Wednesday 28 September 2011

#85 Honey Bear






















Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - distressing
Sponsor & prize this week - Digi Doodle Shop - $10 gift certificate

Hello again fellow crafters, and my card today uses one of the images from our prize sponsor this week, Digi Doodle called 'Honey Bear'. Now, why said bear is crying I am not too sure given that he seems to have plenty of honey in his jar and the bees around him seem friendly enough!  I have coloured him in with Promarkers, though the wings of the bees were coloured with the new Flexmarker pens.


For the obligatory distressing elements I have torn my design paper using a tearing ruler and inked around the edges with several colours of Distress Inks. I have also made my own flower as you can see, by scrunching up some Spellbinders die cuts to create a kind of carnation, (which might not be seasonal but is at least distressed, LOL), which I then sat on a Marianne Creatables leaf die cut. I thought this leaf perfect for an autumnal-feel card given its vein-like structure.  I had used the same scalloped Spellbinders shape as the flower to create the mat for the image & the sentiment, cutting this time from white card and inking it with the a couple of the same Distress Inks I had used on the dp.  I created the sentiment myself on the PC, adding the isolated bee from a copy of main image. The double-sided satin 'old-gold' ribbon is from my stash.

Challenges:
Crafty Calendar - bears
Cupcake Craft - if you go down to the woods today...
Di's Digi Designs - make your own flowers
Crafts & Me - flower/s
Marianne's Design Divas - bloom & grow (+MC product)
Mark's Finest Papers - things with wings (the jolly bees!)
Paper Works - photo inspiration (for colour choices- see above photo)
Corrosive - punches/dies
Ooh-la la - dies/punches
Designed2Delight - die cut diva
Crafty Pad - stitching
The Outlawz - Copic/Promarker Friday Challenge - anything goes
Creatalicious - anything goes
Simon Says - anything goes
Sweet Stamping - anything goes (optional sketch)
Party Time Tuesday - anything goes.

Sunday 25 September 2011

Kenny K #62 Christmas Cards & New Release!

Hi all and in case you didn't know, Kenny K has a new release out today! Yep, some new seasonal Christmas images are now available in the digi store & the creative gals on Team B have been creating with them this week.   Being a Sunday there is a new challenge running too, (Christmas cards of course!) and the prizes this week come from Bearly Mine (fabby papers)



& Kenny K too.



Can't be bad, eh? Hope you can join in the fun this time around.
Tine :)

Wednesday 21 September 2011

#84 Two by Two






















Theme at I ♥ Promarkers this week - use a number
Sponsor & prize - Crafty Emma - £10 voucher

I have endeavoured to be good & get on with a card I need to do for a relative of mine ahead of time and as he is approaching his second birthday, what better a design than all the animals sailing off in the ark, two by two.  The image is by Crissy Armstrong & is called 'Noah's Ark' and I have chosen to colour it with Promarkers, paper piecing the little brolly.  Following the theme of '2' there are two ribbons & two bows - & even two weather systems as I have it only raining on the little monkey sporting the umbrella, LOL. The number mounted with glue gel is from Bluebird Flats.

On the inside.


Tine :)

Challenges I would like to enter this card for are:
Forever Friends Monthly - paper piecing (+animal)
Ladybug - animals
By the Cute & Girly - all things bright & beautiful (...'all creatures great & small', by 'creatures'  I refer to the animals in the ark, not to little boys! LOL)
Stempeltraeume 'Stamp Dreams' - inspired by a song (hymn - 'All things bright & beautiful, all creatures great & small'
SSDS - birthday creations
Lexi's - card for a child
Tip Top - one for the kids
Stamptacular Sunday - sentiment on front of card (& I have on the inside as well)
Crafty Sentiments - happy birthday
Addicted to Stamps - stitching
Kaboodle Doodles - layers
Sentimental Sundays - monochrome
Partytime Tuesdays - monochrome (&/or sketch)
Di's Digi Designs - anything goes
Cute Card Thursdays - anything goes.

Sunday 18 September 2011

Kenny K #61 ...Not a Day over 49!






















