Shaping Up

For some reason I managed to miss the first challenge over on Lexi's Challenges. Time is never plentiful on occasion!

Anyway, I was quite pleased with myself when I noticed the current challenge which is:

Shaped Cards

As I'd just completed making this for Nikky's appearance on Create and Craft this coming Thursday at 2pm where she will be showcasing her very brand new cd - Back To Nature. And here are some of the elements from the cd!

This is the first time I've made a shaped card like this and it only came about because of the images yelled at me to make them into this shape!

The little scene has been cut out along with the trees and little alphies and added to the background with 3d foam pads. And that is it! A fairly quick card to make (once I'd sorted out the folds and measurements!) and the new cd is fantastic - you really need to see the animals on it they are hilarious!!

Don't be surprised if you see more of these little houses on future new house cards as they are so sweet and detailed!

• All elements: Polkadoodles Back to Nature cd (launched date 3 December at 2pm on Create and Craft)
  

Saturday Afternoon Crafting

Some pictures taken yesterday afternoon at my Mum and Dad's. Jacob wanted to do some sewing so he used some of the stuff I found last time I went to the Scrap Store.

After being shown how to hold the needle and thread it through he picked it up really quickly and sat for half an hour making his creation!

I think next year he can make coasters for everyone at Christmas!

As Promised - Part 2

And here is the final completed album I made for Hayley and Stephen.

Mr Blogger likes these photos better!

• Papers: Printed - Papermania 12 x 12 doublesided 'Brown Ornate Clusters', Plain - Bazzill Basics
• Flowers: Prima
• Pins: Made by me
• Everything else: From my stash as left overs from making the Wedding Stationery
  
  

Polkadoodle Challenge 28 - Recipe

It's Friday again so it's another Polkadoodle challenge! This week Nikky has set the challenge of using at least 3 different papers and a rubber stamp.

I've used an image from the soon to be released new cd called Nature and papers from Sugar Birdies. The stamps are Candy Doodles - the sentiment and the fancy bits behind the flowers.

I've made the flowers by randomly drawing them and using the flower on the hat as inspiration. Pop over to the challenge blog to see the other samples made by the Design Team - there is also a little sneak peak of another of the images from Kris.

You have until Sunday 6 December at 12noon to enter the challenge so good luck and we can't wait to see what you create!

• Papers: Sugar Birdies
• Image: From the soon to be released cd Nature
• Sentiment and Stamped fancy bits: Candy Doodles stamps
  

From Saturday

Sorry I don't have many blog posts at the moment - it's not that I'm not creating, as I am, madly behind the scenes, its just that I can't share any of them at the moment as they are top secret!!

Here are photos that Lynsey took for me on Saturday at my first Craft Fair of the year at Crossley Heath School in Halifax. Taken just after I'd finished setting up.

The sale basket (well, a lego tub!) proved popular and I managed to sell quite a lot of cards this way. This is simply to make room for all the cards I have and my style has changed over the last 18 months and I thought this was the best way to go.

All my little people toppers are displayed on stand up boards across the back of my stall - you get to pick which ones you want and I then produce virtual exact replicas from under the table! All these are available to buy via my website (and I have a sale on at the moment too!) If you do buy, make sure you add a note to your order to say that you came via my blog as I will add something into your package!

Thank you to Lynsey for the photos and dammed good company!

Happy Birthday & A Sale!

A very big Happy Birthday to Anice - owner and creator of everything Funky! And to celebrate her Birthday she is offering a substantial discount on anything for sale on her website!

A 41% discount will be applied at checkout if you use the code 41TODAY - this is only available until 26 November so get your skates on and pop over to Funky Hand and get your orders in - consider it a pre-Christmas treat!!

As Promised

As promised here is the full completed album of Donna and Danny's Wedding.

Eeek! Just realised that Mr Blogger has kindly flipped some of my photos - why??!! You'll just have to tilt your head to view those. Sorry!

• Papers: Printed - My Minds Eye 12 x 12 double sided 'Bella Bella', Plain - Bazzill Basics
• Everything else: From my stash as left overs from making the Wedding Stationery
  
  

Last One!

