Guy card ....

... Hello!!!  Anyone know where today has gone?  I seem to have lost time!!  Hey ho!  I've a quick card to share with you this afternoon.  I've made it for the current challenge over at The Male Room - theme "Anything Goes".  This looks like it's quite a popular challenge - there are almost 50 submissions - and still plenty of time to join in!!

Stamps: Stamp a Mania - Mimbres Background, Deco Lizard, Dakota Tracks
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Denim; Brilliance - Silver
Accessories:  Black card; Silver Holographic Card; White Lustre Card

This card came together really quickly, largely because all the work on the beautiful image above was done by Cynthia (Stamp A Mania demonstrator) at the Heirloom Stamp show on Saturday.  Stamp A Mania make wonderful stamps with images from the South West.  I simply mounted the image onto some silver holographic card and adhered the whole onto a premade black card from my stash.  The card is actually quite large 8¼" × 5¾".  I did do a little stamping myself - I added a white panel to the inside (so that I can write) and added another lizard using the Denim Kaleidacolor inks.

This card is going into my stash of cards that I have ready to send to Ben.  I got quite a bit of glare on the main image above - sorry, but it really does show the colours off beautifully!  That's all for now - better go and start getting dinner ready!!  See you soon.

Birthday Blues .....

..... Evening - I'm very late with a post today but that's because we spent the day at the Plymouth Ice Festival.  Once I've edited the pictures I'll post a few.  It was a really fun day - the only issue being that it was rather warm!!  It was about 7°C (44°F) and that meant the ice sculptures started melting!!!  But more of that later.

I'm popping in with a birthday card that I've made with a couple of challenges in mind:

• CASology - CAS27 - the cue word is "BLUE"
• CAS-ual Fridays - CFC86 - to make a card with one long side and one short

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Heirloom Patterns; Personal Impressions - Words PICS066
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze
Dies: Spellbinders - Sprightly Sprockets (S5-048)
Accessories: Cuttlebug EF - Diamonds in the Rough; SU Card - Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise; White Lustre card

I used the measurements given on CAS-ual Friday blog and made a card base 6" × 3", then I cut a white panel slightly smaller onto which I stamped the pinstripe pattern and a birthday greeting.  Next I embossed the top of the card with this rough diamond pattern.  I attached the panel to the card base using dimensional tape.  For some added interest I die cut three sprockets and arranged them to one side.  Clean, simple - just right a guy!  This card will be in the post on Monday - hopefully it will get to the UK on time!!

ETA:  Just realised that as it's Martin Luther King Jr Day today there's no post - so this card is going to be late.  I've added this to the inside:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Extra Time, Wonderful Washi
Ink and card as above

Okay, okay - here's a sneak peak at a couple of the ice-sculptures I saw today!! I took these photos just after 8.30am this morning - the sun was just coming up and it really made the ice glow!!

That's all for today - I'll be back tomorrow with my CR84FN card!  See you soon.

Christmas star ....

.... Morning all - it's a really wet morning here in Northville.  The plus side is that the temperatures are unseasonably warm - we expect to get to 12°C today and warmer tomorrow - then winter returns!!  Still it's a good excuse to stay in the warm and dry and craft!!!!

It seems that I just can't get enough of Christmas!!!  This card has been made for two challenges:

• Jingle Belles - JB:13:01 - to use new crafting goodies on the card
• 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - 52CCT13-1 - a sketch for us

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Yonder Star Background, Yonder Star

Inks: Kaleidacolor - Fruitcake; Stazon - Jet Black

Dies: Spellbinders - Labels 27 (S4-376) #4

Accessories: Papermania - Traditional Christmas Ribbon; Cuttlebug EF - Snowflakes, Card from stash

 

This was really quick to make.  I used the lovely Fruitcake to ink up the stamp and covered the entire card base with the Yonder Star background image.  Next I cut a white panel around which I wrapped some red festive ribbon and adhered to the card.  I used my new Spellbinder Labels 27 to cut a white mat for the Star - while still in the die I also embossed this shape with snowflakes.  Next I stamped the solid star and cut it out, attaching it to the embossed label and adding a touch of bling.

For the inside I kept it really simple - I stamped the outline star and a sweet sentiment.  I used Stazon in Jet Black for the sentiment as it is a really clear image.

That's all for now - got lots to do this morning - see you soon.

A two in one card ....

