Rubber Rambles

More apologies

2007-06-15T20:17:00.000+01:00

Hi guys,
I'm sorry again for not posting but my little one is going through a hard time at the moment, I can't go into details, but he's having a really tough couple of weeks, which in turn means I'm not getting any sleep and I'm just trying to get through the day at the moment in one piece.
Your hugs would be nice if you have the time.
Hugs,
Alli

Oops

2007-06-04T20:55:00.000+01:00

Sorry everyone for not posting for such a long time. My son was on a week's break from school and DH had the week off too and we were really busy. We went to Cornwall for 4 days and just got back. It was a lovely break and now I just need to get back into cardmaking, lol. I have forgotten where my craft room is. This is the longest I have ever gone without making a card apart from our main summer holiday.
DH and DS go back to school/work tomorrow, so woohoo, get my life back! :)
Thank you for wondering where I was Jenn, that is so sweet.
Hugs and hope you are all well.

Wow! So talented

2007-05-22T16:56:00.001+01:00

Look at this wonderful card that I received from Allison Fillo this week, how beautiful and unusual is it. I absolutely love it, thank you Allison. I wonder if all Allisons are so talented, lol. You can find her wonderful blog here http://www.stampinwhenican.blogspot.com/. I love her blog and I was so blown away to receive this card, so thank you, thank you, thank you Allison.

This card was for today's color challenge on Splitcoast. It uses Vintage Violet, Certainly Celery and Old Olive. My favorite color combination is Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive and so it was really good to try Violet instead. It is a while since I used this color and I forgot how much I love it. It's so pretty and I think it works really well with gold, so there is lots of gold embossing on this card, lol.

Details of the card

Sets - Artfully Asian, Canvas

cardstock - white watercolor, Vintage Violet, Certainly Celery, Old Olive

inks - versamark, Vintage Violet, Old Olive and Certainly Celery reinkers

accessories - aquapainter, ribbon, brads, eyelet, gold embossing powder, ticket punch

Caribbean

2007-05-21T08:21:00.000+01:00

I have never tried this colorway before, it is Cool Caribbean, Tempting Turquoise and Taken With Teal with one of my favorite sets, Bodacious Bouquet.

It's really hard to see, but I used Taken with Teal craft ink on the background and embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, it is soooo sparkly in real life.

I'm so sad about Cool Caribbean retiring, I love that color. :)

VSN

2007-05-20T14:42:00.001+01:00

I love VSN on Splitcoast, but this weekend I only had time to make 4 cards, this was one of them.

You had to make a card with quilling. I used to teach quilling a lot a while ago and I got so fed up of it, I could never do any quilling. But I've had a break and I really enjoyed making this card, it only took me about 30 minutes all in.

So, I am determined to make more non-stamped cards, like quilling or teabag folding, but I don find myself going through stages. This stage is obviously scallops and cuttlebugging lol.

The scallops were actually made with my cricut and not scallop punches.

Details of card

sets used - Papertrey Green Thumb

cardstock - Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, white

inks - lovely lilac

accessories - cuttlebug, cricut, ribbon, quilling tool and papers, slit punch

This week

2007-05-19T14:56:00.000+01:00

This is the card I made for the sketch challenge this week on Splitcoast.

I'm going to miss this little frog when it retires, I'm not a demo, but I'll miss seeing him on other's cards.

I don't know why, but I always preferred him to the frog on Unfrogettable, he has more character.

Details of card

sets - Frolicking Frogs

cardstock - Cool Caribbean, white watercolor, DCWV retro papers

ink - Versafine black, versamark

accessories - prismacolor pencils, gamsol, white embossing powder, dimensionals, brads

Today's challenge

2007-05-18T17:07:00.000+01:00

This is my card for today's Limited Supply Challenge, you had to use one image, stamped only once, one background stamp, one sentiment and no more than three colors of cards plus white.

I really should do this challenge more often. Lots of times I get so overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have that I don't know where to start, so this challenge is fantastic for giving you a starting point but also for testing your creativity.

I used my favorite form of coloring, reinkers and an aquapainter to color the main image. It is hard to see but I used Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses for the background.

Details of card

sets - Sassy Stems, Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses

cardstock - Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant, Cool Caribbean, white watercolor

inks - versafine black, reinkers in same colors as cardstock

accessories - ribbon, aquapainter

Luke's thank you cards

2007-05-17T08:04:00.000+01:00

These are the cards I made for Luke's thank yous for his birthday. I still haven't sent them out, whoops.

I needed something without much stamping because of my hand, so I jused my Cricut for the thanks and then just stamped the circle with Big Pieces and Little Pieces, I think this is only the second time I used these sets.

So tah dah! Very simple cards! Now I just need to mail them, lol.

Catching up

2007-05-16T08:06:00.000+01:00

Sorry, second brown card in a row, I decided to ease myself back into stamping by doing a simple, but hopefully still elegant, card.

Not much stamping going on, but aren't those primas gorgeous, thanks Jody!

I'm still trying to believe that I actually set my alarm clock to get up at 5am to order the new Papertrey set, Little Lady, but it's sooooo cute. I got the grid block, a brown inkpad and a set of card boxes whilst I was there.

I also got picked as one of the reviewers for Rubber Stamping Fun, I am so excited, as soon as I get my set I'll show you what I managed to achieve with the set. I chose #8, that means nothing to anyone except other reviewers, sorry! :)

Details of the card

sets - Papertrey faux ribbon

cardstock - any ole white

inks - Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

accessories - primas, brad

Monday's challenge

2007-05-15T07:45:00.000+01:00

This was the card that I made for Monday's Technique Lover's Challenge to make a warm-up card. Valerie, the hostess, described it as a small card to get you warmed up to stamping to go on to larger projects.

This card is actually 3 x 3 and I find small cards, atcs etc harder than large cards, you don't have much room for all the usual touches you put on a card and I find it really hard to make such a small card that is balanced, but I think this one turned out ok and it got me back into stamping after hurting my hand, lol.

Details of card -

sets - Doodle This, Papertrey Ink's Papertray

cardstock - chocolate chip, au chocolat dp

ink - versamark, chocolate chip craft

accessories - white and clear embossing powder, brads, word window punch, paper piercer

Cyberfriends

2007-05-14T16:32:00.000+01:00

Stamping really is one of the most wonderful hobbies, I don't know what place my sanity would be now if I hadn't started stamping.

I started when my son was 3 or so, because Barney was driving me so insane and it was the only program that could calm him, lol.

However, the best thing about stamping, definitely the friends I have met through this wonderful craft. For example, look what I got in the mail today, I'm jumping up and down with joy. I got a card from my stamping hero and probably one of the nicest ladies I have met online, Beate. She even IRAKed me some of the bee images that she has been using because I love what she has been doing with them. Thank you so much Beate, I love them, she even stamped them on shimmery white, how gorgeous is that cardstock!! And that card, wowzers, it is awesome, I need to get a noticeboard up in my craft room so that I can hang my favorite cards up, this would definitely be one of them. Thanks sweetie, I am so happy that I can count you as one of my friends.

You can find Beate's wonderful blog here , take a look and leave her a nice message, she deserves it!

Your lesson for today

2007-05-14T08:19:00.000+01:00

Your lesson for today is don't play tennis on your son's Nintendo Wii. I was playing tennis and I smashed my hand into a bookcase on Friday.(For those tcchnophobes like me, you simulate the movements of a tennis player on a Wii) So now my knuckles are all black and swollen and I can't stamp, lol.
They've gone down a bit today, so hopefully I can pick up a stamp again today or tomorrow and I have learned my lesson, don't play with your son's video games when you reach 40, your brain is too slow, bwahahahahahahaha!

MIA

2007-05-10T19:44:00.000+01:00

I have been MIA for the past few days for a number of reasons. I have hurt my back and I am finding it really hard to sit in one place to stamp at the moment.
Also, it's my son's 8th birthday tomorrow, so I have had lots of little jobs to do. :)
Finally, it was my monthly craft club yesterday. I taught faux shaving cream and I will upload some of the cards when I get the chance. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, although I was really strict with them and made them all swipe and drag the small stamp through the big stamp, rather than just tap timidly. They are used to me now though and just laugh at me! :)
If you want to know how to do faux shaving foam the details are here

No stamping

2007-05-06T14:30:00.000+01:00

Jen is having a challenge on her site to make a card without stamping on it. Check out her blog here Well, I made the first card before I had even seen her challenge. It is made with my new primas from Jody and Red Tag sale alphabet from Cuttlebug, but I wasn't happy with it. The alphabet is too big for the card.
So I decided to make another below.
Details of this card
cardstock - Bazill
accessories - Cuttlebug red tag alphabet, round scallop punch, ribbon, slit punch for scallops, brad, primas.

So then today I made this card and I am much happier with it. The letters are much straighter than they appear on the photo, lol.

