#81 Anything goes - Quiet Fairy

Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - anything goes
Sponsor - Letraset (pkt of Promarkers)

Don't these week's just fly by? This week you can use any image you want of course (don't you all just love 'anything goes' weeks, LOL), just so long as you use Letraset products to colour it in - Promarkers, Trias, Flexmarkers or Aquamarkers.

I have used what I am sure will have been proving a popular design sketch from Cute Card Thursdays for the front of the card and for the base design I went with a tent fold card in shiny black. It is a lot more simplistic than a lot of cards I have been making but I reckon it is good to shake things up a bit & do things a bit differently for a change. The image is from A Day for Daisies and is called 'Quiet Fairy', a fairy rose which is a very tranquil image & seemed almost Oriental to me - so I used the ADFD challenge of using twine to create my own tassel which I thought might add to this Oriental feeling as well my use of the black background.  I shall try to explain how I made my tassel at the end of my post if you are interested. I didn't however want to be too obvious & go with the colour red, no matter how traditional a colour to go with black on Oriental themed cards, so chose peach colours instead which I hope also adds to the overall soft feel.

The tent card shaping at the side

Cutting my papers to follow the design layout guidelines, I then carefully distressed the edges of the triangular layer before sewing into position. The original sketch had a verse where my 3 gems actually are but I thought it better to fill out the space on the back with my sentiment (so I hope the Cute Card Thursday ladies don't mind this slight alteration) but I did balance out the design they provided with the matching gems.

For the reverse of the card I layered up a sentiment from Raindrop Echo Designs adding my own words of greeting underneath.

Challenges I would like to enter this card are:

Cute Card Thursdays - design sketch
A Day For Daisies #25 - twine (+ADFD image)
Cuddly Buddly - say something nice
Order of the Opus Gluei - create with roses (rose fairy)
Craft Us Crazy - anything goes
Creative Card - anything goes
Passion for Promarkers - anything goes
Heart Song Inspirations - anything goes (or fav col combo)
Outlaws - Copic/Promarker Friday Challenge - anything goes
Cupcake Inspirations - photo insp (colours)

Making my tassel

I will try to briefly show you how I made the tassel. I had to put it down to photograph it which wasn't always that easy to do. LOL.

I found some scrap card and folded it in half. So the total length of card I used before it was folded in half was exactly double that of  the length of tassel I wanted to finish up with. I then wrapped the twine around the folded card. How much you wind depends on how thick you would like the finished tassel to be. (You can see the tension on the twine as it is trying to wrap around itself).

How you do the next bit is up to you but I put a piece of the yarn through the loop at the top of the card. You could have just pulled the wound yarn off the card base & then added the securing thread afterwards but this way I knew I had got each strand accounted for. You could also cut the bottom end of the tassel at this point, using the gap at the bottom of the folded card as a guide for the scissors. I thought I might leave it till later on. Having slid the wound twine off the card base, I knotted the piece of twine I had threaded through the top to secure all the strands together.

With another length of twine I threaded up a needle with a wide enough eye to take it & wrapped this twine around the top, using the needle to sew into the back of the tassel when I had got a sufficient amount of twine there. I then cut all the loops at the the bottom of the tassel making sure they were all even.

As I wanted a thicker element to the top of the tassel to create a kind of fancy finish, I cut off another length of twine, folded it in half & held the looped end in one hand & the cut ends in the other & twisted the 2 together so that I got a lot of twists all the way up from one hand to the other. (This is where I needed another pair of hands to do the photos really!) I then carefully took the looped end towards the cut end so that they were now both in one hand but grabbed what was the middle of the twisted length with my now free hand & let the two sides twist together using the created tension. I do hope I am explaining this well enough.....

The doubled up length I started with.......

...& the finished amount of twists.

The picutre above shows what it looked like once the two sides had twisted themselves together - with a knot at the end to secure. Sorry, this photo is slightly blurry but I think you can see it well enough. I then used the needle to sew this thicker, twisted element into the 3 looped design at the top of the tassel & once completed I used glue gel to adhere to the card.

