27 February 2012

Birthday Sundaes - Get Messy

OK, so when I read that the challenge over at Birthday Sundaes was 'Get Messy' my first instinct was NOOOOOOOOO!  I almost decided not to even attempt it this week and then I realised that the point of a challenge is that it is a bit challenging!  So I took a deep breath and tried to 'get messy'!  This is not as easy as it sounds when you are the kind of person who likes straight lines and things to look  neat and in the right spot.

Their challenge is: 

This week we are challenging you to "Get Messy"! Create a birthday card using lots of inking, paints or mists and of course include a birthday sentiment/wording on your card front!

As I don't have any mists or paints (plus paint takes so long to dry that I don't really have the patience for it), I decided that inking was the way to go.   I used different coloured inks to stamp squares for the background and then stamped the motorbike image using dark brown ink.  At first I didn't like the coloured squares because they didn't stamp as perfectly as I had imagined they would...but I have decided to embrace the whole 'messy' aspect of the challenge and so let's just say that it is supposed to look that way!  I then inked around the edges randomly to try and mimic the look of mud and dirt that a motorbike rider might spray around while riding.  And that's about it really!

Thanks for looking!

25 February 2012

Centre-step birthday card

This card was made for the Birthday Sundaes challenge this week.  It's a card for a girl who is turning 6 in a few weeks.  The challenge at Birthday Sundaes was:

We are challenging you to create a stair step birthday card. This includes center step and side step cards too!

I love making cards that are folded differently.  This is a centre step card and was really easy to make.  I used a couple of MFT dies to make the rolled rose and the purple shape that I wrote the sentiment on.  I also used the grass die to cut the felt into grass.  The 'Super-girl' was cut from the 'Paper doll dress ups' cartridge.  Papers and stamps were kaisercraft.

This is a side view of the card.

 I was chuffed to see that my 'Happy Bearthday' card was chosen as one of the featured cards from last weeks challenge at Birthday Sundaes - thanks everyone!

Thanks for looking!

18 February 2012

Peachy Keen Stamps Friendship Challenge

I made this card especially for the Peachy Keen stamps challenge this week. 
 
THE CHALLENGE:
We want you card-makers to show us your SKILLZ! This week, create a card using theme providedFRIENDSHIP!
Your card can include any stamps but remember you can only earn "Top Peach" if you use your Peachy Keen Stamps!
I used my Peachy Keen Everyday Face Assortment stamps for the faces - I just love this stamp set - they are so cute!  They give so much more character to the images when they have a cute face.

I used my cuttlebug for the first time on this card (yay!), it is a very new purchase and I am very excited to own one.  I used the swiss dots embossing folder on the sand.  Love it - I just have to resist the urge to give everything swiss dots!

The crab, fish, cloud and sun are all from Create a Critter.  I love that little crab - he is just so cute!
Don't you just love him!
A little bit of sewing around the edge of the card, a little bit of faux stitching around the critters and the card is done. Just need to give it to my crab-ulous friend!

Thanks for looking!

What's your favourite challenge blog?

Hi there!

So today I just have a question for you.

What are your favourite challenge blogs?

I ask this question because I have a small handful of my 'go to' sites for challenges, and the majority of them are sketch-related challenges.  I love a good challenge and if I don't have one then I tend to get stuck in a scrappy rut and create the same type of cards all the time.

My favourite challenge site is definitely Birthday Sundaes.  I love making birthday cards and their challenges are great.

Others I sometimes participate in are CPS, Card Patterns and Mojo Monday.  But other than that, I don't really know where else to look for good inspiration for card making.  I have a cricut and a new cuttlebug that needs to get used....so I ask you...which challenge blogs could you recommend for me?

Thanks for looking!

15 February 2012

Front Cover of Project Life


I haven't done a digi scrapbooking post in ages so I thought it was time I shared one of my Project Life pages.  This is the front cover of our Project Life 2011 photo book which arrived a few weeks ago.



I have used a Brandy Murry template from her 'Journallers' collection from Scrap Girls.
All papers and embellishments are by Cinzia Loosemore , they are from her Celebrate digital kit which I love!  (Her kit is available from oscraps).  Love those colours and love the fun embellishments.  I am really drawn to her kits and templates, they are always fab!

I am still loving Project Life -  I have been doing it since June 2009 and went completely digital in 2011.  It is so much quicker and easier than traditional scrapbooking.  My boys love looking through the books at all the photos and remembering the different things that we have done throughout the year.  Makes it totally worthwhile.

Thanks for looking!

13 February 2012

Birthday Sundaes Challenge - Happy 'Bearthday'

I had to laugh when I saw the Birthday Sundaes challenge for this week:

Create a birthday card using the following picture as inspiration - it must include a HEART and a birthday sentiment on your card front!


