A few more cards

Hey!  Thanks for popping by my little corner of the world.  Today I’m back with a few more cards.

First up is one that I made for the St Patricks Day challenge over at Create: (but I managed to miss the deadline. Need to check when that is!) and also for the Guest Design team search over at Paper Smooches.   I used the sketch over at Retro Sketches again but kept to it better this time.  I’m also linking this one up to our Paper Issues challenge.  This little man is from Paper Smooches, really a gnome but hey he works as a leprechaun too, don’t ya think?!  The wording is a really old stamp from Hero Arts, and when I say really old I mean years!!  The dies are PTI Mat Stack.

On the subject of going green I have a little giveaway for you.  You may remember some time ago I did a little review of a recycling book and played around with some embossing of diet coke tins.  It’s just amazing what you can recycle when you know how!  Anyway, there are now more books available and I have kindly been given 10 to giveaway on my blog.  If you’re interested pop on over to www.alteredupcycling.com and sign up for the free guide.  Then you just need to enter your email address in the field given and add ‘ruby’ (without the apostrophes!) to the end. In a week’s time Mahe will randomly select 10 winners and send you the book.  Simple, huh!

Next up are two cards that I made using the lovely clock stamps from Uniko Studio.

A really quick and simple card…  I used some patterned papers and the lovely flowers from the set.  I matted the card base with patterned paper, and stamped the sentiment in brown. This range of papers has some journalling tags so I just took one of the circular ones and die cut it with some Nestie circles before adhering it to the card base. I stamped them in brown and then cut around them, placing one directly onto the circle and the others pop dotted.  The leaves are just hand cut and scored down the centre, again attached with pop dots.  Pearls were added to the centres to finish.

Next up is another simple card using some Kaisercraft patterned papers. 

For this card I used one piece of patterned cardstock for the base, that I cut into two.  The top half I attached directly to the card base as shown.  For the bottom half I stamped some cogs in Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Using Ranger Distress Ink (Faded Jeans) I distressed over the embossed cogs.  If you look closely you may be able to make out the tiny green leaves showing through the cogs. 

Using a Fiskars punch I die cut a border to match.  I stamped the time docket onto some polka dot paper to add a bit of interest and then added a little journalling panel (both from the same pad).  Finally I stamped the sentiment in brown onto some white cardstock and hand cut it into a banner. Some polka dot ribbon tied around the panel before finally sticking everything down, and then the panel was pop dotted.  A MS butterfly die cut in gold and again in white finished off the centre panel with some pearls added to complete the card.  All supplies of these two cards can be found over at The Stamp Attic’s fabulous online shop.

That’s it from me now on the clocks front, I hope you’ve enjoyed the designs I’ve been playing around with.  It’s been fun stepping out of my comfort zone. 

Gotta dash, so if you need any more details on the supplies I've used just give me a shout and I will be more than happy to help.

Have fun!

Go Green & Time for some Purple

This month always makes me think of green.  Being half Irish I can’t really avoid St Patrick's Day and it’s just a lovely colour to work with at this time of the year too.

Today over at Paper Issues we have a new challenge all about going green whether it’s the colour or recycling.

I’ve been fortunate enough to get to play with the new Uniko Stamps, courtesy of the lovely Wendy over at The Stamp Attic.  Have you heard of them?  They are a new UK based stamp company and their stamps are flying off the shelves. I made this card using some green floral and red polka dot paper from Echo Park's 'For The Record' and I also inked up my little ticket (also by Uniko Studio) using Ranger Distress ink in Crushed Olive too.
  


Now I don’t know about you but clocks seem to scare me a little.  By that I don’t mean all clocks lol, I mean in the stamping world.  They look good but what do you do with them?  I think my nervousness of them comes from the fact that there are a lot of talented designers out there that use clocks a la Tim Holtz style so know what they’re talking about.  I, on the other hand, do flowers, butterflies, cute images and little Manga girls lol.  So this is my first proper attempt at clocks.  I have created a few cards with these stamps so you will be seeing more of them on my blog over a period of time. 

Next up is a card that I created for my DT post over at The Stamp Attic.  It was inspired by the Sketches-To-Go magazine, they had a sketch of three tags across the card and a sentiment that runs along the bottom but I put mine at the top instead.  I just love this magazine and go to it time and time again.  Sketches really fire off my imagination for some reason and while it’s great having them on your pc for future reference it doesn’t quite inspire me in the same way as having it in a magazine to thumb through so when my wonderful Play Date Cafe ‘Boss Lady’ and friend Julie Ranae Murray sent me over the latest copy of Papercraft Inspirations I was over the moon and having been poorly it couldn’t have come up at a better time.  Thank you Julie!

