Wednesday, January 30

Di's Sketch

Really there are so many sketches and I nearly forgot to add this one...



I followed Di's Sketch Jan #3....




I stamped image and coloured with pigment pens, cut and layered onto spotty paper. The sentiment is die cut, The rest is just paper peicing with inked edges.



Thanks for stopping by!

I thought I would have a go at Nicole's sketch #3.





There are so many challenges and sketches to choose from it's getting bit overwhelming! More birthdays for men. I was pleased with this and love the natural colours. The sentiment is stamped and embossed with blue ink clear ep and did resist technique with brilliance ink. Love the effect! The rest is pretty simple... die cuts (of course!) & I put some eyelets in the corner to balance the embellishment.







My Photo Booth....



This is by no means anything special and I just wanted to show you as I've had some lovely comments on my photos but really anyone can get theirs to look this way. I tend to try and take pictures in the sunshine (when available). The picture will show just how simple and versatile my booth is.... Tee Hee




See so versatile.... I can drag chair anywhere under light source, I can change the backdrop to any decorative paper I have in stash. I tend to NOT use my flash I find that it changes the colours in your creation. Sometimes if it's dull I will put it under the a bright light. That's it really, nothing fancy just simple and easy to manage. One day I might actually use this backing paper and have to buy some more (what a shame).

Thanks for stopping by! HuGs :)

Tuesday, January 29

Golden Heart

This weeks challenge on Papertake is 'Heart's Desire!'....




Please could we see some hearts (or a heart lol!) on your cards this week? Already done your Valentine's cards? How about doing a Wedding / Anniversary / engagement or birthday card! We don't mind which - as long as there's a heart or two...or three.....!!!




I needed to make a Golden Wedding Anniversary card. I used the sketch from Nicola's blog - sketch # 2.


The heart I die cut from thin grey board (sometimes I use cereal box) and inked with encore pad (I find they stay moist much better!) Then I triple embossed with a mixture of gold ep and Utee. When the last layer was still molten and melty I pressed my stamp into it (which I had inked with my versamark) let it cool and peeled away.

I always love the effect you get with this technique.

I used my Cherish alphabet dies to create the 50 and layered with gold mirri. The flourish is fancy pants pollen dust, heat embossed with gold ep and I put the sentiment on to flow with the design. I then adhered some red heart stones to contrast.
The Embossed heart is on some very special material I found while rummaging in sale items in local craft shop. It's an embossing metal mesh sheet. I die cut it with my nesabilities, it has a few stray sharp bits but I was surprised how well it came out. The papers are DCWV luxury pack.
Thanks for stopping by... HuGs :) x

Monday, January 28

DCM Dares

Jo at DCM set this dare....

My dare this week is 'Foiled!' -I would like you to utilise some plain old aluminium (aluminum for our friends across the pond!) foil from your kitchen :). You can scrunch it, die cut it, emboss it, ink it, coil it, cover chipboard - or anything else that you choose!




I die cut my foil and made a flower to embellish this sketch that was over on Ismaki blog.




And Tuesday's little extra on DCM....

I followed the sketch and I used this super cute stamp from Paper nation, coloured with pigment pens and raised on 3d foam on nestabilities circle. Yummy ribbon and some little paper flowers.



Thanks for stopping by! Hugs x

Sunday, January 27

Classic Mum


I have a few to upload today, in fact it seems I make cards in the week and don't get the time to upload so....







Weekend Sketch Challenge #31 over at Beate's blog. I missed the prize but it was a great sketch and I really like how this card turned out.







K&CO papers. Classic lady stamp, stamped with versamark and blending chalks, I love this effect it's very soft. Die cut the sentiments and raised MUM on 3d foam. I tried to create the 3d flowers myself. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, January 26

Sketch - Male Birthday

I tried this sketch over at Lauren's I think I could use this for so many types of card's, it's a very versatile sketch!

I'm trying to create some male themed cards, I have three to do for beginning of Feb so this is a start!

I used some die cutting, DCWV patterned paper, glitter marker for the jam on cake, nestabilities, a dome sticker and raised some layers on 3d foam!


Thanks for stopping by have a great start to the weekend!

Tuesday, January 22

Papertake - Violets are Blue

This weeks challenge - Yep you guessed it! It's..... Violets are Blue! We'd like to see Blues or Purples this week please!


This card was really quite simple to make, and really only required die cutting and layering the little pieces.

