Latest Cards

Finally managed to add these latest cards after a few blogging disasters, i.e. deciding to change my blogger template, losing my list of links to other blogs, adding them all then deciding to change the template yet again and of course the same thing happened AGAIN!!!! What's that saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it? Wise words indeed, not too keen on the new look but it's staying for now!!!!! I am definitely beginning to wish I had not got up at 5.15 this morning LOL!

SISTERHOOD OF THE BLOGGING STAMPERS - 20

I haven't had time to blog lately but when I checked my emails I found I had some unmoderated comments, including one from Rainbowlady inviting me to join The Sisterhood and I was intrigued, thanks Cynthia! It sounds like a great idea so I have (hopefully) just joined group 20. I love stamping but am not particularly adept at it and hope to be encouraged and inspired by everyone's work. Sorry this is short but I need to add everyone to my blog roll so I can go and explore :)

THIRD TIME LUCKY!

I am now way behind with cards I need to make after spending last night making a third card for the same person!!!!! This is the final (I hope) card for OH's boss. Originally she was having the large bird card I posted recently but he changed his mind and asked for roses so I made the Victorian rose card but he then asked for something simpler and here it is.

I really need to make a birthday card for my brother in law ASAP and hope history doesn't repeat itself or I will send OH to Asda to BUY a card!

This card is made with Anita's (I think) stamped daisies, HOTP button brads, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Nestabilities scallop circle die and lovely dotty ribbon and ladybug brad from Poppicrafts.

Tagged!!!!

I have been tagged (well and truly tagged!) by Chrissie, Sue, Wendi, Beryly and Cynthia, thanks ladies! Actually I don't mind at all:



TEN YEARS AGO


I can’t actually think of anything memorable from 1998 but I am sure I had far fewer wrinkles and grey hairs than I do now as I would have been 39. It would be nice to turn back the clock to then as my parents were still with us and our lovely dog Suzy. I was in the same job as a full-time secretary, that is probably the only thing which hasn’t changed.



FIVE THINGS ON TODAY'S 'TO DO' LIST


Whatever the day brings at work
Quite a lot of ironing (yuk!)
Online grocery shop
Birthday cards
Box for the card I made last night (that’s the last time I stick large embellishments on a card…hate making boxes!)



SNACKS I ENJOY



Any kind of ice cream, Jordans Frusli bars, Green & Black’s chocolate, bananas



THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WAS A MILLIONAIRE



Buy a large house with plenty of land by the sea, open an animal sanctuary and try to build some sort of secure future for our son who has had M.E. for 13 years. I would of course give some to relatives and friends, favourite charities and maybe go on a cruise. I would also have a huge craft room of course.



PLACES I HAVE LIVED



Greater Manchester and The Wirral.



The people I am tagging in return are:



Dawn

Andrea

Rhiannon

Steph

Leann



As I don't like posts without pictures I have added a photo of Paxos which I took a few years ago, wish I was back there!!!!

Victorian Rose Card

I wanted to make at least 2 cards tonight (have so many birthdays in June & July!) and ended up making just one, which took ages as it started off very different to how it has ended up. I kept changing my mind or didn't like elements of previous versions so the only thing that remains from my original idea is the basket of roses from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Companion CD set. I am not even sure I like the final version now so think I will sleep on it! Hopefully tomorrow evening will be more productive, fingers crossed!

Jayne Netley Mayhew Cat

This is the second card I have made using the new Joanna Sheen Jayne Netley Mayhew CD set and it's a birthday card for a cat loving friend. I thought I would try printing on some matte photo paper which has been sitting around in a drawer for ages as I prefer satin or gloss so not too sure about that aspect of the card but overall I am happy with it as the cat is so cuddly and cute! This is the first time I have used one of the new Cuttlebug border embossing folders and think they are great!

Just A Quick One!

When I spotted this week's Daring Cardmakers Challenge entitled 'Just A Quick One' I had to have a go as I tend to spend hours on one card!!!! This card took me 40 minutes which is very quick for me! This is my first card made with images from Joanna Sheen's Jayne Netley Mayhew CD set which features beatiful wildlife artwork, a wonderful CD which is my favourite Joanna Sheen CD to date. I now have another challenge....to make an envelope for this very long card!

