’t find where I downloaded it from. If you recognize it as being one of yours or if you can tell me where it’s from please let me know so that I can credit the designer. I’ll be more organized in the future when downloading stamps and change the file name to include the name.




Card – Craft Creations (Embossed Hammer)
Patterned Papers –Memory Stor (Costco Kit)
Digital Stamp Download - ??????
Dies – Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Scalloped Square & Large Classic Square)
Paper Punches – Fiskars Threading Water and Sunburst border punches. Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch
Inks –Ranger Distress Ink (Peeled Paint)
Paints – Twinkling H2o’s
Chalks – Readicut Decorating Chalks
Gems – Anita’s Tiny Gems


Other StuffRibbon
Rub-On

DCM's - Anniversaries

I guess it’s the time of year, with all the summer Weddings that take place but at the moment I’m inundated with orders for Anniversary cards. Two last week and another three this week so I’m certainly being kept on my toes. Fortunately I’ve been helped along by using some of the templates and sketches that we are challenged with each week and even our very own Daring Cardmakershave played their part because Keryn’s dare this week is Anniversaries.

Hi it's Keryn here and it's my turn to set the dare this week.

As I'm completely involved in the planning and preparation for

my 2nd Anniversary, Hostess Appreciation party as a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator

the dare that came to mind was Anniversaries.

Wedding Anniversaries are what automatically comes to mind but you could

make cards to celebrate any special occasions in your life or someone else's life.

For this card I’ve used some pretty Damask looking papers from the Die Cuts With a View Wedding Stack and combined it with another of Kathy’s lovely templates and Tapestry Stamps.

I've even managed to follow our very own Kathy's template from over on Kathy’s Waffle Sketch File

I even managed to play with my new i-top bradmaker while making this one and discovered one very important thing; if you plan to stamp on the top of the brad do it before you actually make it.
I had planned to stamp some hearts onto mine but when I tried to do it my hand slipped and I messed the whole thing up. I ended up having ink over the top of it to hide it which is why the brad no longer looks like it matches the paper. Still, put it down to experience….I shall remember next time!


A5 Card Blank – Craft Creations (Embossed Linen)
Patterned Papers – DCWV Wedding Stack
Dies – Spellbinder Shapeabilities (Large Scalloped Oval & Large Classic Oval)
Inks –ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Pink) Tsukineko VersaColor (Green Tea) VersaMagic (Spanish Olive)
Rubber Stamps – Rubberstamp Tapestry (Heart Deco)
Big Brad – i-top Brad Maker


Other Bits
Ribbon
Paper Roses
Beads
Embroidery Silk
Computer Generated Greeting

Friday Sketchers #65

Wow, wasn’t it a scorcher today!!
Days like this I’m glad that I don’t have to go out to work.

I spent the morning shopping with my dad. He wanted to get a new cardigan so we headed off to our nearest large M&S for a bit of retail therapy. We didn’t suffer with the heat too much thought because the air con in the car was on overdrive and the shops were nice and cool too so it was just a case of suffering the heat between places.
Then this afternoon I found a nice cool spot on the patio to sit and do a bit of cross stitch…….all in all a very pleasant day indeed.

I still managed to get a spot of crafting in this evening too…..I need my daily fix you know……and I have managed to make two cards.

The first one uses this template from Friday Sketchers



The papers are from the Memory Stor Costco kit and the image is from Jolly Nation.


The second card wasn't for a challenge.
It’s made with papers and 3D embellishments from My Mind’s Eye, Wild Asparagus range.

2 Sketches 4 You Sketch #33

This is my second post today and my second card…..well I’ve done three actually but I can’t show you the other one just yet, you'll have to wait until Friday for that one!

I made this card following the template from 2 Sketches 4 You.


It was a quick a simple, using all Basic Grey bits and some embossing to give it a bit of texture and not much else really, just a bit of bling.


