To Bead Or Not To Bead - WOYWW #202

That is the question!

And the answer.................most definitely yes, as you can see on my table today.

 If you’re wondering why on earth I’m showing you my table, it’s because it’s Wednesday and that that means it’s  What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday.
Follow the link to Julia’s blog, you can join in too.

Anyway, back to my desk and a complete change of direction for me this week.

I’ve been looking out for some Blue and Green costume Jewellery for my holiday and while I was out shopping a week or so ago I came across the almost perfect set in M & S. A necklace and bracelet in just the right shades, but I say almost perfect because I was also looking for a couple of pairs of earrings to match and couldn’t find anything.

In the end extravagance got the better of me and I ended up buying two sets of the Jewellery , only to pull one set apart to make the said earrings and possibly another bracelet or two.

You’ll notice from the picture that I’ve also pulled out some Blue and Green beads from my stash, which I’ll try and incorporate into the bracelets.

I’ve hit a problem though and am not making very much progress at the moment because on looking through my bead box I realised that I don’t have any small jump rings, so I may need to pop to Hobby craft or The Range before I can actually finish them off, but as you can see I’ve got two pairs of ‘dangles’ ready and waiting to be attached to the findings.

I did also managed a couple of cards this week.

First, the 60th Birthday card I was about to start on last week for a friend.

I think the birthday boy liked it and the celebration meal on Saturday evening went down well……..especially the cupcakes that his daughters gave him!

The second card is very simple design that I've made loads of times and is very versatile.  It's for my Goddaughters birthday tomorrow.

Well, that’s it for another week, I’ll be stopping by your desk later to see what you’ve been up to.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your comments, I love reading them all.

Happy Crafting!

Sue

x

Feeling Old

At the start of October my big brother will be sixty five and he’s decided to take retirement.

He made the decision to pack up this year after the firm he works for moved premises, which changed his five minute commute to a forty-five minute one on a day  (which are few and far between) and up to an hour and twenty minutes on a bad one, which turned out to be most days.

I  am pleased for him because he really hates all the extra time spent traveling but the thought that he's retiring makes me realize that we are the older generation now, which is not a nice thought. But then again, there’s nine years between us and I’m still the ‘baby’ of the family really so I guess I shouldn’t let it get to me too much…….not yet, anyway!

So, with his birthday and retirement in mind I need to make two card for him and there’s also the possibility that my other brother will ask me to do the same for him too, so this morning I thought I’d get a head of the game, just in case.

For my starting point I decided to use this template from the Here Come The Boys  challenge.

I thought I would go with a vintage feel and have used up lots of my old stash, some of which has been hanging around since I started making cards seven years ago, like the lovely old car.
That was a sheet from a book of Heritage Vellums by Hot Off The Press.

Other old stash includes the papers that are from the DCWV 'The Natural Stack', the tiny brads and the three buttons which I've given a makeover to by colouring them with Promarkers.


I’m entering this into the following challenges:-

Hooked On Craft– Cards for men

Kaboodle Doodles – Tribute to Someone Older 

I actually love the sketch so much that I made another birthday card using it but I can’t link this one to any of the above challenges because it doesn’t fit the brief, but I just wanted to share it with you.

For this one I’ve used a scrap of old ‘In the Meadow’ paper from Daisy Bucket and combined it with some of the new Craftworks Cards Distressed Pad and also a greeting and some paper from their Sweet Pea Collection.


Thanks for stopping by and ..............

Happy Crafting!

Sue
x

Why is it that making cards for the men folk always has me pulling my hair out?

It’s not just the design that causes me problems when making cards for the men folk but finding suitable papers, which is a strange thing to say when you take a peek in my cupboard where I store my stash and see the shelf full off 12 x 12 papers…not the mention the filing cabinet that has my 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 pads in.




Anyway, this morning I’ve made two but don’t get excited because they are both the same, Lol!



I decided to use this week challenge over at Sentimental Sundays for my starting point, which this week is “Show me your Spots” and also incorporated the template that they have on there too.

I’ve used a combination of Basic Grey Granola papers, a Kanban Tree stamp from the Autumn Silhouettes set, a Kirsty Wiseman stamp for the sentiment from her Frames & Greetings set and a Tim Holtz Alterations Wood grain Embossing folder to make the card and then added some detail to my A6 cardwith Liquid Pearls, Gloss Touch 3D Paint and some faux stitching.

 I've used some creative licence and decided not to put my sentiment in the same place as on the template, but I've still added some detail where it should have been so I hope it passes muster.