Sunshine & Flowers

Here is a card for the first Joanna Sheen Forum Challenge, the theme being 'Sunshine & Flowers.' The limage is a lovely Sugar Nellie Sweet Art Ebony stamp by Elisabeth Bell coloured with Lyra crayons & Sakura pens. The sunflower is from Cuddly Buddly and the bee brad from Poppicrafts. The 'sun' is courtesy of my Cuttlebug and the card blank has been chalked with shimmery green and blue.

A Change From Cards!

I decided to make a gift bag for a friend's birthday, thinking it would be quick and easy but being in 2 pieces which needed glueing together it took longer than I expected as I am not exactly good at cutting and glueing (so used to using DST on cards). I enjoyed decorating the bag though as that was the easy/fun part. The notebook was fun to do with the Zutter machines and it's now in the bag along with other pressies for a friend.

Dreaded Mens' Card!

I just hate making mens' cards as I know I can't use pink or lilac and pretty ribbons and sparkle! This was supposed to be a quick card as OH asked for it late last night for a work colleague but it ended up taking forever as I got a bit engrossed playing with the images and elements in My Craft Studio!!!! Just hope it's well received!

Pink Petticoat Cards

I like Pink Petticoat image stamps but have tended to use a lot of colour on them in the past either by paper piecing or watercolouring so I thought I would try just a hint of colour by using Stickles glitter glue on the images and combining them with colourful card/paper, ribbons and flowers.

First Exploding Box Card!

I have been intending to make an exploding box for over a year and have finally got around to it....here is the result! It was much easier than I expected though having a template would help I am sure, might make one to use in the furture. I thought it was high time I updated my blog too as I have been busy making cards for various card groups, friends and relatives and still quite a few to go!

Pink Piggy Blog Candy

Dawny is giving away a very cute Butterfly Kisses angel stamp set to celebrate 3000-4000 hits on her blog. Click Here to see for yourself and don't forget to check out her wonderful array of cards.

Christmas Angels

I haven't had much time for challenges lately but really wanted to join in with Rainbow Lady's Christmas Angel challenge and have just about made it! My card was made with the help of Adobe Photoshop and My Craft Studio, using free angel clipart I found online and Artylicious Damask Delights backing paper. I can't believe how long it took tinkering around with the graphics before I actually printed it, adjusting sizes, colours opacity etc!

LILY DECOUPAGE

I am more than happy with Rob Addams' new Flowers CD rom...the images are stunning and print out beautifully. I hate making sympathy cards but it seemed a bit easier using this lovely lily picture from the CD (plus Keepsake embossing board and Anna Griffin stamp).

Vacation ATC - Cute Card Thursday Challenge 10

Here is my ATC for the latest Cute Card Thursday Challenge (vacation theme). I really love this new stamp from Cuddly Buddly and thought it would be just right for this challenge. I have coloured Beachbabe Charley with Lyra crayons and the daisies with white Sakura pen. The backing paper is from the DCWV glitter mat stack and the little starfish and seahorse are from a pack of embellishments I have had for a while.

Dark Hair!

I recently bought this lovely unmounted stamp and thought it would be ideal for the My Time To Craft challenge which had a theme of 'Dark Hair.' I used Versafine black to stamp the lady and the tiny paisley stamps (Clearly Wordsworth) onto my ATC size card. I added a rhinestone stick on border strip over the paisleys and a couple of green Prima flowers, plus a touch of Sakura green glaze on her collar and cuffs and Sakura black stardust in her hair.

TRAVEL - INDIA/TAJ MAHAL

Today I made a card for the latest Arty Girlz challenge entitled 'Travel'Places' I knew the image I wanted to use....a lovely colourful water scene with the majestic Taj Mahal in the background, so I designed the rest of the card round the colours in the picture. The cardstock is stamped with Versamark using a paisley stamp and heat embossed with Sparkle N Sprinkle raspberry powder. The picture is framed with blue mirricard embossed with the Cuttlebug paisley folder. The other papers were created using some Indian themed freebies from Dover (I changed the colours to blue and cerise using a graphics programme). I used various fibres from Texere as embellishments, together with an assortment of gems and a metal dragonfly.