The card I made last week for the easel challenge would have fit this inspiration photo challenge perfectly.  And I also made another cupcake birthday card just a couple of weeks ago that would have been perfect as well!  Anyway, as I am a bit 'cupcaked' out, I decided to make the focus on the heart and use a cupcake as just a minor little embellishment on my card.

And here is my card.  I think this will go to a little friend who is turning 6 years old in a few weeks.


Thanks for looking!

11 February 2012

Quick birthday card

Here's a super simple birthday card for a girlfriend who is celebrating her birthday next week.  I have been wanting to use this lace for a while now and thought it matched these papers nicely.



Don't groan when you see that I have used that owl from Create a Critter once again!  I just love him.  I made a few of them in bulk to use whenever I needed them, so unfortunately, you will probably be seeing him again sometime soon!

Thanks for looking!

Card for CPS sketch

This is my take on the latest CPS sketch.  I wish I had made the circle a bit bigger but never mind.
I like the stitching on this one.  I deliberately stitched it all wonky (no, I really did it deliberately!).  It is actually harder than I thought to stitch randomly!  Especially if you are a 'straight lines' kind of girl like me...so I went around the borders twice to make it look a bit more random.  Then I inked all the edges in black as roughly as I could - given that there is a dirtbike on the card, I figured it needed to look a bit grungy.

I bought a set of dirtbike/racing cars stamps yesterday - it's nothing like I would normally buy but my 4 year old and 2 year old were with me and begged and begged to get them, and I had a rare parenting moment of weakness and decided that I probably would get a fair bit of use out of them...and if not, I have no doubt that my boys will use them over and over again.  At $6.95 for a big set of many stamps, it didn't break the bank.  My 4 y.o. couldn't believe his luck (I hardly ever say yes!) and he held the stamps the whole way home looking at them and telling me about them and how he can't wait to make a card when he gets home!  Will post a pic of his card later.

Anyway, it's nice to finally have some new stamps to work with, I was getting sick of using the same ones all the time.

Papers:  My Minds Eye
Stamps:  Sullivan's

Thanks for looking!

Birthday Sundaes Challenge #42

I made this card for the Birthday Sundaes Challenge #42 - make a birthday card with a birthday sentiment on the front.  I was chuffed to see that my 'Happy Birthday Sweetie' easel card was a featured card for their easel card challenge - thanks guys!

I love these bright papers - they were all scraps that I couldn't bear to part with!  I keep all my little patterned paper scraps for cards like this, it just seems like such a waste to throw them out.  I could probably make about 100 of these cards and still have enough scraps to make about 500 more!  And the beauty of this card is that you can use any papers you like and it would still look good.  Would definitely work for boys cards or girls cards and any age.  I got the idea from an older Cardmaps sketch on the Pagemaps website.

Thanks for looking!

5 February 2012

New House

This card is for a lovely friend who has just moved house over 2 hours away.  The card was inspired by one that I saw by Sheree Forcier in Cardmaking, Stamping and Papercraft magazine, vol.17 no.4.

Lots of stitching in this one!  You may notice that there is some zigzag stitching - my machine and I have worked things out!  It seems we were having tension issues - both the machine and myself!!  Once I consulted the manual again I realised what I had done wrong, made some adjustments and off she went.  The stitching on the green hill was so crooked that I shifted the house to be off centre to cover it up!  I really need lessons on how to sew around edges that are not straight.  Anyone got any tips?  But for now, I shall stick to straight lines.

Thanks for looking!

4 February 2012

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

This birthday card is for my dear friend who really is such a Sweetie! 





I love making easel cards, they are one of my favourite types of cards to make.  So I was really pleased when the Birthday Sundaes challenge this week was to make an easel card - perfect!

I used the Mojo Monday square sketch this week (for the top section of my easel card).







My sewing machine and I have had issues this week - I wanted to zig zag stitch and it didn't want to zig zag stitch.  The sewing machine won - I ended up just doing a straight stitch.  Not sure what it's problem is - it's just had a big service and should be running fine...

Anyway, my point is, there is stitching on my card!  And it's pink...which means that I actually changed the cotton by myself and filled an empty bobbin and inserted it back in by myself!!  Will wonders never cease!  I must confess, it did take a rather long phone call to my very crafty and talented Patchwork-sewing Mum to get instructions on how to do it...and then after failing and giving up I had one last, desperate search for the sewing machine instruction manual...and wouldn't you know it, I found it!  Two minutes later and I was raring to go!  Boy, the instructions were so easy to follow!

Thanks for looking!