Isn't the paper just the cutest? It is Memory Box Sugar Collection from Ellen Hutson's store and I need another pack because I get really anxious using something if I only have one, lol.

Details of card

card - pink, Memory Box sugar collection

accessories - Cuttlebug Red Tag alphabet, flower brads, Primas, velvet ric rack ribbon, brad.

Scarlett Letter

2007-05-05T15:36:00.000+01:00

I see some of the most gorgeous cards made with designer papers and I always mean to use them in my cards, but like everything else, I have too many papers and I can't decide what to use, so then I go back to my tried and tested stamps.

So today, I was determined to make a card using designer papers and this is what I came up with. The paper is Scarlett Letter by Basic Grey.

I am the queen of black and white according to Jen (Cobrielle), so she should like this one, lol.

I am really happy with how it turned out, I wasn't sure about using black and brown together, but there is a touch of brown in the predominantly black, grey and white paper, so I hope it matches.

I hate my camera sometimes, it's really hard to see, but I have used black stickles on the doodle in the corner. The red flowers have black stickle centres and the spots in the scallops have black stickles too.

Card details

sets - SU Doodle This, Papertrey faux ribbon

cardstock - black, white, Basic Grey Scarlett Letter

inks - black versafine, versamark, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive and Ruby Red markers

accessories - tab punch, black stickles, white embossing powder, brads, ribbon, dimensionals

My favorite

2007-05-03T11:07:00.000+01:00

My distressing class went really well, we had lots of fun and the ladies learned a lot too, I think. I spent most of the night laughing!

This card is my favorite of the ones I made for the distressing class. I wanted to show them sanding cardstock, so I used my cuttlebug and white core cardstock to show them how sanding works. I love the subtle effect that it gives.

Details of card

sets - SU riveting

cardstock - white, cool caribbean, DCWV white core cardstock

inks - white craft, cool caribbean

accessories - cuttlebug, nail file, ribbon slider die, punches, Jody's ribbon

I'm still distressed

2007-05-02T13:45:00.000+01:00

I am teaching a distressing class tonight, so I have been making "distressed" cards. I have decided it's just not my style, I have really struggled with these cards, especially trying to achieve what I consider a "distressed style", then I thought why can't I make cards that are my style but have distressing on them.

I always think of distressing as being very dark or muted colors, shabby chic, very stylized and very intricate, with lots of techniques on them.

Well, that's not me and I was completely hopeless at trying to mimic the style, so this is one of the cards I came up with. It is made with a distress ink pad. I crumpled the cardstock, swiped the ink pad over the card, spritzed with water and waited for it to dry. Then I stamped the giraffe on the card when it was dry.

The main card I swiped the distress ink pad all over the cream card and over the circle tag. The sentiment is from Papertrey Faux Ribbon.

Details of card

sets - SU In the Wild, Papertrey Faux Ribbon

inks- Versafine black, Tim Holtz distress ink

card - black and cream

accessories - circle punch, spritzer bottle filled with water

Pink or Chocolate?

2007-05-01T17:27:00.000+01:00

I made the chocolate card first, my mom wanted a card for a lady who turns 50 at the weekend, so I did that card this morning.
I was feeling so sad that Roses in Winter is being discontinued that when I saw the color challenge for today, I decided to make the same card, but in pinks, so now she has a choice, lol, I prefer the chocolates, but maybe the lady will prefer the pinks.

Details of the cards
Pink card
sets - Roses in Winter, Floral, Linen, Papertrey Faux Ribbon
card - Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, black, white
inks - Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink
accessories - brads, cricut, ribbon, sponge

Chocolate card
sets - the same
card - Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, white
inks - creamy caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
accessories - the same

So which do you prefer? :)

Welcome back to my journey!

2007-04-30T18:24:00.000+01:00

If you read my blog regularly, you will know I am on a quest to use colors that I have never used before in the SU range.

Well, I have never used Garden Green, I always choose Old Olive or Certainly Celery, they are my favorite greens. So here is my card for today. I'm sorta happy with it, but I still think it would have looked better with Old Olive :)

But it is good for me to get out of my rut and try new things. This card is semi-based on a card by Yvette, you can see her blog on the right, but here is her gallery on SCS if you have a few hours spare, lol. I like some of her cards with this dress, so that inspired me to use the dress today.

Card details

sets - Blooming with Happiness, Houndstooth, Fine Lace

Cardstock - white watercolor, More Mustard, Ruby Red, Garden Green

Inks - black versafine,More Mustard, More Mustard and Ruby Red refills

Accessories - brads, aquapainter, mustard spotted ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Not my usual style

2007-04-29T19:56:00.000+01:00

This card is not my usual style, but I have to make some cards for a class I am teaching on Wednesday for distressing. I find distressing very distressing, bwahahahahahahaha! Sorry terrible joke! So this card is very distressed, hee hee.

I stamped on the piece of cardstock with the main image, then I crumpled it up and then swiped my ink pad all over it. I tore the edge and swiped the inkpad over the torn edge too.

I used weathered and linen on the main card to give it an old look.

I have had such a busy weekend, I taught 2 classes in my home on exploding boxes and I had so much fun with the 11 ladies who did the class with Fi and I.

I'm tired today though.

Details of card -

stamps - Woodware main image, unknown compass, Papertrey faux ribbon, SU linen and weathered

inks - Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, white craft

Card - pale blue, navy

My quest

2007-04-26T14:20:00.000+01:00

If you read my blog regularly, you will know I am on a quest to use colors that I haven't used before. Guess what? The Ways to Use It challenge for this week is to use Orchid Opulence, I have never used it I always go for Lovely Lilac or Almost Amethyst.

Well, this is the card I came up with. The color combination is a bit out there, I'll admit, but I got it from this site. It is an invaluable tool for making cards, so I picked the weirdest combination that I just couldn't imagine on a card, lol, I am a live-on-the-edge-cardmaker you know, bwahahahahaha!

I may have over-cuttlebugged too, I know hard to believe! hee hee!

Details of card

sets - Bodacious Bouquet, Papertrey Ink's Papertray

Cardstock - Sage Shadow, Blush Blossom, Orchid Opulence, Pale Plum, black

Ink - the same

accessories - cuttlebug, buttons, hemp, dimensionals

Caribbean Garden

2007-04-25T17:08:00.000+01:00

This is the card that I made for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast. Part of the sketch was to have your ribbon/embellishment too the forefront of the card. If this were not the case, I would have put the faux ribbon piece behind the floral piece. Then I think it would look more balanced, but generally I am quite happy with the card.

I love my new Papertrey Ink faux ribbon set. This is my first try with it and it is so easy to get the stamps straight.

My DH has been working from home today, so he has been driving me completely insane. He is always in the way, wherever he sits, wherever he goes, it's in my way, lol.

Details of card

sets - Papertrey Ink's Green Thumb, Papertray and Faux Ribbon sets

cardstock - Cool Caribbean, Lovely Lilac, Chocolate Chip, Black, white, Green Galore

inks - Cool Caribbean, Lovely Lilac, Chocolate Chip, white craft

accessories - tab punch, dimensionals

I've been tagged

2007-04-24T18:32:00.000+01:00

I've been tagged three times today, thanks Diane, check out her website here and Rose Ann, her website is here and Jen, she is my funny friend, her blog is in my list on the right. Now to find 7 things about me

1. I was born in London, but I grew up in Wales and consider myself Welsh. I grew up in Port Talbot, the town where Anthony Hopkins and Richard Burton are from.
2. I got married on Halloween, lol
3. I couldn't have children, so I adopted my son a week before his first birthday. He is now 7. It was the best decision we ever made, I never believed I could love one little person as much as I love him and I never realised how much fun and joy he would bring to my life, he is the funniest, most loving little boy on the planet
4. I only drink Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke if they don't have Diet Pepsi, but I really dislike hot drinks, especially tea, which for a Brit is akin to a crime.
5. My favorite comfort food is spaghetti with butter and parmesan
6. My best holiday was in Disneyworld with my parents, husband and son three years ago. We were there for Hurricane Charlie. I also bought a Sizzix machine from Michaels and had terrible trouble getting it through security, they thought it was a bomb, until after 25 minutes a new security guy on duty said his wife had one!
7. My grandmother was American, she was born in New York. My great-grandmother should have travelled on the Titanic to meet her husband before my grandmother was born, but my great-grandmother had a bad feeling and decided to travel a month later on a different ship.

I forgot one, I love sport, I especially love watching sport on tv, my favorite football/soccer (we call it football, you call it soccer). I will watch any soccer, any time, I love it. My father used to bribe me to go to mass when I was little by taking me to soccer matches. I am a fanatical Chelsea supporter. :)

Ok, now I need to tag 7 people, I don't want to tag the same people as last time, or they are going to start ignoring my emails, lol, so Im going to tag these wonderful ladies.

Jen
Lisa
Jody
Linda
Marie
Paula
Lynn

Have a great day!

