Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 75 Stitching and Lace

It seems like someone has put a curse on me lately, you may remember a few weeks ago I sliced the top of my finger off with a sushi knife and although it is healing nicely its still very painful and quite sensitive. Well Friday night I had a little altercation with the corner of my bed which just happens to have a metal frame. I whacked my foot rather hard on the corner and have broken my little toe !!! this is the third time I’ve broken the damn thing ( and no Florence gin was not involved ) although I have to say am having a few scoops for purely medicinal purposes you understand ! I ‘m now hobbling ungraciously around in my flip-flops and of course the weather has turned rotten and as my craft room is no longer at home  I had to brave the elements dressed like a bag lady in the teeming rain in order to get this post done !! Now theres dedication for you !!!!!!

Its time for a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers but before I go any further I would like to thank everyone who joined in my ”  Winged Things ” challenge so many fabulous entries and you really made it difficult for me to choose a winner. Our hostess for the next fortnight is our lovely boss Lin who is asking us to use lace and stitching on our creations and here is what she has to say :-

I would like to see some stitching, either hand, machine or faux on your project as WELL as some lace, real not faux.
I really wanted to create something simple for this challenge ( again ) ! lately I’m in a very CAS frame of mind and I knew my teamies would all come up with lots of  fabulous lacy gorgeousness and I was right, so  I thought I would leave it up to the experts.
I wanted to give the impression of a pattern and so stamped
my image onto velum and then again onto some lovely DP and paper pieced the image. Added a little pocket and some lace and a button. I used my Cameo to cut the scissors and then triple coated them with UTEE  which I inked up first with SU Melon Mambo ink and added a little leather to the handles.
I would also like to enter this card into Pile it On Challenge no 38 ” Its a Stitch Up ” who are asking us to use some real or faux stiching on our project
We have a wonderful sponsor once again Hobby ArtStamps
This is the Fab prize on offer
I’m sure you will agree definitely worth entering for.
Please pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see the wonderful creations by my team mates and do hope you will find the time to join us.
I would also like to enter this card into Pile it On Challenge no 38 ” Its a Stitch Up ” who are asking us to use some real or faux stitching on our project.
Right time for me to hobble off home now sniff,sniff.

take care

Marie

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge no 71 Make Your Own Flowers

I am sitting here in the craft cave and am being bullied by the dastardly duo  Bailey and Rosy my two mutts who have decided that they have had enough of seeing only my back  for the past few,  well make that several hours ! I have a day bed in here and they are usually sprawled out on that or at my feet waiting to intercept any matter of crafty material that is destined for the bin. The little ” loves ” have been so quiet up until now due to the extreme heat but a sudden torrential downpour has cooled the air and revitalised their souls and they telling me in no uncertain terms that it is time for play. So as  I am writing this post I have an eleven kilo French Bulldog and a two kilo Pincher sitting on my knee both jousting for poll position….. oops there goes Bailey the Pincher ( did he jump or was he pushed ) he has been knocked off and is now yapping his head off, those mini mutts sure can bark . Right I better make this quick as Rosy the porker is one fidgety madame ! Its time for our new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and the theme for the next fortnight has been chosen by the lovely Aj who is asking us to make our own flowers. She would love to see your project including flowers made from anything you like as long as the flower itself is not store-bought . For more details pop over to Crafty Cardmakers and of course to see what my fellow talented team members have made to inspire us all. I used a Hero Arts stamp  and embossed it with its matching embossing folder by Sizzix ,not sure you can see the embossing but if you look really closely and squint just a little you might catch a little glimpse of it on the tiny flowers . The flower was made with my Cameo and I used Pan Pastels in varying shades to colour it, have mentioned that I love them ? you get such great coverage and if you make a mistake you can just rub it out with an ordinary eraser. Sentiment is by SU. I know you all wanted to see a close up of the flower so you could admire my Pan Pastelling skills !

Our two generous sponsor are:-

Digi Doodle Shop are offering a ten-dollar gift voucher and One Stop Card  Crafts are offering a 10 pounds voucher also.

We had some fantastic entries for our last fortnight’s challenge and it was a pleasure to see so many lovely and talented blogging friends taking part . I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who passes by to leave a comment I know how busy you all are and do appreciate you taking the time to visit. There are a few of you and I’m not mentioning any names but the guilty parties will know who they are , are just down right cheeky and I love it so don’t hold back !!!

