Crafty Cardmakers DT card

Using Hamish in Kilt from the Sugar Nellie range at FunkyKits I made this extra-special Christmas card for my brother who lives in the Netherlands.  I wanted something with a Scottish Twist and this is perfect.  I followed The Sugar Bowl's sketch and dry embossed with a Sizzix snowflake folder the red card (not easy to see in pic but promise it is there), mounted that onto matt gold mirri board, coloured the image with Promarkers, matted and layered onto green and matt gold mirri, and cut the sentiment using my Ultimate Pro on white linen card and added a bow.  I then added a green border cut using an XCut  border edge and added a Happy Christmas ribbon.

As well as being my DT card for Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Dry Embossing Challenge this week, I am also entering it into the following challenges~

I Love Promarkers Snowflakes;

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 47 and

Charisma Cardz With Love at Christmas.

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Ingredients:~
Hamish in Kilt from Sugar Nellie Home Grown range at Funkykits coloures with PMs~

Ivory, Dusky Pink, Blush, Caramel, Sandstone, Ruby, Apple, Meadow Green & Forest Green;

All card used from Papermill Shop;

Ribbon from Papermania.

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Crafty Cardmakers DT card

This week over at Crafty Cardmakers Challenge Blog we are looking for Stitching ~ either real or faux ~ so get your tiny needles, your machines or your pens out crafters.
I opted to use real stitching but wish I hadn't now as my stitching is awful - have to say its down to the fact that the tips of both my fingers I sew with are numb due to nerve damage and this is the first time I have used them since it happened - NO I DO NOT SEW WITH MY FINGERS - I use a needles but you all understood me!!

Using the beautiful Sarah Kay stamp (from my lovely friend Kathleen - thank you), I used PMs to colour her but wanted to keep the whole card simple so only used pink & grey. The backing paper is from Bearly Mine and I have to say I have fallen in love with it - isn't it stunning? The sentiment is computer-generated using Girls Are Weird font and I stitched the end of them together in grey thread.

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Ingredients:~
Sarah Kay stamp coloured with Promarkers in Rose Pink and Cool Grey 1 & 2;
DP is freebie from Bearly Mine.
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The card is on its way to Scotland (where my daughter is for the week) as she has been offered and accepted a place at The University of Hertfordshire to study Nursing on Secondment from her current job in the NHS starting in January. We are so pleased for her as she currently works as a Health Care Support Worker and is so good at her job she is wasted there and needs to further her skills and knowledge by doing this course.

As well as being a DT card this one is going into the following challenges:~
Passion for Promarkers Best Friends Challenge; and
FabnFunky Keep It Clean and Simple.

Spotlight Digital Plus

Over at Crafty Cardmakers this week our Spotlight is Digi Plus ~ do something other than print & colour.  For this I used the stunning 'Watching You' image from StitchyBearStamps which I flipped over horizontally and printed onto firstly white vellum and then a coloured fantasy background from My Craft Studio Collector Edition.  The vellum was then placed over the other image exactly and pearls were added to the wings on both images. The sentiment is computer generated using Scriptina font in size 24.  Organza ribbon was added to the front tho it looks blue in the pic for some reason.

I really wished I could have done more with her but our Photoshop is playing up this week and keeps shutting our PC down ??!!?? So this simple digi plus is all I could come up with girls ~ sorry!  Perhaps I should stick to playing with inks in the future!

Crafty Cardmakers DT card

Over at Crafty Cardmakers our challenge this week is 'Use a Freebie' - something that you got in a magazine or in a download for example. Be sure to tell us where your freebie came from.  The winner for this challenge will receive 2 background paper books by Crafty Individuals which are background papers 1 & 2 with 2 being Christmas. 

My freebie is the fabulous 'Penelope's Party Wagon' that came as a free download from the very talented Mo Manning some time ago. I do love her images but am not on Facebook so very often miss her lovely freebies now. I coloured her with my good old Promarkers, matted and layered her onto card and mounted her onto this lovely shaped sidestepper - do visit my DT buddy Vix if you would like to know where it comes from. I added a frill along the bottom using tissue paper that came in the box with new trainers - never throw anything away me!! Well you never know when you may be able to use it!! This side view shows the mechanics of the card - I do love the shape and the size of this and it is very simple to make.

I am entering this also into the following challenges:~

Passion for Promarkers Orange, Black, Green & Purple Theme;

Charisma Cardz More Than One Fold and
Sarah Hurley's Colouring In Challenge.

