Christmas is coming... and we’re making Christmas Tags at My Partner in Crafting Crime :)

Hey Bloggers!! :)

Well, two weeks since my last post... :( Sorry for going AWOL-  has been a pretty rough feeling few weeks here as our neighbours are having their garden completely dug out and re-paved so it has been three weeks solid of too early rude awakenings and then noise and vibrations all day meaning I’ve not been able to get the rest I need so have been feeling pretty ill and not managing to do much :S I have managed some crafting time (and an odd bit of crafty shopping to cheer me up!!lol) and have plenty of things I want to try out and share with you so I’ll hopefully get around to those soon, but for now...

... another two weeks have just flown by and it's time for another challenge over at My Partner in Crafting Crime... this will be our last challenge for now as we're taking a little break for the Christmas festivities... but what a lovely challenge it is to get us in the Christmas mood as we'd like to see your 'Christmas Tags'!! :) We're sponsored again by the fab Bows & Berries Digital Stamp Shop with the winner getting to choose some of their gorgeous digis to play with!! :)

I went a bit mad with this one as I made not one but four tags- I've not made a fancy tag before as I never really see the point knowing nobody would keep them, but I had a lot of fun with these little bite-sized projects and they were the perfect opportunity to experiment with resist embossing with different powders... something I've been meaning to have a play with for ages!! :) Heat embossing is what got me hooked on cardmaking after a teacher brought her heat tool, powders and some stamps into school to show me (about 12yrs ago!! eek!!lol)- I thought it was like watching a little bit of magic then and I still do!! :D

I was also in the mood to make something really pretty and sparkly and I think I achieved that... the trouble I had getting a decent pic because of all the glare proves I got the sparkly part at least- these shine from tip to toe!! :S lol

I used stamps that came free with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine last month and they really are gorgeous!! :) I embossed them with a silver glitter powder and watercoloured with my Brilliance ink pads... I had intended to make them more different in colour but when I looked at my inks I realised they are mostly purples and blues from my less daring, earlier crafting days!!lol I think it helped that I'd been watching Frozen Planet the night before I coloured these... such pretty inspiration!! :)

My mum and I recently bought the new Nestie bauble dies- I love that my mum has now passed from buying craft stuff she likes so that I can make cards with it for her friends, to buying stuff so she can make her own... really nice to share that enjoyment... not going to turn down offers to go halves on stash either!!lol- and I gave them their first work out for my tag shapes :) I stamped and embossed some gorgeous snowflakes in various powders so I could see the different effects and then inked over that... I think my fav is the Silver Pearl on the lighter of the large tags and the topmost one of the smaller two- but then I just love that powder anyway, it's stunning!! :)

A different image and ink colours for the smaller ones but the same besides that... :)

A couple of closer shots of the embossing (sorry the pics aren't brilliant, I took loads trying to get the right angle for showing all the shimmer without too much glare and still didn’t really get there!!lol) ... but isn't that Silver Pearl just beautiful!?! :)

The List:

For the images-

• Image stamps by Adam Prescott free with Cardmaking and Papercraft
• Silver Glitter embossing powder, Versamark and heat tool
• Brilliance ink pads: Pearlescent Purple, Pearlescent Lavender, Pearlescent Ice Blue, Moonlight White, Platinum Planet, Galaxy Gold, Pearlescent Lime, Pearlescent Jade, Cosmic Copper

For the tags-

• Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments 2011 dies
• Snowflake stamps from Wild Rose Studio
• Clear, White Holographic and Silver Pearl embossing powders, Versamark and heat tool
• Brilliance inks: Purple, Lavender, Ice Blue
• Crystal Stickles
• Seam binding from the Ribbon Girl in Lady Lavender and Sky Mauve

I'd like to enter my tags in the following challenges: Crafty Ribbons - Anything But A Card :) ; Fussy and Fancy - Make a Gift/Anything But A Card :) ; Paper Sundaes - Beautiful Bows :) ; Crafter's Companion - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow :) ; CES - Snowflakes :) ; Winter Wonderland - Awwww, what a Cutie!! :)

Thank you for stopping by today- I hope you like what you saw!! :) Please do pop over to the PCC blog to see the creations by the rest of our fab team and I hope you'll be able to join in with our last challenge of the year!! :)

