Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Cameo Spotlight ” Numbers ”

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As those of you know who follow my blog I really, really love my Cameo and practically everything I make uses some feature of it, so when I heard there was a new challenge blog on the block for us Silhouette devotees you can imagine my joy ! This is their second challenge and as luck would have it I was in the middle of making some cards for Mr P’s birthday when this popped up

Two super simple cards,  so simple I almost feel guilty both cut of course with my Cameo , all I did was added stickles to highlight his age which could be 25 ( I’m not that lucky ) well that’s what he said   he was real lucky he didn’t get a black eye !

Why not pop over to The Cameo Spotlight Challenge and have a peep at the fabulous DT’s creations just stunning and so many fabulous entries already.

Right must dash lots of exciting things happening in my crafty life at the moment and a few up coming scheduled posts to take care of , all will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Take care

Marie

Addicted to Stamps CAS Card Challenge

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Thank you lovely ladies for you get well wishes after my accident with the Sushi knife ,the finger looks rather unattractive and before Suze Bain makes some disparaging remark I will say that it matches the rest of me !

Its time once again for another challenge over atAddicted to Stampswere our  theme for this week is to make a card  any subject as long as its clean and simple ,well tons of scope there so no excuses for not joining in ! so come and have a peep at what I made

I have a beautiful book with Japanese prints that I have been dying to use for some time but didn’t want to destroy the book so I photocopied the image onto acetate, I just love how bright the colours are when you use acetate. I placed a piece of bevelled glass over the image and glued it with Glossy Accents and added a few red pearls. I used Spellbinders circles to cut the aperture and popped up the frame with some foam, a lovely resin flower in the corner and all done.

I’d like to enter this card into a couple of challenges ( havent done that for ages ) the first is Annabelle Stamps blog who are asking us to use spots and dots and anything round ,  am in just under the wire on this one !

Moxie Fab World Focal Point Challenge

I’ve been dying to take part in one of their challenges for ages now but was always overwhelmed by the quality of the beautiful creations by DT and entrants, nothing ventured nothing gained so here goes

For all of the deets do pop over to Annabelle Stamps and Moxi Fab World there are some amazing entries and fabulous inspirational pieces by both DT’s

Variations on a theme wont bore you with the details

Last but not least !

Please pop over to Addicted to Stamps to see what the rest of the gorgeous girls on the DT have made for your delectation and why not have a go…come on you know you want to !

Well will have to love you and leave you as its Mr P’s birthday today and I’m still struggling to make him a card, last year the poor man didn’t get one ! Actually this time I have three on the go but can’t make my mind up so he just might end up getting all of them ! I’m taking him out for a romantic dinner this evening so I need a good five hours to get ready  ! I might be a bit late getting round to you all tomorrow due hopefully to partaking of  copious amounts of wines and spirits and of course am still on medication ( gin ) for the sore finger !

Toodle pip and ta ra to you all

Marie

Addicted to Stamps ” Gold “

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Helloooooo you lovely crafters hope you are all tickety boo, fit as fiddles and such like. I myself have just had a bit of a tiff with a very sharp Sushi knife and instead of finely slicing my salmon have managed to slice the top off  my finger. Needless to say the Sushi is in the bin , I didn’t think my dinner guests would appreciate the outrageous red colour ! I’m going to keep this short as am in a fair bit of pain and am sporting quite a large bandage luckily on my left hand……looks like my Sushi party has turned into a pizza party !

 

Its time once again for another challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and our theme this week is GOLD being a jeweller I just love working with the stuff so I made a couple of cards and here they are for your perusal.

 

 

Looking back on some of my recent posts I’ve noticed that I am somewhat addicted to hearts of late and most of my cards feature them, please bear with me as I’m sure it’s a passing fancy . For this card I used the dreaded gilding flakes, I really love the effect but boy how I hate the mess, the mutts and I tend to become blinged up on the rare occasion that I use them and this time was no exception , even hubby got a little unexpected bling as he was quite curious about the process and stuck his finger in the flakes and sent them flying  all around the house. He was really amused by it all and quite impressed I have to say until he went to work sporting a bit of the shiny stuff on his forehead. He phoned me a little later when he reached our shop to inform me of how gorgeous he looked !!! I used the Indigoblu heart stamp which I lathered up with flitter glue and then added the gilding flakes ….and well made a mess rubbing them into the glue and generally getting all sticky and blingy. I wont bore you with the rest because A. it’s obvious what I did next and B’ my likkle finger wreally wreally hurts . Stamped sentiment by SU with their lovely gold embossing powder .

