Welcome to mid week!

Morning readers,

Here we are again, half way through the working week ... when I say that I don't mean my working week since I "retired" a number of years ago but, somehow, the weekends always feel a little different to the Monday to Friday thing ..... or is it just me?

Whilst I was rummaging for a particular sentiment (apparently one I WISHED I owned rather than one I actually own, it would seem!!!) I found the Hobby Art set of chickens and was powerless to resist inking at least one of them!!! See if you can see why! As for the sentiment .. I FOUND it, in a Ranger "Letter-It" set, in my head I was looking for CAS-ual Friday, which probably explains how I missed it first pass - DOH! It's turning in to one of THOSE weeks!

My Artist Trading COIN

And a closer view of the colouring and added twinkle

Materials used:

• Snippets of card in cream and black - both 300gsm and die cut in to a 2½" plain circle and a 2¼" faux stitched circle
• Hobby Art image (from "Funky Chicken" CS132-D) stamped on to the cream circle using Memento tuxedo black ink
• I used a set of legs, from the same set, to stamp using Versamagic gingerbread ink, for the straw base
• Freckled Fawn sentiment (from CL783) stamped in two parts, using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Faber Castell polychromos pencils used to colour  the image
• Marvy le plume alcohol ink (B711) to colour the cream background
• Kaisercraft glitter gel pens (black for the eye and brown for the sparkle on the body) to embellish

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Pixie's Crafty Workshop - challenge No. 355 - USE SNIPPETS
2. 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - challenge No. 18 - ANYTHING GOES but MUST always feature a CREATURE
3. Creatalicious - challenge No. 147 - ANYTHING GOES + option of CIRCLES
4. Brown Sugar - challenge No. 282 - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
5. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - challenge No. 90 - ANYTHING GOES

Lately, it just seems my thoughts keep turning to Christmas cards ....... this one's super CAS ...

My card

  

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• White 15cm square, 250gsm, card and matching sized envelope
• One piece of white and one piece of navy card both cut to 14cm square - for the card front and insert
• To the navy piece I die cut, centrally, a scallop edge circle
• On a white snippet (larger than the die cut circle) I stamped my wood mounted Inkadinkado image (99457) using Memento tuxedo black 
• Alcohol markers used to colour
• Stardust stickles used to bling up my image
• Dimensional foam tape used to adhere my blue panel to my card front
• On a snippet of white card I stamped my MFT sentiment (CS-83 Hand Lettered Holiday) using Memento Paris dusk ink before using a Sizzix "banner" die to cut
• Once my banner was cut I used Marvy le plume alcohol marker to colour the banner, to remove the "starkness" of the white card

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Chrimbo Crackers - challenge No. 167 - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
2. Happy Little Stampers - September challenge - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES + option, see below
3. Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - challenge No. 403 - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
4. The Merry Christmas Challenge - September 15th challenge - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
5. 12 Months of Christmas - challenge No. 45 - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES + option of HAVE A TWEET CHRISTMAS

Welcome to Tuesday and an odd day post from me!

Morning all,

Yes, I KNOW you don't normally expect a post from me on a Tuesday but I suddenly spotted that the sketch challenge I made this card for, ends today - in just seven hours and, since I made it specifically for this sketch challenge, I thought I should probably enter it!!!

I was recently asked to make some graduation cards and found I really only had two images which could be appropriate, a mortar board and a scroll. How to make three cards for the same person and yet still make them look a little different .... hmmm. If you want to see the first make then check it out here.

My card

  

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• Cream A2/C6, 250gsm, card and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of cream card, cut to fit
• One piece of navy card, cut to mat
• Snippets of card in cream and navy for my image panel and matting and also for my sentiment
• MFT faux stitched nesting rectangle Dies + WeRMemory Keepers plain rectangle dies used to cut the image panel, matting layer and sentiment panel
• See D's multiple "Congrats" image stamped using Memento Paris dusk ink
• PSX mortar board (D2550) image stamped using Memento London fog ink
• Ranger Letter It sentiment (from their Celebration set) stamped using Memento Paris dusk ink
• Then, because I worried that the mortar board image wasn't obvious I coloured them using cool shadow and cool grey 1 copic marker

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. My Favorite Things - Wednesday Sketch challenge No 402 - SKETCH - see below
2. Dragonfly Dreams - September challenge - ANYTHING GOES
3. Crafting From The Heart - challenge No. 220 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Pammie's Inky Pinkies - challenge No. 1837 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Avenue 613 - challenge No. 213 - ANYTHING GOES + option of CAS (Clean And Simple) - check!