I Found It!

2007-04-24T07:47:00.000+01:00

My mojo came home, well long emough to make this card, lol. I made it for yesterday's challenge on Splitcoast. It was the Technique Lover's challenge and it was to make a card using a Levi tab, you know the tab you see on the pocket of a pair of jeans.

I love doing tabs on cards, so this really inspired me, lol. I think my problem is I have too much stuff and I get overwhelmed, I then have no idea where to start.

I think it might be easier when I get to be a SU demo because I will mostly have to showcase new sets, so my choices will be restricted. :) I wish they would hurry up and get to the UK, the waiting is agony!

The weird thing for today, the back panel with the paisley on and the panel behind the flower and the tab are all apricot appeal, but it looks a completely different color when you stamp apricot appeal ink on it!

I got the color combination from this site, I added Sage Shadow because I needed leaves.

Details of card

Sets used - Bodacious Bouquet, Perfect Paisley, Houndstooth, On the Spot, Papertrey Ink's Papertray for the sentiment

Cardstock - Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst, Black, white

Ink - same colors as above

accessories - sponge, paper piercer, mat stack, dimensionals, brad

Blah, blah, blah!!!!

2007-04-23T16:19:00.000+01:00

Oh boy, am I going through a sticky patch at the moment! I just don't seem to be able to create anything.

In one weekend of sitting in my craft room, this is the only thing that I have managed to come up with, I have thrown my little boy's body weight in cardstock away over the weekend. It's not false modesty, honest, I just seem to have forgotten all the rules of what I like.

The front panel of this card has been made three times. The first one as I colored with an aquapainter ran everywhere, the second, I did a shadow around the vase and it was horrific. Don't ask me why I used yo-yo yellow, but I did! :) Horrible, horrible, horrible.

I have made an exploding box, I'm teaching a class next week, but I haven't decorated it yet. I want to make a birthday card, rather than a scrapbook album and I'll show you what I come up with.

So if you see my mojo hanging around in all the wrong places, can you please send it on home!

Card details - stamp SU Sassy Stems

ink - Versafine black

cardstock - white watercolor, yoyo yellow, pink passion, green galore, cool caribbean

accessories - aquapainter, reinkers in pink passion, cool caribbean, tempting turquoise, pretty in pink, gable green, doodlebug paper, pink ric rack, SU punch, brad, Cuttlebug, bloom dots embossing folder

I forgot!

2007-04-21T13:37:00.000+01:00

I have been sat in my craft room for 5 hours trying to create and blah! Nothing! So today you are getting a card I made a couple of weeks ago that I forgot to upload!

I have decided that my weekness is sentiments, I never know what to use, how to attach them, where to put them. I see everyone else adding ovals, tags, circles, etc and they always look so natural and part of the card, but me, I just can't think of what to do to finish the card off. I think I need to start making sketches of how everyone attaches their sentiment. I think Cindy Haffner on Splitcoast (sorry site was down at the time I wrote this post so I couldn't put a link) is a genius at attaching sentiments, they always look such a natural part of the card, mine always look plonked on! :)

So, that is going to be my quest from now on. Every time I see a card with an interesting sentiment, I am going to note it in a notebook and lets see if my cards improve!

Details - stamp Hero Arts

Cardstock - scraps

patterned paper - DCWV

I markered straight onto the stamp to get the coloring for this stamp, isn't it cute?

Trouble revisited!

2007-04-20T16:53:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to show you my card that has given me endless hours of trouble. If you read my blog regularly, you will have seen this card and read the story before, here is the original card.

So I went back, restamped the main image, added a sentiment and some paper piercing, got rid of the ticket corner and added a spiral with turquoise ribbon.

Do you think it's an improvement? I certainly do, thanks for all the advice girls! :)

I'm so stunned

2007-04-20T16:46:00.000+01:00

Oh my gosh! Look what I got in the mail! How beautiful is this, I am completely stunned, it is so beautiful. It is by Denise Bryant, Denise you are one awesomely talented lady, thank you so much for your kindness!

You can find her blog here please go and check it out.

Beate's Fault

2007-04-18T18:22:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the quality of the photo guys, but it's starting to get dark.

This card is allllllllllllllll Beate's fault. I was telling her how I only liked the large flower from the Doodle This set and she told me to try using the other stamps in this set. So this is the card that I made for this week's color and sketch challenges on Splitcoast.

I'm still not sure about this flower, but I really like the corner flourish.

I so wish you could see the bling in real life, this card is so glittery, as you could tell if you saw me, because I am completely covered in fine glitter! :)

Details - Cardstock- Rose Red, So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant

Inks - the same color

Accessories - Cuttlebug, Word Window punch, glitter, dimensionals, brads.

I've been tagged!

2007-04-18T09:15:00.000+01:00

Lexi, the sweetest, most talented crafter, tagged me yesterday. Her blog is in my list under Lexi go take a look. So now I have to choose 5 of my favorite blogs, so here goes.

Dawn - http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/

Beate - http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Joan - http://www.paper-and-ink.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://www.iheart2stamp.com/

Yvette - http://yvettespapergarden.wordpress.com/

Check out their blogs, these ladies inspire me each and every day! :)

Now each of you ladies need to tag 5 bloggers on your blog! Hugs!

Something missing

2007-04-17T16:31:00.000+01:00

This card has been a real struggle for me. It was inspired by some china that I saw in a sale advertisement.

The first time I tried it, it was in red, but the red didn't work, the white embossing powder looked dull and creamy rather than white.

So this time I did it in Cool Caribbean, my favorite color. But it is missing something, it needs a sentiment, but I can't find a place to attach it, or think what to use.

I also really wanted to do some doodling, but what are the only colors that don't come with markers, yep, that would be In Colors. There's too much space around the outside of the main panel.

So what I might do is go back and change the panel to Caribbean and mount it on a thin piece of white.

I embossed the Caribbean in clear, by stamping Versamark on the stamp, before the Cool Caribbean.

I love these stamps though, they are Botanicals by Rhonna Farrer, thanks for the enabling Joan! :)

Oh I've just had a thought, I could fit a Papertray sentiment in the top left corner, stay tuned for the adventures of this card, lol!

Strawberries Everywhere!

2007-04-16T08:15:00.000+01:00

My 7 year old son loves fruit, espicially strawberries, so this card makes me think of him, lol.

Through the summer, I find the hulls everywhere, as typical boy, he never throws anything in the trash.

This is such a simple card. I used, wait for it, Papertrey's Green Thumb, lol. I stamped the strawberries and hulls, which come separately, in rows on white card as the background. I then punched a real red scalloped circle and as I don't have a mega circle punch, I used my cricut to make the white circle. I then used my slot punch to make the slots for the ribbon. I had to twist the ribbon underneath the circle as it is only spotty on one side.

I'm insane, seriously

2007-04-15T10:09:00.000+01:00

I'm insane, seriously I am, guess who got up at 5.15am on a Sunday to buy Nichole's new set from Papertrey, that would be me!!!!!

I know the ribbon on this card looks a little weird, but it's to hide a big splodge of olive ink that transferred. This card is heavily coated and so the dye ink takes a while to dry and I keep forgetting, lol.

Why is it that the ribbon all lies in the same direction, I'm really happy with how they look and then you take the photo and they all mysteriously turn around? I swear, they are straight! :)

I like this card because even though I have used all Earth Element colors, I still think it looks really spring-like.

I don't know if any Americans know this, but British cardstock is a slightly different size to American cardstock. Our cardstock is longer and thinner, so it is just shy of 12" long and 8" wide or in cm like we work, 29.8cm long by 21cm wide, so my cards are always slightly longer than yours. It's a complete pain sometimes, especially when I use SU background stamps because they are not long enough, so I end up having to cut a big slice off it. Now don't you feel richer for that information! :)

Details of the card - Set - Green Thumb by Papertrey, inks - More Mustard, Really Rust, Old Olive and Ruby Red, ribbon.

ETA: Jenn asked a question about how I like acrylic stamps. Jenn, I have always gone for stamps I love rather than what they are made of. So mounted, unmounted, acrylic, whatever, I love and have always bought them all.

Acrylic does behave differently though. It does sometimes pool when using dye ink, but I just rough the stamps up slightly with my jeans and they work perfectly. You can't use inks like Stazon though, the Stazon sticks to the cardstock and the stamp comes off the block, ask me how I know, lol. I used classic ink on this card, on slightly textured cardstock and they still worked perfectly.

But the huge advantage of clear stamps is just that they are clear. I use mine with a clear block and so you can see exactly where you are stamping. You can avoid spaces on your design, you can stamp accurately, I must admit I love them.

What do you need? Just a couple of different size acrylic blocks. Unlike rubber, clear acrylic cling to the blocks by way of static, so they don't need to be glued or taped on.