Theme at Kenny K this week - use your favourite KK image
Sponsor & prize -  Michelle's Scrapbooking Store - $15 gift certificate

What a question to ask, eh?  Favourite image?  It took me a few days to decide which to use I have to admit.  Of course, some images are more suitable than others for different occasions & often the character of the recipient has a strong bearing on my image choices.  Sometimes my fav image is the last one I coloured & it is true that I have a soft spot for 'Captain Locke' as she was such fun to colour, (though I have to say all the Steampunk gals are soo enjoyable to colour - & I love to colour as you know, LOL), but as I had used Ms Locke only last week thought I should really use one of the others.  It was nearly 'Queen's Cutie' or 'Troublemaker' ...but no, in the end I decided to use probably my favourite male image, that of 'Cheers Dude', suitable not only for those liking a 'bit of a tipple', but also for non-drinkers too as the image is toasting their good health.  What was even better, once I had made my decision & worked out what I was going to do with it, it was brought to my attention that my brother in law needed a card for his birthday - and whilst I had thought I had been clever & had already made him one, hadn't realised until all the baby photos were making an appearance that it was a BIG birthday - & so needed a different card with a definite age reminder on it - just to rub it in!  LOL.

The 'wiper' in action.






















So 'Cheer's Dude' it was, following the layout over at CLP this month and coloured with Promarkers. His  t-shirt and the crown of his hat have been paper-pieced to give them a bit of pattern & interest & I used my new MS punch to create the horizontal zig-zag element.  Whilst this describes the front of the card itself, in actuality I had created a 'wiper' card, which Tip Top have a tutorial on this week. Now my version is slightly different than theirs & uses my own variation of measurements etc, but is the same general gist. My tip, though you might do this yourselves anyway, is that I always do a 'dry run' for moving cards - using plain paper to make sure my measurements are correct and the moveable parts are not catching on anything & actually work. If the mechanisms work fine on the flimsier paper then they should be great when constructed in card & in cases like this when the 'wiper' is quite long, then double checking saves messing up your beloved stash.  The circular numerical reminder of his increasing age (in case my BIL had possibly forgotten which mile-stone it is this time, LOL), is from Bluebird Flats but the other sentiments I created myself on the PC & I will hand write our names in the blank space on the back just before I give it - unless I forget, yes, I have done that too before now! LOL.

The reverse - with blank section for adding the 'from'.
Tine :)

Challenges:
CLP - design sketch (used on front)
Tip Top - birth or birthday (+ tip)
Crafting for All Seasons - birthday
Craft Your Passion -
the 'f' word
(ssh...better whisper it -' fifty')
Scrap-Creations - unique fold
Cards for Men - anything but square
Cardmad Fairy - layers
Frosted Designs - punches (Martha Stewart one)
Simon Says Stamps - song or film title (song - Cheers [Drink to That] by Rihanna)
Outlawz Greeting - inspired by a song (see above)
Di's Digi Designs - anything goes
Inspire Me Fridays -always anything goes.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

#83 Travel/Transport - Here Comes Santa























Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - travel/transport
Sponsor & prize this week - Letraset / pack of Promarkers  (wish I could enter!!!! LOL)

The fun image I am using for my DT card this week is from Elizabeth Dulemba. Santa is hurtling along on the Vespa but his poor reindeer is looking a tad concerned. No, it's not Rudolph - no glowing nose!  LOL. He has been coloured with Promarkers of course, from the grey 'heavy with snow' skies to the tip of Santa's weather-beaten nose - and if any of those talented crafting children we have had entering our challenge of late are reading this, I would like to point out that I think that Santa here is probably going to one of his guest appearances at a store rather than trying to do his main delivery - so not to worry.


Basically, as you can see, other than the colour on the image it is just white on white, layering up pearlescent card.  The base layer (on top of the main card) was run through an an embossing folder in several  pieces as the folder was too small to perform the task in one piece. Any joins are hidden behind the layer above it thankfully, so having to piece it, whilst hardly ideal, didn't matter too much in the end. That next layer, the diamond shape, has a border created using the PATP Martha Stewart snowflake punches but the layer on top of that has a hand embossed border with another dotty layer added on top of that. This whole layer of mats is supported using sticky pads for added dimension & Santa's mat above that has also been added onto the card using foam pads. The large snowflakes were made using my Marianne Creatables die with centre pieces utilising the punched out flakes that were left from the MS border & corner punches.

The insert
For the inside of the card I went for a full insert this time around but continued my snow flurries here too, though drastically reducing the layering so it could still close! The sentiment is from Paulette at TLC.

