Totally Dotty!

Hi everyone, now I know that you will probably all think I'm describing myself with the above title, but actually NO! It's all about today's card.
I have a real soft spot for this image (don't ask me why 'cos I've no idea) and as my card seems to fit quite a few challenges too, I'm entering it for the following, so here we go:

Totally Papercrafts - It's Raining Cats and Dogs
Crafts and Me - Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Polka Dots
I Love Promarkers Challenge - The 1950's
 
Card Details:
* Image - PC Crafter 'Lady Ladybug'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Jak Heath 'Polka Black'
* Punch - EK Success 'Photo Corners'
* Everything else from my stash

I haven't been about much in Blogland for the last few days (blame house renovations again) but I'm hoping to get to visit all my favourite places again soon.

Sketch N Stash DT Card #90

Hi everyone, it's time for another challenge over at Sketch N Stash and this fortnight it's a free choice from our sketch archives.
I chose Sketch 42 and decided to go with a vintage image this time. I haven't added embellishments or a sentiment as I'm not sure what I shall use it for just yet.

Card Details:
* Image - Harrison Fisher 'Roses'
* Dies - Spellbinders 'Fleur De Lis squares'
* Papers - Joanna Sheen and K & Co
* Punch - MS PATP 'Eyelet Lace' and 'Embossed Butterfly Border'
* Everything else from my stash

We are lucky enough to have Di's Digi Downloads sponsoring us for this challenge and they are offering our winner 5 digi images of their choice.

We'd love you to join in with us, so pop over to the challenge blog for inspiration from the DT and see if you were lucky enough to win or be one of the Top 3 from our last challenge.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:
Crafts and Me Challenge -  Pearls and Roses
The ABC Challenge - R for Romance

 

A Couple More Cards For Men

Hi everyone,

I'm back with some more male cards, will I ever get a chance to make girly ones again?

This card is for my nephew and as he has recently passed his driving test and inherited his Mum's car I thought this image would be perfect for him (not the same make of car as his, but hey, you can't have everything)

Card Details:
* Image - Charmed Cards - 'Driving Mikey'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers and pencils
* Papers - K & Co.
* Sentiment - Greetings Card Factory
* Everything else from my stash

My second card is for another neighbour who has a birthday coming up. He enjoys the occasional bottle of wine, did you guess that might be the case?

Card Details:
* Image -PC Crafter - 'Kitchen Traditions'
* Papers -Crafty Ann 'Abstract Brights' and Cuddly Buddly 'Peppy Papers'
* Everything else from my stash

I thought as I was making so many masculine cards lately, I'd take the chance to enter a couple of challenges at the same time. I haven't entered any for ages, so these are for:

Charisma Cardz Challenges - Male cards
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Father's Day

 

Those Pesky Men's Cards!

Hi everyone,
Yes, I know, it's not often you see me two days in a row is it?

Since moving to our little Norfolk village last year, we've made some lovely friends and we all get together on a regular basis (any excuse for a bit of a boozy get together will do) They all seem to really like my cards too, so they're keeping me busy with lots of orders and commissions.
Anyway, it is one of our little group's birthday in a couple of weeks and so I've been making male cards, definitely NOT my favourite style!
Luckily, he has a few hobbies and plays the guitar so at least I had something to work with.

This card is from hubby and I:
Card 1 Details:
* Image - PC Crafter 'Born to be Wild' kit
* Papers - Joanna Sheen 'Fashion Boutique' CD
* Sentiment - PC generated
* Everything else from my stash

This is an 8"x 8" card from his wife:
Card 2 Details:
* Image - Crafty Ann's - Electric Guitar 1
* Colouring medium - Promarkers and pencils
* Papers - Papermania 'For Him'
* Everything else from my stash

This is from another of our group of friends:
Card 3 Details:
* Image - Mo's Digital Pencil Too - Gardener Guy
* Colouring medium - Promarkers and pencils
* Papers - K & Co
* Everything else from my stash

I'm all out of ideas for men's cards now, but hopefully I'll recover soon, as we have another male birthday next month. Oh dear!

 

Poppy Plaque

Hi everyone,

Following on from my first attempt to decorate an MDF plaque a couple of weeks ago, one of my neighbours popped in and saw it and asked if I could make her one. She wanted a plaque for her bedroom door and requested poppies and her name.
Well, I enjoyed making the first one so much that I agreed to have a go and this is the result. I was quite pleased with it and she was delighted with it (which is the main thing) What do you think?

I've just ordered some more plaques in different shapes etc. as I really had fun playing with these. I've purchased all mine from Joanna Sheen, so I know they are going to be good quality and with free and fast postage how can you go wrong? I always try to order from Joanna if I can as I think her customer service is second to none.

While I'm here, I wonder if anyone can help me? I've been looking for some 'bunting' dies or punches. I did like the Stampin' Up punch, but with nearly £5 postage I can't justify it. I ended up ordering the X-Cut dies. They are gorgeous but HUGE, they'll be fine for my larger cards but I really wanted something smaller for my 6" square cards.
Can anyone suggest anything (without a massive p&p charge please)

Thanks to Kevin and Vicky, I have now ordered the  gorgeous MB simple bunting die, exactly what I was looking for!

