It's The Giraffe Again!

The Dare U 2 Digi Stamp challenge this week is a sketch:

Which I have rotated and I've used one of the cute giraffes again! This time she has been coloured in to reflect true giraffe colours! I've used DCWV Retro 6 x 6 paper stack for the patterned papers and some yellow card I found in my stash box for layering.

The sentiment has been stamped with a Studio G mini wooden alphabet stamp, I've doodled a gold gel pen around the edges of the card and have found a yellow button and some goldy yellow ribbon in my stash.

• Backing papers: DCWV 6 x 6 Retro stack
• Image: Giraffe from Dawn Moore
• Everything else: From my stash
  

Strawberries, Cream and a Hint of Chocolate!

There is a new challenge blog! And it's called Moving Along With The Times- the DT were part of the original Daisy and Dandelion Challenge blog but with this new blog, entries do not need to feature Daisy and Dandelion.

This is their first week, and its a sketch with a theme:

...with it being Wimbledon this fortnight I thought that a colour theme of Strawberries and Cream with a hint of Chocolate would be great!

I've used some free digital papers and image from Tinker and Co. The sundae has been carefully cut out and then layered onto some white thick card as it looked a bit lost on the backing paper! I've hand written the sentiment and then double layered it onto some scraps.

I've made the little embellishment with my Cuttlebug flowers die - layering two of the die cuts and adding a pearl topped hat pin and seed beads. The chocolate element has come from the ribbon, which I found in my stash and there was just enough!

• All papers and topper: Tinker and Co free download
• Dies: Cuttlebug flowers
• Everything else: From my stash
  
  

You See It - And You Want To Use It!!

Was exactly how I felt when I saw this very cute giraffe! I saw it over on my fellow Funky Hand DT mate Carol's blog and followed the links and downloaded him (along with his other friends!) If you've not come across Lost In Paper Scraps (Dawn) before then go and have a look - she regularly offers cute freebies!

Anyway! The Friday Sketcher challenge is the sketch below and I knew I could use the giraffe in it! And then I had an idea for backing papers - blue with a bit of brown. And remembered Now That's Funky, so printed off the two backing sheets - I actually printed them off smaller than A4 so I could see more of the pattern - rounded the edges and then inked them, layered it all up and added the image. I've used watercolour pencils to colour in and I realised that giraffe spots are actually dark brown rather than yellow, but, hey! Artistic licence!

The two flowers are really lush Prima's that I got as a freebie, the centres are card candy. I do like this card, especially the image and be warned - you will see more of it!!

• Backing papers: Now That's Funky
• Image: Lost In Paper Scraps (Dawn Moore)
• Flowers: Prima freebies
• Card Candy: Craftwork Cards
  
  

Big Blooms

The Secret Crafter challenge this week is:

PRETTY PACKAGING
We would like to see your gift bags, boxes or even recycling of packaging as long as it is pretty!

I decided to recycle an old coffee jar that I found at work and turned it into a flower pot complete with matching flowers! The first two photos show the front and back views of the covered jar and the flowers - I've used virtually 4 sheets of Stackies flowers. The flowers have literally been cut out and stuck randomly with their petals ruffled up all over the jar.

The flower stems are twisted lengths of thick wire so they stand up well enough. The flower heads are co-ordinating sheets of stackies which I have ruffled up the petals and simply layered or stacked them together. A little bit of doodling on some of the petals but that's all!

To keep the wire stems in place, the centre of the flower has the wire poking through and I've freehand curled it to provide a bit of interest.

And if you watch Create and Craft / Ideal World closely at 12noon on Wednesday 1 July, you just might see these!! Nikky is presenting her new cd - Sugar Birdies and I've sent her this creation as a sample! The flowers may have company - Lulu Ladybird may be amongst the blooms!

• Flowers: Stackies
• Jar: Recycled from Tesco!
• Wire: From my stash
  
  
  

I Found A Red Biro...

.... and decided to use it on this little image! And I think it all fits in with the Papertake Weekly challenge which, this week is:

Delightful Downloads

So all you have to do is use something on your card that has been downloaded. It could be a paper or an image or both!

