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!