Now, I have a little tip to share with those of you who always make smaller cards and have trouble making A5 sized ones.
You wouldn’t think that a bit of extra White space could cause so many problems but I know that for some of you it does.

To be honest most of the cards I make are A5 but it can still be a problem at times and the way I get around it is to make a A6 panel and then mount it onto the larger card, adding a few extra components to finish it off.

As you can see, it’s the same as the first card, this time using Basic Grey “Mellow” papers and all that’s been added are two strips of patterned paper, one of which has been cut and embossed with a Mathew Stewart punch and some Craftworks Card Candi.

You’ll also notice that added a little stamped detail to the background using another of the Kanban stamps in the Autumn Silhouettes set.

And that’s it……easy!

Panic Stations! WOYWW #145 & Daring Cardmaker's

Yep, it was most definitely panic stations at 8pm last night here at Sue's Krafty Kards, when I managed to chuck a cup of Black coffee all over the Beige carpet in my lounge.

I had just made the drink and settled myself down with some stitching when I thought to myself, if I didn’t move the cushion I'm leaning against it was going to fall over the arm of the sofa.  No sooner than the thought crossed my mind, that’s exactly what happened, taking the full cup of coffee with it.

I mopped it up as best I could with loads of cold water…….do you think I remember what’s the best thing to use on coffee spills.......….and then phoned the carpet cleaner guy who used to do dads carpets for him and he came out first thing this morning and treated the spill for me. It looks like it’s all come out but it’s hard to tell while it’s still wet. He didn’t have time this morning but he’s coming back next week to clean the whole carpet for me, so hopefully it will look as good as new when it's done.

Anyway, on to why I’m here and as we all already know Wednesday means a day of blog hopping around the craft desks, kitchen tables and floors for the craft world to see what everyone is busy working on this week.
Julia has all the details of how to join in over at   The stamping ground   so why not pay her a visit and join in the fun.


My own desk has the remnants of a little challenge I set myself this week.

When I made this card on Sunday I got out four coordinating 12 x 12 papers from my MME ‘Complete Boy’ stack and also one sheet of 12 x 12 from the Costco kit to use for some matting.

Incidentally Sandee  was saying that she would like to see the layering close up, so here you go Sandee.

I’m not sure that it shows up very well in the picture but there are four different layers there.


So as I was saying, I made the card and instead of putting the remaining papers away again I decided that I would try and use them up straight away and made six more cards.

I’ve used some Rub-On’s on these first two that I brought what must be around five years ago and put away in the cupboard because I didn’t know what to use them on.
As it happens the colours in them are a great match for the papers, so maybe I must have been subconsciously saving them for this moment.  I’m really pleased with them anyway!

I’m linking this one to the  Daring Cardmakers  challenge this week which is all about 'Tessellation'.  Basically it means creating a pattern with shapes that fit together on all sides and the background layer of this card is made using 9 x 4cm squares.

On the next one I’ve used the TH tattered Flower die as the main focal point.

My final three cards are a copy of a fab design by Jo Kill that was in Papercraft Essential recently. Hope you didn’t mind me high jacking your design Jo?

I did email Jo yesterday to ask if it was ok to show these, seeing as it’s her design but as yet I’ve had no reply so I hope it’s ok.

I’ve made mine so that each one opens a different way. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a 'Crafty' week ahead.

Sue
x

Shabby Vintage

I’ve had a little play this morning with the new template from the challenge over at  Card Patterns.

The papers are all ”Complete Boy” from a My Mind’s Eye stack that I brought recently. It seems they came out in 2009 and I’ve no idea how I managed to miss they because the selection of papers is fantastic. I thinking I may just treat myself to the Complete Girl stack next.

I’ve used an image that I received in a swap, well four actually because I’ve decoupaged the image using four layers. I think it’s a Crafty Individuals stamp but I’m not 100% sure.

I’m also linking this to the following challenges.


Craft Room Challenge  - Shabby Vintage (Tues)

Paper Pretties   - Create a Masculine Card (Wed)

London Calling

Yesterday I had a fun stamping day and have managed to make six cards in total, three for ladies, two for the gents and an anniversary card, so not a bad days work me thinks.

I thought I would have a look and see what challenges were around as well and first headed off to Kathy’s Waffle Sketch File  to see what the latest sketch is and found this.

I had in mind to use my new Craft Individuals stamp and it works perfectly with Kathy’s sketch.

Here’s what I came up with.

The papers I’ve used are some old Basic Grey Granola.  I really loved this paper when it first came out, so much so that I brought two 12 x 12 pads and two 6 x 6 because I liked the scaled down designs as well,  so I expect I’ll still be using it for the next ten years, Lol!

