Friday 25 September 2009

I hope you know how much I care

Hello,
One last card to share. I finished this one yesterday and was on special request by my mum for my eldest sister, who 's going for an op. So the items are chosen by my mum, with a little help of course, or we still wouldn't have a card. Decisions, decisions,...
Supplies: paper by Basic Grey June Bug, green Coordinations cardstock, Cuttlebug Swiss dots, Spellbinders Deckled rectangles, Stamps: Whiff of Joy and lace rubberstamp -forgotten the brand-, Hero Arts sentiment, ink by Tsukineko and Ranger, Copics, Stickles and Anita's 3D glaze, flowers by Prima and Hero Arts, yellow ribbon and button brad by Memory Makers, Pearl Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels, lace from John Lewis.
I machine stitched the lace onto the card, although it was hard to do because of the embossed dots the card kept jumping left and right.
Hope my sister will like her card and I wish her love and a speedy recovery.

Turkey season

Hi,
As I promised, another autumn card. Just had to use the Stretch Your Imagination Turkey. When would you otherwise put a turkey on a card? It had to be a super ridiculous one with long legs. My other half says it's a cross between a flamingo. Could be right if the legs were pink...
Supplies: paper by K&Co Wild Saffron, cardstock by Coordinations, black card from stash, Cricut Stretch Your Imagination cart for the card, turkey and autumn, Cuttlebug dots, Woodware 3" and 2.5" inch punches, Stick it 3D transparent dots, Copic Ciao, Jumbo Java ink by Tsukineko, Basic Grey precision file set.
The scalloped card is cut with the Cicut in 5" using the same cart.
Hope you like my crazy card and thanks for looking.

Thinking of fall

Hello, I am finally back with more to post. I managed to squeeze in some time to craft. I promised my mum to make a mini scrapbook of her holiday here, so she has something to look back when she goes home. So I'm sorry if cards will be off the menu for the next week. Autumn has started and this is what I made:

Supplies: paper by We 'Re MemoryMakers Nonsense collection, orange and green card from stash, Doodlecharms Cartridge Cricut, Copics, Brilliance ink by Tsukineko, Martha Stewart border punch, Fiskars tag punch, paper distresser, Xcut large corner rounder punch, black Sakura Identi-pen.

The pumpkins and leaf border are cut with the Cricut and then colored with Copic Ciao's and Brilliance ink. The ink for the cheeks, I applied with a small paintbrush and inked the 2 tags.

The Doodlecharms cart has many seasonal/occasional images and resembles in that way the Stretch Your Imaginations cart. It is the latest cart I bought and it was in reduction at Hobbycraft for £34 a steal, normally they are £70-£60 and I would NEVER buy them from Hobbycraft. Provocraft has got new carts and the Child's Life is grabbing my attention. Will be on the Christmas wishlist, amongst the A and C set from the Copics and a whole lot of Martha Stewart punches and Basic Grey papers. I 'll need to be extra good for the dear santa hubby...

Keep looking another card coming up soon.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

All creatures great and small...

Hello,
Finally back! I've abandoned my blog and cards for a while. My mum is now here and I 've been to busy shopping with her. Evening comes and I am just too exhausted. Next week my other half has annual leave too. Will be even more busy!
Oh, I 'm a really bad photographer...
I like to share a really easy card with you. The card is made with the Cricut and has a nicely scalloped edge. I just used leftover pieces over different colored card and machine stitched them together. I added some ribbon from Hobbycraft. I cut a tree from the Stretch your imagination cart and layered the leaves several times and added Stickles. The scalloped border is also cut with the Cricut. I then added some puffed stickers from Paperchase.
I am in the middle of making autumn-inspired cards, maybe I will finish them tomorrow and post the pictures. I also made a scrapbook layout from our recent trip to the New Forest. I need to find a way now to take a decent picture of these big pages

Friday 11 September 2009

Coming soon...

Hello,
Just quickly share this second card I made this week to send to my mum. Only one more week and we 'll be collecting her from Belgium to stay with us.
She 's already finished her packing. Says a lot...
Supplies: paper - Memory Keepers Nonsense Collection stitched to the card, the car is cut with the Cricut Doodlecharms in 2 colors of card. I colored the car a darker yellow with Copics, Silver Ice Stickles, ink - Jumbo Java from Tsukineko, flower - American Crafts, sequin - Beadshoppe, brad - MemoryMakers, felt butterflies - craft supply, rub-ons - DecalDry.

