more sunshine and no showers

Well the good weather and half term has been keeping me busy, and my crafty mojo went on holiday for a while too ! But it seems it is coming back in a vengence and yesterday I made two cards for requests. The first is a hobbit card for a Lord of the Rings fan....kind of wasnt sure what I was going to do with this one at first but am pleased with the final results:

The second card was for a cat fan....won this stamp a while back from Pink Cat Studios in a Friday sketchers challenge and this was my first use of it...think it looks cute :)

All going well there will be more here in the next few days ! For now I have linked this to Make it Monday fun :)

My fairy stamp again

well I have had a few more days without work so as well as enjoying the sunshine - still havent had any rain for weeks ! - I have been making a few more cards. I was going to enter it into this weeks Orchid Craft Challenge but have realised I havent used any of their flowers on it lol. Decided to make my own paper roses instead with some beaded stamens I found in a local craft shop. So here is my little card:

The fairy is coloured with copics and the papers are from years ago hoarded in my stash. The butterfly is a Marianne D die cut covered in pink crackle paint....just to see what it would look like !

I have entered it into the Papertake weekly challenge which is punches and die cuts :)

at last I made it back ...

With the wonderful sunshine we have been having I have been more out than in these past couple of weeks. Just cant bear to waste the sunshine when we get it ! However, needs must and I have had to make up a couple of birthday cards for the older male hehe. Always a tricky one as I struggle to find stamps I am totally happy with for such requests. So back to good old Joanna Sheen discs...this time the RHS collection. Combined with some of the prima botanical papers and diecuts of leaves and birds. The botanical papers are gorgeous...I love the faint designs that are part of them....oh the agony chosing which papers to use !

Anyway the end result is this....(folded in the same way I did my valentines card way way back in feb).

And finally...

I have had chance to sit down and create a card ! Been a while but at last I have done a little something for the Kenny K Spice it up challenge. I always like their stamps and this new one is a real favourite.

As usual the image is coloured with copics. The papers are from some old DCVW pads and then i have used two of the Marianne D die cuts - one of which is the new creatables rose.

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My favourite fairy

Another card destined to be a Mothers day card using my favourite fairy from LOTV. As such I will enter into their challenge too :)

For this card I have used my new papers - the first I have bought this year ! They are from the 6x6 Prima Botanical set and are gorgeous ! They will be making a big showing here I am guessing hehe. I have used an old fiskers flower punch, a Martha Stewart leaf punch and a new Marianne D die cut of a cute little bird. As always my fairy is coloured with copics :)

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The sun has been shining !

With the sun shining and spring well and truely here I have found myself outdoors more than indoors, which sad to say means a little less card making. However, today with my work still quiet I find the desire to make a few cards fighting my desire to get outside ! Plus there are some wonderful challenges out there asking to be entered !
First up Whiff of Joy are having an Anything Goes challenge to mark their 100th challenge. This is the card I am entering for it:

The image is from the Sheherazade collection and has been coloured with copics. The background papers are from the DCWV Once upon a time pad, and the flowers are from the so very tempting Wild Orchid Crafts site.

I have more cards on the go so no doubt will be back later !

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mothers day approaches

With mothers day looming I began to think about making a few cards suitable for the occasion. I dug out an old Magnolia image and have coloured it in shades of blues and violets...havent used these colours for a while and found some lovely little heather flowers that I wanted to try out on one of my cards.The papers I have used are all from my stash - again what I have had for years. I think they were all part of a kit I bought from the QVC channel I think but Im not sure what the make was :)  The finishing card is here:

OOps just noticed the photo is squew-wiff - oh wel hehe. I am entering this card into a couple of challenges. I have used the Friday Sketchers sketch so am entering there; also I am entering the Just Magnolia challenge which this week is Favourite Colour combo (mine here being blue and lilacs). Lastly I will add this to the Make It Monday site where so many people showcase fab cards.

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Two more challenges

I was looking through some challenge pages and the two that caught my eye today were Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp challenge, which was a simple Anything Goes and also the Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is birthdays this week. So I used my lovely new KK stamp (Lilly Lemon) and this was the end product:

the papers are from my stash, as are the frosted flowers. The die cuts are a combinaiton of Tim Holtz and Marianne D products.

Time for more cards

Well work has gone quiet again so here I am making a few more cards. First up today was to use my new Tickled Pink stamp Lil Lad Stefan. I am entering him into the Tickled Pink Stamp challenge which this week is black, white and one other colour - I went for blue. Hard hard challenge for me hehe, but I am quite pleased with the result.

This is my little surfer dreaming of heading off from the clouds to sunnier climes....mind you, he's not the only one !

I have coloured the digi image with copics and then added lots of bits from my stash....I really dont know where much of it is from as its all pretty old.

