TMR - Give us a giggle ....

.... Good morning everyone!!!  It's time for our new challenge at The Male Room and our theme is "Give Us a Giggle".  We want you to make the guys in your life laugh - it can be a funny image, a pun, something really silly - anything so long as you make us all giggle.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Inkadinkadoo - Humourous Birthdays
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! - Pool Party
Dies: Lil' Inkers - Stitched Squares #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; SU DP - Daffodil Delight; Copics; SU Chevron Punch

Today is Jonathan's 50th birthday and my Mum asked me to make a card so that she could give it to him today.  Mum asked for something a bit silly which made it a perfect fit for our challenge.  I've used the layout and chevron theme from Fusion Card Challenge - FUSION#8 and the colours from Dynamic Duos - DD#100.  Sadly, it is the last ever challenge at Dynamic Duos and I'll miss playing along with the team.

I made the card base from Smoky Slate and cut a white panel using the Stitched Square die from Lil Inkers.  I stamped the little turtle into the corner of the card and coloured him with Copics.  I punched some bright yellow chevrons from design paper and adhered them to the card.  I finished the front with a fun greeting.  For the inside I cut a mat of yellow design paper, a panel of white on which I continued the funny sentiments and repeated the image of the turtle.  Jonathan will enjoy this card very much!!

For more cards that give us a giggle, check out the cards from the rest of the team.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what you make! 

See you soon - well soonish, it's rather busy here at the moment.  I'm really enjoying having Mum here with us.  We've been out shopping a couple of times and are now in the middle of party preparations for Jonathan's party (Saturday), so I might not be about much.  Bye for now.

Retro wheels ....

.... Hello!  It's my father-in-law's birthday in a couple of weeks and this card is for him from Kathryn.  I'm perfectly safe sharing it here now, as he won't see it before the day!

Stamps: Kanban - Retro Cars Keep on Running, Birthday Greetings
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, London Fog
Dies: Spellbinders - Petit Ovals Lg (S4-138) #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Real Red; Copics; Craftwork Cards - Sentiment Label; Cuttlebug EF - Herringbone; Silver Marker Pen

I was going through my stamps and came across this fab stamp of a sports car - just right for my FIL's card.  I stamped the image on to which card and coloured it with Copic markers; I tried to get as close to Gumball Green as I could.  I used an oval die to cut it out and ran a silver marker pen around the edge for definition.  I picked red to go with the green, colouring the car seat red and embossing the red card for texture.  I finished the front with a little oval sentiment label which I also edged with silver.  On the inside I cut a mat of red card and on the white panel stamped another sports car and a birthday greeting.

I based the design on a few challenges - the idea of wheels is from Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#35 where the cue word is Wheels, the colours are from Dynamic Duos - DD#96 and the idea to include ovals is from CAS-ual Fridays - CFC#130.

I know that the traditional clean and simple card has lots of white space, but here my "white" space is mostly red!!!  I'm not feeling 100% today - I think I'm getting the cold bug from Jonathan.  He was very poorly yesterday with a bad fever, today he's simply shattered!!!  So I think I know where I might be soon!  Take care!

ASM - Holiday ....

... Good evening!!  So it's officially spring now, while we have blue skies and bright sunshine, the temperature still hasn't improved much, we're still below 0°C!!  However, it is time for our new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This week it's our Holiday theme - Christmas, New Year, Halloween, Easter, National Holidays - anything, so long as it is a holiday.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Winnie & Walter - The Big, The Bold & The Happy; Waltzingmouse - Nestie Eggs
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sky; Memento - Lulu Lavender
Dies: Spellbinders - Nested Eggs (S4-264) #2 & 3; Die-namics - Highrise Alphabet Uppercase
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Vellum, SU Card - Soft Sky; Copics; Sequins

I need a few more Easter cards for this year, so this time the holiday was easy!  Easter.  I used the colours from this week's Dynamic Duos - DD#95, but had to adapt them a bit for the vellum as I didn't have any that matched exactly and the pastels that I do have were too pale to show.  I've been taking the online class Clean & Simple 3: One Layer Cards.  I've used the Copic colouring on vellum a technique that was demonstrated last week.  It is very easy to do and makes a very dramatic card.  I added a few die cut Easter eggs to the front and some sequins.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale blue, stamped a few more Easter eggs and a simple greeting.

For more inspiration with the Holiday theme, check out the cards from the rest of the team and from our Guest Designer, Anni.  Our sponsor this week is STAMPlorations and the winner will be getting a prize from them. 

That's all for now - I can't wait to see your holiday themed projects.  See you soon!

TMR - Vintage ....