Well, probably not strictly true as its not a download as such but from the Patti Picklicious cd. Download, digital - its all the same thing aint it?!!

Anyway, all the papers are from the same collection on the cd with the image and titchy tabs elements from a different collection.

I've lightly coloured the image with watercolour pencils to give it a base and then went over it in a cross-hatch style with my newly found red biro! Added a bit of red glitter glue to the flower in her hair and buttons on the dress and then inked the edges.

Sorry for the washed out look of the first photo but the light was rubbish early on and I forgot to take another once the sun broke through.

• All elements: Patti Picklicious cd
  
  

Happy Birthday Tara!

The Charisma Challenge this week is:

Any theme, any style!

So, I've made this little card, for a special little girl, who is having her third Birthday party today! The papers are taken from Funky Word Books - Positively Kiddies collection, but instead of making a word book, I've cut the letters out, run them through a Cuttlebug embossing folder and doodled the edges.



The words have had the same treatment but I've used my Sizzix round-a-bout alphabet dies.

The laces holding the 'pages' together are from the scrap store and matched quite well!

Happy Birthday Tara!

• Backing papers: Funky Word Books
• Dies: Cuttlebug embossing folder (square dots or something) and Sizzix round-a-bout alphabet set
• 'Laces': Scrap Store
  
  

Christmas in June

It's been a while - too long really - since I joined in with a challenge on Dotties World! This week it is:

Christmas in June!

To save some time I've used a pre-coloured image and cut it out as a circle but not cutting through the image! Backing papers are from Papermania - A Wonderful Christmas Time 6 x 6. The red ones I've have torn rather than cut and have dotted gold gel pen around the edges. The tiny letters are from the Patti Picklicious cd, maroon ribbon from my stash, and card candy too. If you are thinking that the layout looks familiar, its loosely based upon a recent Cupcakes Challenge sketch!

• Backing papers: Papermaina - A Wonderful Christmas Time 6 x 6 stack
• Image: Charmed Cards and Crafts
• Sentiment: Patti Picklicious cd
• Card Candy: From Craftwork Cards
• Ribbon: From my stash
  

Polkadoodle Challenge - Week 6

It's Friday and it's Polkadoodle time again! For week 6, the DT were limited to making a landscape card with our own coloured Polly and also to use paper or digital ribbon (not normal fabric ribbon). If you pop over to the blog you will see the DT examples and we've all come up with something really different! For my card, I've used a tall thin card blank, coloured Polly with watercolour pencils and added a bit of glitter glue to the front of her spotty top. The grass has been cut with a Sizzix die and then the edges have been lightly inked. The flower is a Stackie which has been curled and then layered with more glitter glue in the centre.

The sentiment is from Lulu the Ladybird collection which I have coloured with watercolour pencils to match the backing paper. And I've cut threading holes for the paper ribbon with a little nifty tool I got from Lakeland ages ago (when they still sold crafting supplies!) and have added two digital buttons too.

All the papers, embellishments, sentiment and image are from the new Sugar Birdies cd, which, I can proudly tell you, will be showcased at 12 noon on Wednesday 1 July on Create and Craft - Sky channel 671. So you'll be able to see all the DT examples of what you can create with the fab cd and of course buy the cd!

There were some stunning entries last week to the sketch challenge and thank you to all those who entered! We really do appreciate it!

• All elements: Sugar Birdies cd
• Dies: Sizzix Original medium yellow grass die
  
  

Scraps and Big Ribbon!

The Pink Elephant challenge this week is a sketch drawn by my fellow Funky Hand DT mate, Carol:

I've used the new Funky Hand download - I Do! to make this card. The download is actually a wordbook, but I've used the scraps from the two wordbooks that I have already created to make this card.

The four square panels have been inked and added to the card with 3d foam pads which helped when I was adding the organza ribbon - it helps to keep it in place! I've cut a little slit at the top of the card to feed the ribbon through and have tied it as if was a parcel.