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Ingredients:~

Mo Manning freebie coloured with Promarkers:

Skin: Ivory, Blush & Dusky Pink;
Clothing: Meadow Green, Apple, Coral, Pumpkin, Honeycomb, Amethyst & Lilac;
Hair: Sandstone, Cinnamon & Caramel;
Image outlined in Cool Grey 1 to add depth.
Ribbon and sentiment from stash;
Papers from Daisy & Dandelion's Pumpkin & Aubergine range alongside purple and orange cardstock from The Papermill Shop.

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Crafty Cardmakers Fancy Folds Spotlight

Our Spotlight for this week is Fancy Folds so do come along and try something different......this one is SO different for me but I thought I would give it a go. And when you see what my DT mates have come up with you will be as astounded as me - they are such a talented bunch of ladies!!
Using 2 papers from the fabulous Dovecraft Kate Knight DP in A Hint of Pink, I came up with this shaped card. The shape was made using my Ultimate Pro (which is rapidly becoming my new best friend I have to say); mirri board cut in the smaller shape then the sentiment was added in the middle. Its not very easy to see but the flower in the bottom right is from the same paper and I simply cut around the leaves of 3 of them and made this striking embellishment; the butterfly I cut in gold and brown using a Sissix die.

I think this is called a K card (well thats what the booklet that came with my Pro calls it! If you know the correct name pls let me know). Whatever it is called it took me ages to do mainly because I was pratting around trying to make it look better than it was and ended up having to cut various sheets - ooops! - but I think I got it right in the end. Think I will stick to flat basic cards from now on....says she!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge

Over at Crafty Cardmakers this week, we are looking for you to Step Away From The Square - simples - create anything other than a square card. Do go along and see my fellow DT fabulous work - they are a very talented bunch of girls who I am very proud to be associated with.





My creation this week is using the fabulous 'Inspire' image from Jenni. I folded the front of a DL card in half, matted and layered the beautiful image (after I had altered the colour using My Craft Studio), inked the edges with Black Archival ink from Whispers, added a lovely charm and sentiment, and stuck on some blingy thingys! I am a bit disappointed with my creation this week as I have had a stinker of a cold and wanted to do Jenni's digi image more justice than I have. Sorry Jenni!


I am entering this into Polka Doodles Fancy Folding Challenge - haven't the energy to find any others it will fit!!



Do go along to see Jenni's fabulous digi images!

Crafty Cardmakers DT Card

I would like to share this card with you all - my first as a Design Team member for Crafty Cardmakers. Using our Around the World theme as World Cardmaking Day is coming up, I came up with this depicting The Far East. Your entry MUST be easy identifiable as relating to another country or continent. The Stampman are offering a £10 voucher for the winner of this one - so come on girls and guys get your geography books out and get cardmaking!!

I coloured the fab image from MamiDoodles with my faithful Promarkers, matted and layered it on burgundy, ivory pearl and black card; added the Chinese sign for Friendship (matted and layered in same way); added 2 floral elements and then put them all on lovely backing paper freebie from C&P some time ago.

Ingredients:~

Anita's White Square blank (135x135mm);

Freebie paper from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine ~ Kate Knight paper stack;

Image from Mami Doodles coloured with PMs~

Lavender, Blossom & Maroon;

Meadow Green, Forest Green & Apple;

Cool Grey 1 & 2;

Sentiment from PC;

Floral elements from Papermania ~ Lilac & Silver flowers set.

Look at this......

The team at Crafty Cardmakers very kindly asked me to be on their DT and what do you think I replied..................................................................

Well I didn't even need to think about it and accepted immediately.

Whoooooopppppeeeeeeeeeeee!



So a MASSIVE thanks to you all over there - as you can see I am dead chuffed to be there with you.

If Mams were flowers.......

I know we all love our Mams to bits but I love telling my Mam as often as I can - I do this by sending her cards that express how I feel as she lives 600 miles north of us. It is very hard for both of us being apart but it is now coming up to the timeof the year that she hates - my Dad passed away on Nov 16th 2000 - and she still finds this time very hard. Becasue it will be 10 yearrs this year I am going up to spend a week with her but meanwhile am sending this card too.

It is for 3 challenges -
Mami Doodles Sketch;
Digistamp Boutique and
Crafty Cardmakers Clean and Simples.