I would say buy one set and a few blocks and see how you get on. I have nothing but praise for Papertrey's sets, there are just endless permutations of ways to use them. You never get bored with them, well I haven't anyway and this card seriously took me no more than 5 minutes to actually stamp. It took me about an hour to choose the colors and tye the ribbon, but that's another story, lol. Hope that helps Jenn. :)

Nichole Heady is a genius!

2007-04-14T17:15:00.000+01:00

This card is made using Papertrey's Green Thumb set, Nichole really does know how to make stamps for stampers. Somehow, with the way that her stamp sets work, you know she has really thought about how to get the most out of one set, I have had so much fun playing with this set today, it's the first chance I have had to play with it.

This card really makes me laugh. I don't know why really, but I think it's really cute. The sentiment says "you can deal with anything if you have the right shoes", I was going to do a sentiment that says "I hope you are welly" but I didn't know if Americans would get it. We call this type of boots, wellies in the UK (wellington boots), I will definitely use the sentiment if I send this sort of card to a friend in the UK.

I stamped each boot in Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and Cameo Coral. I then stamped them again on some scrap card, cut each one out and mounted each one on dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment onto scrap card, mounted it onto some dp from the SU winter mini. I then used the slot punch for the holes and threaded some American Crafts ribbon through the slots.

Sunny boots

2007-04-13T16:54:00.000+01:00

This is a card that turned out complely different to how it looked in my head. It is for the card sketch for this week on Splitcoast.
I knew that I wanted the boots in Cool Caribbean, but I imagined the flowers being much taller with more of them, but it didn't fit on the sketch. I cut the piece of white card to size before I did anything else and so the size of the piece of card dictated the stamping.
I didn't intend to do any cuttlebugging either, but the paper looked so flat and uninteresting, lol.
So details, sets used Papertrey Green Thumb and Paper Tray. Cuttlebug embossing folder - bloom dots, Cuttlebug ribbon slider, turquoise spotty ribbon from Jody's share. Colors - Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, Regal Rose and Certainly Celery. Stampin Up designer paper.

No new card

2007-04-12T20:01:00.000+01:00

Sorry, no new card today, but a funny story instead. You may know that I run a craft club once a month with my best friend Fi. It was last night. Well, Fiona, the dozy moo and yes that's what I called her sprained her ankle for the second time in 2 weeks the night before last and so is on crutches. She's fine, honest, in pain, but fine. And I was really sympathetic, really. I also got the chance to be bossy she's usually the bossy one, OK Fi, assertive one.
Anyway, because Fi is on crutches, I had to put everything out and put it away at the hall we hire, so by the time I got home last night I was really tired. I asked DH if he would unpack the car in the morning and he said he would. So he went to work this morning with all my craft stuff in the car, what a disaster!!!!!! I've got plenty of stamp sets and ink, but I can't make anything because he has my cutters, glue, tools, scissors, aquapainters etc. I was so sulky today, I was like a child, 8 hours with not craft stuff and you would swear someone had cut my arm off, so today I have been a Debbie Downer, not a Billy Bad Mood! :) Now it's 8pm and he's home and I can't be bothered to unpack the car, bwahahahahaha! I will make sure I just get it out, even if Idon't put it away!

Just call me ditzy!

2007-04-11T10:41:00.000+01:00

This is the card I made for the color challenge on Splitcoast yesterday. I am so happy with it, apart from one thing, I forgot to color the leaves on the top panel! :) So, just call me ditzy.

I could have retaken the photo as I have colored the panel in now, but I thought it was more amusing this way, lol. I must have looked at that panel 30 or 40 times before I uploaded it to my gallery and I still didn't notice until I looked at it close up.

I think this card looks like an old-fashioned quilt like one that my grandmother had.

The set I used is In Full Bloom and the colors are Real Red, Sage Shadow and Black.

ETA: For Jenn in GA, this shape card was actually a sketch challenge on SCS a while ago, the hostess of the challenge left the dimensions on her original card here

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/410097?cat=500&ppuser=23790

The challenge was SC99 if you want to look it up on Splitcoaststampers. I hope that is helpful. :)

I'm a Billy Bad Mood-er!

2007-04-10T16:09:00.000+01:00

I was a Billy Bad Mood yesterday, lol. I didn't like this card or the card I made yesterday (the one below).

I still don't think that they are the best work I have ever done, but today with a little perspective, they are not the worst either, I just think they are a little bland, not awful, but not amazing either.

I think this one will look better with a sentiment on it. I might also tweak it a little!

I love my polka dot ribbon from Jody (TexasJodyLynn) though! :)

Beloved Blossoms

2007-04-09T17:43:00.000+01:00

Wow I have had a busy weekend. My parents came to visit so they could look after my son whilst we decorate his room. We can't have him in the house as he has ADHD and just jumps in the roller tray or tips paint over himself.

So we managed to decorate his room, but now boy do I ache. We ended up taking 8 rubbish sacks to the tip (sorry don't know what Americans call it).

My parents left this morning, it was lovely to see them, but now I have to deprogram Luke from all the bad behaviour my dad has taught him!

The biggest drawback was that we took everything out of Luke's room and put it in my craft room, so I haven't been able to get in there for four days! Major withdrawal!

I made this for today's technique challenge on Splitcoast. It is reverse masking and it is a sort of case of one of my own cards. I'm not that happy with how it turned out, it's a bit boring, so I'm going to have another go at the challenge I think!

But finally, happy belated Easter everyone, I'm feeling sick from eating too many chocolate Easter eggs, and for those of you reading this in the US our easter eggs are the size of a child's head not the little ones you get in an Easter basket. You can see an image of one here. No more chocolate for me for a while, lol.

And finally, finally, happy birthday Beate! :)

My Inkpads are Shouting

2007-04-06T13:12:00.000+01:00

My inkpads are shouting again. Why is it only my Bold Brights that shout at me, lol. I think they are feeling unloved!

Anyway, this is my card for today's Limited Supply challenge on Splitcoast, you could only use 3 stamps, not stamp sets, just stamps, 2 colors plus neutrals and 1 embellishment. I cheated slightly, I only used one type of embellishment - brads.

I have been using my Doodle This flower again. I can't believe I paid for a set where I only like one of the images, but at least I got the set for half price, so I don't mind so much. :)

Funnily I used pink classic ink and orange craft ink. My orange classic ink was so washed out that I had to go over with craft ink to get a deep orange.

I am trying to hold out until SU come to the UK to get BB large classic inks as it's the only color family where I only have the spots, I have the full size pads in the other families. So I only have to wait until the Autumn/Fall and then I will get BB as part of my demo kit hopefully. :)

I love this card

2007-04-05T19:34:00.000+01:00

If you read my blog, or know me at all, you will know that I am always very critical of myself! I always find something to criticise, but allelujah, I absolutely love this card.

Sorry about the poor photo but Rob took the camera to work and it was getting dark as I took the photo.

I have some paper piecing templates that I use, so paper piecing is very easy.

The paisley petals are all embossed in clear powder so they are all nice and shiny. And I was a brave girl and cut up my Au Chocolat paper! :)

One of those days!

2007-04-04T14:44:00.000+01:00

Do you ever have one of those days, lol. I couldn't have done any more wrong on this card if I tried, but I like it.

The cuttlebugging is upside down, I used an Always Artichoke marker instead of an Old Olive one and on the word "day" I stamped it on scrap paper first in black to make sure it was straight, as it is an A Muse alphabet and obviously I didn't get all the black off before I stamped the white stazon onto my shrink plastic, so the tag is multicolored black and white, bwahahahahaha!

Never mind, I still think it's cute and Beate's getting it, mistakes and all, so Beate cover your eyes if you're reading this.

Details of card - I used Hero Arts doodle leaf flower and colored it in using markers and doodled around the edge. I used Stampin Up designer paper for mounting. The "happy" is from SU and the "day" is A Muse polka dot alphabet, stamped in White Stazon and then shrunk! Pink ribbon, a little doodling and tah dah!!!!

ATCs

2007-04-04T12:54:00.000+01:00

As some of you may or may not know, I run a craft club with my best friend Fi. We meet up once a month on a Wednesday evening. Well this month is the first anniversary of the club, so we had the brilliant idea of making every lady in the club a technique ATC and an individual ATC made by ourselves. Then every month as they learn a technique, we will give them an ATC with the instructions on the back of how to do the technique. They then keep all the ATCs on a D ring which we will give them, so they can build up a technique folder.

Well my technique ATC this month is faux stitching, so here are all my ATCs done for the ladies of the club. I have also done about 7 or 8 individual ATCs, all different, so I only have about 20 to go! :)

I am very much a Stampin Up ATC-er, so mine are like small cards, rather than these really artistic ATCs with children with wings, I just don't get that. Why would a Victorian child have wings? Why would a face have feathers? Why do these artistic ones always look so dark and dingy? Answers on a postcard, please :) (I don't really mean that, it's just a British saying, so please no postcards :).)

