Anniversary card

Hi guys, back again!  Thought I'd share another card with you...I was aked, by a friend, to make a card for her Husband for their 10th Wedding Anniversary - blokes are difficult to cater for at the best of times, but for an Anniversary!?!  So, I decided to create it with The Ribbon Girl's Colour Challenge #8 theme in mind - Pinks and Lilacs!!  I know, not exactly masculine colours, but I think I've got away with it!  What do you think...

...I used the Housemouse Gruffies stamp, Finding Friends and thought the sentiment 'I'm so glad I found you' was apt for both the image and a Wife to Huband Anniversary card.  I toned the colours down with Walnut and Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges and on the Cuttlebug panel across the middle to stop it being too feminine.  I've had the Go Kreate Large Frilly Frame die since Leigh show and this is the first time I've used it (though I think it will get much more use from now on),  I drew around the outside of the die to create the matt and it was simple enough to cut out - looks fab on this A5 landscape card, but would look great on a square card too!  I cut the edge of the front of the card with one of my Nellie Snellen dies and threaded lilac ribbon through and my Marianne swirls made an appearance again - just love them!

I'm pleased with the colouring again on this one and feel a shopping trip for Promarkers coming on!  Hope you like it - I wish I'd get an Anniversary card like this one! 

I'm entering into the following challenges -

The Ribbon Girl Challenge

Lilac and Pinks

Crafty Creations

Anything Goes

Totally Papercrafts

Anniversaries

Maybe I do like stamping!

It's the weekend, so housework can wait (heck, housework can always wait!) and I can sit at my messy table and have a play!  I decided to have a go at stamping - Mam had lent me a couple of Gruffie stamps to have a go with and boy, do they stamp beautifully!  Once again, I laid all my Promarkers out on my table and even tested colours on a scrap of paper to see if they blended well..I have to say, the more I use them, the more I like them and maybe there's a secret stamper inside of me after all!!  I can't wait for my Simon Says Stamp stash to arrive now!  So, here's the card I made...

 ...I saw a card over on Dena's blog which gave me inspiration for the shape, the punched border just transforms a plain square card!  Papers were Dovecraft Masculine 6x6 paper pad, Rasberry Road freebie Freedom Rings plaid and Cuttlebug Argyle folder inked with Stormy Sky and Vintage Photo... 

...I am really pleased with my colouring, something I never thought I'd say two weeks ago, but perseverance pays off! I think the stamp helps - lots of fine detail in the fur and shading within the image.  The sentiment is Birthdays...are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake...though who needs an excuse!

...and finally, an angled picture of the card stood up...

I'm entering this card into the following challenges :

Cute Card Thursday

So Distressing

Stamp Something

Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations

Decorate the inside of your card

Thanks for stopping by and looking!  Lisa X

I won!

No card, I'm afraid, but I just had to post and let Blogland know that I've won the Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp!  My first ever challenge win!  Woo hoo!  I'll be going around on Cloud Nine all day and smiling like a Cheshire cat!!

Lisa X

Twice in one day!

...well, only because I couldn't post last night, but never the less, my creative juices are flowing - my housework is piling up, but it'll still be there tomorrow!

So onto tonight's card...

 After hopping over to the lovely Nic's blog, I decided to enter the Passion for Promarkers Challenge, which this week has a Teenager theme.  I am persevering with my colouring and have to say, I'm quite pleased with the result of this one (even if I say so myself!).  I laid all my Promarkers out on my desk whilst working, so I could see all of the colours (which don't seem very many when you start colouring!) and managed to get some highlights onto this one.  I love the large purple flower, which was off a rather expensive silk flower stem and the gardenia type flowers were from Sweet Lilac at Crafts4U.  I even managed to complete my card without the use of my computer (after printing the digistamp) as DH was using it most of the afternoon - it is his computer after all!  I used a Sissix swirl heart die, which actually came with my Big Kick many moons ago, I stamped the sentiment with single letter stamps and even managed to get it right first time!  Woo hoo!  (You can tell stamping is not my forte!)  Anyhoo, that's all for now, don't want to over do it!  Until next time, Happy Crafting!  X

You have to have priorities in life...

...and today, crafting won - hence, I'm back again with another post!!  I decided to make a couple of boys cards, which I do enjoy - maybe because I have 2 not so little monsters of my own, or perhaps because I love to use my Distress Inks (what did I ever do without them?!) ...

