Foiled and Blue

Well, it seems I can only make several cards in one go right now, and then none at all for the rest of the week... My excuse this week is that I have been practising with my new stamps, so that I didn't have any time left for actual card-making... However, I have now made two cards for the latest DCM challenge that sent us to the kitchen for tin foil, but I'm not overly excited by either of them. On the first one, I cut a strip of tin foil and then kind of scrunched and rolled it into this thick, wirey sort of string. I bent it into a heart shape and made a topper for a Valentine's card. Paper from Costco stack, ricrac from John Lewis, sentiment stamped with MM magnetic letter stamps.

On the second one, I followed a layout I'd seen in a magazine ages ago and have been wanting to try out. I die cut the watering can (Sizzix) and the flower pot (QK) from card and then covered with tin foil. Flowers are Prima and they have gem centres stuck on with glitter glue.

And then here are my first cards made with Magnolia stamps - fanfare, please! :) I have to say, now that I've got the right materials and I have been trying a bit harder, stamping is not quite so scary anymore. It was high time I gave it a proper go and stretched myself a little bit, so thank you to all of you out there who shared their lovely Tilda cards on their blogs and inspired me to give them a try :)

The first one is for the "Violets are Blue" challenge at Papertake Weekly, and for this I used blue papers from a Sizzix pad, a punched flower with a PM brad, more brads in the corners and, of course, Tilda, coloured with water colour pencils and cut out.

The second one was coloured in with brush markers and a blender pen, papers are again from a Sizzix pad, the big flower and brad are PM, the orange flower is from Sarah's Cards. I had fun doing these cards, and there will be more - after all, I did treat myself to two more Tildas and also to three Sugar Nellie stamps...

Had a fun Saturday today! Some PSA parents had organised a fundraiser for the school which involved a number of parents, pupils and teachers tackling the Aerial Assault Course at the local climbing centre. Now, I don't really have a head for heights, so I didn't volunteer for it, but we went to lend our support to those brave souls who, strapped into their harnesses, stepped out into the void, 5 storeys high, zoomed along the track to the beginning of the assault course and then climbed over obstacles, bridges, across cargo nets, balanced along beams and so on, to the end of the course. Some looked utterly terrified, others were more non-chalant, but the look most commonly seen was one of intense concentration. Everyone did extremely well, and I'm sure they raised a tidy sum of money for the school. My eldest now wants to do it, too, if the school ever organises it again, but only if I do it with her...

On this note, hope you had a fun Saturday, too, thanks for stopping by, and I'll be stopping by everybody's blogs tomorrow, as it's getting rather late now. Night, night :)

More Cards for Challenges

Well, I still seem to have some mojo left, so here are three new creations. First off, a card for the latest challenge at DCM entitled "Hide and Seek".

I used the other set of my new We R Memorykeepers papers and created a little pocket for a tag (part of the set) to go into. Sentiments are computer-printed, everything else is from stash.

The next card is for the Papertake Weekly Challenge, which was to use "red".

Papers are from Costco pack and DCWV Christmas stack, heart is QK die, sentiment stamped with MM magnetic stamps and button is from stash. I used a sketch that I had taken down some time ago, but I can't remember whose it was...

And with this last card I followed a layout that Stef had used on her blog and that I liked for its simplicity and versatility.

Papers are DCWV Pockets of Posies, ribbon is from Ribbon Oasis, rest from stash.

The flowers on the first and last card are actually all new - I ordered quite a large supply last week and they arrived on Tuesday. I also took delivery of my new camera and I hope to get to grips with it quickly and produce better pictures than the ones above. And then I also received my first Magnolia and Sugar Nellie stamps this week... Some of you may be aware I've never been much of a stamper, but I really like these stamps so much that I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new! I wasn't really fully aware how many extra bits I will have to get, though: I have now ordered some EZmount for the Sugar Nellies, I've also ordered some brush markers and I will have to order a better inkpad, so my images won't smudge when I colour them. Until then, I'll practice just with my regular pencils - I actually quite like the effect they give.

Well, that's it for today, thanks for looking and enjoy your weekends!

Still Feeling Creative

I don't normally find the time on a Sunday night after dinner at the in-laws to sit down and make a card, but yesterday I was just in the mood, and I wanted to give the sketch at My Paper World a go, too. Gone all romantic with it:

I have taken some "artistic licence" with the sketch: I'm not always good with circles, so I put a square on instead... The papers are from an ancient old Costco pack, cardstock, buttons and brad are from stash. I've also inked black around all edges, but it doesn't show up too well. Apologies for the poor photo, just as I was ready to take it, the skies darkened again and the heavens opened... All I can say is, roll on better weather and brighter days!

