Window box card

I finally got to try out my window box card - I got the idea from A Passion for Cards, but I think I should have made a dark coloured window frame - the white doesn't show up all that well against the 'blind'.  The paper is from one of the new Doodlebug 6 x 6 pads - some lovely colours in these wee pads.  The window frame die had the window divided up into four frames, but I just cut them out as it looked too small.  The flowers were punched out of the Doodlebug paper and the coloured pearls are also from Doodlebug, to match the paper packs.  The new home stamp is from LOTV.

WOYWW

Oh what a messy desk I have this week - I have recently been asked to make a number of cards at short notice - the perfect recipe for a very untidy desk! I have my bargain buy from the NEC still sitting out - the set of clear stamps for all relatives and brithdays - I got it for £2.50!  I also have a pile of notebooks and pens up on top of the desk - I intend to cover these ..... sometime!  Today I got my wee window die from Oyster Stamps - they were sold out of these at the NEC, so I ordered it online - you don't have to pay for postage and it came really quickly - I'll be able to get cracking now on my window box cards. 

The weather is absolutely fantastic these days - I went into town yesterday and everyone was walking around in shorts and flip flops, eating ice cream!  No doubt it will go back to the usual rain when we get off school next week - I'm hoping to get some stuff planted in the garden and greenhouse. - so not much time for crafting!

If you want to join in with WOYWW go to Julia's bog HERE!

Baking birthday card

I made this birthday card using the sketch on the Stampavie challenge.  The stamp is one from a free pack that came with a recent Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  I coloured it with Promarkers as usual and so I can enter it in the PFP challenge which is 'Animals' this week.  The papers are from a pack by Dovecraft called 'Tea House' and the card is from the SU 'in colours' - Pool Party.  The doily is a die - possibly Marianne and the birthday recipe is from LOTV.  The ribbon is SU Pool Party and the leaves are punched.  I am also entering it in the Allsorts challenge as this week you are to include a recipe somewhere on your card.  I can enter the Papertake Weekly challenge as I've used die cuts, glitter and ribbon (free).  It also fits the Simon Says challenge - flowers, glitter and brads - talk about killing two birds with the one stone!

Home Again!

We had a great day out at the NEC yesterday and bought some new bits and pieces.  The new stamps from LOTV were on sale and it was SO hard to choose.  I had a couple from the previous release on my list and then got three of the new ones as well.  I also bought a Stampavie Sarah Kay stamp and some birthday and sympathy 'verses' from www.circadesign.co.uk - I have been using the same 4 or 5 birthday messages for a few years now, so thought it was time for a change - it's so much handier to stamp in a verse than to have to print it off on the computer.  I got an embossing folder and a couple of poppystamp dies to make a window box card.  The www.oysterstamps.co.uk stand had a lovely card on display using these dies.  I also bought some basic card and envelopes, die cut decoupage, LOTV die cut squares, pearls, doilies, etc.  I looked everywhere for the new Doodlebug 6 x 6 pads, but no-one seemed to have any.  I couldn't find any Flexmarkers to buy individually either, so I'll just have to order them online.  It was an early start - we left home at 5:40, got to the airport at 7:30 - just in time for tea and toast before flying over to Birmingham.  We flew back at 6:50pm and were home by 10!  We hadn't realised you couldn't bring glue in your hand luggage and my friend got stopped by security and had to unpack her purchases - it was OK as I had a stamped, addressed Jiffy bag 'just in case' - so it should arrive in the post at the beginning of the week!

WOYWW

On my desk this week you can see I've been trying out the wee set of stamps that came free with this months Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine - cute wee animals baking or eating cupcakes!  I have started to colour one but haven't decided what paper I will use, so can't finish it until I make up my mind.  You might also notice a little green notebook - this is where I've been making my list for the NEC - I had a few more items to add last night when I got the email from LOTV to say their latest release of stamps will be on sale!  I have a wee set of SU stamps that came free with the stuff I got at the workshop I went to a few weeks ago - they are yet to be inked up and so are sitting out to remind me to use them!

