Boating Birthday

Sorry, another super quick post tonight ... I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is on.  Total trash I know, but I love it!  That's the next 3 weeks sorted on telly!

Image from Lili of the Valley - coloured with copics.  Paper Smooches sentiment.  DP from Bo Bunny (I think!)

Sketch (flipped) from Willow Sketchie Challenge
Cards 4 Men #23 - anything goes
House of Gilli #45 - celebrations
The Pink Elephant #173 - use your favourite colouring medium
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
Allsorts #180 - young at heart
By the Cute and Girly November challenge - Stars

Rory's Birthday card

This card is for a boy called Rory.  Get it? Ha!
I'm not sure what make these stamps are ... possibly either Hambo or Eat Cake Graphics.  I layered up my cityscape and then covered an entire row up with my circular panel! Duh.
Popped my dinosaur up on dimensionals and added glitter to his spines and a couple of googley eyes.

Sketch from Clean&Simple 212
Papertake Weekly - all creatures great and small
Creative Inspirations #184 - anything goes
Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - reminded me that I had this city street stamp and inspired me to use it for the first time in over a year!

Uncle Alwin's Birthday card

I won this set from a Paper Smooches hop a while back, but this is the first time I've managed to put some ink on it!  Bad me.
I paper pieced almost everything in sight, so it was nice and easy on my markers :)

Layout from Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge
Simon Says Stamp - dies / punches
Creative Inspirations #184 - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #238 - paper piecing
Moxie Fab World World Card Making Day - Birthday

Uncle Derek's card

Just a quickie post, 'Monroe' is on telly and I must confess to having a soft spot for Jimmy Nesbitt!
Can't remember who makes this stamp and I'm too comfy to get off the chair!
Image coloured with copics and BG chalked.

Cupcake #213 - Autumn
Kaboodle Doodles #140 - Autumn leaves
Stamptacular Sunday #184 - photo inspiration
Sketch from ISpy ISSC36 - free choice - I used bottom left from Feb 2012
ABC Challenge: Y is for Y Chromosome

Arrrr me hearties!

It's not very often I make a card that I *love* but this is one of them!  I've used loads of High Hopes stamps on this, but couldn't find a pirate sentiment in my stash so had to make my own.  (to see the full selection of their fab pirate themed stamps go to High Hopes store and type in 'pirate' in the search box)
First off I stamped a treasure map in the background, then I covered most of it up with my galleon, and then I covered a chunk of that up with my pirate (who I popped up on dimensionals, along with the anchor and skull).  Me thinks I should have used a bigger base card to start with Haha

All coloured with copics.  I had another go at distressing (on the map layer) but I think at heart I'm a neat freak and I didn't distress it enough.  I'd also intended to distress my galleon panel but forgot (so did a bit of colour distressing instead) and by the time I got to my sentiment I'd forgotten about distressing entirely!

• Bunny Zoe's challenge #28 - distressing
• Marker Pop #07 - colour something
• By the cute and girly Sept challenge - boys/men
• Allsorts #173 - inspired by a song:  Disney's Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) 
• Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #204 - distressing
• Totally Papercrafts #135 - for a child

Ryan's Birthday card

Yippee for the weekend and I've treated myself to a whole week off work too!  I've loads of plans to get my garden ready for winter and clear out cupboards and whatnot, but we'll see!

This card is for my football mad nephew's 9th Birthday - I've used some wee foam embellishments that my Mum bought me at the last craft fair.  I usually find these wee kits so hard to use, but I love how this card turned out.  I didn't have any suitable ribbon, so coloured some purple netting stuff with a red copic marker.

• Pile it On #37 - patterned DP
• Divas by Design #52 - for a child
• My Mum's Craft Shop #74 - buttons
• Crafts 4 Eternity R#89 - numerical numbers
• By the Cute and Girly - boys/men

Blue Lolly Dude

I haven't had any mojo for aaaages so thought I'd have a go at some of the tips from Papercrafts Connection ... I'd love to get a copy of their Card Design Handbook, but it costs $14.99 and postage is $17.99!!! No way Jose!  I think I'll just make do with the tips on their blog for free!

Anyhoo, this card was an attempt at the rule of 3 ... split your colour into thirds, but I think mine would have worked better if I'd used another blue instead of white for the top panel.  Ah well, I'll know better for next time.

I've had this lollypop ribbon in my stash for ages, and thought it would be perfect for this wee dude from CC Designs.  I glittered up the swirl in the lolly and then covered the lot in clear gloss.  Paper Smooches sentiment.

• The Squirrel and the Fox #25 - one for the men
• Sweet Stampin - out of the frame
• Penny's Paper Crafty challenge #90 - masculine
• Divas by Design #49 - anything goes

Summer cycle

Thought I'd get my wee cycling dude out as he hasn't seen ink for quite a while.  I faffed around for aaages trying to give him a Tour de France yellow jumper before I gave up!  I should have tried some Bradley Williams sideburns too!
Coloured with a mixture of copics and promarkers, though I'm not entirely happy with my mud-brown dog!  Lots of glitter added to bike.