Bye for now, thanks for stopping by!

Me and My Shadow

Now this week's DCM challenge was definitely an interesting one: to create two cards from the same materials (card, paper, embellishments), but to make them different! I like that! And once I'd chosen all my bits and pieces, both cards came together fairly quickly. It did probably help that I limited myself to just a few things, but I think the results are still quite effective and rather different.

Papers are We R Memory Keepers Silver Lining, stamps are Whispers, flowers are Papermania, leaves are QK-cut and buttons are from stash. I enjoyed this challenge greatly!

And I've been feeling so creative today that I actually made a scrapbook page, whoohoo! I don't know when I last did one, but it's been a long time. I have all these photos and great intentions, but then, there's usually another card that needs to be made first. Anyway, for this layout, I'd even bought the themed papers and stickers, so there was really no excuse, so I just got down to it and did it! Rather pleased with the result, too!

The first 4th of July party I ever went to - in Scotland! The location made for rather ineffective fireworks, because even at 9pm, it was still daylight... And then there were the downpours... But apart from that, it was a great party and we all had a wonderful time - thank you Becki!

No more creating tonight though, I'm off to bed at a reasonable time for a change. Thanks for stopping by!

You Make My Day!

I'm so excited and pleased, the lovely and very talented Deb gave me this award:


The rules for this are:
Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times! So, to narrow it down to ten….

I am struggling, because really, all the blogs I visit fall in this category, but I have to admit, on some, I'm only a lurker... So maybe this is a good opportunity to finally let a couple of people know how much I like their blogs, so here goes, in no particular order:

1. Sarah
2. Michelle
3. Alice
4. Rhi
5. Andrea B
6. Andrea G
7. Dawn
8. Leann
9. Nicola
10. Clare

Your turn now, ladies, to choose, and Deb, I'd have chosen you, too, but then, the award came from you :)

New to Me with Buttons

Still stuck with the baby cards, it seems - here is my card for the DCM Little Extra, asking us to use some of our crafty stuff that we have received for Christmas.

I have used my new Sizzlits teddy bear die, which I think is really rather cute and perfect for a baby card. The stripey paper and rub-on sentiment came free with a mag, the clip is Making Memories (I think) and the buttons are from stash. Oh, and the buttons mean that this card is also for this week's Arty Girlz challenge, yay! I'll be back later tonight, got something else to post about. Thanks for looking in the meantime!

Happy New Year!

Hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year, with lots of lovely pressies and yummy food! We had a nice week in Germany with my family - quite laid-back and relaxed, not like previous years, the children must be growing up at least a little bit, lol. We saw a fair bit of my brother and his girlfriend and also my gran, which was lovely (although, occasionally, I wish my brother was a little less opionated and more accepting of other peoples' ways...), and had quite a few outings after the holidays to keep the children amused and help them burn off energy.

When we got home, we had a second Christmas at the in-laws, where Santa had left his presents (couldn't take them all on the plane, now, could we?), a very quiet Hogmanay and then more visits to relatives on New Year's Day. We have finally caught up on all the sleep we didn't get, but that's pretty much all we've done since we've been back. So now I'm looking forward to the children going back to school and nursery and to getting the house back in order big style. First stop: crafting table!!! It is a disaster area, but I need to be able to get back into it properly!!!

Which leads me on to the next bit: here's my entry to this week's DCM challenge all around the word "new".



I did manage to make a couple of "new baby" cards, to boost my stocks as people always seem to be asking for new baby cards. I used Doodlebug stickers which I have had for quite a while, Doodlebug buttons, matching Doodlebug stripey paper on the girl card and DCWV paper on the other. They were quick and easy to make, even in the limited space my table currently has to offer.

Last, but not least, something that I posted before Christmas, when I had kind of said I wasn't going to post anymore and when people were very busy: Pay It Forward! Saw this on Helen's blog, liked it, signed up and now really want to keep my part of the bargain.

''PAY IT FORWARD : handcrafted gifts :) I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay it forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you comment, I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make! Once you sign up, copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work. I found this on Helen's blog and really like the idea.''

That's all for today, thanks for looking! And hey: it's nice to be blogging again :)