Yes I know another heart , your lucky I’m only sharing two as I made six variations on this card ! I used some gorgeous DP from a 12 x 12 paper pad that i have that was really expensive and fabulous and up until now I couldn’t bare to cut it up, of course the cover is hiding from me so cant tell you the name of its creators. The butterfly  is a Hero Arts Sizzix combo stamp and die cut stamped onto Rich Razzlebury card by SU and embossed with SU gold embossing powder and the same again for the sentiment.

Thank you all so much for supporting us at Addicted to Stamps we are a new challenge and its great to see so many of you wonderfully talented crafters joining in. Not only that but my fellow DT members are amazingly talented and lovely ladies  but dont  just take my word for it pop over to Addicted to Stamps and see for yourself !

Right I really must go as I”m in dire need of medication for pain relief ( gin ) and my dinner guests are due any minute, he he they think they are getting Sushi , wont they be surprised when the pizza guy arrives .

 

Take care

 

Marie

 

CraftyCardmakers Challenge 73 Oh I do like to be beside the seaside !

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Im just back from holiday , yes no hiccups this time had a wonderful time sea, sun and swimming had the doglets with me too so a good time was had by all As luck would have it over at CraftyCardmakers Yvonne are super talented hostess for this month is asking us to create a postcard here is what she has to say

She would like a post card [6x4inches approx], showing a beach scene, and would like it to include some beach and the sea, for the background to the focal image. So as long as your creation is a postcard, is approx the right size and has a beach and sea background, anything else seaside related will be fine.

Now I had a little trouble with mine as I opted to use a digi image for the first time which has been kindly sponsored by Digi Doodle Shop. Not having used one before and not being able to use Photoshop I really struggled but with a little masking ( at least thirty sheets of paper went in the bin ) and a bit of hit and miss stamping I finally got there in the end, so here is what I came up with

I used the lovely sailing boat digi by Digi Doodle Shop and printed it onto shiny white card, the sentiment and bird stamps are courtesy of Crafty Individuals as is the lovely design paper which was printed onto acetate and laid over the top of the card.

Again I’ve used the sailboat image stamped the Lifes a Beach image by Crafty Individuals onto glossy card and coloured with various Pan Pastels, restamped the same image onto acetate and placed it over the first image to give a bolder impression. Again I used Crafty Individuals design paper printed onto acetate and laid it over the top. Have to say my masking is rubbish here but after at least thirty attempts I kid you not I was losing the will to craft !
Please pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see the fabulous postcards my fellow team mates have created . We have two fabulous sponsors this month

 

I see that the lovely ladies over at Artful Times are looking for acetate to be included into our projects and hope these fit the bill, it’s absolutely ages since I joined in their challenges I do hope they forgive me.

Before I go would just like to remind you all that our DT call is still open so for those of you who think they would like to be part of this fabulous group of talented crafters please pop by CraftyCardmakers for more details.

Right that’s all from me will pop by and see you all later I’m off to my Pilates class

Take care

Marie

Addicted to Stamps Theme Challenge ” Cards for the Boys “

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This is another scheduled post as hopefully  ( she says with fingers crossed ) I’m sunning myself on the beach but I have a little feeling of dejavou , last time I said that both hubby and I got ill and our holiday was cancelled. As I’m typing this the sun has gone in, the sky has filled with huge black clouds and  storms are forecast for the next few days ! Just my luck. This week in Greece and especially the 15th of August  it is one of the most import days here as we celebrate the Virgin Marys name day. Anyone who is called, Maria ( most of the women ) Despina, Panagiota, Panagioti ( male ) celebrate this day so it’s about three-quarters of the Greek population. The city empties,  people return to their villages or go on holiday and its the only time you can find a parking space ! So I’m off to join my friends and family at our summer home.

Before I go any further I would like to thank of you all ladies who took the time to pop over to my sister Karen’s blog Tricky Little Stitches and left her a comment and for all your lovely words , we were both moved and I know you really made her day , and mine .

