Fab Weekend & CPS 15

What a fab weekend I had with my 'Best Girl' Ailey. We found her a bridesmaidyish dress that is so pretty and most importantly can be worn again. We also happened to stop by a Paper Mill Shop so I popped in and got some of the little clear stamp sets for £1.49. Ailey was ooooing and ahhing over the DCWV fairytale papers - another paper addict in the making I think. We watched some Sex in the City, I got my nails and hair done and generally stayed up too late and had a fab girly time, thanks Ailey.

Of course a long weekend just means theres the same amount of work squished into less days so this week's been hectic so far. Managed to take 10 minutes out yesterday to make a quick card with the CPS sketch though. Now I really must stop procrastinating and get on with my list...

Working 9 to 5

...what a way to make a living! Whoo, been singing that non stop, love it! Jo has set a super cool dare this week to use office inspired stuff on a card. I have to admit I found it a little daunting at first, but then I realised there's just so much out there, clips, file folders, brads, those little circley stickers you can put on punched holes so they dont tear... I didn't manage to track any of those down yet but I have a fab idea when I do find them.
My card uses DCWV pocket full of posies paper, Bosscut die cut turny things with Papermania Brads, a handcut filefolder that can open for a little message and is held closed by a mini bulldog clip. Its embossed with happy birthday by one of those fab little Cuttlebug embossing folders and inked for definition.


I really enjoyed making this card and the Team have as always produced an amazing array of designs. Have a look at them here to inspire you, I'm so looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Resists

I spent a good few hours yesterday playing with resist techniques. These cards are made by embossing a background image in clear embossing powder, using inkpads direct to paper then ironing off the embossing powder, its fun and you can get a lovely effect using coloured card. I've made quite a few and have a whole pile of papers to use now. Most of the stamps Ive used are from yesterdays delivery except the background stamps which are Anna Griffin, Lost Coast and Purple Onion, what fab names some stamp companies have! This purple card is inspired by the CPS sketch of the week. I meant to do a resist with clear embossing powder but picked up the clear holographic by mistake so I left it sparkly instead of ironing it off and matched it with some ribbon that has sparkles too.

Fantastic news, it's all arranged and Im definately going to the Stamp show in Edinburgh on the 3rd of June with my fab crafty friends, you know who you are, I can't wait!

Tuesdays Little Extra

Over on the Daring Cardmakers Blog we have a fab sketch for this weeks Little Extra and some gorgeous cards to get you inspired. Here's my effort!I used some of my brand spanking new BG Perhaps papers I got the other day, they are just gorgeous, blooms and Papermainia pearl Brads. A simple little card really, I didnt want to cover up too much of that droolable paper.

And guess what the postie brought me! Some new stamps and Prima's from Bargain Garden off ebay, recommended by Lynne. What a fab seller! I have to say I was a little dissapointed with the number of blooms in the little Prima tins til I realised the tins have a magnetic base, Cool mini fridge magnet scrapbook altered thingys here we come! Now if someone could find me an extra few hours in the day to play that would be perfect!

Oranges and Raspberries

Wow I seem to be in a bright mood! Matching the glorious sunny day it is here :) This card is based on the sketch on Bex's forum and I really fancied using some of my DCWV pocket ful of posies Paper pad. The colours really are gorgeous. Blooms from Sarah's cards, Papermainia Brads, worded ribbon from Little Silver Hat and textured background is my new cuttlebug embossing folder.Thanks Bex, great sketch!

Oooo new shooes!

They finally arrived from America! Actually they only took 11 days it just seemed like longer cause I couldn't wait to get them. Patience is a virtue I am not blessed with when it comes to the postal service. Every shop in the UK seems to be out of stock of my size at the moment and as soon as they come back in stock they're sold out again. Why couldn't I be a size 3 or 8, then you can get them really cheap on ebay! I even persuaded Matt to try some Crocs too, he has the new Sobek style and has been wearing them with exclamations of ooo they massage your feet! A convert! Here are my gorgeous Prima's. They do make a funny noise when I walk, and yes its somewhat like a fart, but they're comfy and pretty and I don't care!

Its quite hard trying to get a decent photo of your own shoes, lol!

Matt's been out on a stag night this weekend and is a little worse for wear, at least Angus has plenty of time to make it back to france for the wedding which isn't for another 6 weeks.

I got some new crafty goodies too, from Letham crafts, one of my local craft shops which is like an alladins cave. Well use them or loose them as they say about keeping local independant shops eh! I didn't realise all the papers in the pocket full of posies DCWV stack are glittered. Theyre yummy! And BG Perhaps is so pretty. I also got a few cuttlebug embossing folders, these are such great inventions and so much better than the sizzix or ellison versions. I'm a happy bunny. I hope to get the chance use them very soon

Just so you know the colour has worn off my hands by now from all that inky mess! Might be time for another play!

Imagine starting from Scratch

Tracie has set the most fantabulous Dare this week

I dare you to "start from scratch" I want to you design a card with NO purchased/pre-assembled embellishments - that means no blooms unless you cut them yourself, no buttons, brads etc etc.