Happy crafting everyone. :)

Hello, you down there

Yep, a second card today from me.  Not a DT card this time around, but one just 'for fun'! LOL.  So I wrote down a few challenges & this is the resulting card.

I used the lovely sketch over at Glitter Geeks as the basis layering up my cards & papers with glue gel as well as tape for a variety of layers & depths.  Whilst I had used these particular colours on a card which posted only last week, this time around the tones are far more subtle & soft - which I thought suited this picture of innocence from A Day for Daisies far more (& the image, if you are interested, is being offered as a freebie to anyone wanting to join in with their challenge). I coloured her (with my Promarkers, of course! LOL), but kept it all a lot more simplistic than some of my cards to try to retain some of that innocence. I popped her circular mat into the centre of a couple of layers created with a Spellbinders die to turn it into the centre of a flower - and the sentiment, from Artistic Whispers was recoloured & then also die cut to match the central mat.

The white satin ribbon (which is one of those my daughter brought back from India when she was there) was layered up with a narrower green satin ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons. The gems are by Anita's & the twine, in the centre of my layered buttons, is actually pale green like the 'bling' but it might be difficult to tell this from the photo.

Sorry, it's not a very clear photo so I hope you can see the image too.

I also gave the card a coordinating inside using a traditional kind of insert, recolouring the A Day for Daisies image to pink, fading it a little & setting it behind a sentiment that actually came from Mo Manning a while ago, placing to the top & bottom of the insert so that the name of the recipient etc., can be written in the middle over the background image. I then cut the insert to size using a scalloped blade which I thought also tied in with the scalloped flower shapes on the front. Voila!

Have a great day & happy crafting everyone.
Tine :)

Challenges:

Glitter Geeks - design sketch
A Day For Daisies - twine (& one of their images)
Birthday Sundaes - colour scheme - pink, green & white
Crazy 4 -  bingo (square/die cuts/2 or more dps)
Karen's Doodles - punches/diecuts
Papertake - dies
Barely Mine - bling
Kaboodle Doodles - ribbons
Digital Tuesday - cute & girly (& digital)
Corrosive - girlie
Gingersnap (Chestnut) - babes & tots
A Spoonful of Sugar - happy birthday
Sentimental Sundays - birthday
Paper Crafting Journey - anything goes.

- & thank you for your comments. :)

#80 Little Bird

Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - paper piercing (not piecing!)
Prize & sponsor this week - $10 gift certificate from Digi Doodle

Yes, you know how I like my paper piecing, but this week is paper PIERCING - so basically put some holes in your paper & card fellow Promarker lovers. The image I chose to work with this time around is from our sponsor, Digi Doodle & is that of a humming bird. I reckon he could have pierced my card with that beak of his! See how my mind works! LOL. I went with very subtle ones echoing the corner shaping but you could go as fancy as you like with yours. As well as colouring my image with Promarkers I went with the colour theme over at Colour Create of blues & greens reserving my pop of colour for the flower. I thought that these tiny birds would only be attracted to a bright tropical bloom & I have hopefully giving him a hot & sunny forest glade to reside in. :)

When I was taking the photo for my blog I realised that it looked so much better viewed from a distance, LOL, I know, I know I can hear the wise-cracks from here, but honestly it does. Think it is because the background works better, merging together further so that the image itself pops out more.

If you would like to join in with our challenge this week, don't forget to use either Promarkers, Trias, Flexmarkers or Aquamarkers on your card or project - and don't forget the theme of PIERCING (not piecing!!! - I have visions of some fabby paper piecing & not a hole in sight, LOL). I would love it if you could find the time to leave me a comment, as would all the DT I am sure if you would like some more inspiration.