The sentiment is also from the download - I printed the sentiment sheet so that it would fit twice on an A4 sheet of card. Sentiment has been layered onto some more scraps of card and then added to the panel. I then dotted around the edges with a gold gel pen so it stood out a little more.

• All papers and sentiment: I Do! Download from Funky Hand
• Ribbon: From my stash
  

Patterns and Chandeliers

The Friday Sketchers challenge this week is:

All the elements - image, backing paper, embellishments and sentiment are all from the Patti Picklicious cd. The chandelier image I've layered onto black card to give it a bit more definition and have chalked the edges.

The sentiment has been cut from the titchy alphas that you can print out - I've not changed the sizing - they really are that small!

The embellishments are all cut from one of the backing sheets and I've simply cut out different parts of it and added a bit of glitter glue here and there.

The chandelier has been lightly chalked and again I've added some glitter glue, and as luck would have it, the black ink has bled into the glitter glue and turned it turquoise to match the rest of the card!

• All backing papers, image, sentiment and embellishments: Patti Picklicious cd
• Glitter glue: From my stash
  
  
  
  

More Male Decoupage!

I do like a simple sketch! And the very lovely Carol has given us this one as part of her Fun Sketch Challenge:This is another Freddies Friends easy peasy decoupage from Nikky as part of the Polkadoodle DT. I didn't use the backing paper that comes with it as I really liked the cartoon effect of the little man and didn't want him getting lost in too much 'busy-ness'. Anyway, its dead easy to use - simply pop the die cuts out and layer them up according to the numbers. Extra bits and bobs are included too and I've still got a few bits left to use on another project.

I've doodled around the edges of the card firstly with black ink and then a double green line to create the frame. Really simple to put together - I've only used the dark blue card from my stash which I've layered the sentiment and image onto, everything else is the decoupage sheet.

• Decoupage: One project sheet from Polkadoodle
  
  

Baby Giraffe

The Cute Card Thursday was an easy one for me this week!

This week we want to see you use a tag, make a tag card, basically we want to see a tag somewhere on your creation!

Only easy because I have a number of ready made tags all waiting to be added to cards! I found this one in the box and because I am a bit short of baby cards I used this one. The tag is a super sized Sizzix scallop die cut using papers from the Huge Funky Love download. The cute giraffe has been coloured with watercolour paints and I think it was sent to me by Jozza. Ribbon, buttons and flowers are all from my stash.

• Backing papers: Huge Funky Love
• Dies: Sizzix Super Sized Scallop Tag
• Image: Sent to me by Jozza and coloured with watercolour paints
• Everything else: From my stash
  
  

A Summery Thirty

This ABC Challenge fell neatly in with a commissioned card that I needed to make - I do like it when that happens!

This week the challenge is:

S is for Summer

All the papers are from Now That's Funky - this particular collection just screamed summer at me! This is not a word book cd - I've simply printed the letters off in wordart and cut them out, layering them onto the bright flower paper and then cut the pages to match. Mind you, the word book templates are a lot easier but I am never one to make my life knowingly easier!

I've used ribbons from my stash and also eyelets. The flowers have been cut with the Cuttlebug flower die and card candy added.

I've not taken a photo of the back but I've added a matching panel so that a message can easily be written on it.

• Backing papers: Now That's Funky
• Dies: Cuttlebug flower
• Card Candy: Craftwork Cards
• Everything else: From my stash
  
  

Pink and Girlie!

I think I've just about made this one in time - its one of those challenges that I have very good intentions to make something as soon as its announced, but then leave it to the last moment to do something!

On the official Daisy and Dandelion blog, there is a challenge to:

... get creative by producing a complementary Card and Gift with a BIRTHDAY THEME

I started off by going through my scraps of backing paper - the dotty ones are from Funky Hand (but cannot remember which cd, although I am fairly sure it is Funky Daze!) and covered the card blank with them - edges have been inked with pink too. I stamped the three images - Daisy, Dandelion and the balloon with chestnut whispers ink and then coloured them with watercolour paints and then went over them with watercolour pencils for more depth.