... Morning!  It looks like spring might be trying to make an appearance in Northville, it got up to 7°C (45°F) yesterday afternoon, and it should be even warmer today, although a bit wet!!  Still it is time for our new challenge at The Male Room.  We had so many lovely submissions for our blue, green and brown theme.  Our theme this time is VINTAGE, and here's my take:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Perfectly Penned; Dare to be Artzy - Hot Air Balloons E13102
Inks: SU - More Mustard, Sahara Sand; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress - Antique Linen
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black, More Mustard; SU DP - More Mustard; Couture Creations EF - Ascension; Lakeland Greetings Banners

I find that vintage style is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I'm quite pleased with this card.  I used the colours from Dynamic Duos - DD#94, as well as the Dessert option of dry embossing.  I made the base from black card, cut a mat layer of More Mustard design paper and a panel of white card.  I embossed the white card with these fabulous balloons and brayed over the image with Sahara Sand and More Mustard.  I then added more ink by sponging on Antique Linen and More Mustard.  I rounded the corners of both layers and adhered them to the front of the card.  I finished the front with this bold birthday sentiment.  Not a bit of stamping on the front of the card.  On the inside I made a mat layer of More Mustard and on the white panel stamped (using second generation images) several small balloons and finished with a birthday greeting.

For more inspirational masculine cards with a vintage feel, check out the cards from the rest of the Design Team.  Looking forward to seeing what you make!  Bye for now.

ASM - CAS ....

....  Evening all!  Time for our last challenge of February at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This week our theme is Addicted to CAS - clean and simple.  Your card should be clean, simple with minimal embellishments.  Here's my take:

Stamps: StampArt Design - Full Bloom 2; Uniko Studios - Extra Time, Background Builders Flower Power
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Tangerine Tango
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Washi Tape; Copics; SU Card - Melon Mambo

 I used the sketch from The Paper Players - PP#184 for the layout, although I flipped it to the left side of the card.  The colours are from Dynamic Duos - DD#91 - they have three colours this week.  The main image is a digi stamp from our sponsor, StampArt Designs, it's so pretty and so easy to colour.  I used copics and then cut it out, ran it through my Xyron to make it self-adhesive.  I used a couple of strips of Washi tape and stamped the row of flowers in orange.  I attached the bowl of flowers onto the strips and finished with a simple sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of bright pink, a white panel on which I stamped some more flowers and an apology!  This card is in the post and should hopefully arrive by the end of the week!

For more inspiration cards check out the cards from the rest of the Design Team and from our Guest Designer, Cathy.  As always, a great selection of cards for you.  The winner of this week's challenge will receive 5 digi images from our Sponsor, StampArt Design.  That's all for now.  See you soon.

TMR - Valentine .....

.....  Good morning!  I've been keeping a secret and I can share it now!  I am absolutely delighted to be joining Jacqueline and the rest of the Design Team at The Male Room - a challenge site specially for guy cards.  I think you all know that I actually enjoy making guy cards - I use quite a lot with sending them to Ben and Jonathan.

Our theme at The Male Room is Valentine.  Your card/project should encapsulate the theme and  have a masculine feel.  Here's my card:

Stamps: My Favourite Thing - LJD Homespun Hearts
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Real Red, Island Indigo
Dies: Cheery Lynn - Hearts 'n' Gears; Die-namics - LJD Rustic Hearts
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Real Red, Island Indigo

I've used the colours from this week's Dynamic Duos - DD#88 and the layout/theme from the current FUSION challenge - FUSION#3.  This card came together really quickly.  I found the lovely heart die a couple of weeks ago - the gears give it a really masculine feel.  I cut the larger heart out in red cut out a couple of white hearts and stamped them in teal.  I stamped a couple more red hearts and some teal buttons directly onto the card base.  I finished the front with a simple, but heart-felt sentiment.  For the inside I cut a mat layer in teal, added the smaller gear heart and a dotty heart too.

I'm not actually giving this to Jonathan on Valentine's Day as we actually met on 15th February 2000 - so I'm giving it to him then.  Wow, that's 14 years ago!  The time has simply flown by!  It's been marvellous and there's still so much to come :)

Do check out the inspiration cards from the rest of the team - lots of lovely cards to see!  I can't wait to see what you create for our masculine Valentine theme.  See you soon.

Floral birthday ...

... Good morning everyone!  Winter is back in full force here in North America.  We've been very lucky in Northville, while it is extremely cold, we don't have any snow, just lots of blue skies and sunshine, and I'm happy to take that!  I hope all my US buddies who are in snowy areas are taking lots of care.  I'm so fed up of snow that I decided to make a floral birthday card. 

Stamps: Hero Arts - Large Flower Background CG403; CAS-ual Friday Stamps - Casual Elegance, Bold Wishes
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Pool Party, Pink Pirouette; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Copics - G0000, RV000; Clear and Black Embossing Powder; Vellum; Gems

I used the soft, subtle colours from this week's Dynamic Duos - DD#86, and the layout is based on the sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping - FTL276.  

I stamped the image onto white card in pale aqua and then again in black Versafine which I heat embossed with clear powder.  I coloured the flowers and stems using Copic markers.  Then I spent quite some time cutting out the coloured flowers and stems and adhering them to the aqua image.  I love the way this gives a soft subtle background with the coloured images being more defined.  I cut a mat layer of black card and attached the flower panel.  I decided to stamp the sentiment on vellum as I didn't want to cover the pretty flowers.  I finished the front with some gems scattered about.  For the inside I cut mat layer in black and on the white panel stamped some flowers and vines, and a very bold sentiment.