See you all again soon,

Tine :)

Challenges:

Colour Create - photo inspiration
Fussy & Fancy - celebration challenge
Catch the Bug - birds & the bees
Rainbow Lady's - song choice (Bird of Beauty - Stevie Wonder)
Hooked on Craft - things with wings
Craft Room - masking - whole image so I could add the background (logo at very bottom of side bar)
Inspire Me Fridays - always anything goes
Designed 2 Delight - anything goes
Paper Crafting Journey - anything goes
The Poodles Parlour - anything goes
Hotspot - select from the col. palette (see colour chart on blog).

Kenny K #57 Layer it up fancy folds

Theme at Kenny K - layers
Prize Sponsor - Crafty Ribbons

My Kenny K card today uses the gorgeous gal 'Uptown Angel' & she has been coloured with Promarkers to give her tumbling golden locks & faded grey jeans. The theme as you will have seen is to use loads of layers on your card and I chose to use a shaped card base (so there are layers on the side as well - not to mention the back! LOL), and I also used the great sketch over at CLP this month for the main body of the card. I combined  my version of a stepper card with yet another card shape by adding the restraining gusset of a tent card underneath the main section of the card which would ensure that the card wouldn't want to sag & go flat when sat on a mantelpiece or window sill.

Tent card gusset on the main body of the card.

Adding to all the paper & card layers are die cut embellishments (so layered flowers too, LOL), from Marianne Creatables, small flowers cut using a Woodware punch, a couple of Martha Stewart butterflies & frond leaves & floral swirls cut using Double Do dies.

The sentiment on the front of the card, layered up too of course, is from TLC creations but as I wanted to add a section on the back for the 'to' & 'from' I did my best to recreate the selection of fonts (whilst obviously not knowing what Paulette used to create hers), my own wording on the back. Well, it kind of matches of sorts, but given that it won't be viewed in normal circumstances at the same time as the original on the front, I am sure the discrepancy in fonts won't be noticed too much.

...& on the back.

Right folks, you have seen my take on using loads of layers, now it is your turn & if you join in with our challenge & use one of Kenny's images you are in with a chance of winning the fab ribbon prize on offer this week not to mention 5 of Kenny's images to add to your collection. You don't have to use a fancy fold shaped card as I did just show us lots of layers.

Hope you like my card & I appreciate the time you spend in leaving me your kind comments.

Tine :)

Challenges:

CLP - design layout
Gingersnap - teens
Craft Garden - bold, bright & loud
Hotspot - colour selection to choose from
Pixie Cottage - big on birthdays (or/& sketch)
Marianne Design Divas - anything goes (using any of Marianne's products - 2 different sorts of flower dies)
Sassy Studio - die cuts
Rainbow Lady's - song of choice (Wildflowers - Sheryl Crow)
Outlawz - (Copic/Promarker Challenge) how does your garden grow
A Spoonful of Sugar - happy birthday
Fussy & Fancy - celebration (optional -use the colours of their logo)
Paper Crafting Journey - anything goes
Poodles Parlour - anything goes.

#79 Arrgh! Another birthday!

Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - easel card
Sponsor & prize this week - £10 voucher from Stampeezee

Nope, this isn't a Sunday, you are not losing your marbles but it is a Kenny K image from me. This gal flying head first into the birthday flower is called 'Skate Chick' and had been coloured with Promarkers. Now, I know that sounds a little silly given that I am on the DT of I ♥ Promarkers (& I have said in the past that I might ask to be buried with my Promarker pens, LOL), but in actuality to enter our challenge you can use either Trias, Aquamarkers or even the very new 'brush' tipped Flexmarkers as we allow all of these on our challenge now as they are all from Letraset.

I am not too sure I have got the knack of colouring brunette hair. Odd I know, given that as a brunette (even if now something of a 'bottled' one, LOL), you would think that it might somehow come more naturally. However, I think that knowing all the different shades that actually made up my colouring is also my downfall - as there really are not enough pens in the world to make up the vast variations I had in my locks! Still, on the plus side, it probably means I can't go too far wrong. Whatever I colour it might well be someone else's variation!