I hope you're all well and have had a lovely weekend!! :) And thank you for all the lovely comments on my last cards!! :) I'll hopefully be back again soon as I've plenty to share... fingers-crossed we get some peace from next door so I can get some rest soon, too, cos I really need to feel better so I can crack on with Xmas prep or there will be people not getting cards or presents again... but I won’t be holding my breath as they’ve hardly started the back garden yet!! :S

A Toasty Freebie at My Partner in Crafting Crime... :)

Hello!! :)

I'm here with my DT card for the new challenge over at My Partner in Crafting Crime- apologies for being late but I've had a really bad day :S - and we have a fab theme for you this fortnight... we'd like to see you 'Use A Freebie' on your creations!! :) You can use anything you came by for free, so something you won, a free digi, magazine gift or even something you've recycled from around the house...

...or, if you fancy something new to play around with, then our lovely sponsor Bows & Berries is offering a fab November Freebie 'Toasty Gingerbread Man', which some of the DT, including me, have used on our cards this time- follow the link above to go to the PCC blog where there is a download link if you'd like to use him!! :)

This pretty simple card is actually my second attempt as my first idea was turning out to look a bit of a dog's dinner by halfway through and I'm still not sure how I feel about it... but I think I'm warming to it slowly and I think it'll make a good masculine Christmas card.... something it seems that I find even harder than ordinary masculine cards!!lol In addition to the B&B digi, the papers and stamps I used are also freebies from magazines...

I coloured with Prismas in the end- harder on the hands but every ProMarker combination I tried made the poor little guy look like he'd been for a dip in a nuclear reactor rather than giving him the nice, warm 'toasty' glow I was aiming for!! :S I just had to get my new Glamour Dust out again for their hats and the lights in the borders!! :) I also added some Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze, too, as I almost always seem to, and a doodled border to finish!! :)

When I first saw this image I immediately thought of those paper doll chains you used to cut from folded paper (I'd say 'we' but I don't think I was ever any good at them!!lol) and so I fiddled in my graphics program 'til I got a chain of little toastys and printed them off... much easier than the old-fashioned way- or at least so I thought 'til I realised to do what I wanted I'd have to cut them out anyway and I'd made them kinda small!!lol :)

The List:

• 5" Sq. Kraft card blank
• Image: November Freebie 'Toasty Gingerbread Man' digi from Bows & Berries Digital Stamps Shop
• Prismacolor Pencils... didn't even think to note down the colours though, sorry!! :S
• Free papers from a mag
• Free Xmas lights and sentiment stamps from a mag
• Glamour Dust
• Sakura Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze pens
• Brown Fineliner and Gold gel pen for border

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Sarah Hurley- Use more than two images (if multiples of the same is okay?!) :) ; Charisma Cardz - Cutesy :) ; Winter Wonderland - Make Your Card Sparkle :) ; Cards For Men - It's Nearly Christmas :) ; The Poodles Parlour - Let's Hear It For The Boys :) ; Bows & Berries - CAS :)

Thanks for popping by, please do pop over to the PCC blog and check out the rest of the DT's work!! :) Hope you're all well, had a lovely weekend and have a great week!! :)

Christmas Raven and a Colour Challenge at My Partner in Crafting Crime...

Hello everyone!! :)

It's Monday and time for another fab challenge over at My Partner in Crafting Crime!! :) This fortnight it’s a Colour Challenge and we have a gorgeous colour palette to inspire you from the rather lovely Design Seeds site...

You need to use at least three of the colours to enter but the more of them you can use the better!! :)


I'd never heard of Design Seeds before this challenge but I think I'll be popping back quite often as there are so many gorgeous colour palettes to help spark off new ideas... I struggle with colour and don't have much confidence in mixing new combos so this sort of thing is great for me!! :)

We are sponsored this time by the fab Bows & Berries Digital Stamps Shop and the lucky winner will be able to choose three digis from the shop!! :)


So, onto my card:

I seriously need to get a move on with my Xmas cards and these colours seemed great for making a slightly different looking one :) I altered a couple of my own digi papers to the right shades- or so I thought... forgot that blues and greens never show true on my comp to the way they'll print so was actually a bit off with the greens :S but I liked it and knew I had PM colours that would work, so I went with it!!lol