I started work on the third but, apparently, I really only had the two ideas in my head and what happened to the third one? Well, it turned in to a total dogs breakfast!!! Hope I can come up with a plan B) ... and soon!

Oops, Monday again, what happened to the weekend?

Morning readers,

Hope you all had a great weekend and made the most of it too. As you will see from the post title, ours zipped by, in a flash! We HOPE to have our fridge freezer repaired on Wednesday which is, sadly, too late for surrogate daughter #2 and her family as their freezer packed up today and we were unable to offer any space in ours either. Whilst we believe ours is fixable theirs is NOT! Happy freezer shopping!

I still managed a little time at the ToC (that's Table of Craftiness) and produced this ..... I don't NORMALLY make much to do with Halloween but I DO rather love this pumpkin image so ....... I deployed the same technique (and stencil) as I used for my graduation card but selected a way different colour - pink not being terribly Halloween-y!! ... IMHO!

My Artist Trading Coin

And a closer view of the black sparkle embossing and pearly splatters!

Materials used:

• Snippets of card in white and black
• Unbranded plain and faux stitched circle dies 
• Using a mini blender and foam pad I applied Distress Ink in wilted violet over the white circle then, with my stencil in position (Tim Holtz mini stencils set #35) I applied more wilted violet through it
• Silver pearl acrylic ink splattered over the circle
• Inkadinkado pumpkin image stamped using Versamark ink, sprinkled with black sparkle embossing powder then heat embossed
• Smeared Ink "Halloween grumpies" sentiment stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Aud Sentiments - challenge No. 212 - FALL + A SENTIMENT
2. Crafting With An Attitude - challenge No. 43 - ANYTHING GOES
3. Through The Purple Haze - challenge No. 148 - BRIGHT COLOURS - 2nd entry
4. SoSuzyStamps - September 15th challenge - HOLIDAY SEASON
5. Creative With Stamps - challenge No. 30 - PUMPKIN

And now on to a journal page .... a couple of my pals and I challenge one another to create a journal page  per week, using just a one word prompt and the word for this page is "OPEN" -

My journal page - this is a more true representation of colour - the one below's a bit blue!!!

And a closer view, to better show detail

Materials used:

• One page from my Crawford and Black journal (£1 in The Works)
• I brayered Fresco dolly mix ensuring pretty even coverage and then brayer (much more roughly and random) a combination of fresco orchid, Pebeo Iridescent blue violet and Hobbycraft white paint and set aside to dry
• With my Paper Artsy stencil (PS087) in place I sponged Fresco orchid paint through ... it didn't show as much as I'd hoped (once dry) so there was nothing for it but to doodle, using Posca paint pens in both black and white. I also printed my sentiment and coloured it using the same pens
• Studio 490 (She Spoke of Art - LCS072) sentiment, Paper Artsy "Satisfaction" sentiment and jig saw piece (from Gentleman plate #2) and Carabelle eye image ("Oeils macquille d'etoiles" - SM10126) stamped using Ranger Archival jet black ink

I'll be entering the above for the following challenges:-

1. Creative Artiste - challenge No. 42 - ANYTHING MIXED MEDIA GOES
2. More Mixed Media - September challenge - ANYTHING MIXED MEDIA GOES + option of BROWN
3. Welove2create - challenge No. 12 - ANYTHING MIXED MEDIA GOES - 3rd entry

Welcome to the weekend

Morning readers,

Here we are at the weekend and I've been at the Table of Craftiness again. I was recently asked to make a graduation card for a female teen - I scratched my head initially, as I don't have a whole lot of graduation images - but I found a mortar board image and this is what I came up with .... I THINK this works for a trendy teen, don't you?

My graduation card

And a closer view of the image panel

  

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• White 15cm square, 250gsm, card and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of white card, one cut to 13½cm square and the other to 14cm square
• One piece of amethyst DCWV pearlised card cut to 14cm square
• Snippets of card in both white and amethyst
• Using Distress Ink in picked raspberry and a mini blending tool I applied ink over the white panel, covering it. 
• Tim Holtz mini stencil (from set #35) placed over the pink panel and the same ink applied through it again
• Dylusions alphabet (DYB41917) and Ranger Letter It sentiment (from their CELEBRATION set) stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Sakura white gelly roll gel  pen used to accentuate the name
• PSX mortar board board image (D2550) stamped on to another snippet of white card and coloured using Faber Castell polychromos pencils before fussy cutting out, to attach using dimensional foam pads
• Kaisercraft "Edges" image stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Before assembling the card I gave the Distress Ink panel a quick spray of Craftters Companion Spray and Shine, to protect it from moisture

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Stamp, Ink, Paper - challenge No. 167 - LARGE SENTIMENT
2. Addicted To Stamps - challenge No. 309 - CAS - (Clean And Simple)
3. WaterCooler Wednesday - challenge No. 187 - ALL ABOUT THE OCCASIONS - 2nd entry
4. Through The Craft Room Door - September 11th challenge - ANYTHING GOES
5. Through The Purple Haze - September challenge - BRIGHT COLOURS

  

And now, since it's Saturday, I've another card to share with you ...