The square in the background I used the embossing Matt for interest, I cut a scallop aperture in the floral paper and raised on 3d foam.
There's lots of shades of purple papers in this and just a touch of green for the leaf. Had to finish off with some glitter but it's hard to see in the photo.
It's a bit floral for me but I designed it with the person in mind!
Thanks for stopping by, love your comments! Have a fab day!

Monday, January 21

Mother's Day

I have been asked to make some mother's day cards, so you'll probably be seeing a lot over the next month.



I wanted to show this one, I used the sketch over at Lauren's.


Quite simple card, I stamped image and cut with my nestabilities. The butterfly brad I covered with pigment ink and heat embossed with utee and pink ep.




Thanks for stopping by, forgive the dark photos but the weather is a battle for decent light!

Papertake - roses are red

This weeks challenge, Roses are Red..' is to use red on your card! Any shade or shades of red that you like from bright pillar box to deep burgundy!! Come on everyone lets paint the town RED!!(P.S. The next few challenges will have Valentines themed names but you do not have to make Valentines cards!! lol!!)




I did make a valentine's, it has lots of different reds. I made the heart have wanted to try these accent beads for ages I ended up just covering chipboard heart with Anita's tacky glue pouring on beads and waiting for them to dry. When it's nearly dry you can actually move them around a bit, neaten them up. I like the effect and texture!

I used a sketch on Nicole's blog very inspirational and love the use of vellum, instead of stamping on mine I used a texture plate. The word love is a brad so very simple and I love the velvet ribbon.
Thanks for stopping by, I will have more to upload soon! Problem is, when I'm blogging I'm not crafting and when I'm crafting I'm not blogging. I need to learn to post as I make one. It would be a much easier load!

Sunday, January 20

Two DCM Dares....

Hide and Seek

Okay, for my dare we're heading to the playground for a game of


Hide & Seek


I'd like you to make a card which has a hidden component of some sort.The hidden part could be a tag, a concealed photo, message or something along those lines, maybe a pull-out or pop-up.Anything goes as long as there's something extra for the recipient to find on your card that's not immediately visible when they open the envelope.


I really enjoyed this dare, very challenging but it worked so well...

I was inspired by a card on Lynne's Blog while browsing and the tutorial on Beate's link on the right of a surprise pop-up which goes with this dare perfectly.


















I stamped and embossed the dress onto vellum and cut, then glued only the top and two edges to adhere in a 3d way so it's without silicone or pads. Very pleased with how this came out.


I tried to make the card front look normal so that the ribbon is the only give away that there's a surprise. Beate's tutorial was very informative and it's really nice to make a card with a difference!


Then another card thanks to the talented Lynne....



Our Mid Week Tribute !

Hello everyone !



Now, as you are probably aware, both Lynne and Gillian sadly stepped down from the Design team recently, and all though the DCM team's door is always open for them, we thought it would be nice to pay a little tribute to them in appreciation for all their wonderful work during their time on the DCM design team. Lythan came up with an idea that we make a card in the 'style' of either Lynne or Gillian's cards. Or maybe pick your favourite of theirs and use an element from their cards on your own card. Everyone has their own style- we thought it might be a little challenge to try out a different style for a change!



Cup Cake Case



I Did a case from one Lynne created here Mine looks exactly the same now I see it again, it was just that I had the same die and wanted t use it!

I don't have my sewing machine available and did faux stitching instead I also used different papers & sentiments!



Thank you so much for stopping by!

It's only been a week!....

But it feels so much longer...


I have had a very busy week. My little boy turned Four on Wednesday.

"Four" I have to remind myself how wonderful it all is. I have been a mum for only four years now and the first three I cared for Dillon on my own. An amazing challenge, I laugh and shout every day, I have learnt so much and appreciate the world so much!
So decided to give a last minute party because the weather doesn't allow for much other things! We had a great day, and as always Dillon gets showered with gifts. He had a huge Thomas tank engine cake and lots of friends round. Also fell in muddy puddle head to toe while out trekking in wood! Very happy little boy!

Sunday, January 13

My Prize and Di's Sketch!



Yippee My prize from Charmed Cards and Crafts arrived on Saturday, so yummy... I picked some lovely stamps and papers and a few embellishments.

These stamps are super cute so thought I would make a thank you card for my cool prize...

I stamped them onto white card and patterned paper, cut and piece worked each image. Bit fiddly but I really like the effect. Cut with nestabilities and raised on 3D foam. Thank you die cut twice and glued in place. The sketch was taken from the Di Hickmans blog, lovely sketch.

Thanks for stopping by!
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