Anything But a Square over at Lili's Little Fairies

Hmm, I think I can hear the collective groans! Anything but a square isn't my favourite either but it's good to try a challenge that drags you kicking and screaming out of your comfort zone. Honest. (So long as I can embellish I'll give it a whirl!!) Here is my effort, another Finnish Star. As promised there is a tutorial to go with it (possibly the world's longest tut - death by photo - and in some cases blurred photo :) )

The paper was one in my stash box and I have no idea where it came from - I have too much paper!!! The lovely swirl is a die-namics die and the snowflakes are spellbinders. Here's a quick close-up (apologies for the colouring - it was, for me, done in super quick time)

* * Honestly, I'm losing my marbles! The reason I made it red and green was so that I could enter the Winter Wonderland challenge and then I nearly forgot to link it up! Barmy woman! So I'm now linking it to Winter Wonderland : Challenge red and green

I'm also entering it into: Simon Says Stamp: Challenge Anything Goes
                                   J&C Creations Challenge - Something a Little Bit Different

Okay, if you're interested in the tut get a LARGE cuppa and a comfy chair and possibly a couple of nurofen. If you get to the end you deserve a gold star and a gin and tonic!!

You will need:

1 piece 12"x12" heavy weight double sided paper or card
ruler
guillotine/trimmer
tacky glue - such as cosmic shimmer glue or art institute glitter glue
pencil
scissors
small pegs (optional)
scoring board (optional)

Cut the the paper into 12 one inch strips.

Measure and mark the 5 1/2 inch and 6 1/2 inch point along the sides of two strips of paper.

For the assembling I work on top of a Martha Stewart scoring board as this helps me line the strips up vaguely straight!! Lay one strip of paper horizontally and glue the centre of the other strip vertically OVER the top of the horizontal strip (glue in place).

To the left of the first vertical strip, lay another piece of paper vertically - this time you need to lift up the horizontal strip so that the vertical strip is UNDER the horizontal strip (glue in place). It's just paper threading and once you've done it once it's easy peasy! 

Lay the fourth strip of paper to the right of the initial vertical strip. Again this needs to be UNDER the horizontal strip (glue it in place)

Okay, strip 5 needs to go above the first horizontal and threads through the three vertical strips. Work from left to right as you look at the strips. This strip needs to go UNDER the first strip (and glue) OVER the middle strip (and glue) and under the third strip on the right (and glue).

The sixth strip needs to go beneath the first horizontal and thread as you've just done - UNDER the first strip, OVER the middle and UNDER the last - glue under all the joins.

We're not half way yet - how ya doing? Another cuppa might be an idea!

This next bit is tricky to explain, but fear not, I have more badly taken photos to help!!
We're going to join strips that are at right angles to each other and glue them together.

Twist the vertical strip of paper so that the underside is facing you.








Twist the horizontal strip in the same way and glue the overlapped area together.

You can either stand and hold the join until it dries (!) or hold it with cute mini pegs!

Repeat this process on all four quarters:

Here's the good bit - you have to repeat this whole process with the remaining six strips of paper! Noooo, don't give up - it really doesn't take that long. This tut is a bit OTT but I'd rather give you too much info than too little and it's giving me the chance to show off my photography skills ;)

Righty ho, now you should have two constructions (!) that look like the one above. Now we've got to join 'em together.

Lay one 'star' on its back (there's a joke in there somewhere!)

Lay the second 'star' on top of it the right side up.

Thread the remaining unattached strips through the star 'points' which they are currently lying over:

Glue in place:

Cut all the excess paper from the star points.










Ta-dah!!!!!! It's done - go have a lie down in a darkened room!

  

The star, I think, looks best on patterned double sided paper. The one I made for the Debbi Moore POTW (Bobbin the Bear Christmas CD) had to be made with plain lilac paper so I embellished it with lots of tiny snowflakes and it doesn't look too bad!

As I've mentioned in previous 'Finnish Star' posts, the original tutorial for the star can be found on the Wiccababe's blog. If you give one a whirl I'd be really cheered if you sent me a link to it!

Blimey, I'm exhausted now! I'm off for a sit down, a cup of tea and an episode of CSI NY! Hope you get a chance to join in the challenge this week - you don't have to make a star!!!!!!!! 

Big hugs, Jayne xxx

Crazy week!

Huge apologies for my absence! What a week!! I was asked to make some last minute samples for a Debbi Moore POTW (this Friday I think) and said yes when perhaps I should have said no!!! Trying to slot in crafting in between family days out and my daughter's 5th birthday was just ridiculous. If any cards fall apart live on air or you notice sentiments that are upside down, well, they'll be mine!!!