Tine :)

Challenges I am entering this card for are:
Gingerloft - create a sky
Polka Doodles - setting the scene
Catch the Bug - dies/punches (I used both)
Forever Friends - (must use animal) - dies
Winter Wonderland - Santa Claus is coming to town
Fussy & Fancy - celebration challenge (celebrating Christmas)
Charisma - inspired by a song (Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Mariah Carey)
Secret Crafter -  inspired by a song (Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Mariah Carey)
Craft Your Passion - 'f' words (flakes & flurry)
Stamp Challenges - anything goes.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Kenny K - Pins & Pearls

The theme at Kenny K's Challenge is Pins & Pearls & Team B are showing you some great examples to get your creativity going.  Why not pop over & see?  If you do decide to enter this week there is a prize of a £10 gift voucher from


as well as 5 digis from


Happy crafting!
Tine :)

Wednesday 7 September 2011

#82 Use metal - Key To My Heart






















Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - use metal
Prize & sponsor - £10 gift voucher from Joanna Sheen

This week for my DT card, I have used one of Kenny K's fabby new images in the Steampunk range called 'Captain Locke', who just happens to be clutching a ring of keys just the right size for my metal key charm to be attached to. What better choice then for our 'metal' theme this week!  I even managed to add a bit more metal too, with the addition of the white brads down the side.  Ms Locke has of course, been coloured with my Promarkers - as has the super winged padlock from Kim Lariviere .



I altered the base dp by adding my own cog wheels to it & stencilling large wheels using the designs I made for the card on my last post (drawing concentric circles & cutting slits into the outer rim to make the cog shaping) & inking through. Sadly, I then covered a lot of this up!  Doh! LOL.  I also inked around the edges of my papers using Distress Ink.  As you might know my now, I love the Fleur de Lis dies from the Spellbinders range so couldn't resist adding another one here in a corner & then embossed one of my panels.  I then layered it all up using both foam pads & glue gel for a bit of dimension.

















For the inside of the card today I layered up some of the same card & papers, creating my own sentiment on the inside on the PC but incorporating the heart/scroll (that came without the wording - I added that), from Bird's Cards and the key to the side which was from Kim Lariviere. The white rectangular piece of card is where I can pop the name & 'from' etc.

Hope you like it!

Tine :)

Challenges I would like to enter this card for:
Card Makin' Mamas - digis
Stamp Something - digi day
Rainbow Lady's - emboss
Jellypark - dies or punches
Challenge Up Your Life - for men
Cards for Men - G is for......(glamorous, gorgeous & goggles)
Stamping Dragon - occupations (captain of a plane)
Crafty Catz - monochromatic
Sundays with Crissy - friendship
Creative Craft - charming - use a charm
Fussy & Fancy - celebration challenge
Truly Scrumptious - decorate the inside of your card
Paper Shelter - embossing (some on the inside as well as the outside)
Papertake - anything goes
Creative Card - anything goes.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Kenny K #59 Vintage/Grunge - Time Flies





















Theme at Kenny K this week - vintage/grunge
Prize & sponsor - £10 gift voucher from Bearly Mine + 5 Kenny K digis of your choice!

Hope any of you who were at the craft fair near the Trafford Centre, Manchester yesterday (Saturday), had a great time. I know I did & got a few more crafting goodies to keep me going too.

As for my card here, gosh, where to I begin with this one then, eh? LOL. Not exactly minimalistic is it!  LOL. Yes, Kenny K has drawn us all some more images to play with - adding to his Steampunk range - & this sassy gal is a pilot (you got that from the goggles, right?) going by the name of 'Brianna Blaster'.  Now to me, Steampunk is more than a collaboration of Victoriana + Punk. To me, it is more Victoriana meets modern technology.  Basically, if a Victorian were to have our technology to play with, what might it look like - & there seems to be a twist of  'future' into the mix. So on this card I have gone for the eclectic attitudes of the Victorian era (ie., if there is an inch of space, fill it with something elaborate) & let this girl with her futuristic gun loose into this crowded mechanical world.























Brianna has been coloured with Promarkers to give her a leather cap & Air Force blue 'uniform' - well that was my intention so if I succeeded I am sure you will let me know. :)  I gave her a long mat with no layering as I wanted it to look as if she had just been beamed down, like a time traveller. Now, I don't reckon she would be able to run very far in those 'killer heels'  but that said, with that gun in her hand, she probably wouldn't need to!  She looks quite a capable young lady to me. LOL. I used the tops of her stockings as the 3 rows of a ranking officer (I think 3 stripes is a Sergeant) - well she hasn't got room for emblems on her arms has she! LOL. For the remaining colours I tried to achieve a gun & back-pack etc., of steel & brass, using Promarkers to colour the large clock in too. This clock, the 'butterfly' & the tickets are all from Kim Lariviere.