Right I’m off as the howling has started up again oh sorry, my mistake it’s just hubby watching the football,  but better clear off cos I’ve got two dead legs and a sore you know what from this big lump sitting on my knee.

Hope this post finds you all as it’s scheduled as hopefully when you read this I will be at my aqua aerobics class !

Ta ta

Marie

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 70 No Cards, Tags or ATC’s

Phew !!!! trying to get this posted has been a real test of wills both mine and poor Lin’s the boss at Crafty Cardmakers ( thanks for all your help ) It seems that blogger doesn’t like Greece very much and has been influenced by all of the bad press the country is getting at the moment, anyway wont bore you with all of the details as I still have a bit of a headache !!!

Over at Crafty Cardmakers its time for a new challenge and a very interesting one too. Our hostess with the mostest is Carol and she would like to see anything but a card, tag or atc, it could be something you have sewn or knitted , mixed media, anything as long as it is not any of the above. Now when you see what I have made you will most probably wondered why I even bothered but here goes anyway.

For a while now I have been toying with the idea of art journalling but was a little scared to have a go, seeing carols theme for the next fortnight spurred me on so here is my first attempt a work in progress if you will…..dont laugh ok !

The background is made with various alcohol inks that I put into spray bottles and added water then went a bit mad with the misting.  Once dry I inked up a couple of Tim Holtz and IndigoBlue stamps and randomly stamped over the pages.  Using my Cameo I made some stencils with acetate and again randomly placed on the pages and used Gesso to cover them. Using a white Sakura gel pen I outlined some of the details. I think I need to relax a little more as looking at it now it looks a bit well …uniform, better luck next time.

As the challenge was for anything other than cards I thought I would make a little box as I wasn’t entirely happy with the above. I used some lovely paper napkins to cover the wooden box which I Mod Podged . I used it to store these paper fish bones that I made with my Cameo and added an eyelet for the eye .Now why would anyone want to keep paper fish bones in a box you may ask well…. when I have dinner parties I like to have a theme and usually make some sort of paper creation for the table. This weekend I will be having a little party and  I will be making Sushi so hence the little fishes . Each guest will have this together with their place setting,  so see there is a method in my madness. Oops nearly forgot to show the box !!!!

Do pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see the other wonderful projects by my team mates and why not take part. We are once again generously sponsored by :-Di’s Digi Downloads

I would also like to share this with Moving Along with the times who are asking for anything other than a card.

Right am off to the gym , wish me luck as its in the high eighties today and its a 25 minute up hill crawl to get there, so hopefully I will be around to see you all later

Take care

Marie

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 69 Distress It

Time once again for our new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and our theme for the next two weeks has been chosen by the lovely and talented Feebsy  who is asking us to Distress It ! She would love to see some form of distressing on your project, pop over to Crafty Cardmakers for more details.

I really enjoyed this one immensely and had lots of fun getting inky and messy , something I havent done for a long long time .

To make the base I cut out three pieces of card with my Cameo and layered them, embossed them with the Harlequin embossing folder by Sizzix , lightly rubbed them over with Pan Pastels in varying colours and set them with hair spray,  a double dose of UTEE to give a little shine and the base was done. For the next layer I used an IndigoBlu crackle stamp with clear embossing ink and the used the emboss resist technique with DI inks in varying shades until I got the look I wanted. The edges were distressed with my fab but very noisy Zutter machine and then more DI’s around the edges.

For the main image I coloured a piece of card with Pan Pastels,  over the top I stenciled in red Pan pastels a number mask that I had made with the aid of my Cameo. I used this great face stamp by Inkylicious which I embossed with black SU embossing powder. This little metal frame from Tim Holtz has been sitting waiting its turn patiently and seemed eyedeal ( pun intended ) to place over the eye. This was such great fun and I really enjoyed mixing it up a little.

I do hope you can join us over at Crafty Cardmakers there are two great prizes to be won by our very generous sponsors

Digi Doodle Shop

We are also sponsored by Hobby Art who are giving away two fabulous stamps sets and this is what they have to say.

As a family business we’re a friendly, helpful, bunch at Hobby Art. All our stamps are designed by us and manufactured in Britain.