Sweet stop birthday card

Another quick birthday card, this time following the Sweet Stop sketch.  The paper is Basic Grey 'Archaic and the green card has been embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The wavy edge was made using a Fiskers border punch.  The stamp is from a Woodware clear set, coloured with Promarkers.  The fishing rod is a Quickutz die I've had for years.  The ribbon is SU Soft Suede.  Simon Says Stamp challenge is to use green this week, so I will enter it there as well.

Birthday Card

I have to make some quick birthday cards for men, so I made this one using the sketch on the Friday Sketch Challenge.  The papers are from a couple of Cosmo Cricket 6 x 6 pads and the image is LOTV cute squares - I cut the main image from one square and raised it up on foam pads on top of a second square - I don't think these packs are still available - they had 5 copies of 4 different images all in a wee pack - very useful for quick and easy cards!

Yellow and pearls

The PFP challenge this week is yellow and pearls - the perfect opportunity to use some of my Prima Alla papers I've been hoarding up - I really love this pack - of course it may have something to do with the lovely greeny blue shades mixed in with the yellow!  I followed the sketch on Sketch Saturday and as I've used a Penny Black stamp, I can also enter the challenge there as its 'Anything Goes' this week.  The image was coloured using Gold, Tulip Yellow, Tan, Ivory, Moss Green, Pear Green, Caramel, Cinnamon, Soft Peach, Satin, Turquoise and Duck Egg Promarkers plus the blender pen and the Glacier Blue Flexmarker.  The lace came from 'The Works' - who stock wee charms, ribbon etc at very reasonable prices.  The swirl was cut using a Sizzix die and the larger flowers are from a Crafty Bitz pack, while the smaller ones are made using punches.  I've just realised the Stampavie challenge is a Spring/Easter theme, so I think this is quite Spring like and could be entered there too!

LOTV Baby Card

A quick baby card today, using the sketch on Mojo Monday.  The cute stamp is from LOTV, coloured with SU pens and Promarkers.  The paper is SU - Not Quite Navy and Bashful Blue.  The ribbon is also Bashful Blue from SU.  The 'New Baby' stamp is by Hero Arts and the sentiment was die cut using Nesties.

Sketch and Stash Thank You

I had to make a number of quick cards recently and the sketch on Sketch and Stash was perfect for this.  I have used a SU stamp inked with SU brush marker pens.  The spotty paper is also from SU.  The sentiment is from a set of Whimsy 'ticket' stamps but I just puched it out with a wee label punch instead.  The embossing folder used is by Cuttlebug - it is one of my more recent purchases, while the flower stamp is a few years old now.I'm getting a list drawn up now for the NEC next Friday - looking forward to it so much!

First Birthday

The CCT Challenge is celebrating their 4th birthday this week and the challenge is for a birthday card or celebration card.  So here is a wee card I made for my little nephew's first birthday.  The image is a really old Sugar Nellie stamp - I have both the bear and the rabbit from this set, and I've coloured him with Promarkers.  The card is SU Soft Suede and Marina Mist.  The star was die cut using x-cut dies and the 1 is a Quickutz die.  The Happy Bithday embossing was done using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Blue and white

The Magnolia Challenge is 'blue and white' this week - so this is my entry.  I used the sketch on the Sketch Saturday challenge, turned on its side.  The paper is from Panduro - a 12 x 12 pad called Summer Blues.  The flowers are made using various punches and the leaves are a doohickey die.  The border punch is from Stampin Up.  To finish it off I added stickles to the pie.  As there are lots of flowers, I can also enter the Allsorts challenge - 'Say it with flowers.'

WOYWW

Something new on my workdesk this week - yes the lovely storage 'cube' for all my Promarker pens!  I had noticed a link from Bev's blog a couple of weeks ago and so found the site here - vixxcraftstorage.co.uk.  I placed the order and just a few days later the large package arrived.  I painted it to match my craft room and got all my pens organised! Just one stamp waiting to be cleaned this week - I'm doing well - but you'll notice a bit of the left hand side of the desk is missing - that's where all the 'bits' are starting to accumulate again! - I'm intending to get them sorted this evening.  The card, paper and stamps are my puchases from the SU workshop we went to a couple of weeks ago - just need to get it all put away now - I used some of it to make the Mother's Day card below and Cardigan card below.