.... Good morning all!!  Checking through various challenges yesterday, I found this week's challenges for:

• Play Date Cafe Challenge - PDCC137 - splash of colour - blue
• Do You Stack Up? - DYSU#77 - to make a card based on a movie

 

I love the brilliant blue colour on the PDCC graphic - so striking.  Then I saw the theme for DYSU?  And the rest was easy.  One of my all time favourite films is David Lynch's Blue Velvet.  It's not an easy film, and it may be one you either love or hate, but I love it!  The acting is absolutely fantastic and features two of my favourites - Isabella Rosellini and Kyle MacLachlan.  There are some amazing images in the film and one that stands out for me is the roses against a fence:

Photo Credit

So the film Blue Velvet, and the image above are the inspiration for my card.  I've changed the red roses to blue roses. I've changed the white picket fence too; on my card it is a black ornate metal fence.  I've gone for overblown roses.  I stamped them in water soluble ink on watercolour paper and lightly spritzed each flower, allowing the colour to bleed.  Once the roses were dry, I over stamped the rose outline and cut them out.  I used Pinflair to attach the roses and to give some dimension to the card.  I decided not to include a sentiment, but to let the image stand on its own.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Fifth Avenue Floral
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze
Accessories:  Memory Box die - Estate Fence; Watercolour paper; Card from stash

Before I go, I am delighted and honoured to have been picked as one of the "Fab 4" for PDCC136 with this card, full details can be found here:

That's all for now.  See you soon.

On a roll .....

.... I'm on a bit of a roll this afternoon - making up for lost crafting time!!  Here's another card for this week's Less is More - LIM71, where we have to have a flourish on a one layer card.  I've made a thank you card - you can never have too many thank you cards in your stash - and this one is for my Aunt and Uncle who are taking such good care of my Mum while we're in the States.

It's very clean and simple and has lots of white space!!  The simple sentiment comes complete with flourishes on the letters and the butterfly has flourishy swirls in the wings!  I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the sentiment and butterfly.

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Say It Loud; Stampendous - Jumbo Butterfly Pair
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Pastel
Accessories:  Card from stash

Kathryn and I had a really successful day in Northville.  We went out to get sandals for Kathryn, but we both got some new ones - a good result.  We popped into the library so that Kathryn could pick some books for the summer reading scheme - they have a super selection of books - and we'll be back again soon.  We had lunch and then I went into Stampeddlar - only to look, but I came out with Tim's new summer colours and some new stamps ;)))  I'll say bye for now - see you tomorrow!

Peace, winter, joy ....

... that's what is says on my second card for this week's Less is More - LIM45 challenge.  The challenge is to make a one layer card with the theme let it snow!  My dark blue card (here) didn't quite turn out as I planned.  So I had another go.  And I'm much happier with this one.

I used a flourish template to make a faint pattern to follow as I stamped the snowflakes.  I started off by stamping the text stamp and the scalloped snowflake, and then masked them off.  Then I stamped a selection of smaller snowflakes following the flourish pattern. 

Stamps:  Fiskars - Winter Wonderland
Inks:  Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze
Accessories: Flourish template and card from stash

I really like the shades of blue and turquoise in the card - looks so cool, but I think I may add some glitter to give it a really frosty feel too!  I'll add a picture of that later.

I had a busy evening doing more on my craft inventory.  If you've got a craft room of any size - you will have a quite an inventory of crafting goodies.  I suspect that you have more than you think - I have!  I've been collecting my craft stash for about 10 years and I have wildly underestimated how much it would cost to replace.  So, if you haven't got your craft room listed separately on your insurance, check it out - it's more than you think. 

That's all for now.  Lots to do today - post Kathryn's passport application, do a bit more Christmas shopping and start writing my Christmas cards!!  I'm running late and those that have to go to the US are already late! 

Joyeux Noel .....

... I'm so in the Christmas spirit right now.  I've been to Kathryn's school where I went to watch the dress rehearsal for the School Play.  The children were fantastic and, as always, I had a tear or two at the Nativity story.  I am so proud of Kathryn - she has missed almost all the rehearsals because of our trip to the US, but she's a real star.  Kathryn nailed the dance routine and was singing her heart out with all her friends.  It was fabulous.  I did try to take photos, but the lighting at school is not good.  However, I do have a picture of Kathryn and also of Widow Twanky - played by a brilliant young man called Tom.  I think he has a big future in acting.

And I've also managed to make a Christmas card for a couple of challenges - so pleased too as I didn't think I was going to make it.  The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays - CFC30 it to use a tic-tac-toe grid and make a card based on the line you've picked.  And I've used the layout from the current Clean & Simple - FTL169 sketch.


I've picked the middle line of the tic-tac-toe grid - and I've gone for a very literal interpretation of the sketch.  I started off by stamping some green chevrons onto kraft card and then cutting out a triangle using my trusty nesties!!!  Voila - a Christmas tree!  I randomly stamped some holly leaves onto the card base.  Next I made the sentiment label, first cutting out a pearly green mat and then a kraft oval onto which I stamped a sentiment and some more holly leaves.  I coloured the berries with Sakura Stardust - so they have a really pretty shimmer.  I like this card - and might make a few more.