For details of this card pop on over to The Stamp Attic.

Have a great evening!!

Happy New Year, my 2012 word and a card for Paper Issues

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope this year is your best ever!

Last year you may remember me choosing a word for the year, mine was ‘happy’ and I think I achieved that.  Yes, there were ups and downs, but I chose only to do things that made me happy instead of doing things that I ‘should’ do.  Of course there are things that you have to do, but there are also things that you do out of duty and because of that they can seem a drudge.  If you choose to be happy doing those things they often turn out much better than expected.

As with a lot of others in the blogging world I thought I’d take some time to share some of my favourite projects with you that I’ve blogged about this past year.  One of my teamies, Kellie Winnell, over at Paper Issues is also doing a little link up here on top 10 crafty creations for 2011 so why don’t you spend some time reflecting on what you liked and join in with us.

Ok, so here goes.. (not in any particular order)

A card for Color Me Creative, hair is a bit of a challenge for me so I was pleased how this one turned out.

My first attempt at colouring sepia, this was SO much fun, must have a go at that again.
A colour splash over at Play Date Cafe, I just love the elegance of those Papertrey Ink patterns and that Daydreamer flower is lush!
I made this one for my friend moving back to Australia, it was nice to use letters as the focal point, I don’t often do that.
These mini butterfly cards were really addictive, I just couldn’t stop once I started using the colour blocking trend lol
I don’t often make boy cards so it was fun to play around with this little train that someone had asked me to make for them.
I’m sure you all know I’m a HUGE Lawn Fawn fan so LOVED playing around with some Halloween stamps for this one and my most favourite-y big stripey ribbon, mmmm.  Ruby does love that ribbon! My covered pegs for the Stamp Attic and Paper Issues DT, so quick and simple to make.
One of my favourite colour combinations..

Finally probably my big accomplishment for the year, not because it’s a major thing, but because it’s a major thing for me.. My little Tic Tac Toe game that I made a video about. It looks like a card, but it’s actually a mini board game I made for my daughter for fun. 

I created my very first video using penguin stamps instead of these pumpkin ones, which is what the video was based on, you can see a small video outtake pic below. 

It took FOREVER to make, lots of laughter trying to do it but so scary!  I’m so proud I actually finished it!  Thanks Carole Ann for the nudging!

Paper Issues has a linky up party going on called ‘We’ve Got Your Number’.  I made this card a while back, it seems a bit unusual but it one of a few sample bespoke cards that I was asked to make for something specific but another one made the cut!

So.. my word for this year … (drum roll please…) is …

FABULOUS

Last year's 'Happy' was a great word, but fabulous is even better, it's one of those 'I feel on top of the world' words!  Someone I used to work with in the corporate world used to always say when asked how she was that she was 'fabulous, thank you'.  I think that's a great way to answer!  Saying I'm fine, I'm good, I'm ok just doesn't make you feel great!  

I hope this year is your most fabulous yet, that you manage to achieve all of those crafty goals that you set yourself but most of all have heaps of fun along the way! 

I’ll be back tomorrow with a project for a guest DT post.

Happy New Year!

A few Christmas projects to share over at The Stamp Attic

Hello, it’s me back again with a few Christmas projects for The Stamp Attic.

* * Edited to add.. if you're looking for my Play Date Cafe post please scroll down * *

First up is a Christmas tag using more cute Hero Arts reindeer stamps..

Next a more traditional Christmas card that we made at one of the workshops that I ran recently over there.

and finally a quick card made using some snowflakes to create a fun background…

For details of supplies pop on over to The Stamp Attic blog.

Have a great day!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Are you singing yet?!!

It is though!  I just LOVE this time of year, it is my absolute favourite time of year. The build up is fab!  The dark evenings, Christmas lights and sparkle, the hustle and bustle and the lovely foods.  FAB-U-LOUS! 

Wendy over at The Stamp Attic gave me this fun little Hero Arts reindeer set to play with.  He just makes you smile, doesn’t he!


I combined a few challenges for this card, not something I do often, but the ideas just came together.  I really should do this more, it was fun!

First up is CAS-ual Fridays with their Tic-Tac Toe challenge where you have to choose three squares in a row. I chose scallops, kraft and aqua. 



The second challenge I used was this lovely sketch over at Sketchbook Saturday Challenge.  I used the snowflakes in place of the leaves and added the red ‘scalloped’ border using a Tim Holtz punch.