Plain Card - Craft Creations (Creative Cover)
Patterned Papers – Basic Grey (Boxer)
Chipboard Stickers - Basic Grey (Boxer)
Ink –Ranger Distress Ink (Faded Jeans)
Dies – Spellbinder (Labels 1)
Embossing Folders – Cuttlebug (Swirls & Mesh Texture)
Glitter Glue – Stickles (Lime Green)
Greeting – Craftwork Cards (Oh My Word)
Brads – Basic Grey (Boxer)
Gems – Anita’s Tint Gems

Other BitsRibbon

New Challenge Blog - Get Funky

There’s a fab new monthly challenge started over at the Get Funky blog, with a prize up for grabs too.

To join in all we have to do is use something from one of their ranges of papers or extras.
Fortunately I already had a CD and a couple of downloads to choose from but to make doubly shaw that everyone joins they’ve even given us some freebies to get us started, so there’s absolutely no excuse for not playing along.

Anice has started the ball rolling for the first challenge with a template for us to follow.

I’ve taken the opportunity to get one of the three anniversary card that I need to make done using the pretty papers and extra’s from the new Hearts and Flowers download together with some of the pegs from set of my tapestry stamps to make a flowery border.



A5 Card Blank – Anita’s
Patterned & Extra’s - Funky Hand (Hearts & Flowers)
Rubber Stamps – Rubber Stamp Tapestry (Garden Veranda)
Inks –ColorBox Fluid Chalk Cat’s Eyes, Ranger Distress Ink (Dusty Concord)
Dies – Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Oval & Large Scalloped Oval)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots)
Paper Punch – Fiskars Slit Border Punch
Gems – Anita’s Tiny Gems

Other Bits

Ribbon
Computer Generated Greeting

I Dare You To Play Along!

Yes, it’s dare day again over at the Daring Cardmakers blog and I hope you’re all going to go over and play along.

I think last week I frightened a few of you off with my Flip Flop/Swing card as not many people went along to play but hopefully Kathy’s dare will be a lot easier for you this week.

She says…………

My challenge consists of one word really and that word isLACEI'd just like you to interpret Lace in your card-making this week in whatever way you like, you could use the actual word, stamp or cut a lacy design or maybe use one of these dictionary definitions to inspire you: 1. a net-like ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine. 2. a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges. 3. ornamental cord or braid, esp. of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc. 4. a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.

Lol.....I really like the sound of the last dictionary definition!

I really could have done with a tot of something after messing around with my card this afternoon.
I’m sure you know the feeling……you seem to push paper from one place to another but nothing seems to go together the way you expected it to. Well that’s just the way my afternoon went but I did eventually manage to create something that would pass as a birthday card .

I fancied having a play with some Alcohol Inks for a change this week and inked up some Silver metal sheet before stamping the Butterfly with Black StazOn and cutting it out. . I added some Heat embossed swirls and some layering and that was about it really.



A5 Card Blank – Craft Creations (Embossed Linen)
Patterned –Basic Grey (Perhaps)
Dies – Spellbinder Shapeabilities (Ribbon Tag) Sizzix Hunky Dory Alphabet
Alcohol Inks – Ranger (Caramel, Butterscotch, Latte, Ginger & Terra Cotta plus blending solution)
Inks –Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Pink) Tsukineko VersaMark (Clear)
Rubber Stamps – Basic Grey (Two Scoops) Papermania Clear Stamps (Happy Birthday)
Embossing Powder – Stamp ‘n’ Stuff (Detail Gold) Fun Stamps (Clear)
Brads – Basic Grey


Other Bits
Sliver Foil
Gold Wire
Seed Beads
Lace
Ribbon

What’s on you Workdesk Wednesday UPDATED

Ok, I know it’s Thursday now but I’ve just been blog hopping and checking out some of the people who dared to take up my challenge over at the Daring Cardmakers this week, (which is not that many I might add…..think I scared everyone off. Lol!) and while I was admiring the acetate card on Julie’s Blog I noticed she’s been doing a thing called…..you’ve guessed it…..What’s on you Workdesk Wednesday.Seeing as my desk is still in the state I left it in last night after finishing off the Birthday book I decided to take a photo this morning.

So here it is…….not too untidy for a change but believe me, it’s not always like that.

I usually end up working in a tiny space as more and more stash comes out. Lol!