These fabulously girly papers are from Studio Flergs and the lime satin ribbon is from Fantastic Ribbons. The fabric flower (behind the sentiment from Bird's Cards) is from the Precious Petals range from Cardology.  I had to hand cut the bracketed shape (for the 'to' & 'from') as I don't have that kind of shaped nestie so you will have to forgive any wonky bits! LOL. The image & the sentiment flower were popped onto the card with Pinflair Glue Gel but the bracketed shape uses foam pads for not only dimension but strength given that this is the retainer for the easel to rest on. I could have put loads of embellies on of course, but given the fact that the top has to in reality fit over the lower element of the card, not to mention the cost of postage these days, keeping it all at a certain restrained level seemed to make more sense.

Do join in with our easel challenge if you can. It makes a fab change to the regular square shape we all love but also allows a bit more space to embellish etc too. Straight easel like mine, twisted, double or even treble it is up to you. I know the DT would all just love it if you could pass by their blogs & leave a kind comment & we look forward to seeing your easel creations & leaving you a comment too.

Until next time,

Tine :)

Challenges I would like to enter this card for are:
Glitter Geeks - colours taken from the photo inspiration
Bunny Zoe - easel card
Celebrate the Occasion - easel birthday card
Sentimental Sundays - shaped card (+sentiment)
Stamptacular Sunday - fancy fold
Karen's Doodles - fancy fold
Crafty Pad - cute & girly
Craft Your Days Away - birthdays
Pixie Cottage - big on birthdays &/or sketch (on blog)
Hotspot - use from the selection of colours (see their blog for colour range)
Craft Garden - bold, bright & loud.

Kenny K #56 Summer Sparkle

Team B are doing the honours over at Kenny K’s Crafty Girlz this week with the fab theme of ‘Summer Sparkle’.   I know they will just love it if you could join in, especially if you use one of Kenny’s images which puts you in with a chance of winning a prize from our sponsor this week,  which is a $15 gift certificate from:

#78 Tiger & Butterfly

Theme at I ♥ Promarkers this week - sketch
Challenge sponsor & prize - Di's Digis (5 digis of winner's choice)

Hi again everyone and my card this time around uses an image called 'Tiger & Butterfly' from our sponsor this week, Di's Digis and isn't he a cutie? I lurve tigers, & this one is particularly cuddly! He was of course, coloured with Promarkers but our challenge does accept the use of other Letraset markers, the Trias & Aquamarkers if you want to use those in any of our challenges. Other than my Promarkers, I used a couple of Distress Inks on some of my papers & the central circular mat is raised up with Pinflair Glue Gel.

Karen has drawn up this sketch for us, and as long as we can see this layout on your card feel free to use whatever digi or stamp you want. Quite an easy one to work with I'd say, so I hope that you will be able to play along with us this week.

Tine :)

Challenges I wish to enter this card for:
Simply Create - favourite animal (my fav wild animal - the tiger, not the butterfly! LOL)
Glitter Geeks - furry or feathered friends
Here Come the Boys - critters (&  suitable for a male)
Corrosive - earth tones
Stamp Challenges - digi day
Pink Elephant - use a butterfly
Poodles Parlour - round & round the garden
Paper Crafting Journey - photo inspiration (image colours)
Craft Your Days Away - birthdays
A Spoonful of Sugar - happy birthday
Card Makin' Mamas - birthdays
Frosted Designs - use colour (Promarkers & Distress Inks)
Raise the Bar - anything goes.

Kenny K - #55 Fun in the Sun

Theme of Challenge #55 at Kenny K - Fun in the sun
Prize & Sponsor -$15 Gift certificate from Whimsy Stamps!

Yep, I am sure you have come across this particular image before but she is just so perfect for a summery card, chillin' with her ice cream!  She is called 'Troublemaker', though possibly not living up to her name whilst clutching her melting ice. Now, I am sure it was the dripping ice cream that did it, but I made a card with a little tot eating her cornet earlier this year. It just struck me she could be the same girl but a few years older! Of course, once that had entered my head that was all I could think of so I ran with the idea rather than fighting it, using the same colour palette etc. but upgrading it all for an older gal with a little more street-cred.