My One Layer card with its stylised flower

And a closer view

  

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• White 5" x 7", 300gsm, scallop edged card and matching sized envelope
• One piece of 300gsm white card, cut to fit and used as my insert
• Hero Arts cling mounted circle (from AC026 "Brush Strokes") stamped using Memento dandelion ink
• Hero Arts wood mounted bloom stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink and the leaf using Memento bamboo leaves - both images from set LL855 "swirl fancy notes"
• Faber Castell polychromos pencils used to add colour
• Avery Elle sentiment (from ST-18-07 "Loads of wishes") stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Stardust stickles used to add bling!

I'll be entering the above for the following challenges:-

1. Simply Less Is More - challenge No. 380 - ONE LAYER FLORALS 
2. CASonFriday - challenge No. 141 - FLOWERS
3. QKR Stampede - challenge No. 313 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Crafting With Friends - challenge No. 73 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Creative Fingers - challenge No. 152 - ANYTHING GOES

  

Welcome to Friday and the start of the weekend

Morning readers,

Here's hoping you've had a good week. I know I have .... taken a couple of days to visit with friends in Blackpool. We had a lovely time as we always do, thank you so much for your hospitality M&B. The weather could have been better (certainly for travelling) but the company could not! Got to play with the wildlife too ...

 

Lily the Manchester Terrier and Charlie the Bichon Frise

Back to the ToC (that's Table of Craftiness) now though .... and I have an Artist Trading Coin to share with you. I so love their sweet little format. At just 2½" in diameter they are such a great way to use up some of those pesky little snippets we all accumulate. This particular ATCoin utilised three snippets approximately 2¾" square - yee haa! Three down ........ but still a truckload to go!

My Artist Trading Coin - I'm calling this one "SPA DAY" - for obvious reasons!

And a closer view of the colouring and stencilling

Materials used:

• Snippets of card in white and deep purple
• On the white snippet I stamped my Inkadinkado image and sentiment (from set #97728) using Memento tuxedo black ink. I stamped a second time on to full coverage post it paper which I cut out and used as a mask
• With the mask in place, and using a stencil brush, I applied Memento rosebud ink over the panel, then added a Memory Box stencil (#88517 squares) before brushing the same ink through it. 
• Changing the stencil brush and ink (to Memento London fog) I brushed ink through the small circles from Tim Holtz mini stencil set #20
• I coloured my images using copic markers
• Plain and faux stiched circle dies used to cut my 2½" circle and 2¼" circles
• White gelly roll gel pen used to doodle the dots on the deep purple layer

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. MooMania - September 5th challenge - CIRCLES (2nd entry)
2. Penny's PaperCrafty - challenge No. 397 - ANYTHING GOES
3. Crafty Creations - challenge No. 374 - ANYTHING GOES
4. The Corrosive Challenge - challenge No. 9 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Dragonfly Dreams - September challenge - ANYTHING GOES

And now for another Christmas card .....

My card

 

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• Cream A2/C6, 250gsm, card and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of cream card (300gsm) cut to fit
• One piece of DCWV pearlised green card, cut to mat
• Snippets of the cream and green + black for my image panel and matting layers
• Gold glitter washi tape
• Crafty Individuals image (CI-141) stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink, elsewhere I used the same ink but used Inkadinkado (#122552) for the sentiment
• Colour added using copic markers
• Embellishments added: Wink of Stella clear glitter gel brush pen, Anita's dimensional gloss and stardust stickles

I'll be entering the above for the following challenges:-

1. The Holly and The Ivy - challenge No. 36 - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
2. WaterCooler Wednesday -  challenge No. 187 - ALL ABOUT OCCASIONS
3. Creative Moments - challenge No. 152 - ANYTHING GOES (+ optional twist of tag)
4. Addicted to Stamps - challenge No. 166 - CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY
5. Happy Little Stampers - September Christmas challenge - ANYTHING GOES (+ option of tree)

   

And I'm still pondering that graduation card for a (female) teen ...... thinking pink/purple.