I have been trying to improve on my colouring recently and so had been watching some YouTube vids before I set to on this image- the oh so gorgeous Raven from Sugar Nellie which is so lovely to colour! :) - and so I did my best to put what I'd picked up into practise and I'm pretty happy with the results, as another step in the right direction at least... especially as I've never even used these greens or some of the pinks before!! I have a massive collection of pens but, as with our fav clothes, I tend all too often to stick with the same old combos I've had success with before rather than brave trying anything new!!lol

I used the back of a Craftwork Cards Mini Message I didn't think I'd ever use for the greeting and stamped a Lotv greeting on it (just hoping it'd fit as the stamp has it on two lines... and then adding the gem when it was sooo off-centre!!lol). The snowflake charm adds a bit of movement and interest :) I don't know if you can see it very well in the pics but I did distress the edges of the papers just a wee bit before adding a bit of colour with the pink PM from the image and some Stickles :)

I also used one of my lovely new shaped card blanks for the first time, too- I think they make such a difference to a simple card and the shape is perfect with my fav MS Cherish punch!! :)




The List:

• 6” sq. Elegance white card blank from Craftwork Cards
• Sugar Nellie image Raven from the Home Grown range, stamped in Memento and coloured with ProMarkers: Coat and Boots- Fuchsia Pink & Pink Carnation; Hat and Cuffs- Maroon & Magenta with Cool Grey 1 over the top to tone down the brightness; Dress- Green, Mint Green and Pastel Green; Hair- Walnut & Cocoa
• My own design digi papers
• MS Cherish border punch
• Craftwork Cards Mini Message (I used the back)
• LOTV greeting from Xmas stamp sheet
• Organza Ribbon
• Snowflake charm and jumps from my jewellery supplies stash
• Crystal Stickles and Sakura Clear Stardust Pen
• 4mm gems

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Crafter's Companion - Pink & Green :) ; Paper Sundaes – Sundae Bar (I have distressing and plenty of sparkle) :) ; My Time To Craft - Dies and/or Punches :) ; The Secret Crafter - Wrap Up Warm (with something knitted) :) ; Crafting When We Can - Christmas Come Early :)


Well, that's about it from me for today!!lol I’m off to finish my step-mum’s birthday card- did most of the creative bits yesterday so just need to assemble it all now... then cross my fingers the posties are nice and quick for me or it’ll be late!! :S Thank you for popping by and thank you for all the lovely comments on my last cards and bracelet!! I particularly appreciate the comments on the bracelet as I know that jewellery isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!!lol I'm thinking though, as people seemed to like seeing it (I hope, anyway!!), that might try to post more jewellery projects when I'm able to make them... I have one or two either finished or in the works so hopefully I can post them soon-ish and there are bound to be more at this time of year!! :) Don't forget to pop over to PCC to see the gorgeous work from the rest of the fab DT- who all managed to use the right shades of green for their cards, too!!lol Hope you’re all well and had a good weekend!! :)

The Sweetest Snowpeople and time to be inspired at My Partner in Crafting Crime :)

Hello there!! :)

Well, it’s the start of another week- and what a wet, windy and miserable start it’s been!!- and time for our next challenge at My Partner inCrafting Crime!! :) This time we have a fab Inspiration Photo to get your creative juices flowing:

Photo from Pinterest

There are so many ways you could go from this picture- just go and have a look at the variety created by the rest of the fab DT on the PCC blog to see what I mean!! :) You could take the house, colours, the distressed look, wood/bricks, trees,  the autumnal feeling... or so many other possibilities and I can’t wait to see all the different interpretations you come up with!! :) I kind of proved my own point with all the ideas I had for this card- I wanted to go ‘Haunted House-y’ for Hallowe’en but the image I had was a digi and I’m having an ongoing argument with my printer at the mo’ (ink keeps smearing when I try to colour :( ) so that couldn’t happen, then I thought I’d try a new home card, but it just wasn’t working out... so I wasn’t sure where to go next- until I happened across some gorgeous MME papers buried on my desk which had all the colours in the pic and a fab sketch from the Sugar Bowl... and idea number three took hold!! :) We are sponsored by the fab Bows & Berries again this time and the winner will get to chose three of their gorgeous images!! :)

Now, I must say, it didn’t really come out the way I’d imagined and I’m not altogether sure if I like it- I think that may be because the colour combo is so far out of my usual comfort-zone (I only tend to use red with black and white for a start!!lol) but that’s the fun of challenges, isn’t it- to push yourself a bit?!! :)