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Off Beat Backgrounds, Very Vintage Christmas Set
Inks:  Kaleidacolour - Fresh Greens
Spellbinders:  Nested Pennants (S5-028), Lacey Ovals (S4-314); Classic Ovals Sm (S4-112)
Accessories:  Kraft card and Sakura Stardust pen from stash

Kathryn and I went into Mold this afternoon after school.  Kathryn had to have an official passport photo taken.  And while there I took a few photos of the town looking so pretty and Christmassy!  And very, very cold this evening too!

Tom as Widow Twanky in the school production of Aladdin - he had a great time!

Kathryn in the middle - dressed in the tunic she got from Mumbai.

Mold Town Centre at dusk - so pretty!

It's time to come to a close now and go get some dinner.  I'll be back again tomorrow with a couple more cards for you - I'm busy trying to catch up with some challenges.  Take care.

Love leaves memories ....

...  I heard yesterday evening that my friend's husband died - he had been ill for a while, and my friend had to close her shop to be with her husband.  Sadly, I didn't hear until I spoke to her yesterday.  So I've made this card for her and gave it to her this morning.

I CASEd my own card made for the For Your Inspiration challenge - I thought the leaves and verse were just perfect.  However, I did change the colours, my inspiration coming from Kim and Lynne (at the bottom of the post).  Actually, I can see this design working in other colours too - shades of brown, green, grey and lavender would all work beautifully.  And I think Claire's verse is just lovely.

Stamps: Penny Black - Japanese Maple; Waltzingmouse - Irish Blessings
Inks:   Kaleidacolour - Blue Breeze
Spellbinders: Classic Squares Lg (S4-126) die #7
Accessories: Martha Stewart punch; Card from stash

That's all for now.  I'm just about to head off to the local cinema to take Kathryn to see "Monte Carlo" starring Selena Gomez.  Kathryn absolutely adores Selena (she's one of the young actresses in the Disney studio) and it look like it could be fun.  Light, frothy stuff - a fun way to spend the afternoon.  Afterwards, we might even have a bit of time to pop into Hobbycraft for a quick look round - no buying of course!!!!

 

When I get home, I'll have some time to play in my craft room.  I've got a few cards I need to make - and soon.  Birthdays coming up!!  See you soon.

Less Is More 18 .....

..... and the challenge this week at Less Is More is a colour challenge, but with a bit of a difference.  Chrissie and Mandi want us to go

MONOCHROME

 

and the definition of that is "in shades of one colour: using or displaying only shades of one colour or black and white".  For the challenge we can choose any colour we like, but we must keep all the shades within our selected spectrum.

I've gone for a very clean and simple card - I've made it for my Mum.  She wants to send a thank you card to her friend Catherine - we were at their Ruby Anniversary party at the weekend.  It was fantastic!  I've gone for some roses in shades of blue and a very simple, but heartfelt, sentiment.  And to get the shades of blue I've used one of my favourite inks - Kaleidacolor - they have six shades of blue in this set - so easy!!!

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Join Us; Kanban - All Occasions (QVC TSV kit)
Ink:  Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze

It was a lovely weekend away, but I'm a bit behind on my challenge cards, so I'm going to try and catch up!  However, this morning Mum and I have a treat in store - we're having our hair done. 

I'll be back later - probably with another for the Less is More challenge - I think there are so many options for this week's challenge and I do have a couple of others to do before the deadlines close!  And I'll try to catch up on commenting too.  Have a good day.

Rainbow bright ...

.... one of the first things I do in the morning is check the Blogger Dashboard - I like to see the blogs I'm following and what new stuff has gone up.  At the top of the list this morning was this week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays.  This week they've a slightly different twist - a sketch to play with - I like sketches!!

This sort of looks like a rising sun - and several of the DT obviously thought the same.  So I did a variation on the rising sun idea.  What I like about sketches is how it can be interpreted and the DT have come up with some really super cards.

The stamp I've used is one of my favourites, but I haven't used it for a while - so it was nice to take it out of the box to play!  It's a very simple, but rainbow bright, birthday card - a bit of a theme for me at the moment!!

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Medallion; Hot off the Press - Sentiments
Ink:  Kaleidacolor - Pastel

I had to use my stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure the elements were positioned properly - an essential requirement for clean and simple designs - but even allowing for that, this was a quick card to make.

And that's all for today - I'm now off to get packed - off to see my Mum this weekend.  And it's time for Ben to go home to his Dad's - any ideas for getting a teenager out of bed early?!   I do have a few posts scheduled for while I'm away, Blogger permitting :)

Finally, before I go, I noticed that my follower counter has increased - so I'd like to say Hi Sandra Umpang - welcome aboard!!  See you tomorrow!

Congratulations ....

.... are sent today to my Uncle who has been promoted.  I am so pleased for him that I thought he deserved a special card to let him know.