Great fun!I firstly started mucking around, (or is that creativly experimenting!) with adirondack inks to make some backgrounds. I covered an A4 cutting mat with cling film and rubbed cranberry, denim and eggplant inkpads over the plastic. I then squooshed a bit of water on with a plant sprayer and rubbed the cardstock in the beautifully coloured puddle. Its a messy technique but the blended colours you get are wonderful. I stamped the Sassafrass Lass brackets and flower onto smaller pieces of the inky card and cut them out, making the flower into a ribbon slide. I used a small imagine text stamp (havent a clue of the manufacturer of this one) over and over to create the strip at the bottom and inked the edges. The big Imagine is a Heidi Swopp stamp from ATDML and its framed by the scrummy brackets. I used Rafia in place of ribbon for a change. I also made up some matching coloured alcohol ink backgrounds but didn't end up using them. I love that the adirondack range is all colour coordinated like that so you can use different inks and they still match.

My hands are now dyed in lovely shades of purpley blue, but hey, who needs nailvarnish to embellish when your whole hands can be coloured!

If you want a bargain on some inks try this lady on US ebay, Nic recommended her to me and she fab!

Here's two I made earlier!

Don't you just love it when a plan starts coming together! We were round at Matt's Mum's for brunch and a big wedding-ey chat, we're really getting somewhere now, loads is done, though theres always going to be a last minute rush I think. Here's a couple of custom cards I made last night, the second one is the one that made all the mess I was on about and the first one, well while all the surfaces were covered I thought I'd do it too! The green flower on the Helen one has come up all funny in the photo, it really does match better in real life! It's been a dreich (for those not in Scotland see here) kind on day, but hey ho, makes the sunny ones even nicer!

Speaking of here's one I made earlier, have you seen the things they're doing on Blue Peter recently? Theres a super cool Star Wars Sand Village and a pop up dog card. The viewer entries look a million miles away from my childhood efforts, but then there's only so much you can do with safety scissors and glue that won't stick 3d things properly. Hooray for hot glue guns, double sided tape and being old enough to use a cutting blade unsupervised!

Sleepy Saturday

Being self employed I really have to make myself take time off at the weekends, otherwise I spend he whole time thinking work and I end up run ragged. So today, with this in mind, Ive had a completely lazy day and done not a lot! How come I've now managed to make an entire mess of my craft room in the time it took to make one card, which I'll have to photograph tomorrow as the lights gone. Im sure the boxes are secretly exploding open when my back's turned and emptying their contents over the floor. Its a conspiracy I tell you. Anyway, I shall leave the mess til tomorrow as its my official day off!
Now that I know its arrived safely I can share a piccy of this card I did a few weeks ago for Keryn's Birthday. Its all made with stamps Ive shared before and Dovecraft Paper.

Food for Thought

Hooray its friday! This weeks Daring Cardmakers Dare is set by Kathy and is to create a card with a food theme. There is an amazing array of cards on the Dare blog this week and this is mine...
I think I've got weddings on the brain at the moment, (99 days to go or so my wedding website tells me!) and so I decided to cheat a bit and use this love quote from the most famous bard Shakespeare. The papers are DCWV Far East, font is Rebekah's Birthday printed onto acetate and attached with 3 little silver heart brads, silver buckle is from Carolyn's and I haven't a clue where the little music note charm came from but there it was in my charms tub waiting to be used on this card!

3 little things

This weeks Daring Cardmakers Little Extra is a recepie challenge...

1 stamp
1 piece of chipboard
1 piece of metal

I used, one papermania metal rimmed tag, one text stamp by purple onion and a chipboard flower form a sheet I found at poundland. I used my decorative edge scissors and a K&Co Peabody Border and a little bit of the gorgeous chatterbox inc paisley paper. See the other gorgeous cards from the design team on thre DCM website!

Wings!

It's friday and that can mean only one thing! A new Daring Cardmakers challenge to dare all you cardmakers to try something different. This weeks is no exception. Jane set us a dare to incude wings on a card. As Ive had a mega busy week I made this one based of a card I'd done before. It uses hero arts & firefly stamps and one that came free with Craft Stamper.
To be honest I felt it was a bit of a cop out and it wasn't anything new for me, so when my Phoebe papers arrived from ATDML I decided to use them straight away and somehow found an extra hour. They are just gorgeous, I love the retro shapes and the funky floral designs *drool*

This second card is rather tenuously linked to wings through the quote which I really like. It seems to be attributed to so many different people on the internet I'm really not sure who first wrote it. I spaced the text how I wanted it in Photoshop and then printed it onto Acetate to make an overlay. Its only attached to the card with the brads through the middle of the flowers but its really secure. I just love these colours together, so pretty.
There are an amazing array of cards on the Dare Blog this week and a givaway, so if you haven't joined in yet, its the perfect time to give it a go.

Happy Creating!

Look, look and look again!

Phew, what a day, Im a busy bee right now, suppliers, a rush order, paperwork, on it goes.... I nearly had a car crash today, an older guy pulled out from a junction right in front of me. I thought he was acting a bit funny at the junction pulling forward and rolling back so I'd slowed down and managed to swerve and not hit him but it was so close and it certainly got the adrenalin going. So take care on those roads, and look twice. Oh and while I'm on driving, why do half the people in the world not use their indicators, its a pet peeve of mine, use them!

Ok, breathe, and back to craft, a nice calming subject for me! I managed to make a card I need for a birthday just in the nick of time. I used the fab circle Sketches on Paper Squares for inspiration. Dovecraft papers, so good for Mens cards, Olivia alpha, Basic Grey Monogram, Making Memories Brads and plain card.