• Colour combo of orange and blues and touch of chocolate from Ribbon Carousel RCC63
• Simon Says ... anything goes
• Divas by Design #45 - Happy Birthday
• PaperPlay #30 - sports / olympics
• The Outlawz Copic / Promarker challenge - anything goes
• Crafty Catz #143 - all that glitters
• Layout from CPS #276

Cheers Brenda!

Well, did you all watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics?  I thought it was pretty good, and it would have been amazing to actually be there, but unfortunately finances did not permit!  I was down in Belfast yesterday when the Red Arrows flew over, and you could feel the excitement building in anticipation.  Mind you, its a good job I like the Olympics, it's all we've heard about in our media for months!

Its been a showery and blustery day, so between that and watching the Games on the telly, there was only time for a couple of CAS cards.  I spotted this cute wee lion stamp on Brenda's blog (aka Benzi) a while back, and of course he accidentally fell into my shopping basket when I went to investigate the Stamps by Judith website.  Isn't he hilarious, and soooo not scary!

Pink Card - challenges:

• Card Crafter's Circle #33 Clean and Simple
• Willow Sketchie challenge - anything goes
• Charisma Cardz #29 - monochrome
• Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
• Layout inspired by Makeover Monday challenge on Papercrafters Library

Blue Card:

• Colour combo from CAS-ual Fridays CFC63 - lime, aqua, navy
• Divas by Design #45 - Happy Birthday
• Sketch from Splitcoaststampers SC395

Summer Fun

Time for a new challenge over at High Hopes, and this week it's ...

Summer Fun

(anything summery - fishing, camping, BBQ, sunflowers, sunny weather, water fun etc.)
You've a week to play along and don't forget you need to use High Hopes stamps - check the blog for stockists.

My card uses Diver Dan and Sea Floor Background.  Coloured with a mixture of pencils and copics and some glitter added to the underwater plants.  

Other challenges I'd like to enter this in to:

• Use it Tuesday #35 - emboss it - I dusted off my old Ellison circles embossing folder for the red panel
• My Time to Craft #183 - Make it Wet
• The Corrosive Challenge #153 - sentimentally yours

Father's Day kitty

Hmmm, not sure about this one!  It looks fabulously sparkly in real life as I added half a tonne of glitter to his balloon, but I think it needs something, I'll have to have a wee think and maybe add some die cut stars or see what else I can find.
Image from Penny Black, coloured with pencils.

• Sketch from Ribbon Carousel #RCC57
• Fab'n Funky #125 - Father's Day
• Top Tip Tuesday #78 - sparkles galore
• Cards 4 Men #12 - Father's Day
• The Crafty Pad #174 - let's hear it for the boys
• Colour combo from Annabelle Stamps #ac075
• Penny Black at Allsorts June challenge - favorite things ... my corner punch, paper smooches alphabet stamps and clear gloss/glitter are mine!

We are sailing....

This wee boy's boat would have been perfect for the river that was our road yesterday after all that torrential rain!  But at least the sky is finally starting to clear - all we need now is to get a bit of sunshine!  It doesn't feel right that we still have our jumpers and the heating on and it's almost the middle of June.

Gorgeous DPs from Bo Bunny.  LOTV image coloured with mixture of promarkers and pencils - clear gloss added to the hull of the boat and to his shoes, and some sparkle to the wee flag at the top.

• Sketch from Sketch Saturday #211 - I tilted my central panel as I managed to cut it wonky and it was really obvious when it was 'straight'
• CutCardStock challenge - masculine card
• The Stamp Man - make it for a man
• Lili's Little Fairies - one for the boys
• Simon Says ... patriotic colours and gems
• Papertake Weekly - anything goes
• Creative Card Crew #12 - song inspired - "I am Sailing", by Rod Stewart
• Pals Paper Arts PPA136 -Red, navy and white

High Hopes challenge #136

I'm delighted to be joining the High Hopes team as Guest Designer.
The new challenge is to make an easel card  ... if you've never made one before Tanya has a fab tutorial on the High Hopes blog (trust me, if I can make one, anyone can!!)
(You need to use High Hopes stamps to play along - there's a list of retailers on the High Hopes blog)

I used some of my new Lily Bee Designs DP and coloured my wee fisherman with promarkers.  Then I went looking for some ribbon and couldn't believe that this fishy ribbon was hiding at the bottom of my box and was a perfect match!
Don't ya love it when that happens!   

• Other challenges:
• Bunny Zoe's challenge #24 - anything goes
• Cards 4 Men #10 - kicking back
• Joanna Sheen challenges - Happy Birthday
• Allsorts #154 - card for a man
• Totally Papercrafts #116 - no girls allowed

Happy Birthday Hamish

I can't believe its Friday already!  I've had a great week cleaning and painting, and my house is sparkling. Didn't quite make it to the weeds in the garden, but there's always tomorrow!
I've been rediscovering my old stamps after a tidy out, and this wee Sugar Nellie stamp hasn't seen ink for aaaaages!  It was another one I bought because it had a 'Ruby' on it!  And my star sizzix die hasn't been used for a long time either.  Bad me.