Cardigan Card

Saw a couple of these cards on my friends blog here and just had to try one.  She got the idea from A Passion for Cards blog and I have added my own modifications!  The challenge on Papertake Weekly is 'One for the girls or Mum' - so I will enter it there.  I used an SU sizzix embossing folder to create the texture and also an SU border punch for the collar and pocket trims.  The blue card and ribbon are also SU - 'Pool Party' and the paper is SU 'Spice Cake' - a really lovely selection of paper - nearly too nice to use!  The wee birthday sentiment is from a retired SU set called 'Circle of Friendship' - the set that got me hooked on SU in the first place! I had been following a few blogs and noticed it cropping up now and then - one of very few circular sentiments at the time.  I eventually e-mailed someone who told me it was from SU and they had just 'arrived' in the UK.  I got on to their website and found out that there was only one demonstrator in NI, so immediately phoned her and placed an order - now I can't stop buying the stuff!

Mother's Day Card

I thought it was about time I got started on my Mother's Day cards, so made this one using my new SU papers and card.  I used an LOTV image, coloured with Promarkers - Mustard, Gold, Satin, Caramel, Sandstone, Duck Egg, Cool Aqua, Pastel Pink, Marsh Green and the blender pen.  This weeks PFP Challenge is to make a card for Mum or a female - so this fits the bill!  I used this weeks sketch from the Sweet Stop Challenge and the yummy papers are from the SU mini catalogue, teamed with Pool Party, More Mustard and Soft Suede SU card.  The mustard rectangle was embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Mojo Monday

I had made this card following the Mojo Monday sketch.   The papers are from a Dovecraft pack - "Tea House" and the plain card is SU "Regal Rose."  The stamp is from a clear set that was a free gift with one of the magazines, the happy birthday ribbon is Fizzy Moon 'Celebrations' and the flower, leaves and swirl were all made using punches.   I coloured the image with Promarkers as usual - I've got a nice new storage cube for them all now - I'll show you when I do my photo for WOYWW!  Since taking this photo I added Stickles to the wee cupcakes, so they're all sparkly now!  The happy birthday stamp is by 'Heritage' stamp company.

Special Girl Birthday Card

This weeks Simon Says challenge is for a Mother's Day card or a card for a special girl.  Since I'm always a bit last minute with everything, its still far too soon for me to be making Mother's Day cards,  and so I thought I would just make a birthday card for a special girl.  I used this weeks Sketchy Challenge sketch.  The image is one of the LOTV die cut squares and the peach paper is from a 6 x 6 pad from Craftwork Cards, called Vintage Rose. (These are the papers that were on my desk for this weeks WOYWW.)  I used a SU border puch down both sides of the white card strip, a punch by L-Em for the leaves, Marianne poinsettia dies for the flowers and a Nesties die for the circular mount.  It was finished off with Stickles on the flowers.

Simply Stampin

I made this card following the sketch on the Simply Stampin blog.  The stamp is from the retired set - "A rose is a rose" a two-step stamping set. The purple card is Elegant Eggplant and the lilac one is Lavender Lace.  I used a SU Sizzix embossing folder on Whisper White card for the background and the ribbon is Elegant Eggplant.  The sentiment label was made using two different SU punches and I'm not sure which set the 'happy birthday' is from - some of my wee boxes are a bit mixed up - but I think it might be a set called 'Wow Flowers.'

Friday Sketch Challenge Birthday Card

I made this birthday card following the sketch on Friday Sketch Challenge.  The image is a LOTV cute square and the paper is from a Tilda pad from Panduro - called Summer Blues.  The smaller flowers are puches and the larger one was made using a Marianne Poinsettia die.  The swirls are a Sizzix die as are the leaves.