I made this today, in between playing 'Doogy Doo' with my daughter. What a fabulous game - you feed a plastic dog yellow 'food' take turns to pump the lead and the yellow squidge comes out the other end - all the while the dog is making, erm, windy noises. Man I have never laughed so much - you couldn't exactly call my taste in comedy 'highbrow'. Hehehe. Sorry for that.

The image is 'Moon Glow' Fairy from Crafts and Me; I really want to get some more of these! The papers are the Lucy Cromwell Papermania collection. Hmmm, I've now run out of the pink papers in this pad :( The flowers and ribbon are from WOC but the scrummy lace is from the Ribbon Girl (ooooooooh I got me some tuille too - it's yum scrum and I used some on a Saturated Canary card today! Yippee yie yay!)

I need a lie down in a darkened room now! It's been a hectic but fabulous few days. Indigo's party was a brilliant success; she had 16 friends at a play gym and they all had a whale of a time! We can't move for presents now. We'll be building lego houses and zoos until her 6th birthday!!

Thank you for popping by, it's always reassuring to know I don't spend my whole time talking to myself! I made a Finnish Star as a sample and am hoping to get another done for Thursday with some sort of tutorial to go with!! Hmm, it wouldn't be wise to hold your breath! Super hugs, Jayne xx 

I'm entering this into:

In the Pink challenge - Things with Wings

Spots or Stripes at Lili's Little Fairies!

Thursday already! I don't know where this week has gone - I'm way behind everything at the moment and I'm in a bit of a flap!!!!! Anyhoo, this week at Lili's Little Fairies it's spots or stripes or both if that tickles your fancy!!!!! I went for spots - you can just about see them in the inch of paper I didn't embellish. Quite restrained for me, this one!

The image is 'Positively Pampered' from LOTV and it's one that just makes me smile. Have you seen the new releases? I know a naughty crafter who has bought the lot - she makes me look restrained!! The papers are the Monochrome pack from Papermania - now that I have them on CD ROM there's no stopping me! The flowers are from WOC but the ribbon is from Sam Poole. I've used a die-namics flourish but I'm beggared if I can see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The lovely tag is a Magnolia Doo Hickey and the hearts are Cheery Lynn and Spellbinders. The copics used were: C0, C1, C3, C5, C7, R81, RV000, RV0000.

So that's me. I really hope you can join us this week. We had so many beautiful entries last week - oodles of inspiration to go around. Big hugs to you all, especially Mummy Fairy! Jayne xx

I'm entering this into:

Polkadoodles - Tags challenge 
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Fairies

Ahoy there me hearties!

Sorry I haven't posted in days, life just gets in the way sometimes! This is a card I made for an article in Creative Cardmaking (Issue 45 I think). The article brief was using dies in different ways - it was tougher than I thought!!

This 'Walk the Plank' stamp is my new favourite (lol) from LOTV. How cute is this image? It's the kind of thing my daughter would do and it just makes me smile every time I colour it! The fab papers are from Rusty Pickle. The banner has been cut using the Whimsy Stamp Banner Pennant dies. The anchor is a Marianne Creatables die - I've embossed it with gold embossing powder - it's soooo cute!

I've come to realise that cards for magazines have to be quite simple - you have no idea how long it takes to write step by step instructions! I know it's really basic but I loved the image and I have nothing else to share until LLF challenge day on Thursday!!

Hope you're having a great week; my uncle is visiting from Cardiff and my daughter is beyond giddy (favourite uncle and all that!!!!!). Hugs, Jayne xx

Saturated Canary photo challenge!

Hmmm, normally I would run away screaming from photo challenges! They just instill a sense of panic in me - but then I am slightly peculiar! However, the pink flowers on the photo enthused me and I ended up with one very pink card! lol! The pink is doubley perfect because I stumbled across a new challenge blog 'In the Pink' that's all about pink!! Genius. Gotta love a mind that comes up with the perfect challenge blog!!

The papers are definitely papermania but I can't tell you which pack because I'm down to the last dregs of the pad and I can't find the cover sheet. I've stuck so many embellies on though the papers could be anything! lol! I must learn some restraint. I'll pop it on my wish list!!

Isn't it great when you get to use all your fave embellies on one card? I've used the butterfly border from the Tim Holtz range at Sizzix, the Magnolia Doo Hickey fence and dragonfly and the Cheery Lynn French Pastry Doily die. Then I ran out of room!!!The image is the yummy Honey again as she's my new favourite. I used a mix of copics and promarkers: Skin - Coral, sunkissed pink, blush, ivory, Dress - R85, R 83, R81, RV000, RV0000, Hair - C0, C1, C3, C5, C7. The flowers are from WOC and the beautiful ribbon is from Sam Poole.