 

SNS DT Card #89

Hi everyone, here we are again for our fortnightly Sketch N Stash challenge and this time our sketch designer was Sarah-Jane.
I'm back to my cutie-pie images this time and I've chosen to use one of my favourite digis from Mo Manning, isn't she the sweetest little diva?
 
Card Details:
* Image - Digital Pencil Too 'Two Jill'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Papermania and English Paper Company
* Punch - EK Success 'Photo Corners'
* Everything else from my stash

Our sponsor for this fortnight is My Mum's Craft Shop and they are offering our winner a £10 voucher to spend in their online store.
"We aim to bring you the best stamping products we can find. Along with stamps we also offer essential stamping products like inks, promarkers, papers, embellishments & more"

It would be wonderful if you could join in with us, pop over to the challenge blog and see what the DT has come up with. Make sure you check to see if you were our last winner or one of our Top 3 too.

 

My First Plaque

Hi everyone, I expect you're surprised to see me posting when it's not a SNS day aren't you?

I'm sorry that I haven't been about for such a long time, but we still have so much work to do on the new house and apart from my DT cards, I've only been managing to get family and friend cards made and haven't had time to do much of anything else. However, all that changed this week.
Ages ago, I bought some MDF blanks from Joanna Sheen and I've been trying to decide what to do with them ever since (typical of me!)
I finally decided to make a plaque for my craft room door and I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, especially as it's my first attempt and I'm absolutely useless at making projects.

 In case any of you are interested in how I made it, here is a little resume:
Firstly, I lightly sanded the plaque and then painted it with a matchpot in 'Ivory' once it was dry I swiped over the whole thing with 'Antique Linen' and 'Vintage Photo' Distress Pads.
The little frame was made from Capricious Scraps 'Spontaneous Delight' kit and the text was done on my PC. For the image I used the sweet 'Krafty Kate' from Saturated Canary and flipped it so I had a mirror image too.
The flowers are from my stash and they and the images were coloured with Promarkers. I finally added the pearls, flower centres and some garden string to hang it from and that's it!

I really enjoyed making this and as I have some little MDF hearts I may have a go at those next (I know, the best laid plans etc.) I thought maybe if I stamped them with angels or something I could use them for the christmas tree this year.
I'll let you know how it goes!
 

SNS DT Card #88

Hi everyone, time for another challenge over at Sketch N Stash today and our latest sketch has been designed by Jen. Isn't it a lovely one, I thought it was an absolutely perfect style and sure to suit any type of card.

I fancied doing something different from my usual cute or vintage styles and as I really like these 'home and furniture' style images I thought I'd try using one for a change.
I was quite pleased with how it turned out and thought it could be used for a number of occasions, for this reason I haven't put a sentiment on it yet.

Card Details:
* Image - DZ Doodles 'Tea Chair'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - K & Co and DCWV
* Die - Marianne Dies 'Chinese Rose'
* Everything else from my stash

We are being sponsored by two wonderful companies this time

Tracy at Dies to Die for is offering one lucky winner a £10 voucher

"We don't just sell die cuts, in addition to these great shapes, we have embellishments, stickers and rubber stamps."

                                                                               and

 

Mei Flowers are offering a second winner a £20 voucher to spend in their store
"MeiFlower.co.uk is your one stop shop for all things pretty and nice :-)
If you're looking for something to add that extra special touch to your card making, something unique and beautiful to your wedding invitations or just some pretty ribbon to add to your collection...... we are the place to be!"

Two fabulous reasons to join in with us this time.

Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the other DT cards, they are gorgeous (as always) and will hopefully give you lots of inspiration. While you're there, check to see if you were our last winner or one of our Top 3.

 

Sketch N Stash DT Card #87

 Hi everyone, it's time for another challenge from Sketch N Stash and this week it was Andie's turn to create a gorgeous sketch.
As you can see I changed it slightly (if I'm honest, I stuck the ribbon in the wrong place, so had to juggle things about a bit!)

Card Details:
* Image - Housework Diva
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Everything else from my stash

I actually used a 'real' stamp as opposed to a digi one this time and that's a rare thing for me, the reason being I am the world's messiest stamper. I'd only opened the ink pad and I was covered in black ink and by the time I'd stamped this image and sentiment you'd have thought I'd been finger painting !!
My lovely stamp and sentiment are from Joanna Sheen's fabulous Diva collection and this one is called 'Housework Diva' The set also includes a little feather duster stamp as an embellishment, but I'd made enough mess without trying to stamp another image.

We are being sponsored by Pink Gem Designs this fortnight and they are offering our lucky winner 4 digis of their choice.