Look at the gallery on my blog – jennymayes.com – for lots of card ideas using the Hobby Art range.
We’re pleased to sponsor the Crafty Cardmakers Challenge and look forward to seeing the entries. Good luck everyone. Jenny and all. X

why not pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see the fantastic inspirational pieces by my fellow DT members and why not take part who knows you could be one of our lucky winners !

Before I go would just like to leave you with a photo of Bailey and Rosy  my doglets who have been complaining that I have not mentioned them recently in any of my blog posts ! Well the fact is that they have been behaving themselves lately and havent eaten or destroyed any of my stamps/supplies and creations.

Right am off to cook lunch and will pop by you all later to see what you have been up to.

Take care

Marie x

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 68 ” Birthday Balloon Bonanza “

How time flies !!!  its time for our fortnightly challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers. The lovely  Mynnette is our host  ( happy birthday for yesterday )and she is asking us to create a card incorporating balloons of any description!! such a fun theme I’m sure you will agree. Pop over to Crafty Cardmakers for all of the details.

This is the simple card I made for my DT piece. I used my Cameo to create the background paper and the 3D balloons the sentiment is from Heard from the Heart by SU and stamped with Marina Mist ( thanks Vicky )

I enjoyed the theme so much I made a second card , another simple one again using my Cameo to create the robot and the balloon cut outs, added some glossy accent to the balloon and using the smile stamp I bought for a pound at Aintree inked it up with SU Pumpkin Pie.

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We are kindly sponsored for this challenge by The Stampman (and Lady of course!) who are offering the winner a £10 voucher for their store, you can spend this online, in the shop or if you’re lucky enough to see them at a show!  They have a ton of items in store, enough to tickle any crafty taste bud.
We are also sponsored by:-

Since I came back from the UK stash laden I have been finding it hard to get motivated !! I bought so much I dont know what to do with it ,where to put it and why I bought most of it ! The same thing happened last year and it took me a while to get back into the swing of things having room to store most of it would be a great start !.

Some good news I am now in possession of my brand spanking new I Pad 3 so all is right in Maries little world !!

Do pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see what the other members of the Dt have created to inspire and delight you all ! you have two weeks to upload your creations and to be eligible for the wonderful prizes supplied by our very generous sponsors.

Take care

Marie

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 66 ” Fantasy “

Yesterday in Greece we celebrated Easter and the sun came out and stayed all day ! Not only where we able to roast our lambs on the spit but we where able to roast our bodies too ! Well I did any way ! You could certainly tell who was British amongst our contingent , all of the Greeks sat in the shade with their sun glasses on and a certain British person sat in full view of the sun without protection or glasses. Needless to say I am looking a bit like a patchwork quilt today and a very unattractive one at that. After twenty-three years of living here you would think I would be a little used to it by now but no siree not me, as soon as I see the sun I come over all touristy and park myself underneath it. Now the truth be told I do work all day so I don’t get much of a chance but when I do I’m off in my car to the beach !

Over at Crafty Cardmakers our lovely and talented leader Lin has chosen ” Fantasy ” as our theme for the next two weeks. I really enjoyed getting inky and messy so much so that I made two cards and here they are for your perusal.

The image is courtesy of The Graphics Fairy , The stamp is from a children’s stamping set and of course I have no idea who made it as the box has long been discarded . Embossed with SU embossing powder. Waco ( great name ) gold crackle paint was used for the base and then coloured with Marina Mist ink by SU. After I had distressed the edges of the card with my fab but very noisy Zutter distressing tool ( they really should give free ear plugs with it I  ) went a bit mad with the Encore Ultimate metallic Gold ink but it was great fun.

Again the image is courtesy of  The Graphics Fairy edged in gold ink as above and positioned onto …. well am not exactly sure what it is, paper like material that I got from my local craft shop., again went a bit mad with the gold. The wings were made with my Cameo, coloured with Marina Mist from SU and then embossed with three layers of clear UTEE, bobbly trim from my stash and blue foam for the border cut with one of my Sizzix bigs dies .

Our two fab sponsors are, firstly
$15 Gift Certificate to the Crop Stop Store
and our second sponsor is
$10 Gift Voucher
Do pop over to Crafty Cardmakers to see the fabulous creations made by my team mates to inspire us all and who knows you could be one of our lucky winners.
Right am off for a little lie down, am still recovering from working all day  every day in my shop with the run up to Easter , nothing to do with the excesses of yesterday you understand.
Take care
Marie