It's not often I really enjoy making a card but this one cheered me up. It's good to make a card just to please yourself every once in a while!

I've spent ages colouring an image and made a pig's ear of the last bit :( I'm off to see if I can salvage it now that I've calmed down a bit!

Hugs for the weekend, Jayne xx

I'm entering this into:

Saturated Canary - Challenge 24 Photo Inspiration
Polka Doodles - Celebration 
In the Pink Challenge - Fifty Shades of Pink 
Totally Papercrafts Challenge - Inspired by a song - in this case The Psychedelic Furs 'Pretty in Pink' (I am a child of the '80s and loved the film too!!!!
Wags n Whiskers - Favourite Colour Combo

Oh so Girlie over at Lili's Little Fairies!

Huge thanks to everyone who entered last week - there were some stunning entries and trying to decide on a top 3 was a real headache!! This week we're going girlie - so out with the pinks and lilacs and bling!!! What's not to love?

I chose to use Beautiful Pom Pom this week - she so makes me smile!

I made this soooooo long ago I can hardly remember what I used! Flowers and ribbon are from WOC and the tag and butterfly are Magnolia Doo Hickeys. The papers are from the Nitwits 'Possibilities' collection - one of my faves.

I'm back to feeling rough - this bug has been the real deal. I'm off to take a spoonful of Manuka Honey and then walk the reluctant hound. My distress ink markers came yesterday but we were out at my daughter's ballet party so we're going to the post office to collect them this aft! Yippeeeeee!

Hope you get a chance to play this week - it's always a real pleasure to see your fabulous creations. Hugs, Jayne x

A Girl's Best Friend!

Thank you for wishing me a return to health! I'm starting to feel better - yeah! Super big thanks to Rebekah, Coops and Tabitha who are new followers. I really appreciate your support! Today's effort sees Saturated Canary cutie, Wendy, in a blue phase!

How cute is that dog? He has the same mournful look as my dog!! lol!  The papers are from A papermania CD - it has lots of the monochromatic papers kits on it and is just fabulous. I love this blue; it's kinda soothing! I went totally mad with embellishments; I just can't help myself. The doily is the French Pastry Cheery Lynn die. The lace and flowers are from WOC and the ribbon and feather (sorry, I really couldn't help myself) are from my stash. The sentiment is from LOTV.

I coloured with copics and I think I used the following colours: B02, B01, B00, B0000, E29, E25, E23 and for the doggy E40, E42, E43.

Funnily enough the only thing I miss about the Olympics is seeing the lovely Clare Balding! She was just super - and how funny was it when she interviewed Chad's Dad? That was my moment of the Olympics!

Big hugs, Jayne x

Two super quick Christmas Cards!

Still feeling really rough :(  I made these two in super quick time before I went to collapse on the sofa! This bug is a real nuisance; I hate to feel slowed down! Both these digi images and papers are from the Dreamees Christmas Memories CD.

This beautiful tree digi is my new favourite from the CD. I've used the Big and Juicy Hydrangea ink pad to do the shading behind the trees with a touch of Spun Sugar distress ink for the really pale pink in the middle. This is such a versatile image - I might try inking with oranges and yellows next. The border is the Memory Box Spring Border (again, sorry!). Flowers and ribbon from WOC.

This next one was even quicker and would be great for batch card making. The image has been coloured with copics and then cut out with the Christmas Ornament die from Spellbinders.

The baubles and corners are also from Dreamees (Cuttables 3 CD, but also available as die cuts). I love this soft lilac colour but you could could go all reds and greens for a real traditional look.

I'm going to try to finish a Saturated Canary card I started yesterday - my first attempt to colour went in the bin as poor Honey's face resembled a satsuma. Soooo not a good look!!

Hope you're having a great week, big hugs, Jayne xx

Funky Fairy!

Nothing makes me happier than making a card that features purple and black! This one was a bit of a struggle because I've come down with a throat and ear bug (that's oddly made the back of my tongue swell!) so I was crafting whilst wilting last night!

This is my favourite digi image of all time - Hannah Lynn's 'Moon Glow' fairy from Crafts and Me. I coloured her to match one of the papers in the digi Forest Fairy paper pack also from Crafts and Me. I made the card because I found out that Crafts and Me had a challenge blog and were having a 'use a digi' challenge.

This was coloured with promarkers (I like the blues better than the copic colours for some reason). The flowers and ribbon are from WOC. I've used the Memory Box Spring Border die and decided that I really love it in black!! The tag is a Magnolia Doohickey die and I've stamped an LOTV birthday verse on it.

I'm off for another lie down - man I hope I feel better tomorrow, I'm a real grumpy patient!!