I got out my Fleur de Lis dies from Spellbinders again for the corner pieces & the shape above & peeping below the clock-face, colouring them using Promarkers again even the gold or silver highlights. However, for the cog wheels I didn't rely on a die at all but created my own, drawing 3 concentric circles quite close together & cutting 'teeth' from the outer one to the middle one. For the larger wheel I added spokes cutting out the triangular shapes (to the inner most circle), using a craft knife & making a hole in the middle with my Crop-a-Dile. Each wheel was then inked & embossed. The backing paper which seemed just perfect for my daring aviator was from TLC but I added my own finishing touches to that too by making a large cog wheel the same way as my smaller wheels & then using it as a stencil for my Distress Inks (at the corner with the other wheels). I then inked around the rest of the page too before adding the metal brads to hold a cog wheel in place & to adorn 2 corners.

The layering





















Well, I wanted to finish it off by creating a suitable insert & this one uses word-art from Kim Lariviere (yes, it is in French & the translation, should you need it, is "Friendship is love without wings" which seemed just perfect not only for a card for a friend but for my pilot image- wings, get it, LOL) - & yes, I am pretty sure the recipient would understand the French without me having to explain it, fortunately! I tore around the edges of this before sticking down at a slight angle. The Spellbinders Fleur de Lis die at the top & bottom edges gave it the relevant Steampunk 'je ne sais quoi" - sorry gone back into French mode! LOL, & this design helped it match in with the front too. Getting the strip of Fleur de Lis all the way across was a bit fiddly as I needed it to be longer than the die actually is, but as you know, I rarely make life easy for myself! LOL. As I didn't want to add 'bulk' to the insert of the card by using any metal embellies I went a bit creative with the photo anchor too. I very carefully embossed a metal one (by running it through my die cutter) then cut it out by hand and added a card circle punched out using my Crop a Dile to create the idea of a top of a brad. I coloured this with Promarkers before sticking down to give a  punctuation of colour to the otherwise very white interior.



















Well, I think that is everything! Hope I haven't missed anything out but there is quite a bit on this one. LOL. If you feel like playing along with our vintage/grunge challenge this week you don't of course, have to use Steampunk as your inspiration - but do remember that if you use any of Kenny K's images on your card you stand a chance of  winning some of Donna's fabby papers & Kenny's digis .

Tine :)

Challenges I would like to enter this card for are:
Papercraft Star -  Steampunk
Passion for Promarkers - anything goes (but use Promarkers - as if you need to ask me! LOL)
I Brake For Challenges - shabby chic
Crafty Creations - use at least 3 dies/punches (3- all from the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis range, 3 corners dies, 3 single elements & 2 borders) - plus embossing my metallic photo corner to make a card one too
Jellypark - dies/punches
Cards for Men - G is for.....(grunge)
Anything Goes Challenge - inspired by tv/film (Dr. Who - a kind of Time Lord, she is beaming down from one time period to another)
Stamp Challenges - September digi day
Card Makin' Mamas - digis
Crafty Pad - blue & brown
Glitter Geeks - sports mad (given that she is a Pilot with a gun in hand,  - flying & shooting)
Stamptacular Sunday - sky's the limit (be creative)
Inspire Me Fridays - always anything goes (logo & bottom of sidebar).

Saturday 3 September 2011

Well Done!



It has been a frantic couple of weeks with scholars getting the results of their A-levels & GCSEs & as you know, without the right results you can't get to study at either the University or Sixth Form College of your choice or even study the subjects you want to. I ended up making a few cards - mercifully all the same - to give to those kids I know gaining a large clutch of passes between them. I just have to hope now that they all can go on to study where they want to at the start of the new term.

The number of cards I had to squeeze in between my DT cards (not to mention housework!) LOL, meant that I had a go at a CAS design.  I also had to bear in mind the ages of the recipients when selecting the  image itself, as well as the colours I could realistically use, especially when half of the kids the cards are going to are male. As the focal point I used this perfect image from Elizabeth Dulemba, coloured it up with Promarkers & set it in front of a lined paper dp -as if torn from a school book & clipping the two together with a coloured paper clip.  To finish it off I added the horizontal ribbon & the sentiment printed simply from the PC & put the layers on a very classy looking white card base.

Two of the few
A relatively simplistic card, so hopefully more good practice at a CAS card - & a short & sweet posting today too. See you all again in the morning!

Tine :)

Challenges:
Simply Create - here comes the 'school' bus
Crazy 4 - back to school
Sentimental Sundays - back to school
Pixie Dust - school is cool
Stamp Insanity - back to school
Passion for Promarkers - anything goes (using Promarkers)