Luscious Lime & Lilac!

As I love green and purple together I really enjoyed making this card for Papertake's latest challenge (Luscious Lime & Lilac).

The image is stamped with purple Versafine with a new Third Coast stamp called Zoe from Sassy Crafts. She is coloured with Whispers markers and Sakura stardust. I doodled a dashed line border and wrote the sentiment with a Sakura Moonlight pen.

The fibres were a mixture of yarns from Texere Yarns and the lime sequin ribbon was bought from an unknown exhibitor at the last Stitch & Creative Craft show. The flower is a mixture of Flora Doodles from Joanna Sheen and a green Prima flower from Cuddly Buddly. The lovely lime cardstock is from Stampin Up and the purple was from The Works.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge # 12 Birds

Tonight I made an ATC for Rainbow Lady's latest challenge. The bird image is a stamp by Crafty Individuals and the paisleys are by Clearly Wordsworth. The cardstock is coloured with blue and pink chalks though it is hard to spot the blue in this photo. I than added pink Sakura Stardust and some tiny pink and blue gems.

Tanda Teaser Challenge Card - On The Case

I decided to join in with the latest Tanda Teaser challenge today as it sounded like fun. The challenge was to 'case' or replicate a card from Sheila's blog. I spent ages looking through all Sheila's wonderful creations and finally decided on this red and white love themed card, thinking it would be fairly simple to recreate....after all I was bound to have some red and white polka dot paper somewhere and a heart punch....errr...well as it turned out...NO!!!!!! All I had was a similar stamp from stamping up (the word love).

I was disappointed but determined to join in so I improvised by punching out lots of white paper dots and glueing them onto the red paper (something I don't ever want to do again in a hurry!!!). I found a single red foam heart and made 2 paper ones to go with it using one of the Glitter Girls' boards. The white lines and dots on the hearts are drawn with a white Sakura pen. I just added stems taken from some paper flowers I was tired with to the hearts, a white organza bow and some tiny teardrop shaped red gems.

Tilda & Friends - Bugs ATC

Today I made an ATC (something I tend to avoid)....it's for Tilda & Friends latest ATC Challenge 'Bugs.' I enjoyed the challenge of trying to fit things into such a small space and it was a treat to use 2 of my new Tilda Shabby Chic stamps, coloured with Lyra crayons & Sakura pens. The bugs were just doodled, coloured and stuck onto the finished ATC.

The Card Grotto Blog Candy

Just been looking at the wonderful creations on Michelles Card Grotto blog. She is giving away some very nice goodies to celebrate reaching 40,000 hits on her blog (quite an achievement)! Check it out!

Yeee Haa! Tanda Teaser Card

Tonight I made this card for Wendy's Yeee Haa! challenge over at Tanda Teaser. Unfortunately I don't have any suitably themed rubber stamps so I created a digital stamp of Chief Sitting Bull in Adobe Photoshop and added some grass, leaves and text. He is mounted onto a corrugated paper frame which is secured to the card base with string through eyelets. The backing papers are by Dovecraft.

EYE EYE IT'S A NATURAL FEELING

Here is my latest card....for Tilda & Co's latest challenge (to use eyelets and something natural). The natural element to this card is the pinky red bow inside the heart which is actually a dried pasta bow (farfalle) dyed with Glimmer Mist spray. The eyelets all came with my Crop A Dile setter. I cannot remember the make of the black gingham vellum round the side and top of the card or where the black heart cutout shape was from but I know it has been in my bit box forever!!!! The birthday greeting was embossed on silver mirri using the Cuttlebug. The flower button top right is by Cuddly Buddly. Tilda has been coloured with Lyra crayons, brush markers and Sakura pens.

Monotone Rainbow Challenge - Elephant Walk

I finally made a card after a long gap.....it is for Rainbow Lady's Challenge No. 10 Monotone Rainbow Colours and I chose blue. The image is Cuddly Buddly's Elephant Walk coloured with Lyra watercolour crayons, Whispers brush markers and a blue Sakura Stardust pen, then highlighted with Ranger Glossy Accents. The ribbon is Maya Road.