WOYWW

Here is my desk today - the bad habit of leaving inky stamps at the right hand side of my desk is creeping back - I will have to get them cleaned and put away tonight.  The top drawer is also open - this shows where I keep some of my smaller punches.  The little 6 x 6 pad of paper on the left came free with a magazine I bought yesterday - Simply Cards and Papercrafts.  The peachy paper is out to match up with the LOTV die cut square sitting on top of it - I intend to make some 'girly' birthday cards this evening.  The other card is going to be a wedding or engagement card - I haven't decided how to finish it yet - I was trying out a new cut and emboss folder from Marianne - I just have the big original red Sizzix machine and it didn't work so well with it - it has turned out a bit 'bumpy' and won't stick down as flat as I would have liked.  Anyhow - thats my desk for this week!

Peaches and cream

The LOTV challenge this week is to use the colours peach and cream.  The image was cut out of one of the LOTV cute squares and raised up on foam pads.  The paper is from a free pad that came with the latest edition of Simply Cards and Papercrafts and I used the sketch from Sketch and Stash - the new products are the paper and the embossing folder used on the peach card - it is by Craft Concepts and is called 'Cottage Floral.'  The scalloped border was made using a SU border punch.

Pastel birthday card

I had intended to make some cards on Saturday, but ended up baking instead - to use up some of the ever increasing pile of eggs - our four wee hens certainly must think spring has come! I made cupcakes, pancakes, and French toast and still had 8 eggs left to give to Granny! Since then we have now got another 9 - I think we'll have to start selling them at this rate!  Anyhow, the PFP challenge for this week is to use pastel colours - so I made this birthday card using the sketch on Papertake Weekly.  The papers are from a Dovecraft pack called Tea House and the ribbon is from Stampin Up.  I used antique, pastel and sunkissed pink, light fawn, oatmeal, blush, ivory, soft green, pastel green, cool grey 1, glacier blue, cocoa and burnt sienna.  The 'happy birthday' is a Penny Black stamp and the sentiment label was made using a stamp and punch from SU.

Sympathy

I saw this idea for a card in one of the recent magazines (can't remember now which one) - but I thought it would be a suitable idea for a sympathy card.  I just lightly inked the top edge and randomly stamped a small leaf and flower stamp all over it, getting lighter as it went down the card.  I used SU inks and then a SU smpathy stamp to finish off.

Sugar Nellie birthday card

This card was made using the sketch on this weeks Sugar Bowl challenge - you were also supposed to use kraft card.  I had never coloured on kraft before, but decided to have a go.  I used Prismacolor pencils as I thought the lighter colours would show up better on the kraft card.  The wee lamb was coloured with 'fluffy stuff' and the bottle and wellies got a coat of glossy accents.  The paper is 12 x 12 sheets I've had for ages - they were Basic Grey 'Archaic.'  The stamp is one of the first Sugar Nellies I ever bought and I don't think they are still available.  I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the kraft card and a little piece of rafia to represent straw.  The sentiment was computer generated and punched out with a SU oval punch.  The '6' was die cut using a Quickutz die.  This weeks challenge on CCT is 'Signs of Spring,' so I will enter it there as well.  Now I will have to get my desk tidied up again - before I start my next batch of cards - I got an order for 8 more last night! Mind you, I still have another 80th card to make to fulfill my last order, and I also have to make 380 motifs on my Craft Robo for wedding invites!  I think I'll need to retire soon, as I need more time for crafting!!

Hannah got through her HE practical yesterday and everything turned out OK - here's how it looked -

WOYWW

I thought now that I had my desk all tidy last week, I just might take part in WOYWW (what's on your workdesk wednesday).  The desk is not quite so tidy as it was last week, but I'm in the middle of making a batch of cards, so at least I have an excuse!  I found this lovely spotty paper by Basic Grey and thought it was about time I started to cut it up - I tend to save up paper I really like, and find it hard to actually use it!  I'll maybe get this card made tomorrow.  You may also notice a few packets of wee pearls and crystals - that was part of a package that arrived today from Crafts U Love - there was a stamp as well and some ribbon.  It's nice to come home to find something crafty waiting in the letterbox - mind you, they normally deliver things on a Thursday when I'm at work, then take them back to the PO because they don't fit in the letterbox - this is particularly annoying as our PO closes early on a Thursday, so you have to wait 'til Friday to collect it!