Ice Cream Sundae

Anyone for an icecream sundae? I can tell you this one is good enough to eat :)

OMG, thank goodness Blogger is back! I only lost my most recent post so I was well chuffed about that. One tip for you, if you use Google Reader follow your blog yourself. This then sends you a copy of what you post and in this case it was a simple matter for me to copy and paste my last missing post into a new post....DA Da, very quick and easy to re-post. I was blooming glad I started doing that a short while ago I can tell you....

However, I really did feel like I had my right arm cut off without my link to the outside crafty world with my challenge buddies. It reminded me of a phrase I once read all our friends being inside a computer. I know I had lots of very unhappy friends though....... Mind you it wasn't all bad, I actually made quite a lot of cards which you will see over the next few days and have been catching up on the TV series V, series 2 is so much better with lots more gore. The original V was mega when I was a kid but the new one with all the advances in CGI is waaaay better, love it :)

I was very fortunate to stumble upon a new kid on the block in digi images called Andy Bauer. He hasn't been designing digistamps for cards for very long but has been a digital illustrator for a long while. Designing digis for cards is another avenue for his artwork and one that I think he will do very well in. If you haven't already, I would strongly advise that you sign up to his weekly newsletter that will pop into your inbox every Friday. Not only does it have lots of delicious artwork, but it also has a fabulous freebie which is where the icecream image came from.

Please pop over to The Digistreet to sign up to his newsletter NOW, I tell you you really need to do this, he has a wicked car as a freebie at the moment and there are loads of challenges for men's cards at the moment :) While you are over there have a mooch around Andy's cool site and to visit his store for all the currently available images click here.

I used the current sketch from Card Positioning Systems for the layout. I had already coloured the image with Promarkers, creating a second layer for the front of the sundae glass and mounting on 3D foam to create depth. Due to the long and thin nature of the card the sketch at CPS was perfect for it so I have used a DL or letter size card and covered it with the scrummy partially glitter covered paper from DCWV. I loved the graduated effect of the colouring so used a darker blue card as mat for the image. The sentiment is one that has been recycled from a store bought card and last by not least the bling is courtesy of Paperchase.

The sketch from CPS is quite simple but really shows the image off to good effect and there is just enough of the paper on show to not detract from the image. So remember, please pop over to Digistreet and sign up to Andy's newsletter, you won't regret it when you can get fabulous crisp images like this for free. This image is now in the store for only $1 so is fabulous value for money if you want to grab it. Andy is a really nice guy and deserves to do well with his images.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order) :-

• CPS #117 - Sketch for Layout
• Crafty Creations #118 - Anything Goes
• Craft Us Crazy #8 - Favourite Bellie is Bling and new digi
• Crazy 4 Challenges #87 - Chocolate (ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce)
• Digistamps 4 Joy #18 - It's a celebration
• Fresh Brewed Challenge #45 - Summer
• KB Cute Monday #13 - Anything Goes with a Digi
• Moving Along With The Times #98 - 2 B's (Banner & Bling)
• One Stop Craft Challenge #131 - Ice Cream
• Paperplay #19 - Anything Goes
• Paper Playtime #44 - Make a DL or tall card
• Paper Pretties #153 - Texture (lots of 3D elements)
• Penny's Paper Crafty #53 - Anything Goes
• Scrappy Frogs - Anything Goes
• Sentimental Sunday #54 - Anything Goes with a sentiment
• Sew Many Cards #53 - Anything Goes
• Shelly's Images TTT - Bling
• Simon Says Stamp & Show - Anything Goes
• Stamp Something - Anything Goes
• Totally Gorjuss #80 - Any shape except square

CPS # 195

OMG, can you believe it is the 1st December already? I have absolutely no idea where this year has disappeared to. I know I have been amazingly busy at work for a lot of it but that is about to change so there will be new possibilities for me in the New Year. Not sure what path I will go down at the moment but going to have some time off to R & R and think about what I want to do with myself. In the meantime I am grateful for this year being sooooo much better than 2009 that I know together Paul and I can survive anything!

Whatever happens I am pretty sure that the R & R is responsible for my mojo coming back and actually WANTING to get into my crafty room and create. I find if I am in a bad place I just cannot make cards and I am soooo happy that is changing. I've found myself wanting to get back into the challenge blogs and that is something I haven't done since January.