7th Anniversary card

Hello,
I know, it's been a while. I 've been really busy at work and trying to get everything organised, for next week Saturday my mother is coming over to stay a fortnight with us. It 's been more than 2 years since she's been and we 're all looking forward to our holiday. We are going to Wales, but she doesn't know it yet.
Wednesday we celebrated our 7th anniversary, though we both had to work, we tried to make it really special. I made this card for my love and he spoilt me with a lovely dress from East.
Supplies: paper: MemoryMakers Ledger pad, Marianne Design - ink: Jumbo Java from Tsukineko - chipboard: DCWV Spring collection - rub-ons: Doodlebug and Flair design - "seven"-border diecut with the Cricut Graphically Speaking cartridge - white ribbon: craft supply - white Sugar Coating from Doodlebug.
A close up view of the lovely ledger paper from MakingMemories. It has this romantic text that fits really well with the intention of the card. The inside of the card is also decorated with paper and rub-ons.

Tuesday 8 September 2009

Hope, a sympathy card

Hello,
Just finished my late shift and I 'm not ready for bed yet. I need to unwind first, so I'll share a card I 've made for a colleague who 's recently lost her mother. Really feel for her as she also just got married and then lost her mom.
I made a bit of an effort with this card, but I think it paid off.
Supplies: paper: Basic Grey Porcelain,white card: Anita's, olive cardstock: DCWV, ink: Ranger and Tsukineko, Pearl glimmer mist from Tattered Angels, stamps: Crafty Individuals and Tesco for the little rose, rub-on from DCWV's Rub0on quote stack, flowers from Prima, flourish is die-cut with the Cricut's Storybook cartridge.
Here 's a close-up to show you the stamped rose background with the rub-on over the top.
I like how all the colors fit together and give the card a certain feel. I find it the most difficult type of card to make, because I am never sure about the colors and if I say too much or too little.
My colleague liked it anyway, but more I hope she'll be strenghtend by knowing that I'm thinking of her.

Thursday 3 September 2009

Water works

Hello,
Like I promised; won't waste the Doodlebug paper. Here are 2 cards I made with the leftovers.
Probably one of the last summer themed card of the year I 'll be making. Although... never say this for sure. It will depend on my mood and the sun. At least it was sunny today. I'm hoping for a bright and beautiful autumn. We 'll be heading off to the New Forest then. Love the colors and smells.
These cards are made using the Cricut's Graphically speaking cart. I was wondering what to make with the water theme. Thought it would be a nice summer card.
The cardstock is from an old supply I bought in Belgium. It 's a pastel stack with fading colors. I don't remember where I got the bright yellow from. The bubbles are also cut with the Cricut and layered 4 times.
These 2 cards are just slightly different and although I didn't take a picture, the inside is also decorated with stickers.
The ribbon is from Hobbycraft and attached with glue dots. I used stickers from my Sandylion collection. I have collected so many of these over the years, never intending to use them until now. They match well with the colors and the water theme and they are sparkly... What more can you want.
The buttons and rings are from Autumn Leaves' French Twist. I do like this little bag of buttons which I bought at Crafts U Love. The funny thing was that they had added these rings, no button at all. Unless you would sew it with a rope and knot. Here is a close-up to let you see.Hope you like it. I am now working on a scrapbook layout of our last trip to the New Forest. So that will keep me out of mischief for a while. Have a nice day, thanks for looking.

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Happy Birthday Mini Quartet

Hello,
I finished these mini cards a while ago. They 're great fun to make. All the stamps come in one set from Inkadinkado. It also includes the little "Got Cake?" mammal, I used in another card. The paper is from Doodlebug Happy Birthday Boy. I would actually never buy this kind of paper, but it was the first -and the last time- I did buy a lucky dip paper bundle from Crafts U Love. It might be good for someone just starting to craft and if you don't know yet what you like making. But it has been good as it allows me to use some items I have in stock which I haven't really used for years -like the balloon brads-. Even the bright blue buttons from the 99p store, the 2-sided ribbon I got from my mother and the gemstones from the kids craft corner in John Lewis -what was I thinking?-.
The stamp set on the other hand I really like. I bumped into this set by accident. We went on a shopping trip to Bluewater and in a hobby store over there they had it priced for 2.35£?? That must have been an error, because they had no sale on. Just my lucky day! They also had quite a bit of the Basic Grey Papers and card making sets. So I ate my heart out...LOL.All the cards are cut using the Cricut's Stretch Your Imagination cart. The different patterned papers are then inked with Aloe Vera and Sea Breeze Dew drops VersaMagic. All images have been colored with Whispers and I also used some Lime Ice Stickles.Te light blue and green dotted ribbons are from Hobbycraft. The small buttons are from Autumn Leaves's French Twist.The fun thing about using the Cricut is that I can now also cut out the exact size envelopes to go with the cards, making it easier to send them. I like how the cards have turned out. I have started to "agree" with the paper, doesn't mean that I like it yet. As it is 12x12 size, I will be using the left over rather than throwing it away. I wish I knew who I could give my unloved craft stuff to. I 'm collecting it in a bag. I 've read on someones blog that there is a charity that makes cards for people in hospital, but that was in America. Should be one in the UK too.