The image has been layered onto some lovely pearlescent pink card (the box is made out of the same card) and the balloon has been added with some 3d foam pads. Organza ribbon from my stash (I found a roll of 25 yards!)

And the matching gift is a triangular box (very much inspired by the Easter gift from Kath!) has been cut from the same pearlescent pink card and I've randomly stamped one of the flowers from the D&D clear stamp pack (I inked up the stamp without using the block - I found it easier this way!) Again, the main image has been coloured with watercolour pencils and paints. I've used this one as a tag for the box.

This is the first time I've used my new stamps and I must say that they are very easy to use! I think I'll try them with black ink next time for a bit more definition!

• Printed backing papers: Funky Hand
• Pearlescent card: From The Range (big sheet for 79p)
• Images: All Daisy and Dandelion clear stamp set
• Ribbon: From my stash
• Box template: Drew around the one I got from Kath!
  
  
  

I Do!

The Charisma Cards Challenge this week is:

Diamonds are a girls best friend

Funky Hand has just released a brand new download - its a Wedding Word book collection called I Do! and it has all the features you would expect from Funky Hand including an alternative coloured alphabet if you wanted to layer up the pages. So, with this in mind I have made a card for a forthcoming Wedding.

I've printed their married name off and the Mr & Mrs bit at the front I've cut from my Baby Face Cuttlebug alphabet set and have used an off cut of the card. I've outlined the letters with a dark brown watercolour pencil to add more definition. The chocolate brown ribbon matches their Wedding stationery as does the heart gem and heart buckle.

For a further touch, I've brought in a pale pink ribbon and also some tiny silver rings, suspended from the letter A. I've printed the co-ordinating backing papers onto the reverse of the letters, although I've not got a photo of it! It's all really easy to print - you select the letter and then press print!!

Because the I Do! download is quite a neutral colour, the Wedding colours can be added in, or any other colour for that matter - what ever your stash allows! This collection is a must have for your stash - so go and buy!!

• Backing papers: I Do! download from Funky Hand
• Dies: Cuttlebug Baby Face alphabet
• Everything else: My stash
  
  

Gardening

The Cupcake challenge this week is:

"As it's getting close to Fathers Day I thought a Fathers Day card would be appropriate, but there's a slight twist in that it has to be more than a card. You can interpret that any way you want to. If it's not Fathers Day in your neck of the woods then a card for a Man (any man) will do."

I'd already made my Dad's Fathers Day card, so had to think of something else! Nikky had sent the Polkadoodle DT some sheets of her Freddies Friends and Stackies and I wanted to make something with them and decided that this would be the perfect challenge!


I've used virtually all the elements from the Friends sheet and have layered them up according to the very easy step by step instructions. I've mounted the sentiment and topper onto some very shiny green card that I found in my stash to keep with the gardening theme.

The pocket is a cello card bag which I have stuck to the back of the topper but have left the opening free so the items inside can be either taken out or added to easily - I've included a packet of seeds, some plant tags, garden twine and also gardening wire.

There are lots of layers to the sheet so the finished piece looks really effective! I've had limited experience of decoupage in the past but these sheets are pre cut - you simply pop them out and away you go!

• Decoupage sheet: Freddies Friends
• Green shiny card: From my stash
  

He Really Did Fall Asleep Like This!

Aw, bless! Poor little mite was still tired after the previous day's trip to Farmer Teds. Probably would have helped if he didn't get me up at 5am!

This is how Simon found him asleep mid morning on Friday! And yes, he'd put the cushions there himself!


Can't really complain about being up at 5am - I got to make 2 cards before I left for work at 7:15am!!

My Lost Thursday

My lost Thursday! I went as part of the school leavers trip (those at nursery who leave to start school in September) to Farmer Ted's and Jacob came along too!

We had a great day and saw a lot of animals!

Jacob really enjoyed himself as you can see!

The adventure playground was great too!

I've already signed up to go along next year when Jacob does actually leave to start school!

A great day was had by all - Jacob fell asleep on the coach on the way back to nursery and he was still tired on Friday - see my next post for more detail!