I really like the clean and simple look, and it works perfectly with this magnificent image.  It's another that I got off Microsoft clip art.  I've had it for a while but couldn't decide what to do with it.  However, I felt it was perfect for Ian.  I found a lovely piece of rainbow vellum in my stash and cut out a backing mat to coordinate with the image.  And I stamped the sentiment to match the vellum.  Simple!!

Image:  Microsoft - clip art
Stamp:  Hero Arts - "C"
Inks:  Kaleidacolour - Blue Breeze, Fresh Greens

I'm keeping this one brief.  Once again, thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog.  Bye for now.

Less is More, Part 3 ....

... well I've not managed to make a card for the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge yet, but I have had another go at LIM10 - to focus on the sentiment.  While I really like the Einstein quote that I put on the mini-card yesterday, it is rather plain and I think it needs something - ideas welcome!!

So I played again - I remembered that I had this big stamp from Docrafts - it's been used quite a bit, but not recently.  So I found a pale blue scalloped edged card, inked up the stamp, added a small image and a bit of glitter and hey presto - my third attempt at this challenge!!

I'm really pleased with this one.  It's clean, simple and fun - and can be used for all ages.  I did think about making one in pink, but I'm running short on time - should be packing - so I decided to stop.

Stamps:  Docrafts -  Birthday Stamp;  Papermania - It's a Man's World - Party Animal
Ink: Kaleidacolour - Blue Breeze
Accessories:  Card and glitter from stash

That's all for today - lots to do, but I hope to be able to share a card with you tomorrow.  Bye for now!

SOAP competition ...

... you must be aware by now, that I'm a huge fan of Claire Brennan's Waltzing Mouse Stamps.  She comes up with wonderful designs - some made specially to fit inside the brilliant Spellbinders dies.  Well Claire has changed things around a bit at WMS.  Instead of issuing new releases each month, WMS will now issue stamps bi-monthly and in between Claire and the Design Team have "SOAP".  The recent issue included Western style stamps and I wasn't sure about them at first - but I've already had loads of use from them - check out these cards here and here.

SOAP - Stamp of Approval Parade; this is where the team have another look at the stamps released that month, have a quick look at an old set and give us yet more wonderful inspiration ideas.  Following a brilliant few days checking out what the DT had to share with us, Claire launched the April SOAP CASE competition; the deadline is 8.00am (UK time) on 10th April - so you've still got time to play.

I think the hardest thing to do was pick a card or project to CASE (Copy and Share Everything).  There were so many lovely cards to look and in the end I decided to CASE Anya's fabulous Western style card.

see link above for details from Anya's blog

This is a fab card, so I used one of my favourite colours - green!  I also decided that it would be a good card for my son.  I kept the card landscape, but decided to print the blanket pattern horizontally.  And I love the John Wayne quote - so that was the one I choose for my card.  I added some raffia around the card and finished it off with the horse riding off the card.  So here it is:

Stamps:  Waltzing Mouse - Back in the Saddle, Way Out West
Inks:  Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze, Fresh Greens; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Spellbinders:  Lacey Squares (S4-295) #3; Classic Squares Lg (S4-126) #5
Accessories:  Card, raffia from stash

Thanks for dropping by to visit - would love to hear your comments.  Now, I'm off to check out the latest challenge from Less Is More!!  See you later today.

Off the edge ....

.... so the challenge over at Less is More this week is to make a one layer card with the theme that part of the stamp/image should be off the edge of the card.  Oh, and there's the additional requirement that we do not use score lines.

Now, one of my all time favourite stamps and one I've used many, many times since I got it, is the beautiful medallion stamp from Stampin' Up!  So I decided to use the stamp again - and I made two cards!!

The first card is a thank you card to everyone for all the kind and caring comments left for me and my family following my sister's sudden death recently. 

I decided to use green for a fresh, bright and hopeful feel.  The base card is slightly textured giving a subtle pattern to the image.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Medallion;  Waltzingmouse - Rescue Remedies Additions
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Fresh Greens

The second card is slightly smaller, but still square, and is pearly white.  And this can be used for any occasion, but I have a friend in mind!!  I really like the soft pastel colours on this card.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Medallion;  Waltzingmouse - Roses in Bloom
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Pastel

And to show you just how much I like the medallion stamp - here are a few of the Christmas cards I made with it in 2009!

Medallion stamp (SU) - Snowmen and greeting - Elusive Images

Medallion (SU) - Acetate stripe (not sure where I got this one)

Medallion (SU) on to which I layered a Kanban topper

I made quite a few more - but I think this is enough to be going on with.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get around all the cards on last week's challenge and this week - but as there are so many - it may take a while :)  I'm beginning to get back to my craft room, so hopefully I'll have another card to share with you tomorrow!  Bye for now.