Coloured with a mixture of copics and promarkers.  Paper pieced his jumper and added clear gloss to his wellies.  Basic Grey DP.

• Sketch from the Sugar Bowl #81 with the added option of using plaid
• Colour combo from Play Date Cafe PDCC127   Daffodil...Hydrangea...Kiwi...Cherry 
• The Pixie Cottage #116 - paper piecing
• Try it Tuesday - pampered pets (my West Highland Terrier)

Here's a wee photo of the best singer in town - doesn't he look like a happy chappie!  This wee blackbird chirps away at the bottom of our garden for hours on end (... though I can't say its just as pleasant at 4am!)

Birthday card for Ian

Happy St Patrick's Day!  It's been a glorious sunny day today, perfect weather for all the parades today.  No 'drowning the shamrock' for me ... I took Ruby for a long walk this morning and then this afternoon she 'helped' me tackle the weeds in the back garden. By 'helped' I mean every time I bent down to pull out a rogue weed she was over with her nose in the weed pile and wanting to play!

I've had this ribbon in my stash for nearly a year now, too nice to use!  - when I measured it out the '10s' were in the perfect spot to peek out the side of my image.
High Hopes image and leaves - coloured with promarkers; silver peel offs; DP from an Echo Park Christmas pack... v. trendy with all the chevrons!  Clear gloss added to his eyes and teeth, and green sparkles to the vine leaves.

Right, that's enough chitter chatter.  It's movie night again ... Rise of the Planet of the Apes .... Greg's choice, not mine 

• Sketch from Paper and Such 
• Kaboodle Doodles #110 - show us some green
• Use it Tuesday #27 - green
• I ♥ Promarkers #108 - anything goes
• Simon Says ... a bit o' green
• Hotshot #5 - ribbon
• Totally Papercrafts #108 - male card
• Crazy 4 Challenges C4C128 - green
• Sweet Shampin - use lots of green

(PS ... got my fancy signature from Gif-mania)

Birthday Robot

I don't think I've ever seen a green robot, but hey, its my card and I'll have it whatever colour I want LOL!

Image and sentiment from High Hopes (have you seen their fab new alien's, they're absolutely adorable!)
Spaceship DP from Bo Bunny
Coloured with promarkers and glitter added to his party hat and to the cherry on his cupcake.

• Sketch from CPS Anniversary Day 12
• One Stitch at a Time #100 - anything goes
• Hotshot Craft #4 - one for the boys
• Papertake Weekly - anything goes
• High Hopes #127 - seeing stars

CPS Anniversary Day 5

This card is for my brother's birthday - I must be stuck in a 'fishy' rut as its been a recurring theme recently, but he does have some gorgeous tropical fish and I'd originally got this stamp with him in mind!

Anyway, its Day 5 of the CPS challenges and I'm still keeping up!  Though I've taken HUGE liberties with their sketch today, so I hope it's still OK.  I had originally planned to put my balloon on a separate panel but then it looked too cluttered so I just cut it out and popped up on dimensionals.

Fishy balloon from High Hopes; cityscape from Hambo.  Coloured with pencils and stickles added to bubbles in balloon.

• Layout inspired by CPS Anniversary day 5
• Cute Card Thursday #202 - buttons and bows
• Do You Stack Up #57 - anything goes
• Divas by Design #20 - Anything Goes
• My Mums Craft Shop #42 - fab n' funky

 

CPS Anniversary Day 4

This card is for my uncle Ivan, bit of a last minute rush job, but luckily the DPs and stamp I had used for Greg's card were still knocking about my kitchen craft table.

Image from High Hopes - coloured with copics - clear gloss and glitter added to the bubbles and splashed water.

• Sketch from CPS Anniversary Day 4
• Simon Says .. animal antics
• Sparkles C28 - new goodies (I've used my new Echo Park DP)
• Die Cuttin Divas - anything goes (I used a Taylored Expressions Wave Border)

Greg's Birthday Card

It's Greg's birthday on Wednesday, so this is {almost} the usual last minute rush job!  It's quite an appropriate image as we gave our fish a 'bath' today so we've got happy fish in the tank again!

Image from High Hopes and DP from Echo Park.
Image panel popped up on dimensionals.
Coloured with copics and some sparkle added to the bubbles and spalshed water.

• Totally Gorjuss #116 - Keep It Simple Silly
• Stamp Scrap and Doodle - anything goes
• One Stop Craft #167 - stitching
• Creative Inspirations #147 - anything goes
• Simon Says ... anything goes
• Sketch from CPS - 5th anniversary day 1

Chris' Birthday Card

Happy New Year!  Hope you had a good one whatever you were doing!  We just had a quiet night in with the telly and a bottle of Bailey's, yum!

This card is for my BIL, just kept it nice and simple and used one of my High Hopes stamps, coloured with Promarkers.  The fish image is popped up on dimensionals and some sparkle added to the bubbles and to his eyebrows.

• Sketch from Skipping Stones #108
• Passion for Promarkers #129 - celebrations
• Creative Inspirations #143 - anything goes
• Simon Says Stamp ... anything goes
• Totally Gorjuss #112 - Happy