Happy birthday Grandpa!

This card was inspired by this week's sketch from freshly made sketches. I know we all struggle with men's cards but I do think the clean and simple look is the way forward for them. After all, there aren't many men who are in to fussy and frilly are there?!
This card is made using craft work cards candi, a fineliner and a promarker both in black, personal impressions happy birthday stamp and paper from my stash.

My Grandpa is s very gifted musician so this one's for him. Happy birthday Grandpa!


If also like to enter this in to the Casology 'clear' challenge as there is lots of clear space.

Hold on to your hats!

I love this stamp from little claires. I've stamped it very simply and coloured it with promarkers. I plan to add a sentiment to the top right corner when I know what occasion it is for!

I'd like to enter this card in the the craft barn 'hats' challenge and the Casology clear challenge.

B is for...

This is the challenge that I have been most excited about getting started on. I remember seeing snippets of the Craft Barn's last alphabet/dictionary challenge but I wasn't on the blogger scene back then so this is all new and exciting for me.

It's not being done in alphabetical order and this is the first week, so,

B is for.... buttons... bees...burst....balloons....?

I considered all of these before deciding B is for ....

Butterflies!

I couldn't help myself, Butterflies were the theme for our wedding and I just love them. Whenever I can I photograph butterflies and in my minds eye I had a bit of an idea about what I might do. All I had to do was work out how to make it work!

First off I drew round the definition with my fine liner. I'm really enjoying the fact that my dictionary has the occasional picture in it, and this just happened to be one of them, so I went around that too.

Next I inked all around the edges of the page with tumbled glass distress ink. After that (although not pictured here) I added a bit of bundled sage DI, including inking some through a memory box floral stencil.

I die cut this little memory box garden and butterfly die in a beautiful basic grey paper called blush, and added a little bundled sage DI.

I now set about punching out a LOT of butterflies, as well as cutting round some that occurred on the gorgeous memory box paper 'butterfly ballet' I inked them all randomly with splashes of tumbled glass.

I folded a couple more strips of blush paper and balanced them on the dictionary, then I set about layering up the butterflies, balancing them one on top the other and sticking with a strong adhesive.

I stamped one of the stamps from the Little Claire's butterfly tree set in both lower corners of the pages and coloured with watercolour pencils.

A few more embellishments followed, including some punched flowers and spots of liquid pearls, and there you have it, week one of the dictionary challenge! It just about works as a pop up page but I am very cautious opening it!

I used the following materials for this make;

Distress ink; tumbled glass, bundled sage.

Versa colour; Neptune

Inkssentials blender

Memory box stencil; Garden floral confetti

Memory box die; Garden and butterflies (actual name unknown!)

Basic Grey paper; Blush, Admire

Memory box paper; Minuet, Butterfly Ballet

Woodware Butterfly punch small and medium

Little Claires stamps; Butterfly Tree

Derwent; Watercolour pencils

Liquid pearls; Garnet

Stickles; Eucalyptus

As well as the Craft Barn challenge, I would also like to enter this in

The Butterfly challenge (Butterflies and ink) 

Craft stamper TIMI challenge (Take a stamp)

Stamping sensations - anything with a die

With a flourish

Of all the challenges over at Less is More, I think I find the one layer ones the hardest. Somehow there's always the temptation to stick something on...

Anyway, I've been doing a few thank you's after all the Christmas one and this is what I came up with for the theme 'flourish.'

I just love this vine stamp from Lavinia Stamps. I inked a little versa colour ink in the background and embossed the stamp with gold 'wow' embossing powder. The thank you stamp is by hobby art.

Thanks for joining me today. Pop back soon as I will be revealing my entry for the Craft Barn's new alpha/dictionary challenge. It's the first week and there's still time to enter. They're not doing things in order so this week it's B is for...

The two types of crafters

I have come to the conclusion there are two types of crafters in this world. Those who do simple, clean and those who do embellishments to the max. I love the look of both. In the same way that it is often said those with curly hair wish it was straight and vice versa, I wonder if the same is true of crafters?

I certainly find it a lot easier to create clean and simple looking things and try as I might, even when I set out to create a complex, multi layered 'all out' sort of piece, more often than not, once I've put the first couple of things on the card I realise I'm happy with it and nothing else added looks right. This is not to say that I don't like doing clean and simple, I do, I love it. I just want to do both!

The Little Claire's challenge to create a 'special' Christmas card set in me that very feeling. 'This must have LOTS on it.' I had it out on the table for the best part of a week, kept going back to it time and again and still I would say it is only very tentatively dipping its toe in the waters of 'embellished to the max.'

I can only apologise for adding a Christmas card in January. I love Christmas but even I'm not ready to start again yet! This is going to be my hubby's card for next year as I didn't get to enter the Little Claire's challenge before the big day this year but still wanted to take part. He also tends to get neglected and ended up with a rather hurried offering this time around. So as long as I remember to give it to him next year he'll at least have something I've spent time over!

I used a mixture of rather fiddly paper piecing as well as colouring to decorate the snowman. 

Ingredients for this card;

Little Claires, Snowman bunting stamp

Basic Grey 'Figgy pudding' and 'fruitcake' papers

Memory Box Winter sprig die

Sizzix nesting scalloped circles dies

Promarkers

Liquid pearls - Garnet

Stickles - Eucalyptus

Button, brad  and ribbon from stash

So then, which type of crafter are you?

I want to ride my...

Bicycle!

A very simple flat stamped card following this weeks Freshly made sketches challenge.  I've made this one for my brother who goes everywhere on his. 

I used; Little Claire's bicycle stamp ( avoiding inking the basket on the bike for a more manly feel!)

Woodware words (from a very old tool and construction themed set)

And papermania bazzill card.

Apologies for the poor photo quality, I lost the light today before I had time to photograph it.

Something new for a new year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a super Christmas. I took a short break from the blog over the festive season - we had quite a houseful, nine in total, plenty to keep me busy. Anyway, with the new year underway I thought it high time I share one of my Christmas pressies with you. A new speedball stamp making kit! That's right, there's no stopping me now, with this kit I can make any stamp I want!!! (I may be a little too excited about this!)

It's very simple to use. I've had a go at designing my own images but alternatively you can trace anything you like and print it on to the rubber ready to carve. I've made a little woodland set to start off with an oak leaf, mushroom and birds.

These are the first cards I've done using the stamps, along with a penny black sentiment and tiny scraps of paper from my stash.

Here they each are close up

I stamped the oak leaf in DI antique linen, everything else was stamped with impress 'chocolate'.

I'd like to enter them in to the following challenges;

Allsorts- what's new? (Answer; carving your own stamps!)

Less is more-neutrals

Casology - simple