Anyhoo, this card has been made using the current sketch # 195 over at CPS. It's a pretty simple layout which showcases the Papermania Honey & Hugs papers and embellishments really well. The die cut frame and likkle owl were matted onto a scrap of red card and mounted on 3d foam. The sentiment is a cardstock sticker from DCVW and I used a Fiskars punch on the spotty paper.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

• CPS # 195 - Sketch
• Little Paper Shop #96 - Funky Punched Edge
• One Stop Craft # 108 - Christmas Cuties
• Paper Cutz #69 - Anything Goes
• Paper Issues - Holiday Card
• Pile It On #47 - Feathers & Fur
• Scrap Creations - Anything Goes
• Scrappy Frogs - Christmas
• There's Magic In the Air - Anything Goes
• Tip Top Tuesday #12 - Anything Goes
• Daring Card Makers - Spots & Stripes

365 Cards Day 140

It's the last day today for Shortcuts sponsoring 365 Cards. I've managed to make the whole week and I've made another acetate card. I've really enjoyed using it this week and I think I will try to incorporate it into more cards. It's been great to use a material that I wouldn't normally and it makes you think about placement of adhesive more to cover it up on the inside.

I have incorporated the following challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 140 - use Paint on your card (Twinkling H20's on image)
• CPS Sketch 124 - Layour of card
• Cupcake Craft Challenge 48 - Blossoms & Butterflies (2nd card)
• Stampin' B's Challenge #15 - Include a butterfly in your project
• Get Creative with Ann GCA #49 - Include something that flies (3rd card)
• Allsorts #10 - Only use 1 piece of anything

The card blank is the rest of the card that I cut down earlier in the week with the last of the same sheet of acetate. I added a strip of patterned paper from Craftwork Cards. The stamped image was from a swap we did on the forum and it is coloured in with Twinkling H20's. I love these little pots of paint as the shimmer is so very pretty. If you enlarge the picture you can see it especially on the butterflies and the Penny Black hedgehog. This was matted onto red card and the corners were trimmed off with my ever faithful punch.

The little frame has been in my stash forever, I think it's a HOTP one and the rose sticker I think came from Poundland on a massive sheet of assorted flowers and butterflies.

I've managed to complete a full week at 365 cards. That's 7 entries into the Shortcuts competition..... yippeee !!! Good job it's Sunday to Saturday as I will be out all day tomorrow and won't be able to make a card for Sketchy Sunday. Hopefully I can catch up during the week.

Not sure how my cardmaking will fare next week as I start my new job on Monday. It may take me a few days to settle into a routine but I really hope I can fit at least one card a day in.

365 Cards Day 102, CCEE, CPS & Pile It On

I've had so much fun with this card today. I printed the Sweet & Sassy Digistamp image off yesterday already with a plan in mind to use it for the CPS sketch this week, and also complete one of the older 365 challenges. Pam totally threw us a curveball by challenging us to combine any 3 past 365 challenges, 1 each from March, April & May.

Now whilst I thoroughly advocate combining challenges I have never combined any of the 365 ones with each other, purely because to me, I want to achieve having made at least 365 cards by the end of this project. So this card is for day 102's challenge and I have made another for day 30, coming up next :)

So the 4 challenges within this card are:-

365 Cards Day 102 - Combine any 3 challenges, one from each Month

• March Day 30 - Ladybird inspired card
• April Day 61 - incorporate a leaf on your card
• May Day 80 - incorporate plaid on your card

CCEE Stampers - Incorporate a flower on your card

CPS Sketch 119 - for the layout

Pile It On - Non-Stamped sentiment plus at least 1 other challenge

The papers are K & Co. I have 2 huge stacks and have used so very little of them. It is the 1st time I have used any of these poppy papers and I'm glad I did. The colours are so rich and I though they would work well with the ladybird (why do they call it ladybird in the UK? the US term ladybug definitely fits the description better)

The image is coloured with Marvy Le Plume pens except the flesh colour is a Promarker that the wonderful Lisa gave me at a crafty session. I NEED to get a job so I can buy some of these lovely pens. I can tell why people love them so much. No streaks and the colour is perfect. I WANT SOME NOW!!!! Thanks very much Lisa the Promarker Queen and Happy Birthday for today :)

The 3 ladybirds are fabric dimensional stickers from craft packs at Home Bargains. They are slightly padded and feel lovely. The obligatory matting and layering throughout is courtesy of my scraps folder. I sorted a big chunk of my odd bits of card into a concertina folder by colours and have used so much more than ever before because I can now find what I want. It was a long laborious job but it's amazing how much more productive it has made me and I've not had to cut into full sheets of card ever since.