UPDATE
Well I’m just back from shopping with Dad and I can tell you that what’s on my work desk now is a lot more interesting then the left over’s from last night.

While I was out the postie delivered a little crafty indulgence from a couple of days ago.
These little beauties……..

It’s an i-top Brad Maker and all the paraphernalia that goes with it.

I’m taking Dad out to a local (ish) garden centre for lunch now but when I get back I hope to spend some time crafting and playing with the new mess on my desk.

Can’t wait!!!!

Funky Hand meets Basic Grey......A Birthday Book…….and lots of Challenges!!

I bet you’ve all been wondering where I’ve been since Friday, haven’t you?
Well I’ve been here, but I’ve been busy for the last three days getting covered in ink and glue, making another Birthday Book.

You may remember that I made one for my Nephew Lee for his 21st back in May and he was so thrilled with it that he’s asked me to make one for his girlfriend who’ll be 21st in a few days time.

Now I have a confession…….In making this book I’ve broken one of my golden rules.

I love taking part in the challenges and have always been an advocate of making separate cards for each one that I take part in……it’s just a personal thing!
I know that with so many challenge blogs around now most people incorporate as many as they can into one card but I still like to tackle each challenge individually which is why I’m feeling a little hypocritical at the moment. You see, my book covers no less than Seven challenges!

I think I can just about justify it though because I’ve actually done it so that each of the pages in the book uses a different template and the front and back cover a challenge……..no different from indrevidual cards really….right! Well I’m convinced even if you aren’t.

I started off with a Maya Road Flower Chain Book blank and a 6 x 6 pad of Basic Grey Bittersweet papers which with hind sight should have been 12 x 12 because when I came to cover the pages the 6 x 6 wasn’t big enough. …….Still, all wasn’t lost.
I printed out some A4 papers from a Funky Hand download of Shabby Saturday and covered the pages with that first.

The cute little fairies were also a digi download, this time from My Grafico and a great designer ‘Ladybug’ and my final credit goes to Sharon Long from The Scrapbook Lady who designed the fantastic Craft Robo file for the Key.


Right then, I guess I’d better show you what I’ve been getting covered in ink and glue for then….

The Front and Back covers follow the Pink, Brown and Cream colour challenge over at Double Dutch

And then I’ve used templates for all the other pages but you have to look closely to see some of them. They are there honest, but the shape of the book makes some of them a little difficult to see.

So for the first page I’ve used Laura’s Sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You.


Next it was sketch 64 from Friday Sketchers


Then my first attempt at a Polka Doodles template.

Next it was Di Hickman’s template from last week. I was hoping to get this done before this weeks new sketch was posted but it didn't happen.

Then Papertake

And finally Sketch 63 from Sketch Saturday

DCM – Flip-Flop / Swing Card

This weeks dare over at the Daring Cardmakers should have been set by Jo this week but she’s had one of those weeks and has been without her two computes due to a power surge. Due to this she wasn’t able to take her turn is setting the dare so I’ve stepped in with something a little different.

Instead of daring you to use a certain a certain theme or colour I decided on a specific shaped card instead ……a Flip-Flop card.

Now I’m not talking about the sandals you ware on your feet here, oh no, I’m talking about a card where the centre panel flips over when the card is opened to reveal a surprise on the other side.

I worked with a template from STAMPINGTON but there’s also a few with different shaped centres on TIME FOR CRAFTING and there a few really good videos on You Tube, so you’ve really no excuse not to join in and have a go.

If you need a little more inspiration pop over to the Daring Cardmakers blog and have a look at the amazing cards the design team and guests have come up with this week. You’ve done me proud girls and really risen to the challenge!!

So, on to my effort:-



Plain Card – Craft Creations (Embossed Hammer)
Patterned Paper –My Mind’s Eye (Wild Asparagus)
Die Cuts - My Mind’s Eye (Wild Asparagus)
Dies – Spellbinder Nestabilities (Labels 1)
Inks –Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Glitter Glue – Craft Planet (Iridescent Sparkle)

Other Bits
Pussy Cat Rubber Stamp - Unknown

Friday Sketchers #63

Afternoon all.