I coloured her with Promarkers, but paper pieced her hoodie with a re-coloured digi paper from Create & Craft and then did the same for the mesh bits of her trainers. I wish I looked as good as she does! Oh to be young & carefree eh! LOL. Well, back to the card & the sun (which is hopefully making the whole scene hot enough to melt the ice cream if not to get her out of a hoodie & into a sleeveless top! LOL), is punched out of vellum from Papermania with a circular Fiskars' punch.

I have this fresh faced girl with the amazing hypnotic eyes ambling along the (Promarker-ed) beach next to the sea, though contained in a rectangle like that maybe it should be a swimming pool. LOL. I just love all those shades of blue. I added my charm sun, suspended over the water as it is representing the sun reflecting off the rippling waves. Guess I have had my 'arty' head on today. LOL.

For the inside of the card I created something of a regular insert, though layering a background up to complement the front of the card & give it a hot kind of glow. I gave the sentiment a white hot sun circle idea, adding a few words of my own on the PC before adding wording from Raindrop Echo Designs.

Hope you can join in with our 'fun in the sun' challenge this week & and don't forget, if you want a chance to win the fab prize from Whimsy Stamps to make sure you use a KennyK image when you play along with us.  


Tine :)

Challenges:
Bunny Zoe - fun in the sun
Creative Craft - summertime
Stampavie & More - summer
Craft Room - summer holidays
Totally Paper Crafts -holidays
Cardmadfairy - (digi) + summer holiday
Tuesday Taggers - on the beach
Crafty Emma - water
By the Cute & Girly - the sea
Stamp Challenges - digi day
Card Makin' Mamas -birthday card
Craft Your Days Away - birthdays
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Papertake - anything goes
Catered Crop - recipe (see site for full list -here I have used: blue, yellow, Promarkers, thread/twine & matted layers). This week is a change to the norm too, as we have to also canvas for votes so if you like my card & are browsing through to the Catered Crop site do vote on 19th Aug, especially if it is for me! LOL).

#77 Fairy Queen of the Night

Theme at I ♥ Promarkers - things with wings
Prize Sponsor - Joanna Sheen (£10 voucher)

The image I have chosen to use on this week's DT card is called Fairy Queen from Stamping Dragon Designs. The trouble with some shaped cards though is that they become rather small & difficult to see when transferred to Blogger so you might want to click on it to see it better.  She is quite a sassy fairy with a definite attitude so I didn't think she would appreciate a very 'girly' card being constructed around her. Instead, I set her in front of a full moon with a starry paper from HOTP. Coloured with Promarkers, I took full advantage of those new tiny nibs to get into the narrow wings & wand as well as the craters on the moon. Do you reckon she grants wishes?  Maybe a few more Promarkers & tiny nibs might wing their way to me if she did! LOL. As I was creating a little scene for her with my shaped card, I dotted the twilight sky on the sections to the side with gem stars and a created an eerie, dusky, heavy undergrowth from lots of layers of die cut flowery swirls. I set these into place with Pinflair Glue gel to give yet even more dimension. The super ribbon 'path' running along the bottom, echoing her dress, is from Fantastic Ribbons.

Hope you like it.

Tine :)

Challenges I would like to enter this card for:
Stamping Dragon Designs- 2nd birthday celebration- use a Stamping Dragon image
Lexis - shaped card
Crafty Emma - feeling the blues
Frosted Designs - circles (nothing like a big new moon! LOL)
Ooh-la-la - circles
Outlawz - Copic/Promarkers Challenge
Cooking It Up With Katie - old, new & favourite thing /technique (old -dies, new -not coloured up this fab image before & new ribbon too, favourite -one of my fav card shapes & the pointillism colouring technique)
Pixie Cottage - sketch (see blog for details) or favourite technique (pointillism)
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Papertake - anything goes
Crafts & Me - anything goes
Allsorts - free 'n' easy.