I played around with a new technique for this little reindeer, well new to me anyway.  I stamped some of the Limited Edition Ranger Distress Ink in Evergreen Bough onto my craft mat and then sprayed some Perfect Pearls mix that I had made by just adding a teaspoon of Perfect Pearls to some water in a mini mister and I then used it as paint onto card before stamping my image.  I did the same again for the reindeer using Vintage Photo and the Limited Edition Weathered Twigs. The effect is SO pretty in real life, it’s my new favourite thing now lol.  Here are a couple of close ups for you..


My third challenge is over at the Create: blog where you have to make a Christmas card.  I really needed to get a move on with mine so this is a great start!

I am going to link this up to Paper Issues, the current theme is Holiday Madness so I’m sure I will be adding more to this one very soon as the Christmas Card production line starts!  Why do I leave it to the last minute?!

You can buy all of the supplies for my card over at The Stamp Attic and don’t forget to check out the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas while you’re over there.  Wendy has some great offers on at the moment when you buy those supplies.

Hope you have a fun day!

InLinkz.com

Stamp Attic & Christmas

Wow I just cannot believe it’s only six weeks to Christmas!  How did that happen?!

Today I have a very simple card to share with you that we created for a Christmas Card workshop recently that I ran over at The Stamp Attic.



For information on supplies please visit The Stamp Attic blog.

Another Card & A Winner!

Happy Saturday!

Today I have two cards to share with you, one for The Stamp Attic and the other for Color Me Creative’s latest challenge.

If you’re here for the Color Me Creative Challenge card then please click here

So first it’s time to announce the winner of my giveaway for the My Memories digital scrapbooking software and the winner is ….

Carol of Inky Fingers!  Congratulations Carol!!  Drop me an email and I will get a code sorted for you.

I have made a quick card below for The Stamp Attic, full details can be found by popping over to their blog.

I don’t often emboss on cards but I just love embossing with black, it’s sooo glossy!

I’m entering this card into Simon Says Stamp challenge of Anything Goes.  My friend, Laurel Beard, has just signed up with them as an Affiliate so if you want inspiration pop by her blog to see what she’s been creating!  She also runs the fab Lawnscaping Challenge blog.

I’m also entering this into WEE Memories challenge of using Brads, Buttons or Bows.  As you can see I used a bow on my card.  It was quite tricky to work out what to use because I love all of them!!  It’s been a while since I’ve had chance to play along with WEE Memories, well with any challenges really.  Life gets so busy sometimes, doesn’t it!


I’m running some Christmas card workshops over at The Stamp Attic on Monday 7th November, so if you fancy having a giggle over a cuppa while getting organised by making a couple of Christmas cards get yourself booked in.

I’m also running some Christmas Tag workshops there on Monday 21st November.  I love adding tags as a finishing touch to presents, it’s so nice having tags to match your cards/wrapping.  I hope to put a few on here soon, if I can squeeze in an extra five minutes to play.

Ian is taking a few days off next week so we are hoping to crack the back of some housey jobs and I have some crafty business stuff to catch up on.   Who knows I may get time to play along in a couple of challenges too.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Altered Pegs

Today over at The Stamp Attic I am sharing a little project I made using wooden pegs.  I’m really pleased how they turned out.  I’m going to have to make some more of these.  So much more fun using pegs like this than using them for washing!

To see all of the details just pop on over to The Stamp Attic blog.

The papers looked a little bit too bright too so just by adding a bit of Ranger Distress Tea Dye ink everything looked a little bit shabbier.

Thanks to my teamies over at Paper Issues I’m trying to expand my horizons by doing things other than cards.  Their work is just absolutely outstanding, you can’t help but be inspired by them.

I’m entering this tag/peg into Top Tip Tuesdays where the challenge is to use patterned papers and create your own handmade flower.  I know there are a lot of these little handmade flowers flying around on blogs but I just wanted to show you how I use my curved tweezers.  I really find they help me get a better shape.

1. For my little flower I just cut out a circle (well let’s just say a circle even though as you can see it’s a very raggedy one!!) I wanted the flower to be a bit shabby so I wasn’t bothered about it being perfect
2. Starting from the outside I cut a raggedy spiral shape until I got to the centre. 
3. Using my curved tweezers I picked up the outer end of the spiral
4. Working towards the centre of the flower I wound the spiral around the end of the tweezers
5. Keeping the bottom part of the spiral level I continued towards the centre of the spiral (this makes it easier to stick once complete)
6. Once wound I gently removed the flower from the tweezers and let it unravel slightly to create a flower
7. You will see that the centre of the spiral becomes a base on which you can use some glue to hold it together
8. Once glued I squashed the flower down a little to age it

Hope you like!  Have a go, they really are fun!