I'm entering this into:

Crafts and Me Challenges - Use a digi
Divas By Design - For a Female
Wags n Whiskers - Birthdays
No Matter Which Challenges - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' - Things with wings

Hugs, Jayne xxx

Monochrome over at Lili's Little Fairies!

Have to say, I'm not a huge fan of monochrome hence this weeks pig's ear! However, I'd definitely be playing this week as our sponsor is Mary Fran at NitWit Collections - I have my eye on a number of collections and can see a shopping spree before the week is out!

I love this little ballet dancer - she reminds me of my own little girl who in all honesty is more effalump than dainty dancer! The papers are from the Polkadoodles Pretty Sweet Cd. The lace, flowers and ribbon are from WOC. I coloured this ages ago but I reckon the hair is E50, E51 and E53 and the purples are BV01, BV000 and BV0000.

The house work is blooming hard work in this heat. I'm attacking the grout in the bathroom with grout pen and will re-do the sealant tomorrow. I have told my daughter some of her toys will have to go in the loft. Not sure how well that will go. I don't think we'll ever sell the house!!

Back to the housework then :(  Big hugs, Jayne xx

Double Dreamee Christmas!

Hmmm, well, these were supposed to be two quick cards but it turned into one of those days and they ended up taking forever! On top of everything else, the Estate Agent rang to say someone wanted to view the house this weekend. I don't have words for the state of the house at the moment. I'm not sure where to start. I'm not going to cry but I think my lip may start to wobble!!!

Back to the cards. These two digi stamps are from the Dreamees 'Christmas Memories' CD (www.dreamees.org.uk). I'm back to my favourite aqua and red combo - I find it most cheering!
I'm entering this one into the Winter Wonderland 'Ribbon and Lace' Challenge.

The papers are also from the Christmas Memories CD. Again, I've coloured with copics: R32, R35, R37, R39, E50, E23, E25, E29, B01, B000, B0000. The die cut baubles are from the Cuttables Number 3 CD at Dreamees. This is the CD that has the fabulous sign posts on it. If, like me, you don't have a new fangled cutting machine have a look on the Dreamees website for the die-cut range. If you can't see what you want please contact Carol or Hayley as I'm sure they'd be only too pleased to help!

I'm loving this snowman too! It's just super cute in pink!

These papers are from the Dreamees 'Back to Basics' CD which is still one of my favourites as it's packed with colour co-ordinating backing papers. Scrumptious. Get this ribbon - yummy scrummy or what! It's from Sam Poole's shop and is silky crush ribbon (or something very like that!!!!). The flowers and lace are from WOC. The snow is from My Craft Studio and gets everywhere. And I mean everywhere!!!!

Okay, that's me for today. I'm going back to do more ironing :(  Hugs from the reluctant housewife xxxx

Whispy in the Garden!

It's an 'Outdoors' challenge over at Saturated Canary but as I suck at grass this is the best I can come up with!!!!!

Apologies that the photo sucks; the camera is now refusing to activate the flash and is generally misbehaving. Grrrr.

I used some stunning butterfly paper from the DCWV Mariposa stack and then covered it completely with embellies. Duh! I fell in love with this stack a year ago but only bought it recently. The colours scare me but the papers are soooo yummy I'm going to have to get a grip and leave my pastel comfort zone to use them.

The image has been coloured with copics: R32, R35, R37, R39, E29, E25, E23, E50, YG67, YG63, YG61 and G20. I'm going to have to sit and practice colouring hair :(  I've used my new Die-namics Fancy Flourish die and the Spring Border from Memory Box. The sentiment is a new-ish one from LOTV. The flower on the bow was a freebie from Creative Cardmaking magazine. I didn't think I would ever use it but the bow was a bit messy so I used it to hide the bodge!!! hehe.

I've gone mad with embellishments but I haven't crafted for over a week so I was like a kid in a sweet shop! Forgive my exuberance! Hugs, Jayne x

I'm entering this into:
Saturated Canary 'The Great Outdoors' challenge 
Divas By Design - Flowers

I need another holiday!

Got back from a week in Devon yesterday and boy do I need a break to get over it!!!!! What an exhausting week! If you ever go to Devon, I can heartily recommend Crealy Adventure Park as the place to go. Water slides, log flume, carousel and my personal favourites  - the Aqua Blasters! I am a menace in boats that squirt water!!!!!!!

Here's a very quick LOTV card I made before I went away. I meant to leave some timed posts but my daughter was very poorly so packing for the holiday was all I got time for!

The papers are from a very neglected Country Companions pack I bought a couple of years ago! I've coloured with copics; C0, C1, C3, C5, C7 and R 32, R35, R37, R39. The flowers are from WOC.

Sorry for the super quick post - I am snowed under with washing!!!!! Hope you've had a great week, super hugs, Jayne xxxx