Here is a bit of info about them :-

We design and stock a wide range of cute and whimsical clear polymer craft stamps and digi download products for paper crafting and digital scrapbooking and along with other crafting essentials including acrylic blocks for stamping,craft inks, cutting & embossing dies and craft embellishments

 I hope you can find time to join in with us and if you're in need of inspiration, just take a look at the gorgeous creations from the rest of the DT.
While you're there, don't forget to check out our winner and Top 3 from the last challenge.

 

Sketch N Stash DT Card #86

Hi everyone, I'm back today with my DT card for this fortnight's Sketch N Stash challenge. This time around it is Doreen's design and I loved using it, I hope you will be inspired enough by it to join in with us.
Our sponsor for this fortnight's challenge is Crafty Emma's Store who are offering our winner a £10 voucher.

Card Details:
 * Image - KennyK ' Brianna Blaster'
 * Colouring medium - Promarkers
 * Papers - Papermania (I think!)
 * Die - Spellbinders 'Decorative Lattice Rectangles'
 * Everything else from my stash

I was lucky enough to win a KennyK challenge last year and this gorgeous image is one of the ones I selected as my prize. I decided I really need to have a bash at some Steam Punk, although I'm not sure whether it's quite my style judging by this card. I do so wish I had more artistic talent!

 

Sketch N Stash DT Card #85

 Hi everyone, it's that time again, yes it's another challenge at Sketch N Stash today and it's Kevin's turn as designer.
I absolutely loved this sketch, in fact, so much that I made another 3 cards from it. A sort of variation on a theme really ha ha! It also gave me the chance to use some more of the beautiful 'Adorables' digis that I love so much.

  

Card Details:
* Image - Sugar Nellie 'Adorables'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Die - Spellbinders 'Nested Picot Edge Circles'
* Everything else from my stash

I hope you all love the sketch too and that we'll be seeing lots of entries again this fortnight.

Unfortunately, we've been let down by our sponsor for this challenge, but our lovely Jill has stepped in and is very generously offering a fabulous Faye Whittaker stamp to our winner.

 
Do take a look at the cards from the rest of the DT, they're absolutely gorgeous and you're sure to be  inspired enough to join in with us.

 

Sketch N Stash DT Card #84

Hi everyone,  I'm back today for the latest Sketch N Stash challenge. Unbelievably, we're now up to #84
This fortnight our sketch has been designed by Angie and we are being sponsored by My Mum's Craft Shop who are offering our winner a £10 voucher to spend in the shop.

Card Details:
* Image - Part of an old calendar
* Sentiment - computer generated
* Papers - So old I haven't a clue but they were bought eons ago from Lakeland
* Punch - Martha Stewart 'Deco Fan'
* Everything else from my stash

This is a large 8" x 8" scalloped card and the end result was supposed to be very girly and sparkly but with an Art Deco look. It was requested by a neighbour for her dearest friend and luckily, it turned out to be what she'd had in mind, so she was very pleased. Phew, what a relief!! 
I always worry so much when I'm making a commissioned card, but she must have really liked it as she's since placed a number of other orders with me. Most of these are for vintage style cards which I haven't been making for a while. I seem to have been caught up in 'cuties' and my first love of vintage has taken a back seat, so I'll enjoy getting back into this style immensely.

 

Sketch N Stash DT Card #80

Hi everyone, it's time for another challenge over at Sketch N Stash and this week we have a free choice of sketch for you. You may choose any sketch from our back catalogue, just don't forget to let us know which one you decided on.
My choice was Sketch #40 which I thought would be perfect for this boy's card.

Card Details:
* Image - Cuddly Buddly - 'Birthday Boy'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers and Spectrum Noir pens
* Papers - Papermania - 'For Him'
* Everything else from my stash

We are lucky enough to be sponsored this week by Cuddly Buddly where Kim is offering our lucky winner the 3 wonderful digi images that the DT have used for their cards.
If you want to see the others, just check out the fabulous examples done by the rest of the DT, and don't forget to see if you were last fortnight's lucky winner or one of our Top 3 while you're over there.

Sketch N Stash DT Card #79

Hi everyone, I'm here today with this fortnight's Sketch N Stash DT card. The designer this time around was the lovely Julie, and what a great sketch it is too.
I seem to be going through a bit of a 'less is more' phase, so I left off the embellishments this time around and concentrated on the lovely image and papers. Unfortunately my scanner didn't seem to like the card too much, in real life the colour palette is pinks, creams and browns.

Card Details:
* Image - A Day For Daisies - 'Mum Girl'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers and Spectrum Noir pens
* Papers - DCWV, My Minds Eye and Papermania
* Die - Spellbinders - 'Picot Edge Circles'
* Everything else from my stash

We're being sponsored this fortnight by My Mum's Craft Shop who are offering one lucky winner a £10 gift voucher, so I'd say it's definitely worth joining in.
I hope you'll manage to join in with us again this time around, if you're in need of inspiration just pop over to the challenge blog and see what gorgeousness all my teamies have come up with. Oh, and while you're there don't forget to check out the winner and Top 3 from our last challenge.