Well there’s only one card from me today after the host of cards yesterday.
I have a good reason thought …….it’s shopping day with dad and everything has to stop for that.

Still, I did get to play this afternoon and I thought I would have a go at my very first template from Friday Sketchers


Just managed to get this one in by the skin of my teeth this week but I’ll try harder with tomorrow’s new template, I promise.

Here’s the card anyway…….It’s a birthday card for a Line Dancing friend of my brothers and I've decoupaged the image so it stands out from the card.


Square Card Blank – Craft Creations (Embossed Hammer)
Patterned & Plain Papers – Basic Grey (Marrakech & Wisteria)
Inks –Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots – You can’t see this very well but it is there…..it’s on the Purple Wisteria panel)
Dies – Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Classic Circle & Peony)
Glitter Glue – Stickles (Lavender)
Flat Clips – Making Memories

Other BitsImage – From an Image Swap
Fibres
Computer Generated Greeting

CPS –#127

Well it looks like I’m on a roll today because I have another card to show you.

This one is an Anniversary card made using this template from CPS.

Here's my card:-

Card – Craft Creation (Creative Hammer, White)
Patterned Papers – DCWV (Old World Stack)
Ink – Ranger Distress Ink (Peeled Paint)
Pen – Krylon (Gold)
Die – Ellison (Tipsy Hearts)
Gems – Anita’s Tiny Gems


Other Bits
Ribbon
Gold Peel-Off

2 Sketches 4 You Sketch #32 …..One Very Special Card and a few others

I had fun making my card with this weeks sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. because I was making a special card for a very special person.

And the reason it’s so special…………well, my friend Sharon’s son was taking part in the Special Olympics last week up in Leicester, an achievement in it’s self, but Sharon is a very, very proud mum at the moment because Adam won Gold in one of his races……How fab is that!

So I’ve used this weeks sketch


to make a special pop-out card for him to commemorate such a wonderful achievement………

Way to go Adam!

Square Card Blank – Craft Creations (Creative Hammer Embossed)
Plain Card - Craft Creations (Kaskad)
Patterned Papers – Basic Grey (Archaic)
Gold Printable Foil – Print IT (Adhesive backed)
Ink –Ranger Distress Ink (Peeled Paint)
Image – Downloaded Kids Colouring Page
Pencils – Prisma Color
Dies – Spellbinder (Labels 1& Large Classic Circles) Sizzix (Skittle Dee Do & Hunky Dory Alphabet)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Swirls)
Glitter Glue – Craft Planet (Iridescent Sparkle)
Liquid Pearls – Ranger (Baby Blue)
Big Brads – Basic Grey
Pen – Staedtler Fineliner (Black)

Other Bits
Ribbon
Star Clip

I also have a few other cards to share with you this morning.

The first is an A4 sized retirement card ………very scary as I’ve not made an A4 before and there’s an awful lot of space to fill!

My brother asked me to make the card for a guy he works with who leaves at the end of the month and the card had to be quite specific.
They work as drivers for a company called Pettex who supply Cat Litter and small animal bedding amongst other things, so he wanted to card to have his lorry and the company logo on it.

My brother sent me a photo of the lorry so I had something to work from and then I found yet another colouring page, coloured it to match and layered it several times so that stands out from the card.

I also wanted to incorporate a few of the companies products in some way so I decided to have various animals chasing the lorry shouting ‘you can’t leave, who will deliver my ?????’.

My final addition was a sign post that says ‘Hainault (where the company is) one way and ‘Doneworking’ in the direction the lorry is traveling.

And here’s the masterpiece in all it’s glory:-


The next batch of cards were also an order, this time from someone who’s two sons and two friends are about to take their Black Belt in Karate.

She asked for four personalized congratulations cards, all the same design but done in different colours.

And four Thank You cards which were to be the same design and colours.

Well I’m having knee trouble again so I'm about to head for the sofa and rest it up.

From time to time I get fluid build up and this time I think it was set off by my kneeling to sort out some DVD’s. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was the one that I’ve just had operated on but it’s not, so it’s lots of rest for me and keep popping the anti-inflammatory!

See you all soon and thanks for stopping by.