The London themed stamp as mentioned before is from Crafty Individuals.

I stamped it twice with Black Memento ink and then coloured it with Promarkers and layered some of the images.

The tickets were also stamped using my “Just The ticket” set from Imagine That


I’m linking my card to the Friday challenge over at the Sweet Stampin Blog   where this week’s challenge is “It’s a Man Thing.”

65 Years Young

I quite often get asked to make cards by family members and boy did my brother Michael come up with a corker on Thursday.

He wanted me to make a card for a friend of his called Bob, who will be 65 next week and the brief was Bob the Builder or something to do with scaffolding because that’s his job.

At first I panicked but after the initial terror subsided I started to have a little search on the web and came up with a kids colouring page of Bob the Builder standing on scaffolding……perfect!


The card was put together using the latest sketch from Sketch By Carly.

To continue with the building theme I decided bob looked as if he was guiding something up to where he is standing, so I’ve made it look like the number 6 is being pulled up on a chain by a crane and the 5 is already fixed to the wall.

Ingredients:

Patterned PapersDCWV – The Natural Stack

StampsImagine That – Just The Ticket

Inks, Paints & PensTsukineko – Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Tsukineko – StazOn (Jet Black)
Ranger – Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany & Forest Moss)
Making Memories – Acrylic paint ( Evergreen)
Letraset – Promarkers (Various Colours)
Sharpie – Fine / Ultra-Fine Marker (Black)

SundriesCraft Creations – Cream Hammer Cardstock
Dovecraft - Glitter Glue (Crystal)
Basic Grey – Alphabet Stickers
Chain
Photo Anchor (Black)
Brads (Black)
Earing Finding

New Shape

I wish I was talking about my body when I say ‘New Shape’ but alas I’m not, it’s a new shaped card that I’ve made for the first time.

When I was visiting a few of my blog friends yesterday I noticed that the lovely Vicki and made one of those centre easel cards and had added a link to a very clear tutorial which has been put together by Frances Byrne, so I thought I would give it a go.

I have to say, it wasn’t a complete success because for some reason I couldn’t cut a straight line but I managed to salvage it and if I’m honest, for a first try it’s not too bad.

I’m entering it in the Paper Play challenge, where this week the theme is to make a card for a man or a Father’s Day card.


I’ve used:
Patterned Paper & Plain Papers – DCWV The Natural Stack
Stamped Image – Papermania Nostalgia Pastimes
Craft Creations – Embossed Linen Card Stock
Craftworks Cards –Birthday Greeting
Ranger Distress Ink – Vintage Photo
Marvy Le PlumeII – Various colours

Stash
Eyelets & Brads

One Week To Go...........WOYWW #103

With only a week to go until the big day and excitement is reaching fever pitch over at the Julia’s place where the Stamping Ground is a buzz with anticipation for the 2nd birthday Pay It Forward.
My gift is all done and dusted, ready and waiting to go in the post but I still need to make a little card to go with it, so that’s part of my plans for today’s crafting action.

But before I start on that, I have to pack up some cards to go into the post and as you can see from my desk photo this morning BoJangles is sitting pretty waiting help me.........ok, he’s really waiting for me to take that coffee cup out into the kitchen and hoping that while I’m there he’ll get a handful of food.
He’s such a gannet!

As I understand it, for most cats ,including my previous cat Emily, you can put down a big bowl of food and they will quite happily graze on it all day but not Bo, oooh noooo, he scoffs the lot in one go and still wants more. He’ll eat and eat until he makes himself sick, so I have to weigh out his food in the morning and give it to him throughout the day in a bid to keep him happy, but his constant worrying for food can really try your patients sometimes.

Anyway I digress, it’s been such a relief to get back to card making after the trials and tribulations of the curtain linings last week. I finally managed to finish them though and while the sewing machine was still out I also made myself make the pelmet for my lounge which I’ve been meaning to do for the last eighteen months and also take the curtains up a smidgen because they’ve been dragging along the floor for the same length of time.
I’m so ashamed of myself for admitting that but they are done now and just waiting to go back up at the window so all in all so I should be feeling pretty happy.

If you want a better look at the cards I’ve made this week here they are:-

I was playing with my new set of Kanban stamps and some clear embossing for this first one.

Next is another stamped and embossed image but I can’t remember who it’s by because it’s not in any packaging. I’ve water coloured this one with Marvy LePlume pens and added some Crystal Lacquer to the tops of the waves for effect.

For the next two I’ve used a Sketching Stamper digital stamps and coloured them with ProMarkers.