CPS 118, 365 Cards 93, Stampin Chic & My Time to Craft

Goodness me it has taken a long time to try and get on the tinterweb tonight. Our service has been terrible for 3 days now and Paul complained to our provider. They are apparrently doing some work and it wll be the same for the whole week. It's blinking frustrating for me but a complete pain for him as he is programming a website for a client and the tinterweb is quite important for that. They are ginving us a refund for the whole week so that's at least a sweetener :)

This is my card for today's challenge Day 93 at 365 Cards. You had to incorporate a phone or the words 'call me' in it. To me, mobile phones and teenagers go hand in had so that spawned the idea for this card.

The layout is courtesy of this week's sketch 118 at CPS. It's quite a while since I have participated in one of their challenges so it makes a nice change to be able to this week. The main paper is from a Dovecraft Smirk paper pack. It had lots of teenager type words on it and is quite sassy. The tiny butterflies and flower paper is the whole reason I bought this pack. It is very textured and has gots lots of glitter on it and is blooming gorgeous. It's also very pink so I have entered it into this weeks challenge at My Time to Craft.

The rubber stamp is from Clare Curds Signature Collection by Papermania and is from a prize that Clare sent me for winning a challenge on her blog. I have selected 2 scraps of paper to piece the clothes. This is something I have only just started to do (I'm not the best stamper!) and I love the results. The rest of the image is coloured with Marvy le Plumes and lots of Sakura clear glitter pen. I have entered this in for the challenge this week at Clare's challenge blog, Stampin Chic.

The image and circle have been matted on scraps of card. The ribbon is from a craft pack at Poundland, the mobile phone is a Doodlebug cardstock sticker and the sentiment is from my Dymo machine. A very teenage sentiment for a teenage card. I have the perfect recipient in mind for it too :)

CPS 113 & Papertake Weekly

I made this card using sketch 113 over at CPS as I already had the supplies out on my desk having just made my last card. All the papers are elements from the Papermania Sweet Nothings collection with the exception of the pink that I matted the sentiment panel on. I used a corner rounder to finish off the mat and sentiment.

I inked the edges of the spotted paper to take the harshness away from it.

I wanted to add a bit of dimension to it as it is quite a flat card (cheaper to post, I'm not good at thinking about that....) I used stickles glitter glue and followed the letters and it is very twinkly as a result)

This card also follows the guidelines of using spots and stripes which is this week's challenge at Papertake Weekly.

CPS 112 & 365 Cards Day 51

It is absolutely ages since I have played with a CPS sketch and I didn't think I would get chance to this week but have managed to incorporate Sketch 112 with the Day 51 challenge at 365 Cards.

We were given a photo of some red flowers and were to make a card inspired by it.

The flowers are quite vibrant but against a black background so quite bold colouring - just how I like it !!

I used an A4 sheet of black cardstock for the base and used a sophisticated patterned paper from Issue 3 of Creative Cardmaking magazine which is a relatively new mag in the UK that has a really good selection of papers and embellishments with each issue. I have bought the last 2 and I am very impressed with the quality of them.

The rest of the papers and the sentiment panel are from a HOTP Classic Creative cardmakers pack and the lettering is from MAMBI. The roses are embossed stickers from Docraft from a TSV I had from QVC last year. They are a very heavy weight of paper and the embossing is very defined, mush like the K & Co stickers. I finished the panel off with a couple of ladybirds from the same sheet.

I have a particular recipient in mind for this card and shall be popping it in the post very soon to tell her that I am thinking about her.  