Scalloped scissors

2007-04-03T12:04:00.000+01:00

Decorative scissors are making a comeback, so as per usual, I can't just use a touch of something, nooooooo, I have to go into scallop scissor overload! :)

So I have used my favorite Chatterbox papers and Sassy Silhouettes stamp for a really simple card!

More, more, more!

2007-04-02T11:40:00.000+01:00

Do you have a set that you struggle with? Do you have a set that no matter how hard you try, your cards turn out to be really ugly.

Well this is the set that it happens to for me. This is Trees Three and I love the idea of building a tree with stamps but everything I make with this set is truly ugly. This is the only card that I have made that is halfway even passable, still don't really like it though.

It's hard to tell from the picture but the banana colored stripe is actually the same color green as the ribbon I used. I hate the way sometimes your camera doesn't capture the colors you used accurately.

Anyway, I am not going to give up, this stamp set is not going to defeat me! I am going to beat it! :) I am going to make a card that I like with it even if it takes me a month!

What else have I been making?

2007-04-01T10:55:00.000+01:00

I have an ear infection at the moment, really hurts, but I can't watch television because it hurts and I can't hear it properly.

So on Friday I had a cardmaking blitz and this was one of the cards I made, along with the previous two that I posted.

The colors I chose to color my bella were decided by the paper. Sorry, I don't have a clue what the paper is, I have decided to be a good girl and use up all my scraps :)

This photo makes here hair look a bit weird, sorry, it doesn't look like that IRL, it's not that flat on top, honest, and if it is, I'll color it a little more to makes sure, hee hee.

If you have been living under a rock, you can find the bellas at www.stampingbella.com and the sentiment is from Papertrey at www.papertreyink.com.

Oodles of Doodles

2007-03-31T11:17:00.000+01:00

I made this card for this week's Limited Supply Challenge and it ended up looking nothing like I thought it would, that is happening to me a lot lately.

I really disliked Doodle This in the Spring Mini but then I ended up ordering it with the half price offer of buy Polka Dots and Paisley, along with matching wheel and paper and get a set for half price. I was going to order Office Accoutrements, but then with a rush of blood to the head, I ordered this one. I still only like this flower though and I think it will date quite quickly but for $15, I figure it doesn't matter!

This is the first time I have ever used Apricot Appeal as the main color, I have used it as an accent before, but never in this amount. I really like it, it is such a soft orange and it seems to go with quite a lot of colors, so I think I will be using it far more often.

I am using lots more eyelets too, now I have my trusty crop-a-dile. I just love that tool if you'll pardon the expression, lol.

I have a dilemma

2007-03-31T11:14:00.000+01:00

This card is for the Color Challenge on Splitcoast this week. I bought this Magenta stamp from ebay and I have a dilemma, I can't decide whether it is a Christmas stamp or not. I am veering towards it being poinsettias and holly, so if it is, woohoo, I have made my first Christmas card this year. :)

The colors I have used are Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive, More Mustard and Cool Caribbean. It is hard to tell but there are stickles on the centre of every flower for a little bling.

So what do you think? Christmas or not?

It's an old one!

2007-03-30T14:14:00.000+01:00

Wow! I haven't made a card all week! Shock! Horror! Where's my mojo?

I had some new goodies arrive yesterday including the gorgeous Au Chocolat paper, ooooooooh, it's delicious! So, hopefully my mojo has climbed into the box and is having a good sleep! :)

Anyway, here is a card I made and never uploaded, it was for the pocket card class.

I can't remember what 12 x 12 paper I used, but it was such a simple card, took me about 30 minutes, and I never and I mean NEVAH make a card in less than 2 hours!

The rubber stamps are from Papertrey.

I promise, this is a one-off

2007-03-28T16:17:00.000+01:00

I promise, I am only going to do this on my blog once, because as my son is adopted, it is important to maintain his anonymity, but I am just so amazingly proud of him. And this blog is about my stamping life and not my family life really.
I don't talk about him on my blog very much, but he is truly the most beautiful thing in my life, he gives me and his dad so much joy, laughter and happiness.
He has severe dyspraxia (I think in the US it is called apraxia) and ADHD, with very severe verbal dyspraxia and he now attends a speech and language unit to help with his educational problems.
Anyway, last night Rob and I went to watch him in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with his mainstream school year (the Speech and Language Unit is attached to a mainstream school), he was a hedgehog, one of the woodland animals, and although I am his mum, he was amazing.
He is in the picture with Sneezy and a mouse. He has come so far in so short a period of time. At 4, he was incredibly shy, incredibly lacking in confidence and very aware that no-one could understand a word that he said. He used to cry constantly, hide at the back, fidget and not sing. Last night,at 7, he was hamming it up like a good un. He was singing on the stage, reading the words of the song off a projector behind the audience (he still has extreme difficulty with reading), smiling, laughing, over-acting and having so much fun with his friends and I was soooo proud.
So forgive me this one indulgence in talking about my family, but yesterday was a good day! :)

Design team cards

2007-03-27T09:09:00.000+01:00

OK, I know this card is a little "out there" but it was designed around the Cactus Pink ribbon that I received from Ribbon Mad the company I design for.

I love my Cactus Pink decades dingbats stamp set that I have and it matched the ribbon, so I just had to use it. Although in the picture the dark color looks black, it is actually chocolate chip. So the colors I used are Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Real Red and Creamy Caramel.

The sentiment is from SU's Out of This World and I think this card is perfect for an older boy's birthday, kinda 8-13, especially over here in the UK where my son and his friends do not appreciate "cute cards"!

Another butterfly

2007-03-26T13:03:00.000+01:00

OK, I promise to put this set down now, lol. I just can't seem to leave it alone!

The butterflies are stamped in Cool Caribbean and over-embossed with silver. The Caribbean piece has curly circles stamped in Caribbean and whisper white craft.

I think the ribbon looks like butterfly wings.

OK, OK, I promise to use a different set for the rest of the week, lol!

Butterfly Kisses

2007-03-25T10:02:00.000+01:00

I just can't seem to put this set down. It is by Paper Trey and is called Butterfly Kisses. I used it today with one of my favorite 12 x 12 papers, Chatterbox Parlor Paisley and Parlor stripe.

My eyelets are so wonky, but hey, they add character! :)

Inks I used are Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant and voila, one very simple card!

Coaster box

2007-03-24T20:16:00.000Z

I am a design team member for Ribbon Mad and if you are in the UK, you can find them here.

This month, Carole the owner sent me the most beautiful kit that included a gorgeous bag of brown ribbon and some really cute Cactus Pink papers and ribbons.

As you may have gathered, I absolutely adore ribbon, so it was a real honour to be picked by Carole for the design team, and I just have the best time making things for her.

I made this coaster box with the chocolate ribbon that Ribbon Mad sent me. I used Basic Grey Urban Couture papers and my trusty scallop punch.

I also used the Happy Harmony set by Stampin Up and all the bits and bobs came in the ribbon kit, the flowers, the brads, the buttons etc.

I think I am going to fill this box with chocolates for my mum. She is diabetic and so can only have a few at a time, so I get her some diabetic chocolates from Thorntons. I hope she likes it!

What's with all the baby cards?

2007-03-24T08:50:00.000Z

Don't ask me why, but I seem to making lots of baby cards at the moment. I don't know anyone who's pregnant, so it's really weird. But I do love making them.

This one is so simple. Guess what, a cuttlebugged background! :) Then the baby bottle is made using my cuttlebug and the ribbon slider is Riveting by Stamping Up. If I made this card again, I think I would sponge the edges slightly, this card is a little soulless and I think that sponging the edges of an image always adds life and movement. Ah well, next time! :)

I find simplicity so hard

2007-03-23T16:12:00.000Z

This is yet another simple card as I try really hard to keep my cards simple and elegant.

I originally did this in brown but I was really unhappy with it, it was so blaaaaah! It just didn't have any lfe, so I asked a friend her opinion and she said it needed some bling and maybe needed to be done in a different color.

So I took her advice and pierced a lot of the card including some of the image and I added some rhinestones. It's hard to see in the picture, but I embossed the image in Iridescent Ice embossing powder, so it is quite sparkly!

The swirl is Rhonna Farrer swirls one and the sentiment is me using my Paper Tray set yet again! :) It can be found here www.papertrey.com

I love being RAKed

2007-03-23T08:11:00.000Z

I love being RAKed and who doesn't, so I was so excited to get this card in the mail, isn't it just adorable, I love it? It was from Cindy Keery and you can find her blog here http://imagine-dream-create.blogspot.com/ I read her blog every day and she is so talented and interesting, she also has an amazing ability with watermarks that goes way over my head.

But thank you Cindy, you are so kind, I love my card! :)

I love new rubbah!

2007-03-22T16:15:00.000Z

Well, in this case it's new acrylic because this is a new unmounted set by Paper Trey called Butterfly Kisses and you can find it at www.papertrey.com.