Been a few days but ....

finally got to make another card - and this one I really like. I have used the wonderful sketch over on Friday Sketchers and will enter into their challenge again. I am also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is 'Anything Goes' this week. For the papers I have used Websters pages - I know they are all from the christmas sets but they are so gorgeous I keep using them again and again and trying to disguise the little christmassy elements ! This was my result:

The lace is from the websters range, the image is from Lily of the Valley coloured with copics. The flowers are from my stash bought from Wild Orchid Crafts. I havent yet added a sentiment cos I might just be keeping it for a mothers day card or perhaps a birthday.....cant yet decide hehe

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too much colour

After making my latest card I think I should start to consider the old addage 'less is more' ....hehe. I was after making a congratulations card and wanted a nice happy feel, summery. This is what the result was:

but it hasnt come out how i wanted it to. Ah well there is always tomorrow ! The image is one from Pink Cat Studios. The rest of the bits and bobs are from my stash - I really cant remember what most is ! The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. Thanks for popping and having a peek ! Will probably enter this into the Inspirational Card Sketches challenge as it was their sketch I used.

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the weekend is here

Friday and the weekend is here once more, so time to make something for the Friday Sketchers challenge. Was a great sketch provided and this is what I came up with:

For once I have kept away from all the lovely flowers and made this nice and simple - but I love the colours ! The image is Skate Girl from Kenny K. I have coloured her in with copics and thrown a few rub-ons around her from the Basic Grey Sultry pack. The papers are Papermania and the other bits and pieces from my stash.

I have plenty more cards on order so will be keeping them coming ! I had to parcel off a few yesterday....never want to part with them hehe.

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Another little boys card

When I saw this LOTV stamp I just had to buy it because it so reminded me of my little boy - he loves zip wires and seems to be bouncing all the time. So I have put together a card with him in mind, for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge. Its a recipe - 1 image, 2 patterened papers and 3 types of embellishment. This was my end result:

The papers are from my stash, the green one is an old remnant from BG Urban Couture. The stamp was coloured with copics and the additional embellishments are...leafy die cut from Marianne D, ticket stamp and die from Whimsy and some little chip board items from my stash.

I kind of like the idea of him zipping through a leafy forest....bit like a mini - Tarzan !

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A challenge of a different type

I have been going through my stash a lot recently trying to use up bits i have had for ages. Well these little items have me stumped...

They are from a tin of K&Co paper tags, buckles, that kind of thing. BUT - what are they and how can they be used? Any ideas from you fine followers out there will be greatly appreciated !

Kenny K's Krafty Girlz Challenge

I love the digi images over at Kenny K and thought this week I would enter the Kenny K's Krafty Girlz Challenge. They have offered up a lovely sketch to put your design around.To be honest I feel a little ambivalent about the card I have made but here it is in all its glory (or not as the case may be !).

The photo makes the scalloped edging look red, whereas in reality it is more hot pink - oh the joy of holographic card. I knew there was a reason I rarely used it !. The papers are SEI again, and the image coloured with copics. The flowers are a combination of one I made, and a few from Wild Orchid Crafts. The ribbon I do really like - it is called Sari ribbon and I found it in a local wool shop.

I dont have a scalloped oval for my cuttlebug but I did find that by punching out little circles and sticking them around an oval the same shape as what the image is on you end up with a border with the same effect.

This is what the border looks like before sticking it behind the image...

now for a cup of coffee to sit and reflect over !

The joys of being self-employed....

...is that sometimes the work runs out and I know I am going to get a few days at home to sit and craft to my heart's content ! I would like to say a warm welcome to my new followers. Well, it feels like we are all new here togther cos I haven't been doing this blogging long but really enjoying it now I am getting going. So watch out over the next couple of days. More cards coming up !

What to do with things I have too much of....

In the spirit of using more of my stash before buying things to add to it I had wondered what to do with the bags of Card Candy I had bought from Craftwork cards...all very pretty but I didnt think I would ever get through them. Then in a local craft shop I saw a lady making little flowers using the candy as petals. The finished results are cute.

You begin with punching out a circle, blobbing glue in the middle and arranging three circles much like this:

Next you keep gluing in more circles around the central three to create petals, much like this:

 

When you are finished you can add into the centre any little gems or pearls you like...

They look quite cute grouped together with other embellishments :)

Another Friday sketchers challenge

well fresh on the success of winning the challenge last week (its randomly picked so cant claim too much credit for creating a stunning card !), I have decided once more to enter the friday sketchers challenge. This weeks sketch really suited a simple idea I had for a male birthday card....and the end result is:

I have used a Kenny K digi image coloured with copics and Basic Grey papers.