CPS 107 & 365 Cards Day 18

Now, I am not a lover of green. It stems back from school uniform and having to wear a bottle green jumper, but it is one of my least favourite colours. Looks good on trees and grass and that's about it. So, imagine my horror when the challenge on 365 Cards day 18 was to make a completely green card. My mojo went hiding and I couldn't coax it out! I then thought about the Peny Black stickeroos that I had with the frogs on and started from there.

I chose sketch 107 at CPS for the layout. I rarely make DL sized cards as sometime it can be hard to balance embellishments but if I have a sketch to follow I feel a lot braver. The papers are DWCW Blossoms and Butterflies pad. I love the silver foiling on these but unfortunately they don't scan in well and it looks almost black :( 

The stickeroo has been placed on white cardstock and I trimmed down a Kanban pearlescent frame to suit the shape of the sticker. The rub on sentiment is partially glittered and came from a huge sheet at Poundland. 

Even though green is for me a hard colour to work with I quite like this card.

CPS 103 & Forum Spring Challenge

This is one of the 3 cards that I submitted into the Easter/Spring forum challenge with bonus points awarded for bunnies.

I used the CPS sketch 103 as I hadn't been able to submit a card in time for the blog.

The glittery paper is from the DCWV Spring drawer set from QVC. The glitter bunny is from a Lets Make Cards pack and the paper daffodil is from my stash and was bought from Ebay yonks and yonks ago.

I inked the edges of the card as it looked a little stark. I don't usually make Easter cards so it is a breaw away from the norm for me.

CPS Sketch # 102

Goodness me, all the foiling on this beautiful cardstock really caused a problem with flashback on the scanner and the camera. It is a dull, chilly day in Birmingham so I apologise for the duff photo.

This is the 3rd of the cards I have made for the Docrafts Marie Curie Cancer Appeal and I have used Sketch #102 from CPS for the layout.

The cardstock is from the DCWV Blossoms & Butterflies 8x8" pad. The foiling is magnificent so I highlighted it with some Papermania bling in the flower centres, dotty swirls around the leaves and the tiniest of the stars.

I used my ever faithful Martha Stewart punch for the border in a sparlkly silver paper. I have seen so many projects using other Martha designs but they are hard to get in the UK and therefore the cost is prohibitive so I am pleaing, Martha - stop bringing out such lovely border punches or please make them more easily available in the UK !!!

The glittered butterfly is a chipboard shape from DCWV.

I like this card so much I almost don't want to give it away :)

CPS 101 & Forever Friends Challenges

This card was made using Sketch 101 over at CPS and incorporates the Tall & Thin Challenge over at Forever Friends.

The backing paper is an embossed wallpaper from B & Q, each of the hearts is textured, it is a lovely wallpaper and I thought the pattern would look great on cards :)

The Forever Friends is a clear Papermania sticker mounted onto a circular mat cut using a Nestabilities die. The ribbon is also Papermania and the sentiment is from my stash.

CPS Sketch #94

Trying to catch up with some of the card sketches and this card is made using CPS 94 as a guide.

The papers are from the Papermania Scrumptious pack which is just yummy :)

I had used my favourite Martha Stewart punch to cut the edge of the card and placed the checked paper inside to provide a contrast. The spotty patterned paper I also trimmed with the punch and used a black gel pen to highlight the punched spots in the top layer.

The sentiment is from a pack of 4 sheets that I had from Lakeland (RIP their crafty section is no longer) Each sheet has loads of sentimens on them in 4 colours and they are a translucent vellum with gold embossed writing on them. I placed this on white card edged with a Marvy Le Plume pen and layered this on the checked paper which was also edged.

I am resisting the urge to put something on either side of the sentiment as it looks like there is too much empty space !!!!

CPS 100 - Pick Your own

Wow, its 100 weeks of CPS sketches and this week we are to pick our favourite from the last 99 so plenty to choose from there!

This card is made using sketch 95 which I was originally going to do for a Christmas card, but this one has worked out really well.

I absolutely love butterflies, I even have one tattooed on my shoulder. This 3d element was a freebie from the latest Docrafts Creativity magazine. How lush are they?

The patterned paper'a are from the new Scrumptious range from Papermania and I have accented the hearts with a clear Sakura glitter pen. The glitter circle and flowers are from Papercellar

CPS Sketch #93

This card was made using CPS Sketch 93 for the layout.