I think this is my favorite card sketch, especially if I have double sided paper, I love the way it looks and I wish I had got more of this paper, it is really cool.

The butterfly is stamped in Cameo Coral ink and then the spots are stamped in Creamy Caramel craft over the top and it is then embossed with clear embossing powder, it is so shiny and cool in real life.

I think the sentiment is so pretty too!

This one I'm not so happy with. I have used Basic Grey Romani paper which I love, but I think that the stamping is a bit washed out.

I stamped the butterfly in Cool Caribbean and then I stamped the floral overlay in Almost Amethyst craft and embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, but it's hard to see in the picture.

I think there is too much Caribbean, so what I might do is take the panels off and add some texture or stamping to the Caribbean base card. I think this one also needs some ribbon, so this one is a work in progress, lol! :)

A funny thing happened

2007-03-21T12:26:00.000Z

If you read me blog or look at my gallery on Splitcoast regularly, you will know that I am terrified of color, I am a real soft subtles girl, I like soft and elegant.

Anyway, my friend Jen's inkpads and craft items regularly talk to her, check out her blog, it's in the list on the right, and you'll see what I mean.

Well, unbelievably, my Bold Bright ink pads started shouting at me! They wanted to be used and they wouldn't shut up! In my craft room, I have full size pads in every color family except BB, I only have the spots, but the spots were screaming at me, they insisted on being used!

This is the card they drove me to make, lol. Sorry, more cuttlebugging after I swore I'd stay away, but it waved at me and I got distracted.

The image is SU Sassy Stems and I watercolored using my aquapainter and ink pads in Yoyo Yellow (Yucky Yellow to me), Green Galore (green gunge to me) and Ballet Blue that I love, well it is from the Rich Regal family. I covered the flowers and water with diamond glaze and in real life it looks like an epoxy sticker. The ribbon is from Jody's share that I entered, I love all my ribbon, I have a real weakness, not as bad as Jody's, but bad enough!

Finally, thanks to my crop-a-dile, I am finally using my huge stash of eyelets, love these floral eyelets.

Hopefully my ink pads will stop shouting at me now!!! :)

Chocolate Blossoms

2007-03-20T12:21:00.000Z

I'm sorry for not posting for the last week, I just haven't felt like crafting, but thank you Beate for the encouragement! :) I did try the Inspiration Challenge but my card was terrible so I binned it.

So yesterday I did the Technique Lover's Challenge which was to make a card using coffee and cream colors.

I am really happy with how this turned out, I even managed to tie the ribbon straight!

The set I used is Blossoms Abound by Stampin Up and the sentiment is by Papertrey and I really love it. You can find it here http://www.papertreyink.com/

I promise to try and post every day, lol, notice I am only promising to try! :)

On a similar theme

2007-03-14T07:58:00.000Z

I actually made this card before the one below that was for the color challenge and I much prefer this card. It is far more "my style", if there is actually any style involved in this card, hee hee!

It's what gave me the idea for the color challenge. I must admit I am far happier with a Soft Subtle ink pad in my hand than with a bold bright, but according to the number of comments I had on my Bold Bright challenge card, others prefer me with a bold bright ink pad in my hand, go figure.

I promise for the next week, I am going to stay away from my Cuttlebug embossing folders. I am beginning to bore myself. :)

Riot of Posies

2007-03-13T16:25:00.000Z

I made this for today's color challenge. It's a little bit busier than I am normally comfortable with, but I just love the American Crafts designer paper.

When you see the main flower in real life it is so bright and shiny as I stamped in craft and clear embossed it.

My new crop-a-dile arrived today and wow, I am so impressed. It is a-may-zing, I really didn't believe the hype, but it cuts through really thick chipboard with no effort at all. So, of course, I had to use it and so there are 3 little eyelets at the bottom of the card, they are quite hard to see.

Recycling!

2007-03-11T12:33:00.000Z

This is the same card from March 6th, but I took some advice from a friend and rejigged it a little. I moved the flower panel onto the green background which gave me room for the sentiment. I'm not sure that "cute" is the right sentiment, but it was the only round one in the set, lol.

My favorite part is the two lots of ribbon, I just used moss and chocolate together.

I now think that the card is far more balanced than before. The cute circle offsets the flower and it doesn't stand out so much. And the "so very" tones down the pink stripe.

Sorry, I know this post is a bit precious, lol, but I wanted to explain why I was unhappy with it and what I did to change it.

Blogger friends

2007-03-11T00:31:00.000Z

I can post this card now as Beate has received her card. This is the card I made for my stamping heroine Beate. She got it today, so that's brilliant.

How much bling can you fit on one card! Well, lots if you're me. You can't see but the centre of the flower has glitter in the centre and I had to use all my toys, it would be rude not to, lol.

So I used my Cuttlebug on the background and sanded it, because it is DCWV white core, you sand away the burgundy and are left with the white core.

I also used my new brads and my new Cuttlebug ribbon slider die. So the friends slider, slides up and down the ribbon.

I am so glad I decided to buy In Full Bloom, it is just a joy to use and is rapidly turning into one of my favorite sets. I don't think you can make a bad card with it.

My new philosophy today is to actually send out more of my cards, so if you are on the Blogger RAK list or on my Chatter thread (you know who you are), expect a card or gift really soon, the Chatters laugh at me, I am so behind on my RAKs. But I sent some out last week and I will send more this week, yes that means you Kim, Lisa and Carolina!

Oh my gosh, that's bright

2007-03-09T14:19:00.000Z

This is the card I did for today's Limited Supply Challenge to use only Bold Brights. Now this is a challenge for me, I am not a BB girl. I like soft subtles or earth elements.

But I think this turned out OK. The 12 x 12 paper is by Doodlebug and this helped with the overall choice of colors. The colors remind me of ice cream and children and especially the beach!

Guess what? Another card that's been cuttlebugged. Wow, I am certainly getting my money's worth out of that machine, I love it. A card looks naked with no cuttlebugging on it now, lol!

Lazy card

2007-03-08T13:49:00.000Z

This is a card I made for the color challenge on Tuesday and I am labelling it my lazy card. All the elements except the Cuttlebugged pieces are from the Simply Delightful scrapping kit by Stampin Up. So there was no stamping involved, just stickers!

I should definitely do more of these cards because they are sooooo cute! :) And more importantly sooo easy, which fits in with my new mantra of no stressing!

I'm neurotic!

2007-03-07T11:21:00.000Z

As you may have gathered by now if you read my blog, I am completely neurotic! I'm ok with that though!

I put way too much worry into a card, it is just a piece of flipping paper at the end of the day, but no I have to turn a piece of paper into the Mona Lisa!

I am trying really hard though to stop being so neurotic and just make something I like.

Well today, I have made a card that I absolutely love! HURRAH! you all shout! :)

I love this card. It is using Imeldabella from www.stampingbella.com. I also used my new, favorite sentiment set Paper Tray from www.papertreyink.com. The double sided paper is from Pebbles Inc.

The thing I always struggle on the most is the layout of my card, so last night I decided to print out all the old sketch challenges from Splitcoast and just pick the ones that I like and didn't try the first time around. Why didn't I do this earlier? They have really inspired me.

My favorite part of this card, the frayed ribbon! :) It is the Technique Lover's Challenge this week and I think the frayed ribbon really looks like hair! I know, I know, it doesn't really, but I think it does.

I didn't like this stamp

2007-03-06T13:45:00.000Z

I bought this stamp on my shopping expedition on Saturday and I got it home and decided I didn't like it any more. It is Aspire by Penny Black and I thought it was one of their brushstroke stamps, but it isn't, it's tiny little flowers.

But then Jody (TexasJodyLynn) showed me some cards she had made with the set and it was the one that I had liked when she had made her cards, so I had bought the right stamp.

You just have to use water to spray on the stamp to make it run slightly. So this is my first attempt with the stamp. I'm not 100% happy with it, but then as you are learning if you read my blog, I tend not to be happy with a lot that I make, lol. The ribbon and the layered piece are chocolate not black!

I do like the cuttlebugged piece, but I didn't make the stamp run enough. And wow, I am finally using my primas! Don't hoard is my mantra at the moment, because I just get bored with things so quickly, I need to use them up!

I nearly exploded!

2007-03-05T13:59:00.000Z

Oh my goodness! Look what I got in the mail today! I nearly exploded with excitement! lol! This beautiful card is from Beate, thank you so much, I love it!

Beate also wrote the most gorgeous note inside the card too. Wow, just wow! Thank you Beate, I was so touched!

Now I have to get over my insecurity and send one to you! Consider it done! Great big hugs, sweetie!

ATC swap

2007-03-04T12:04:00.000Z

I have finally done it. This is the ATC for the swap. I think it turned out well. I love the little shrinky tag.

The paper is just gorgeous, it is by Me and My Big Ideas.