Over at Addicted to Stamps its time for another  challenge and this weeks theme is ” Cards for the Boys ” I really had a tricky time with this one I can tell you , I wanted to stay true to my style, whatever that is , and didn’t, couldn’t go the very masculine route , so I decided to stay clean and simple and this is what I came up with

All of the cards were made with my Cameo including the sentiment and of course except for the little heart on the first which was covered in stickles ! I cut out the silhouettes several times using thick card stock and then glued them together to get a little dimension .

Please pop over to Addicted to Stamps to see what the rest of the lovely ladies of the DT have been up to and why not play along, we love to see your creations and your are all such a wonderfully inspirational bunch of bananas ..oh sorry I meant ladies…..well some of you are bananas !!
Take care

Marie

Addicted to Stamps ” Bingo Challenge “

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This is going to be a lengthy post so if anyone wants to leave now please raise your hand and you will be excused, for those of you who are staying ,you have been warned so eyes down for a full house  ! Over at Addicted to Stamps its time for our second bingo challenge and we would love for you to play along with us this is our little bingo card .

Here is my take on the sketch

I chose die cuts, free and pearls but I see it also fits the gems, die cuts and flowers category is this legal !! I mean I’m on the DT so I should know shouldn’t I !

I used my Cameo to create the sentiment and to die cut the sheep and the oval acetate with the flowers, the frame was a gift from my boss Irini at Get Creative and the pearls from my stash but the main item the knitting on the cocktail  sticks , which incidentally is a broach so can be detached from the card and worn was made by my lovely sister Karen who also sells them along with lots of other fabulous creations in her Etsy shop. These little broaches are so fab and funky , she also makes them without pins which are perfect as embellishments for cards and scrapbooking.

There is little story that I would like to share behind this card and do hope you take the time to read this as I’m dedicating this to my lovely and very talented younger sister Karen. Now Karen, and I hope she doesn’t mind me telling you has been ill for quite some years and has been virtually house bound ,an avid knitter and a very prolific on at that,  had to give up her passion many years ago when she became ill. In May when I  visited her and stayed with her lovely family she had recently undergone surgery and was on the slow road to recovery. I urged her to attend a craft exhibition that was taking place at  that time and on the last day we went together. She really enjoyed it and we both bought some long stitch  and cross stitch kits. That was three months ago and wow what a change  ! she has opened an Etsy shop  Tricky Little Stiches with her beautiful knitting , baby samplers,  knitted broaches , started a blog Tricky Little Stiches ,  joined a crochet group all in such a short space of time , I’m so proud of her . Not only have I seen this lovely lady overcome so many health issues but she is finally doing the things she loves and embarking on new crafty projects all of the time. She has left me breathless with creativity and her enthusiasm and am so happy for her and her family who have been so supportive , especially her husband Joe who has taken her to practically every wool and craft shop in the North West of England and is so happy to do it. I can honestly say that crafting has given her a new lease of life.

Thought I would share another card with you which also is following the die cut, pearl and free line. I used my Cameo to create the background paper and die cuts, added the red pearls and the sentiment is SU.

I do hope you find time to join us this week at Addicted to Stampsand why not pop over and see what the gorgeous gals on the DT have come up with to inspire you. I must say these are a fabulous group of  talented crafters and not only that they are hilarious you should read their blogs very entertaining indeed !

DT call at CraftyCardmakers

One more thing before I go,  just wanted to mention that CraftyCardmakers is back after a month-long absence and our current challenge is up and running and our theme is sport. I was unable to take part this time so don’t have a card to share with you but the rest of the DT have once again produced some fabulous projects, and if that wasn’t enough we are having a DT call so please pop over to CraftyCardmakers for all the deets.

Right I thing that’s just about it and I thank you all for your patience,  that’s if there’s anyone still here !
Time for me to put the doglets to bed and lather up with the mozzie cream.

Sweet dreams to all

Marie

Get Creative August 5th Card Sketch

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Good morning ladies and gents hope you are all fighting fit and enjoying your Sunday where ever you are. Another short post from me as the internet here is still rubbish and have been trying for the last hour to post this . The ” lecky “man is due to pull the plug on us here in the city within the next hour ( at least we get a warning ) so will try to make this quick , you lucky things !