It's A Man's World

Here is my card for Cute Card Thursday's challenge No. 6 - It's a man's world. The graphics are from Sharon Duncan's Oriental Style CD Rom and I added a little Sharpei dog by using Adobe Photoshop, used Rangers Glossy Accents to add highlights, then mounted onto black hologrpahic card and added some red stars as a border.

Flight of Fancy

Tonight I made this card for Caardvark's Flight of Fancy challenge, using My Craft Studio. The bird, flourish, background and tag are all graphics from P C Crafter. I added a feather and flower button from Cuddly Buddly, plus some highlights with Sakura clear glaze and stardust pens.

Fashion Boutique

Today I made a card for a fashion conscious friend. I knew I was going to use Joanna Sheen's wonderful Fashion Boutique CD rom but as there is so much on this set I spent ages trying to decide which image/colour to go for. Eventually I chose the following which is certainly very colourful!

Papertake Making Waves Card

I made this card for Papertake's Making Waves challenge (to use zigzags and/or scallops). I used by Cuttlebug to cut the brown plain and scallop circles from foam with Nestablilities dies. I used a Sizzix die for the birds. The pink circle paper was a gift so I don't know the make. The flowers are a mix of Flora Doodles from Joanna Sheen and Prima from Cuddly Buddly. The pink bows are also from Cuddly Buddly. The white button brads are HOTP and I use used my Carl squiggle blade to cut the paper zigzags.

Tanda Teaser Word Play Challenge

I made this card earlier for the latest Tanda Teaser Word Play Challenge. The blue card is stamped with just about visible Elusive Images Damask stamp in Versamark to create a watermark effect. I created the rest of the card in My Craft Studio and although I do like the image, the caption is still making me cringe!!!!

FOOTBALL & RUGBY CARDS

My latest cards are the type I don't like (sports related male cards).......I must be a rare breed as I cannot think of one sport that interests me these days ....whether it be spectating or participating! I made these at OH's request. Unbelievably, I did actually go to football matches in my teens when I supported Bolton Wanderers (featured on the bottom card).....seems like another lifetime. It was so long ago that's quite an apt comment!!!!!!

ARTE Y PICO AWARD

Thanks so much to Cynthia (Rainbow Lady) for chosing me as one of 5 recipients of this award. I feel a cheat really because my blog posts are usually very brief. I started my blog when I first decided to try out some of the great cardmaking/artwork challenges so I could link to my attempts. Prior to that I was just a blog visitor who enjoyed seeing Cynthia's wonderful work (and other bloggers now listed on my blog). It is going to be difficult to chose 5 people to pass this award onto as all the blogs I visit are very inspirational. Whilst I have a think, here are the Arte Y Pico award rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.

4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte Y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. To show these rules.

I have decided to make the award to the following 5 bloggers, what a tough choice!!!!!!

Ann (Spirit of Creativity) for an inspirational blog which is enjoyable to read and every post contains a photo of amazing artwork and ideas.

Dawn (All Pink Girl) I love her style with cute stamps

Sandy (Stempelchaotin) Always lots of varied and amazing artwork to wonder at on Sandy's blog.

Deby (Just Add Love) Deby has pictures of some amazing papers she has created, well worth a look.

Andrea (Andrea's World) There's just so much to see on Adrea's blog and it's all fabulous!

Sassy Tilda

Just made this Tilda card for Sassy Crafts prize draw to win Basic Grey Archaic goodies. I have stamped her onto white, pink and HOTP patterned paper which I have pieced. The frame is made with the same HOTP paper as Tilda's jacket, torn and folded back to make a frame. The pink jewel brad on her belt and the black one in the flower centre (2 Pimas fastened together coloured with pink and black pens) are by Dovecraft, as are the pink eyelets on the corners. The pink bow is from Cuddly Buddly. Tilda's wings are coloured with Sakura Stardust clear and her hair with the Stardust bronze pen.

Cute Garden Critters

I decided to have a change from stamping and make some quick cards using images from P C Crafter's lovely cute garden critters collection and here they are.......I didn't manage to make less mess though even without ink and embossing powder!