So, for today, my big drama is over! :) I have done my ATCs and hopefully I will remember to put them in the mail tomorrow.

I have also sorted out my crafting messy cupboard and I found my glitters, woohoo! I have missed my glitter.

Also, I bought a stamp set yesterday and I have lost it already. I am getting scattier by the day! I really need to get more organised in life in general, so I might swing by the Fly Ladies website for some advice!

Sorry guys!

2007-03-03T20:52:00.000Z

Sorry guys, no new card today. I took Fi and 2 ladies from our craft club to our favorite stamp store. It is about 50 miles from where I live, but it is so worth the journey. 50 miles is a big deal when you live in the UK, I know 50 miles is your local neighborhood in the US :).
I bought so many cute things, I bought cute scrapbooking paper, a couple wooden stamps, some really cool skateboarding boy clear stamps and ribbon slider die cuts for my Cuttlebug.
And even better I have come up with an ATC design that I am happy with, so I am so much happier today! I'll post it tomorrow, I promise!

ATC

2007-03-02T16:08:00.000Z

I am a member of an ATC swap on Splitcoast and I am finding it so difficult. Afer all my protestations of I will no longer feel the pressure, I will do what I like, I am feeling stressed.

I think it is because this is only the second ATC I have made. I don't make them, so I don't feel comfortable doing them and I don't feel confident in a way I do when I make a card that I like.

Gosh, I'm neurotic, lol!

I don't really like this ATC, so back to the drawing board for me. I am going shopping tomorrow to my favorite craft store about 80 miles from me! I'll see if I can find some inspiration there, I certainly flipping hope so! :)

I don't seem to have made much since the pocket cards, but I have put all my stuff away and my craft room is tidy again, so I think I'll go and try to create! I'm an artiste, darling! :)

More pockets

2007-03-01T17:21:00.000Z

Sorry, I know it's another pocket but I haven't made anything else this week as I had to make samples for the class. The ladies loved making the pocket cards, so that was really good.

I hate the day after a craft club night though, because I still have to put all my stuff away! If I don't do it

straight away, it sits there for ages whilst I try to ignore that it's there! 4 boxes and 2 great big huge bags of stamps need to be put away!

Can you believe this is the first time I have used Happy Harmony, isn't it a cute set. I love it!

Pocket cards

2007-02-28T13:23:00.000Z

I have craft club tonight and Fi and I are teaching pocket cards. They are great for teaching as they are easy for beginners but you can dress them up if you are a more advanced crafter, but I must confess, I don't like them. They are too restrictive for decorating!

I may have tied the ribbon too tight on this one, lol.

The stamp is Flowahbella by www.stampingbella.com and the background is made using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. If you don't have a Cuttlebug yet, seriously consider it, because I just adore mine. I use it all the time because it is so portable, my sizzix I hated because it was too heavy and cumbersome to keep moving about!

The insert matches the card. I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder again and

then the sentiment is called Paper Tray and it is designed by Nicole Heady and you seriously have to visit her website here http://www.papertreyink.com/ I have never seen a more beautifully packaged set of stamps in all my life. They are gorgeous sentiments too. I love, love, love this set and it has become my new favorite sentiments.

Thank you!

2007-02-27T10:41:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post yesterday, your replies were so special to me! I feel that the real blessing of my crafting is the wonderful friends I have made, so thank you so much!

This is another cracked glass card that I made for my class at the weekend. It is much less bright IRL, it is very soft and subtle. What would we do without Roses in Winter, I really feel it is the most versatile set that I own! :)

Thought provoking!

2007-02-26T09:51:00.000Z

You may have noted that over the past 2 weeks or so that I have started posting way more cards than I used to.

Well I decided to start making cards that I like. Let me clarify, much as I love Splitcoast, I was caught up in the comments/views race and I was completely paralysed by fear. I was so busy trying to make the perfect card that I ended up making nothing at all.

So I sat down and thought about why I craft. Why do I make cards? Do I make them for me? Or do I make them to try and impress the rest of the world? I lost why I make cards, I hardly ever send a card anymore and that was why I started, I wanted to make something filled with love that would cheer someone else's day.

Then just as I was deciding this, I read a post on Joan's blog here that completely encapsulated how I was feeling. It really brought home that I should be making cards that I LOVE, if I get 50 comments, great, but if I get 1 comment, that's fantastic too, one other person in the world took the time to comment on one of my cards and that's a gift!

So that is how I have now started to develop a style that I am really enjoying at the moment. I have simplified my cards, no more how much of the latest trend can I chuck on one card at the same time, no more agonising about will this impress people. I'm just having FUN and playing with sets that I have bought and haven't used.

This card I love! It is In Full Bloom embossed in gold on Fabriano card and colored using REally Rust and Old Olive reinkers. Then I just tied gold organza ribbon around the card and voila a simple, but I think, really elegant card.

Cracked glass class

2007-02-25T09:55:00.000Z

I taught a class yesterday on intermediate stamping. This was one of the example cards I made for cracked glass. I love this technique, it is so simple but lots of fun at the same time.

Who doesn't like the excitement of getting your stamped piece out of the freezer and then trying to crack it.

The set I used is SU Woodland Cottage and it is very different from my usual style, it's why I bought it! I love the Englishness of it and who wouldn't want to live in this cottage? :)

I am so blown away!

2007-02-24T22:42:00.000Z

One of my favorite stampers in the world ever today contacted me and asked me if I wanted to blog link my blog with hers. So you will find Beate's link on the right hand side of my blog. Please go and check it out, it is amazing, she really does have more talent in her little finger than most of us have in our entire bodies.
Beate is the lady that writes nearly all the tutorials for Splitcoaststampers techniques. They are my favorite resource in the world when I am getting ready for a class or a craft club meeting. You can always trust Beate to write a clear, well photographed tutorial and most importantly, you can always rely on her techniques to work. Go and check them out, the Splitcoast link is near the bottom of my links and when you get to the homepage, in the top right you will see a link for resources.
So thank you Beate for making my weekend! :)

I love black and white

2007-02-24T13:21:00.000Z

This is a card that I made using my favorite color scheme of black and white. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder on the background and the image is Stampendous Sassy Silhouettes, how cute is that image, finished off with some gingham ribbon! Voila, 5 minute card!

It's a Girl Thing!

2007-02-23T14:25:00.000Z

This is the girl version of the boy card that I did yesterday. The baby background was made using A Muse polka dot alphabet stamps. I used the same stamp as yesterday, but I think the card looks really different, especially with the heart buttons in the bottom corner.
I urge everyone in the UK to rush out and buy the circle and oval scalloped punches, I love mine. They are made by Woodware over here and are much easier to find than in the US. Marvy make them in the US and they are virtually impossible to buy!

What I did last week!

2007-02-22T19:38:00.000Z

This was another simple card that I did last week for submission. It is so simple but hopefully still cute.

The ribbon is from Jody and I have fallen head over heels in love with my stripy ribbon!

I heard from the Rubber Stamper today and they are interested in some of the cards that I emailed them. I am so blown away, I really wasn't expecting anything, but shows you that you should just try and see what happens.

My redesigned card

2007-02-21T18:58:00.000Z

I am a much happier bunny today. I went back and redid the insert for my criss cross card, I never redesign, I always throw away, so I am really proud of myself. I really like how it turned out and I am glad I went back and had another go.

I will make another card with the old insert.

Another card

2007-02-21T10:41:00.000Z

I made this card during my cardmaking frenzy, I think it's going to either be a card submission or my mom's mother's day card. It is such an easy card to make, just stamped in Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac. Then the leaves are stamped in Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke.

I used Itty Bitty Backgrounds for the aging and I also sponged the cardstock with Mellow Moss.

I used more of Jody's ribbon and I cuttlebugged the main card.

Voila, one very quick, very straightforward card.

Not a happy bunny!

2007-02-20T11:32:00.000Z

This is the card I made for the Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS and I'm not happy with it, it's way toooooooo busy!

I really like the envelope of the criss cross, I just don't like the insert, I may have to redo that. I like how the trees Three turned out I just don't think it goes with the Big Pieces and designer paper, they are all competing too much for the eye.

I completely forgot that I am teaching a class on Saturday morning and I have done no preparation. I am teaching intermediate stamping, so I think I'm going to do cracked glass, waterfall and coloring onto stamps, there's nothing like being ambitions, hahahahaha! So off to make some samples! :)

Productive weekend

2007-02-19T08:08:00.000Z

I was just playing with some of my new sets over the weekend and this is one of them, what a cute set, I really like it!

I actually managed to get more cards done in a weekend than I usually do in a month! Huh!

Anyway, I have been really good about cutting into my new 12 x 12 paper, it is soooo cute and I watercolored with reinkers, such an easy quick card, I need to make more of these than the 27 layers, 4 sheets of cardstock productions that I usually do, lol.