I just had to have this fab image from Sugar Nellie’s recent Christmas release- it makes me smile every time I see it... think it’s the snowman’s twiggy hair that does it but the whole image is just so sweet!! :) I coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers- the Flexs made it so much easier to get a paler shade on the snowmen, too :) I find it tricky to use so many colours in an image as I find it hard to get a balance of colour but I tried to think before I coloured a lot more this time and, while I don’t love it and it took a lot longer, I do think it’s worth trying it this way again!! :) I of course added plenty of Stickles and Clear Stardust to it to get a real snowy sparkle!!  Have ordered some Glamour Dust, too, as I keep seeing it used and, if it can look so good in people’s pics, it should be amazing in real life!! Hope so- and hope the postie gets a wriggle on so I can use it on my next snowy card!!lol

All the papers came from the same MME Snowed in pad- free with a mag last month and it’s utterly gorgeous!! :) - and this greeting is also cut from one of the sheets with a teeny gem and some glitter to add interest :) The snowflake were cut on my Cricut and spritzed with shimmer mist :)

This pic is just to show the Stardust pen better on the snowmen's bodies- I drew on a line of pen then quickly smudged it out with my finger for a more subtle effect :)

The List:

• 6” Sq. cream card blank
• Christmas Garland image from Sugar Nellie’s Home Grown range, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa
• ProMarkers and Flexmarkers: (there were a lot of them and I don’t remember which colours were for which areas in some cases but I’ll list the combos I do remember!!lol) Snowmen- Soft Aqua (FM), Tea Green and Powder Blue and a Copic Blender then Antique White FM all over to tone down the white a bit; Leaves- Pear Green, Moss Forest Green and Gold (in different orders/amounts for the holly and the mistletoe); Decorations and hat- Berry Red, Cardinal Red, Burgundy and Honeycomb, Tulip Yellow, Gold and Honeycomb, Cinnamon and Cocoa. I have a few others in my box but don’t know what I used them for!! :S
• Distress Inks: Weathered Wood, Tumbled Glass and Antique Linen around the image and more AL on all the paper edges, snowflakes and ribbon
• My Mind’s Eye Snowed In paper pad
• Lables One Nesties
• Scissors to distress the papers
• Cream Seam Binding
• Snowflakes cut on my Cricut from the ‘When It’s Cold Outside’ cartridge
• Perfect Pearls Pearl shimmer mist
• Stardust and Frosted Lace Stickles, Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze Sakura pens
• Pearls and gems

I’d like to enter this card in the following challenges: The SugarBowl - great sketch by Gayle :) ; Stamptacular Sunday – So Distressing! :) ; AGem of a Challenge – With Love at Christmas (with a heart) :) ; CES – Seeing Red (I hope there’s enough red here- it’s a lot for me!!lol- but if not then please delete me!! :) ) :) ; Little Claire’s – Christmas :) ; OSCC – Anything Goes :) ; Secret Crafter – Anything Goes as long as it Sparkles!! :) ; Winter Wonderland – Autumn Colours :)

Thanks for popping by today and for all the lovely comments on my last cards!! :) Hope the rotten weather didn’t spoil anybody’s weekends too badly!! :S Certainly ‘Monday’ kind of weather today, isn’t it!?!lol Let’s hope the sun comes back soon!! :) Will hopefully be back again soon with another couple of the cards I’ve been wanting to post but this week’s shaping up to be as hectic as last so we’ll see!! :S Please do pop over to PCC to check out all the inspirational ideas from that one photo!! :)

Cupcakes for Grandad and a Sweet Challenge over at My Partner in Crafting Crime!! :)

Hello everyone!! :)

Sorry I'm a little late with this one- today's been a bit of an off day for me so far and I've been struggling to get myself going at all!! :S Anyway, on to what I wrote last night so I'd be all ready for a nice early post today... the best laid plans and all that!! ;) ......