Before I go, I have some new followers who I would like to welcome.  Join me in say Hello and Welcome to Gemma and Asha - thank you ladies for joining me!  I always appreciate the fact that so many people have decided to follow me and see my cards and read my ramblings, and all your comments are a delight - I do like to read them.  Thanks to you all!  That's all for now - I really do have to get the ironing done - I've been putting it off for a while now!

What's the buzz? ...

....  Hello!!  I managed to get an hour in my craft room yesterday afternoon - so nice to sit in the warm!!  This card is one of the stash that I use for my friends in the UK, to give and get news!

Stamps: Inkadinkadoo - Morphic Bugs; Paper Smooches - Cyber Cafe
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stazon - Jet Black; Stampin' Up! - Garden Green, Summer Starfruit
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Summer Starfruit; Vellum; Clear Embossing Powder

I used the sketch from this week's Just Us Girls Challenges - JUGS#222 and the colours from Dynamic Duos - DD#85.

I made the card from Summer Starfruit; I wasn't sure about this colour when it first came out, but now I really love it!  I cut a panel of white card and adhered it to the base.  Next I cut the vellum to size and stamped the butterfly image in Versafine and embossed with clear powder.  Next I sponged on both Summer Starfruit and Garden Green inks and then cut the panel into three.  I finished the front with a fun sentiment.  Inside I cut a panel of white card and stamped some butterflies.

I almost didn't post this card - the idea was a good one, but I don't think it quite works!  That's all for today.  I've a lot to do today - I have to drive into Northville, not something I'm looking forward to.  Hopefully, the roads will be much clearer by now and not too icy!  And I really do have to get on with some ironing - I didn't do any over the holidays and the pile I have now is quite high.  Hey ho!  See you soon.

Christmas card ....

... Morning!  I've discovered that I need a few more Christmas cards - my comments about being organised were a bit premature!!!  So here's one I made this morning:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Background Builders: Christmas; Stampin' Up! - Christmas Messages
Inks: SU - Gumball Green; Primrose Petals
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Gumball Green; SU DP - Print Poetry; SU Marker - Gumball Green; Wool from stash

I've used a few challenges to make this card:

• CAS(E) this Sketch! - CTS#56
• Merry Monday - MM#87 - make it with mittens
• Dynamic Duos - DD#82

I've not found the sketch easy this week.  I masked off a triangle on the card and stamped some Christmas trees in the space - sort of like a forest - and edged it with a marker to define the area. I drew the mittens by hand onto some card, cut it out and adhered them to the design paper and cut them out again.  I added some green card for the mitten cuffs and some wool as decoration and also to hold the mittens together.  I attached the completed mittens with dimensional gel and added a bold, fun sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer in green and stamped a verse in pink, and added a row of Christmas trees.

I have to say that mittens and gloves, as well as hats, scarfs and nice warm coats, are very much the order of the day in Northville.  At the time of writing, the temperature outside is -11°C (12°F) but with the wind chill factored in it feels more like -19°C (-2°F) - and it's coming up to 11.00am.  It's what, in England, we'd call "Brass Monkey" weather.  Fortunately, I have no need to go outside and am going to craft all day!  I had planned to do the ironing, but Jonathan's not feeling well and is in bed - so the ironing will have to wait.  As you can tell, I'm absolutely heart-broken ;) :)  See you later.

Picture perfect ....

.... Good morning.  Well, that's the long weekend over - it went by so fast!  Everything is back to normal today - that means I've got housework to do!  However, before I head upstairs to do the pile of ironing, I thought I'd share a quick card:

Stamps: There She Goes - Oh Snap
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Midnight Muse; Versamark
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Midnight Muse, Pacific Point; Clear Embossing Powder; Photo from me; Copics - T1, T3, T5, B06

I used the layout from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge - CTS55 - and I have to admit that I was stumped for quite a while.  It was only while browsing through my stamp catalogue that I decided on the design.  I've used the colours from Dynamic Duos - DD#81 - they've given us Midnight Muse and we could pick the other colour.  I've gone for another blue - Pacific Point.

I stamped the camera in Midnight Muse onto scrap white card and coloured with Copics.  I stamped some accessories onto card and cut the lot out.  I layered the white panel onto a navy mat and adhered the camera and accessories.  I added a simple sentiment and the date on the label (in Europe we write the date, not month, first).  On the inside I had a bit of fun.  I found a photo of Jonathan, taken at the Plymouth Ice Festival in January, printed it and mounted it on a blue mat.  I added a fun, and appropriate sentiment.  As you can guess - this one is for Jonathan.

That's it - I can't put off the ironing any longer!  Fortunately, I've a few episode of The Walking Dead to catch up on - it'll make the ironing go so much quicker.  See you tomorrow!