Over at Get Creative its time for our card sketch challenge which has been created for us by our lovely and talented leader Irini and here it is

Here is my take on the sketch

I took a little liberty with the sketch and instead of adding a sentiment I stuck this cheeky little owl in the centre. I made him with one of my Sizzix embossing folders and cut around him, added the googly eyes and painted his little beak. The wood grain stamp is SU coloured with Espresso ink by Adirondack and matted onto green cardstock, I used my Spellbinders square dies for the centre ( just kidding wanted to see if you are paying attention ) popped up with foam dots for dimension and attached some tiny weeny dry leaves,  all done and dusted.

I do hope you will take time out from your busy schedules to join us at Get Creative this month and as we are still in holiday mode we will be having only one layout and one card challenge , why not pop over to see the wonderful and inspiring creations by my fellow DT members and for you scrappers have a peep at our current sketch challenge,  our sketch DT once again have produced more stunning layouts. You have until the 30th of August to upload to Get Creative and you could be one of our lucky winners. We have been sponsored by Get Creative Embellishments who will be offering our two challenge winners something amazing from their Etsy shop.

Now wasn’t that quick and painless ! nothing to do with the fact that i’m off for lunch by the sea with a girlfriend !

Ta ra XX

Addicted to Stamps ” Make your Mark “

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Let me start by saying a big thank you to you all for all your birthday and holiday wishes last week I was really touched. We visited the beautiful island of Lesvos in Greece and celebrated my 52nd birthday there, it was fabulous, swimming, walking, eating, drinking, shopping, hot springs to heal are aching bones, and practically no internet which meant I had to take a little break from visiting you all. The last night of our stay there was  a severe power cut for several hours and the whole island was in darkness,  now this is the third largest island in Greece so it felt quite eerie , it was night-time and we were out for dinner at the harbour when the power failed. It could have been a disaster but it was incredibly romantic , candles everywhere and people talking in hushed tones we could just see the twinkling lights of Turkey off in the distance and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our stay.

This is a photo I took through a whole in a wall and that little balcony that you can see is where we used to have coffee at night to watch the sunset, its tiny and just hangs out over the rocks a perfect end to a perfect day.

Right on to business …. over atAddicted to Stamps its time once again for a new challenge and we are asking you to create a card with the emphasis on using markers to colour your image. Since this will be a regular challenge and due to the fact that I’m rubbish at colouring in,  hence my lack of the aforementioned I have had to do some serious shopping and practicing. The shopping part was dead easy , I bought loads of Copics none of which matched each other so I keep returning to the scene of the crime every other day to get me some more. I think the guy who runs the shop thinks I’m either a stalker or a nutter as he has given me three colour charts so I can mark of what I have bought and of course I have lost all three of them ! I’m a bit embarrassed each time I go in and so make up for it by spending a fortune . I have to say I find this colouring in lark quite difficult and have wasted tons of paper on it but I do find it rather therapeutic . Not that my card is anything special by any means,  I have  so much to learn but am enjoying the process immensely, so come and have a peep at my little cards yes cards , got carried away and made two !

I created the background with my Cameo and then masked it with this great flower image from Hero Arts and used the Copics to colour the blooms, this was about my tenth attempt as either the shading looked wrong to me or I was so far outside the lines it looked like I had drunk about four large Gins ! ( the gin came afterwards )

Heres another one with a different background and I’ve used some stickles on the flower centres a bit of an error I think but it took ages to do so tough !

Please pop over to Addicted to Stamps and see what my fabulous and talented team mates and expert coloureres in have come up with and why not take part , you can’t be any worse than I am !

Right off to bed and lather myself up with the mozzie cream , the little buggers are vicious this year and due to lack of funds here in Greece our local council was unable to do it’s usual spraying ( most probably a good thing ) so all you can hear in my house at night is the constant slapping sound of  Teo and I trying to kill the little buggers or our  swearing, not very conducive to a good nights sleep !

Hope to catch up with you in the next few days as I  am suffering from a little post holiday depression apart from my DT duties I’m avoiding my Mac so please bear with me.

Ta ra

Marie