Well, another fortnight has passed in a flash and so it’s time for another new challenge at My Partner in Crafting Crime... and this week it’s a scrummy one: ‘Sweets & Treats’!!! :) So we’d like to see something edible, sweet and delicious on your cards- and, if you’re anything like me, you’ve got plenty of yummy (and calorie-free!) things in your stash so we’d love to see you come along and join the fun this time!! :) You could win some fab digis from our sponsor Bows & Berries, too!! :)

I decided to go for a cupcake theme to give one of the LOTV stamps from the Time for Tea range, which I bought earlier this year, its first inking (shameful I know- I’ve had it for months!! :( lol) and so my card was going to be in sweet and pretty pinks and lemons... but then I remembered my Grandad’s birthday was coming up and pink went out of the window!!lol Maybe I'll get around to the pretty card sometime soon but this is what I made for my Grandad and the challenge:

I got some cupcake shaped base cards from Anita’s last year and made a card I loved for a friend’s birthday straight away but it was a bit fiddly so I’ve not used them again since- it would be easier if I didn’t bother to fold the paper for the base but I really think it looks so much better that way... and I’m a glutton for punishment apparently!!lol

I decided on a kraft and coffee kind of colour scheme as this was a masculine card and started by drawing around the shaped base card onto some scrap to get the shape I wanted- slightly bigger and with a softer shape than the base- so it would sit over the folded paper ‘case’ :)

For the cake case, I cut a strip of a spare kraft envelope, which I stamped with a polka dot stamp from my first Waltzing Mouse Stamps purchase (not my last, I suspect!!lol) in a creamy coloured chalk ink :) The stamp was surprisingly easy to line up to repeat the pattern, too :) I scored the strip and folded it all up- that’s the fiddly bit but worth it, I think... for someone special anyway!!lol I tried using my paper crimper but the creases weren’t sharp enough to let me gather them more at the bottom for a realistic look... I’m a recovering (mostly!) perfectionist and that just wouldn’t do, I’m afraid- especially as my Grandad’s a perfectionist, too!!lol The lovely greeting is from a Craftwork Cards Goody Bag which a vv lovely blogging buddy picked up for me at the GNPE show a couple of weeks ago, along with the Flexmarkers I used to tone down the white a tad to match the rest- thank you so much again, hon, if you're reading this!! :D :D – and the natural twine adds a bit of texture and interest.

I used some of my lovely Core’dinations Chocolate Box cardstock for the ‘Topping’, which I embossed with a snowflake folder that I love for all sorts of things, not just snowy Xmas cards, and thought would be good for looking like sprinkles!! :) I sanded the card before and after embossing then added shimmer spray and Stickles around the edges and on a few of the sprinkles :) The finishing touches- for the outside, at least- were a big pearly button and some more twine :)

The final thing- that I almost forgot to do- was an insert to hide the slightly shabby looking inside of the spine of the card, which I decorated as well with a little cupcake stamp :)

The List:

• Cupcake shaped card blank- Anita’s from DoCrafts
• Core’dinations Chocolate Box cardstock
• Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder
• Perfect Pearls Pearl Shimmer Mist
• Stickles in Platinum and Distress Stickles in Antique Linen
• MOP button and Natural Jute Twine from the Ribbon Girl
• Kraft paper
• Polka dot stamp from Waltzing Mouse’s Off Beat Background set
• VersaMagic Wheat ink pad
• Craftwork Cards sentiment
• Kanban Fairy Cakes stamp set, Versafine Vintage Sepia ink pad and Whispers Brush Markers for the insert

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Dream Valley – Buttons :) ; Creative Inspirations – Let’s Celebrate :) ; Crafting For All Seasons – Fall Colours :) ; Bows & Berries – Glitter :) ; Birthday Sundaes – Buttons :) ; OSAAT – Use your favourites (I’ve used Kraft, Shimmer Spray and Stickles on this one!! :) ) :) ; The Squirrel and the Fox – Anything Goes :) ; Just Some Lines – Fall Colours :) ; DYSU - Duos (Two colours- cream and coffee/kraft) :) ; Crafty Sentiments - Happy Birthday :)

Well, thanks for stopping by- do please go and take a look at the PCC blog to see the creations from the rest of the DT and welcome some lovely new DT girlies, Ashley, Dianne and Rhonda, to the fold!! :) Oh, and do enter the challenge if you can, too, of course!!lol Can’t wait to see all the yummy creations you come up with- better get used to being hungry now, I think!!lol 

Hope you all have a great week... might even feel like the summer we never got by Wednesday if the rumours are true although at the mo' it looks and feels like it's about to pour down!! :)

Is it a bird, is it a plane... no- it’s a car and a new challenge over at My Partner in Crafting Crime!! :)