This first card, I'm entering into 3 challenges - Saturday Challenge, which wants us to dust off our stash, so I blew the dust off my Boys2Men disc and printed off the pirate digistamp and papers, One Stop Craft Challenge's theme is Birthdays and Sentimental Sundays say that Anything goes (plus a sentiment), so it fits with their themes too.  I used the treasure map digistamp coloured with Promarkers, the pirate text paper,  skull and cross bones paper and anchor embellishment from the Boys2Men disc, Craft Concepts woodgrain embossing folder inked with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain, twine lace antiqued with Walnut Stain and pearls coloured with blue Promarker.  The sentiment was made in PS using Dear Joe 5 Casual text.

Next, I printed the robot digistamp and created an easel card using papers from my First editions Up, up and Away paper pad.  I mounted the oval robot image onto a silver nestie which had been embossed with Cuttlebug Diamond Plate embossing folder, then sanded lightly and distressed with Walnut Stain.  The cogs were a Sissix die called Gears #1 and #2 and the screw head brads were from Crafts4U...

...this is the card when opened - the sentiment was from the Robot sentiments sheet and mounted onto embossed silver.  Who knows, I may be back tomorrow with more creations, it all depends on which priority comes out on top!?!  Until next time, enjoy your crafting and thanks for looking!

Practising with Promarkers

Hi there, everyone!  What wonderful weather we're having, and just in time for the school holidays!  I've spent the last week picnicking and messing about by the river, entertaining the children in anyway possible - so crafting had to take a back seat!
I ordered myself a few treats last week and as they came yesterday, I thought I'd have a play and create something...the first card was made using Sugar Nellie's Daisy stamp - I'm trying to get to grips with my Promarkers and understand them a bit more...I am getting better, but think I need some more lighter colours to get better shading.  Anyhow, I used First Editions paper pad, Spring Feast, nesties scalloped square and labels die, my new Nellie Snellen border die and flourish die (lovin' this one!) and a large rose from Sweet Lilac...

I love the way it turned out, (though the pictures never do them justice).  Next, I coloured one of Mo Manning's freebies - I think this monkey image is great, especially having 2 cheeky monkeys of my own...

...the papers were another of my new buys, by First Edition papers, called Up,Up and Away - I love the blue and green colour combo in this pad, great for boys cards.
Here's hoping the rest of the hols stays dry - we're (boys and me) supposed to be going camping one night next week with a few of my friends and their kids, should be fun!?!  Hope you are all having a Happy Easter and enjoying the weather...happy crafting!  Thanks for looking!

Samples

Hi guys!  Well, it's almost a fortnight since my last post - I know, I'm a bad Blogger!  To be honest, I just haven't had anything to post as I've been busy with design work, not to mention that I spent half of last week fitting a kitchen at MIL's house with my hubbie's cousin!  I have to say, we did a pretty good job between the two of us, though I'd been praying that it would all fit, as I'd planned and ordered everything!!  So it's back to crafting this week and I've spent today making Plush Pals samples for a demo day that we're hoping to do up at Craft Land-udno next month (I'll let you know when I have a definite date).

It's amazing how much my cardmaking has changed over the last year - after being introduced to Nestabilities and Distress Inks, I wonder how I did without them!  The first cards I made were using the lion decoupage (no surprise there?!)...

 ...you may recognise the layout on this one, seems to be a favourite at the moment!  I used blue star glitter card (that I'd picked up from Craft land-udno), Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder, inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Labels Seventeen Nesties and my Nellie Snellen fancy corner die...of course!  Ribbons were just from my stash.

Next, I used the Dovecraft Masculine 8x8 Paper Pack with the pyramage topper and added some paper letters to spell the word 'dad' - inside, the message reads 'Happy Father's Day...you big pussycat!'

I printed off the lilac rabbit decoupage sheet and created a simple Easter basket, trimmed with lace and gingham ribbon, then created an 8x13cm card using the lilac plaid backing paper, over printed with the pink polka dot, Cuttlebug Argyle folder inked with Walnut, Beaded Oval Nesties inked in the die with Worn Lipstick, then out of the die with Walnut.  I finished off with a Sweet Lilac tea rose, pink daisies, small cream rose and lilac feather, oh and pearls of course!

Finally, I printed off the lemon cat decoupage sheet (yellow is not really one of 'my' colours), lemon patchwork backing paper and used some of the left over panels from one of the Dovecraft Masculine papers.  I added buttons and light brown grosgrain ribbon...the ribbon loops hide the fact that I dropped my Versafine ink pad onto my finished card, leaving a nice balck stain!

Have to dash to pick youngest up from school, so that's all for now - Happy crafting!