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Simon says stamp challenge

I saw this Simon says stamp challenge and it is for the colours coffee and cream....just the very title makes me think of sitting down with a nice latte or bubbly cappuccino !

I knew I had some papers in my stash from way back when - yep I know - I have an awful lot of those ! So I got to work and this is what I came up with:

The image is a LOTV stamp, coloured with copics. The papers are from an old SEI pad and also a pad called Ella Blue by gcd studios. The flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts.

half term rainy days

Would have been so nice to not have had rain today ! But even so, me and my little lad have been keeping ourselves busy...several rounds of board games and some plaster of paris dinosaurs waiting to set before painting, and I get to sit and have a coffee and finish off a card!

And today a card for boys - makes a refreshing change ! Once more I am using up paper from my stash - this time sheets from "Pocket full of Posies", an old Die Cuts With a View pad. A charming Lily of the Valley stamp and a Whimsy die and die cut.

It feels quite summery - wishful thinking on my part I believe ! This can be found entered into the Make it Monday challenge.

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friday sketchers challenge

Thought I would have a go at this seeing as today is rainy rainy rainy ! Thought the layout was lovely so using up yet more bits of paper I have had hoarding for ages and a pretty Lily of the Valley stamp.

What I should be doing today....

...is finishing the editing of a report on some rather amazing finds from an excavation in my area. Thats my job - archaeologist. Hence the digger part in the title of my blog. Mind you it has been some time since I was actually out in the field digging myself. Think back 10 years or so to Vietnam. Present day will find me more cosy in an office handling wonderful (and the not so wonderful) items of Prehistoric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval date - and then buffing up reports on them. In truth I am almost done and will finish soon, have just lost my mojo for editing since this morning. Possibly something to do with feeling harrassed when leaving the house to get the little one to school and general onset of PMT !!! Well that's my excuse and I think I shall stick to it !

I cant even colour in some nice stamp images cos my copic blender pen ran out yesterday and I feel crippled without it ! Nevermind, three on order so I will be back in action in no time.

In the meantime I can sit here and enjoy a latte (thanks to the gods that invented Nespresso machines !) and think on what needs to be done. Enough thinking might actually achieve results.

Valentines

I can now post the Valentine's day card I made for my beloved husband....didnt want to do it earlier as he might have had a sneak preview hehe.

Now whilst I love stamping I didn't have a stamp that was just "right" so I opted for an image from Debbie Moore's cd called Masquerade. The papers I have had in my stash for ages - they might be Bo Bunny; the swirl is a Tim Holtz die  and the little embellishments are ones I have had for a while, plus flowers from Wild Orchid site.

In terms of crafting, one of my new years resolutions was to begin using up some of the papers and embelishments I have been hoarding. I do have a tendancy to hold onto things too long because they are pretty and shiny....much better to share them with others on a card ! Or use them on  a scrapbook page I can keep myself :)

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Another day and another card

This one I made just before Christmas for my little boy's teacher....really loved the Websters pages for my cards this year. They are gorgeous. What a shame I only found them when I had almost finished making my cards - good thing is I have lots to spare for this year and even some cards left over. Now that hardly ever happens ! And it seems the perfect entry for Loopy Lou's Magnolia candy :)

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what to do when feeling ill...

well make a card of course hehe. Had today off work with a cold and sniffling like a good 'un so set about distracting myself making a card and here it is....very spring like !

 

Have decided to enter this one into the Colour create challenge which was lemon, green white so seemed kind of fitting :)  

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More cards done

Just a quick little posting to add more cards to my site here - all images have been coloured using copic ciao markers, finding these really good to shade with.

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This last one I really like the colours for - the scrap of paper has been in my stash for years so finally happy to be able to use it. I have listed it on ebay

on a roll

Recently I have been making more cards - especially following the arrival of new stamps etc. Special card was needed for my Mum's 70th birthday which was friday. So I set to work with Lily of the Valley stamps, basic grey papers and copic ciao markers. The above is the front...then i went to work to create something rather nice when it was opened up. All enjoyable and pleased with the finished result. Oh and have just found a really nice stamp up for grabs on Janes Lovely cards Blog *fingers crossed*.

new arrivals

No not babies ! The arrival of some new crafty things...today a couple of Tim Holtz swirly dies and some new copics in pastel shades. Now to find the right stamps to experiment with. The dies work wonderfully well with the cuttlebug, though when I first saw them I did have my doubts.

Randomness

It felt the right time - not a new years resolution, just a place to put down my thoughts whenever I feel the urge. Having an odd mixed bag of interests, expect posts on archaeology, crafting (I just love all sorts of coloured bits of paper, ribbons and glitter) and gaming - yes gaming! The online variety...for in my spare time I am an elven leader of a warband that goes smiting across the lands of Middle Earth. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings online has much to answer for!