Hey everyone!! :)

Firstly, apologies for that shocking post title- I really find thinking them up harder than making the card or writing the rest of the post put together sometimes!!lol Well, as if we needed any other convincing beyond the freezing cold winds to prove that ‘summer’ (such as it was here in the UK, anyway!! :( ) is behind us, then here it is- the kids are back in school, the nights are drawing in... and we over at My Partner in Crafting Crime are back from our summer break with some fab new challenges in store for you!! :) Now that’s a nicer thought, isn’t it!?! :) :) 

To get us all back into things this fortnight, our theme is ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ ...which is fairly self-explanatory really, and we're making it extra easy for you as it's our first week back... just use any mode of transport in your project!! :) A great chance to get one of those pesky Male cards we all struggle with done!!lol We have two fab sponsors this time: Bows and Berries Digital Stamps and Glitterbabe Digis so do pop over to their shops and have a look around!! :)

Okay, on to my card!! ;) The original idea for this one came after I'd been browsing the fabulous inspiration over at Clean & Simple Stamping and came together from elements of various sketches I liked. The card was made for an order from a friend for a birthday card for her b-i-l who had recently lost his mum so she wanted it to be fairly simple, not too bright and also to incorporate his love of cars. She also wanted to avoid typical 'happy b’day' sentiments.

I started by making my own 5"x7" card blank from a sheet of A3 as I knew I wanted to round the two right hand corners and wasn't sure that would look right if the spine was at the top.

I stamped the car image (which is from DoCrafts- either Papermania or Anita's ranges, I'm not sure and it's buried deep in one of my stamp boxes again now! :S ) in black pigment ink, masking the text on the bottom of the stamp with paper while I inked up, and embossed with clear powder. Then I cut and embossed it with a Nestie and, with the die still in place, masked the car and added the sky and road with Distress Inks and Cut’n’Dry.

I used my MS Zig Zag punch- indispensable for male cards!!- and Hougie board to add a bit of interest to the border strips- had the brief not been to keep it so simple I might have added a bit of dark raffia or something similar for a bit of texture.

In keeping with the circular theme, I altered one of the sentiments I created last year in my graphics program and printed in dark blue to match. I’m not quite sure about the way it looks, though... maybe it’s just a tad too big?!

I was a little concerned I had gone too muted with the colours but she was happy with it and I was pleased with the style :) I may have to try a similar layout with brighter colours... I think I'd either make the sentiment smaller or put it somewhere else entirely, though, if I did! :)

'The List'...

White A3 cardstock to make a 5"x7" base
Image: Wood mounted car stamp from DoCrafts
Black Versacolour ink pad, clear embossing powder and heat tool
Circle Nesties
Distress Inks: Stormy Sky and Pumice Stone
Martha Stewart Zig Zag punch
Hougie Board and embossing stylus
Digi Stamp Sentiment created in my graphics program

I’d like to enter this in the following Challenges: Di Digi Designs - Anything Goes :) ; Totally Gorjuss - It's A Man Thing :) ; Fairy Fun Fridays - Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog's Tails :) ; Crafting For All Seasons - Birthdays :) ; Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes :) ; Cards For Men - Anything But A Square :)

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post- such a lovely welcome back to Blogland!! :) I’ve managed to visit a few of you in the last week or so and will hopefully be able to continue to catch up with you all a few at a time- just having to try to be a bit careful with the time spent on the computer and just generally trying not to overdo things at the mo’ :S I hope you’re all okay and enjoyed your weekends!! :) Don’t forget to stop by the PCC blog and have a look at the great work from the rest of the team and I hope you'll join in with us!! :)

A trip to the beach with My Partner in Crafting Crime :)

Hello folks!! :)

Well, what a couple of days it’s been with this sudden heat... perfect timing really as we have a new challenge for you over at My Partner in CraftingCrime and this time we’d like to see you create something with a ‘Beach Theme’ :) :) We're sponsored by the fab Bows & Berries Digital Stamps Shop who have some gorgoeus new releases out this week as well as the lovely sun digi I've used on my card!! :) And here’s what I came up with:

I’ve had this Gorjuss image coloured and just waiting to be used since it arrived on my doormat from a lovely friend a couple of months or so ago and this seemed the perfect opportunity!! :) I’ve seen lots of people using sandpaper to great effect to create beachy scenes and thought I’d have a play myself- originally the scene was going to be the full size of the card but when this idea of a Polaroid style scene popped into my head at the last minute I just had to run with it- the smaller scale meaning less energy needed was actually just a bonus this time!!lol 

I began by getting a rough idea of the size I wanted my ‘Polaroid’ to be and printing out the gorgeous ‘Sun Love’ digi from Bows and Berries, which is just such a happy image :) I then masked the digi, placed clouds cut from my Cricut onto the sky (all attached with 2-way glue) and then inked in a similar way to Bev’s Tutorial with a cheap shaving brush form Wilkos and Tumbled Glass DI- think I went a bit heavier with my ink than you would for the softer look Bev gets but I wanted a real bright summer sky so I’m happy :) Then I crumpled and sanded some Core’dinations Whitewash for the sea and stuck that and the sandpaper onto the inked piece, which I mounted onto another layer of white for the frame :)

 

The sun has a second layer on foam pads and some glitter and glaze to add dimension :)

All the little Sea Life embellishments are cut from white card on my Cricut- they’ve been sitting on my desk since I coloured the image, too!!lol- and coloured with Promarkers. Before I coloured the shells I used several sizes of embossing tool to score and shape the card- a small thing but I’m glad I thought of it on the last minute as I think (in reality at least- not sure it shows too well in my pics) that it makes a big difference. I shaped the starfish and seahorse slightly, too, and they all have Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze for extra pretty-ness!! :)

A little bit of sandpaper and a white doodled border to frame the whole arrangement and I was done :) I know I took too amny photos but I kind of like this one!! ;D

The List:

·    

• 6x6” Aqua card blank from stash
• Images: Gorjuss Girl stamp from Sugar Nellie and ‘Sun Love’ Digi from Bows & BerriesDigital Stamp Shop
• Promarkers to colour images and embellies – no idea of colours, I’m afraid :(
• White card, Blue Core’dinations Whitewash card and sandpaper
• Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and shaving brush for sky
• Antique Linen DI for 'photo' edges
• Cricut to cut Sea Life embellies and embossing styluses to shape them
• Sakura Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze pens
• Inksentials White pen
• Brown and Green fineliners for the sentiment and detail on the seahorse
• Stickles in Frosted Lace, Stardust and Diamond

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Pollycraft – Make a Splash! :) ; Papertake Weekly – Here Comes the Sun :) ; Fab ‘n’ Funky – Summer Loving :) ; I ♥ Promarkers – Anything Goes :) ; Sparkles Forum – At the Beach :) ; The Secret Crafter – Embossing (my shells) :) ; Sweet Stampin’ – Something Old, Something New (my new is my digi and sandpaper, my old is the card blank discovered when rooting through a box I thought was all junk!!lol) :)

So, I hope you enjoyed my little trip to the beach as much as I did- I have no idea what I’ll ever be able to do with this card but I so enjoyed making it that I really don’t care!!lol :) I rarely let myself make cards that I don’t think I’ll have any way to use as it just doesn’t seem a justifiable use of my energy but every so often I let myself play and it’s so much fun!! :) Please do pop over to the PCC blog and check out the fab creations from the rest of the DT- we’re all going on a summer holiday of sorts as we’re taking a little DT break after this challenge... but we’ll be back in September with more fun challenges to get stuck into!! :)

Sorry I’m a bit late in the day with this one, by the way, but I spent all the energy I had yesterday on getting my new drawers in situ opposite my desk, and swapping things around between the old set, the new set and my desk drawers etc. in an attempt to make it easier to get hold of what I want while I’m working... I think the new drawers (six shallower ones in the place of three I had to dig through to find things) will help a lot but there’s still more to do as I never have the energy to just keep going ‘til things are all sorted so I’m still not sure quite what’s been left where atm... :S Good job I don’t have anything I need to make in a huge hurry right now, then!!lol Anyway, I didn’t get round to getting my post ready the day before, as I try to do with DT posts in case my brain won’t work on the day... and sure enough, my brain hasn’t wanted to play nice at all today so apologies if this has been even more rambly and incoherent than usual!!lol

I hope you’re all well and had a great weekend enjoying the sun- or found a nice cool place to avoid it if that’s what you prefer!!- it’s cooled off a bit here in the last few hours thankfully as it was pretty unbearable earlier!! :S