Then I thought I would have a go at making my own rosettes using my new 'Hougie' board. If you've not heard of one of those it's just a 12 x 12 scoring board marked out in 1/2cms on one side and 1/2inches on the other and it's the best piece of equipment that I've brought in ages.

And the last but not least are a couple just using up some scraps that I had laying around.

So that’s it from me for another week, I need to pace myself ready for the fun and games of next week’s WOYWW.

Look forward to seeing you all at the party, so until then………

Happy Crafting!
Sue
x

For a little update us to why I’m not commenting on people’s blogs at the moment click here.
Blogger is being a pain

The King’s Speech

Have you see this film yet?
If not, I can really recommend it.

I went to see it yesterday with my cousin and was a little skeptical about just how good it would actually be given all the hype, but I can honestly say it’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen and Colin Firth so deserved his award for his portrayal of King George VI.
Go and see it, I’m sure you’ll love it.

While I was in town I popped into Poundland and WH Smiths, so my work desk shows the spoils of my little shop. Nothing very exciting, just essentials like double sided sticky pad, staples, Magic Tape, smooth plain White card for stamping onto and two new Black Sharpie pens….last of the big spender, err?


The eagle eyed of you will have spotted something else that’s new on my desk…..yes, I’ve joined the ranks of the lucky crafters who own a glass cutting mat……and I love it! Don’t know why I didn’t invest in one of these before but at least I have it now.

And there's something else....my new Purple Cow Ultimate Trimmer that you can see in the box at the side of my table, but as it goes I’m not very happy with that new toy.

I had been specifically looking for a trimmer that measured to at least 30cm, which according to the picture on the box this one does but when I got it home (after a round trip of an hour) I found that the measuring platform is marked out in inches and not centimeters. Don’t know why they can’t put both on there as my old trimmer has, but no, just inches.
I emailed Purple Cow on Friday to see if it’s possible to buy a new measuring platform, (thinking that if there's a picture on the box of one then they must make them) rather than return the trimmer to the shop but I’ve not heard a peep and I’m still waiting for a reply from them, so I’m not very impressed with their customer service either come to think of it.

Now I’m in a bit of a dilemma because tomorrow I’m going over to near where to the shop is that I brought it from and I don’t know if I should just return it and have done with it or wait a bit longer to see if Purple Cow get back to me. Trouble is if I take it back I need to start looking for another trimmer that goes up to those measurements and I’ve no idea where to start…..it’s so frustrating!

Sorry, rant over……best get back to my desk.

There’s just the usual mess on there that I manage to leave after a card making session. Pen’s, ink pads, piles of backing off the double sided tape that I've used and a big box of cheap eye shadows. Why the eye shadows…….I use them like chalks and very well they work too!

There are also these finished cards.

I was trying to do a few birthday cards using my cupcake stand stamp but they all turned out looking almost the same, mind you the Green one standing up on the shelf in the main picture looks more like a Wedding card if you ask me.
Oh well, back to the drawing board!





Then last but not least was this easle card.



Oh well, that’s it from me for this weeks what’s On Your Work Desk Wednesday.

Pop off over to Julie’s and join in why don't you, it's all good fun and you get to have a good nosey around too!

Bye for now.
Sue
x

Feeling Archaic

Yes folks, that’s how I’ve been feeling this morning, old and crotchety.
I ache all over and I’m hoping that it’s mainly due to the fact that I had a restless night and could really do with a new bed rather than I’m coming down with something.

My challenge to myself this week has been to try and use up some of the rements of my ever growing paper stash, instead of keep buying new stuff, so the last couple of days have been spent making cards.
Some are needed for orders but while I had my Basic Grey ‘Archaic’ pad out I decided that I wouldn’t put it away after I’d made the cards I needed, I would use it all up instead……a scary thought! Mind you, once I had got into it I really enjoyed myself trying to use the tiniest of scraps as it goes.

So alas, Archaic is no more but on the bright side I have a little collection of ‘spare’ men's cards, which I always find hard to make in a hurry and there will also soon be room for new stash at a later date, yah!

Here’s the little collection.


And here they are close up.









On an even brighter note, I had a visit from my lovely friend Lythan yesterday.
We’ve been trying to get together for ages but all my problems, Lythan’s work load and the weather all scuppered our plans to get together before Christmas. We finally managed it yesterday, so I made lunch, we had a good old natter and exchanged Christmas gifts before she headed off home for an evening at the pictures with her family. Hope you enjoyed the film hun and thanks for my beautiful necklace……I have it on now!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon.
Sue
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