On the Bleach

2007-02-18T10:45:00.000Z

I am trying to make some cards to submit to various magazines and this is one I came up with last night.

I think it looks quite cute. The main image is bleached out and then recolored in with bleach in an aquapainter.

One of my favorite stampers, Linda Bullard, does this a lot and her cards are just amazing, so I decided to do a simple version of her cards.

Jody, your ribbon makes all the difference to how professional my cards look. So thank you honey!

So do you think I should submit this to a magazine?

Is It Summer Yet?

2007-02-17T11:11:00.000Z

This is a card I did for Friday's challenge on SCS, it was to make a summer card. I don't really have any summer stamps and the ones I do have, Fi has borrowed and taken with her to her mum's.

So what could I do for the challenge. I know, use my cricut!

So that's what I did, the sundae is made in 2 layers. The blue background is done with my cuttlebug embossing folder. I am in love with these, they add the most fantastic texture to your cards.

My brain has melted!

2007-02-16T12:13:00.000Z

This is the card I made for the Way to Use it challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The challenge was to use a website for inspiration!

Well Cindy Haffner, one of my favorite stampers in the world, used the site I was going to use and I didn't really want to do a technique.

So what did I decide? Yep, teabag folding. I absolutely love teabag folding, it satisfies the maths geek in me! I had a complete blast doing it!

Colors are a bit out there for me, but I had to use the colors from the paper, Cool Caribbean, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose. I also had some cool American Crafts ribbon to match. I think it turned out to be really cute!

Today's challenge

2007-02-12T16:21:00.000Z

This is what I did for the challenge today on Splitcoast, it was to make 4 cards using 1 stamp set, 1 background, 1 sentiment set and the same colors in each. I am so happy with how these cards turned out.

It took me the best part of half a day to do but thank you for the challenge Beth, it was so much fun.

I have been meaning to do the rock and roll technique with Roses in Winter for ages and I just never got around to it, so this was the perfect challenge to do this.

I used Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme and Blush Blossom, I always think of CC and TT as Christmas colors but not anymore, I think they work really well with Roses in Winter!

Sorry about the big gap in the photos, I don't know how to fix it!

Outside my comfort zone

2007-02-12T13:22:00.000Z

I made this card yesterday for the Ways to Use It challenge on Splitcoast for this week. The challenge was to use Glorious Green and I have discovered that boy this is an ugly color! I hadn't even registered it on my radar before this as Bold Brights is my least liked color group anyway. I would quite happily live without at least half the colors in that group.

Anyway, back to the card! I used Making Memories Boho Chic papers and they are way bolder than the colors I usually use. I am a crafter who likes clean and simple and so this card was a real stretch for me. I also distressed the edges which I find really challenging, all I needed to do was tear and this card would have had everything on it that I struggle with.

I am not 100% happy with this card, the green on the front panel has softened too much by watercoloring and it needs something to pull it all together I think, but I will pull it apart and try something else.

My mojo is obviously still hungover because it is driving all over the road at the moment. I need to just get back to my style, I think, and concentrate on actually making more stuff.

Luke is on half-term this week, so I usually find it easier to create as I get more sleep than usual! So I'm off to do the Monday challenge on Splitcoast.

Before I do, I just want to say thank you to Lisa, her blog is on the right, for my birthday present, I will photograph it for you and load it onto my blog this week. She made me a friendship book in the most beautiful purse/handbag. Lisa, thank you, your talent takes my breath away!

Fun card

2007-02-11T12:18:00.000Z

Here's a fun card I made for a friend. I used DCWV black and white paper for their clothes and surprise, surprise I used my embossing folders for the backgrounds.

The "friends" sentiment is made using my Cricut. I think this turned out to be a really quick, cute, fun card. I hope she likes it!

It's my birthday today!

2007-02-05T17:16:00.000Z

Well, it's my birthday today, I'm 40 yikes! But that's ok because I still feel 14 in my head, lol! I have had a lovely day, my husband ordered a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me, that's the first time in 20 years together he did that. He buys me flowers all the time, but he brings them home.

My 7 year old is completely overexcited. He loves birthdays and insists on blowing out the candles on YOUR cake at least 5 times!

I thought I would share another card I did for VSN over the weekend, this poor card has been cuttlebugged to within an inch of its life and the cupcake was cut out using my Cricut. I have to say I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Now I'm off out to dinner with my family! Hugs to everyone who reads my little rambles!

The thing I love about VSN

2007-02-04T22:45:00.000Z

Do you know what it is that I absolutely love about VSN? It is to try a new technique that you have been meaning to try, but then you never get around to it. Well, this card is one of those occasions. I have been meaning to try the Magic Snowflake technique for ages, but just never got around to it. Well I got the chance to try it today and I am so happy with how this turned out. You can find the technique here

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/magicsnowflake.php and if you are British rubbing alcohol is surgical spirits which you can buy at Boots, but you have to ask for it.

I am really happy with how this turned out and I can't wait to try it again!

It's VSN night again

2007-02-03T14:40:00.000Z

It's VSN at Splitcoaststampers, my favorite time and I am feeling really ill. How typical is that, I have managed to do one challenge which was to make a card for Old Broads Day!

It's quite hard to read, but the sentiments says "I'm not young.....I just have a great plastic surgeon!"

I am just completely in love with these Bellas from www.stampingbella.com, they really appeal to me because they are modern, fresh and funky!They are also so reasonable priced it seems rude not to, lol!

Now I'm going back to my sick bed for a while to get some rest so that I can maybe get some of the rest of VSN done!

Much happier

2007-02-01T13:32:00.000Z

Here is my card re-jigged from yesterday and I am much happier with it. Island Blossoms is the set I go to if I have made a hash of a card. I love this set and I am so sad it never made the catalog because it was a hostess set.

All I did was rip the yucky bits off, I kept the Cuttlebug templated background (how cool is that) and just changed the brad and the color of the striped card. I then mounted the flowers that I had cut out on dimensionals (foam pads) and voila, one much happier crafter!

I'm a little off at the moment!

2007-01-31T15:58:00.000Z

This card was for today's card sketch challenge on splitcoaststampers, but I am really not happy with it, the balance of it is off. The baby heads are too big and the tag doesn't look straight in the gap, even though it is, so back to the drawing board for me!

I like the background so I'm going to try to save that and do something different with the diagonal stripe!

Cuttlebug

2007-01-30T14:10:00.000Z

The ladies at the craft club I run think I'm mad and they might be right! lol! But I am terrible for having to have the latest craft toy. So what did I do when I was fed upover the weekend, I ordered a Cuttlebug. For those of you that have been under a rock, or live in the UK, it amounts to the same thing, a Cuttlebug is a die-cutting machine.
But more excitingly, it dry embosses too! I had 2 embossing folders arrive yesterday, Birthday and Congratulations. Excitingly, they work in a Sizzix until my Cuttlebug arrives. Unfortunately, I can't show the results of my playing because I made some samples for the design team I work for at www.ribbonmad.co.uk.
But I promise to come up with something soon and I'll post it I promise!

Cricut

2007-01-24T16:03:00.000Z

This is a card I made to submit for a design team job. I have decided not to submit it because it is too simple. I made it using my Cricut die cutter and some primas that Lisa sent me. Thanks honey!

It is very simple but easy to do. Now back to the drawing board! :)

I am also determined to get published this year, so I am going to make some cards over the next week to send to magazines, I can but try you never know.

Other bit of news, Stampin Up is coming to the UK, I am so happy about it! I just so want to be a demo for them. They have such great products at really reasonable prices and nearly every card I make is made with their stuff, so I am really happy to not have to buy them off ebay!

I found out today why my photos have been so terrible, my 7 year old has been sticking his manky fingers all over the lens of the camera! Took me ages to clean it! But at least my photos won't look like I have been taken them in the fog now!

Yucky! Yucky! Yucky

2007-01-22T17:02:00.000Z

What drugs was I taking over the weekend? This card is hideous! I am teaching a dry embossing class next week and this is one of the cards I made for that class, although I don't think it will be leaving the house!

I like the ribbon and the Basic Grey paper, but it doesn't go with the pink card and the lilac piece looks vile, ah well maybe I can save the paisley peice with the ribbon on and just change the rest. Back to the drawing board for me, I think!

Why can't I take a decent photo?

2007-01-22T16:56:00.000Z

Why, oh why, oh why can't I take a decent photo? My camera just doesn't like taking photos, sigh! So it's my camera's faulty, not mine!

Anyway, this is the card I made for this week's technique lover's challenge on Splitcoaststampers. We had a choice today as it is TLC100! I chose color blocking! It is hard to see but all of the pieces except the friend piece has backgrounds stamped on it. The friend piece is a shaker, I am pleased with how this turned out! But I did cheat I have a piecing template which makes color blocking so much easier.

I'm also getting much better at using stuff, lol, there are 6, count them, 6 brads on this card! Now I just need to start using my 12 x 12 paper!