The main backing paper is from the DCWV drawer set from QVC, as is the snowflake ribbon. The strip of patterned paper is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. The panels were hand cut from card scraps and the snowflakes are Christmas decorations. The sentiment is a Papermania vellum sticker.

The card is A5 sized.

CPS Sketch #91

I made a few cards last weekend but haven't had time during the week to scan them or blog them.

This first card was based on CPS Sketch #91. I had a look through my circular images recycled from old Christmas cards and have a couple of circular ones so will probably make a few more cards using this sketch.

The sentiment paper is DCWV and the ribbon strips are from the large Brenda Pinnick kit off QVC

CPS Sketch #38

Are you ready for a golden oldie ? Oldie in the respect that for this card I have used Sketch 38 which was from last Christmas over at CPS.

I am finding that sketches in general have been a major influence in me getting my Christmas card groove on this year and have been using some of the older sketches for inspiration, then pick my materials and run with it. In my defence, this time last year I only knew about sketches via Di Hickman's blog and Becky Flecks Pagemap site, since then I have become aware of so many more sources of fantabulous designs and I can definitely see it has had a good influence on my cards and made me experiment more with placement of elements and the whole less is more principle.

The main image on this card is a stamped image from a forum swap we did last year. I think it is a Whippersnapper design. It is coloured in with H20's and matted onto a scrap of gold card.

The central paper is some more of the HOTP paper I mentioned in an earlier card. I've still got a bit left and it will be used up soon, I promise.

The flowers are some 3D stickers that came free with a Docrafts Creativity magazine a few issues ago. They have a glue dot in the middle of the plastic flower and the petals are left free so you can fold them and manipulate them so they stand away from the card. They have been squashed down in the scanner but look quite good in real life.

CPS Sketch #88

Well I think this could be a first for me. Completing a CPS sketch the day it appears on the blog!

This card is based on sketch #88 at CPS and is A5 sized

The patterned papers are magazine freebies, the image is a Penny Black stamp, the photo corners are from a Christmas Brenda Pinnick kit from QVC and the round sentiment is one I made using the seal generator website mentioned a few cards ago.

CPS Sketch #87

For my birthday my hubby bought me a Netbook which is a mini laptop with a 10" screen. I am using this to watch prgrams that have been downloaded in my little craft room instead of watching TV and I am so glad I did as I have been much more creative and have actually MADE cards since.

I used the latest Sketch 87 at CPS to make this card. A wonderful friend of mine (you know who you are S) recently sent me some lovely goodies in the post and write a little note on the back of a stamped image that she coloured in so nicely. Being a card maker, there is no way you can throw away something so beautiful and I wanted to make it into a card, in doing so passing the love down the line to someone else.

I think it is a Penny Black stamp, but don't quote me on it. I have just added a little Sakura glitter pen to the dandelion heads and matted the image onto a scrap of dark green card. The spotty paper is one of theose strips you get free with magazines and the swirly paper is HOTP.

I am very pleased with the sentiment. When you buy clothes from Asda a lot of them have a really chunky chipboard tag on them. I covered it with paper and the message is a cheapie rub-on from Poundland. It has come out really well.

I am really pleased with this card, it is one of the nicest I have made in a long time. I really like the mix of papers and the colours go really well together.

CPS Sketch #86

This card was based on Sketch 86 over at CPS.

I used a sheet of A4 gold cardstock for the base an the backing paper is from the DCWV drawer set I had from QVC recently.

The ribbon is a roll that I had from Ebay some time ago. The tree is an embossing folder from Cuttlebug.

I was toying with the idea of putting a sentiment on it but felt it would imbalance the design. I am slowly learning that less is more and fighting with myself to constantly fill a blank space with 'stuff' so I decided to leave it as it is.

CPS Sketch #85

As soon as I saw Sketch #85 at CPS I knew what I wanted to do with it.

I recently got a cardmakers clearance box from Artymiss and there were a lot of patterned papers by Twelve by Twelve that were flower themed with a square panel of flower. I thought the text would go great as the background and the flower panel a great focal point for the centre. I just added a little inking around the edges to make it pop a little more and mounted it on 3d foam to add dimension.

A nice simple card where the patterned paper does the talking.