Using MamiDoodles sketch, I stamped the DSB image and coloured with Promarkers then mounted it on green card and added flowers and sentiment.

Ingredients:~

Freebie image form DSB coloured with PMs~

Flower ~ Blossom, Dusky Rose & Coral;

Vase ~ Cinnamon, Caramel & Sandstone;

Leaves ~ Meadow Green, Apple & Forest Green.

Flowers from stash and sentiment made on PC using Scriptina Font.

New stamp

This easel card is my first for nearly 3 weeks......not too happy with the outcome but way hay.... Using The Sugar Bowl sketch, I am entering into 4 challenges ~ The Sugar Bowl; Charisma Cardz; Get Funky and Crafty Cardmakers.

Ingredients:~

Brand new stamp (bought on recent trip to Elgin (home of Funky Kits shop!!!)called Poise from the Leanne Ellis range coloured with PMs;

papers from Funky Hand's Colour Me Happy CD - Merry Berry colour range.

This PC is slow tonight so I am not writing much more - my temper is seething now as it has taken me over half an hour to do this post!! See ya tomorrow!

Curtis freebie

Isn't Curtis fabulous - he is one cool dude! He is a freebie from the fabulous SJ Musings.

I coloured him with PMs and inked the edges of the white card; made the diagonally striped card myself with my PMs and stamped the sentiment with a set of 99p stamps I bought from The Range. You may also notice that I have discovered how to use a watermark on my images with our Adobe Photoshop - took me ages to get it right but think I have cracked it now!

Ingredients:~

Image 'Curtis' freebie from SJ Musings coloured with Promarkers~

Satin & Blush for skin;

Buttercup & Sandstone for his hair;

Slate for his sunglasses & shoes;

Cornflower & China Blue for his shorts with a Poppy stripe;

and Meadow Green & Apple for his shirt.

I am entering this into the following challenges:~

Mamidoodles ~ Blue, White and Green with hint of Red;

Polka Doodles ~ Something for a Boy;

Crafty Cardmakers ~ Inky Fingers;

I Love Promarkers ~ Stripes;

and Inspirational Card Sketches ~ Sketch No 72.

Crafty Cardmakers Design Team Guest Spot!

This was the BIG SECRET I had to keep until today - the fab Judie and other girls over at Crafty Cardmakers invited me to be their Guest Designer for their current challenge - No 23 Cards For Men.

It is all from my new CD from My Craft Studio, matted and layered onto black and cream handmade card; image is decoupaged and strings added to make it look like a real guitar.

Hope you like it and I want to give all the fab girls at Crafty Cardmakers a massive Thank You for this chance to show off my work on their beautiful blog!

Once Upon A Time....

Hello everyone from a very wet and cold North London. Suppose it saves me watering my bedding plants later!

This little card is for Crafty Cardmakers 'Least and Most' Challenge No 22 and Pollycraft's Hidden Message Challenge No 46. Using A Bugaboo image called 'Reading Time' coloured in with my new best friends (my PMs) in orange (my least liked colour - in fact I HATE it) and brown (my fav colour), I matted and layered onto orange and gold card, then placed onto My Mind's Eye very striking dotty paper and another (cannot for the life of me remember where I got it).







I added the hidden message and matted and layered that also adding 2 leaves (won them in a blog candy ages ago and think they are called skeleton leaves - pls correct me if I am wrong).
I also added 2 differnet coloured ribbons on the right hand side.

Don't they just look SO cute?

Wedding card

This one is for my daughter-in-law's cousin who gets married in July to the beautiful Bonnie.

I am entering it into Totally Papercraft's Wedding/Anniversary Challenge and Crafty Cardmakers' Inside Out Challenge.

Using card blank, pearlised ivory paper and glittered paper all from Papermill Shop, I very lightly coloured the groom with Promarkers and added glitter to the bride's dress, veil and flowers. Printing pearlised paper with text ~ Love, Honour, Cherish ~ I matted and layered the image and added a white ribbon. The font used is Scriptina which I think looks very elegant.

This image is very blurred but I wanted it to show the sparkle of the glitter on the image of Lola Rose adn her new hubby!

The other image at the top shows the insert - which is what Crafty Cardmakers are looking for in their current challenge.

I didn't want to make it too fancy as I thought it would spoil the elegance of the card front.

I do hope you all like it as much as I do.