Now this is the final page for Donna and Danny's acrylic / acetate Wedding album - I'll share the whole thing with you tomorrow. And to finish it off, I've used the current Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge:

I've rotated the sketch as it worked better for me. I've done two pages as the reverse is a mirror image of the first. Papers are My Minds Eye 12 x 12 double sided 'Bella Bella' and the photos are layered onto Bazzill Basics cardstock.

The thin organza ribbon is from my stash but the heart buckle, gems and satin chocolate ribbon are all left over from making the Wedding Stationery.

I've rounded and inked the edges with Chestnut Whispers ink. I gave the album to Donna yesterday and she was really pleased with it. So that is good!!

All three albums are now completed - I will share the full album tomorrow and later in the week I'll show Hayley and Stephens.

• Backing papers: My Minds Eye 12 x 12 double sided cardstock 'Bella Bella' and Bazzill Basics
• Everything else: From my stash or left over from making the Wedding Stationery
  

A Little Bit More

I've been on a roll this weekend, completing things that I started and here is the second of three installments on that!

This week, Moving Along With The Times has a sketch: And I've interpreted to fit my needs. The papers again are My Minds Eye 'Bella Bella' 12 x 12 double sided card stock and the plain chocolate coloured card is Bazzill Basics. The ribbon and gems are leftovers from making the Wedding Stationery and I have just rounded and inked edges.

The Wedding cake photo is the last one in the album and the picture below shows the back cover of the acrylic / acetate album - I like to keep the front and backs plain as they will get handled the most.

This paper is really beautiful and I am quite pleased with myself that I have the best part of a sheet left to play with on a future project!

• Backing papers: My Minds Eye, 12 x 12 double sided cardstock 'Bella Bella' and Bazzill Basics 12 x 12 paper
• Everything else: My stash
  

Fairy Sparkle

The Craft Garden has a monthly challenge, which, in theory is a good idea as it gives me all month to think of something and then make it. But I still leave it to almost the last minute!

This months challenge is:

Sparkle

I'd already coloured with watercolour pencils the Dustin Pike fairy (and sparkly wings) so decided to use her and try and find papers to go with it.

I found the 6 x 6 DCWV The Christmas multi stack last time I was in The Range so one of the papers has been used here. It is layered onto a sheet of almost mirri board card and the fairy has been layered onto a smaller piece. The ribbon is from my stash (I've had it ages so can't remember where it was from originally) and the very very glittery (my face is testament it's glitteriness!) snowflake is from Asda (15p tree decoration).

And I now realise that the fairy has been stuck on the card a little wonky. Ah well, too late now!

• Backing papers: DCWV Christmas 6 x 6 multi stack
• Image: Dustin Pike, coloured with watercolour pencils and a little glitter glue
• Snowflake: Asda
• Everything else: My stash
  
  

Woof

Although this is a new challenge blog for me, I do click on it every now and again, but never managed to make anything to enter, however, this sketch screamed at me! Well, actually it woofed!

The current Just Christmas and Birthday Cards is this sketch:

And I've made the Birthday card with the recipient very much in mind! The stickers are from a wonderful pack I bought some time ago from the Pound Shop - I like the bit of bling on the dog collar and heart! The ribbon is from my stash (I'm always amazed that I can match ribbon colour to the papers I've picked! Then again, I do have quite a lot of ribbon, so I shouldn't be that amazed!)

The papers are digi from A Work In Progress called Puppy Love - they were $1 in a sale not so long ago - I got about 10 digi papers, an alphabet and a load of digi images - the paw prints and stripes are from the paper set.

A bit of corner rounding and some inking and it's complete!

• Backing papers: A Work in Progress - Puppy Love kit
• Chipboard stickers: Pound Shop
• Ribbon: My stash

Finishing Off What I Started

It's been one of those weeks for trying to finish off things that I have started and not to start anything new until I have done! Plus I had my first Craft Fair of the year yesterday at Crossley Heath School in Halifax which Lynsey and I were on adjoining stalls - this was our second year of exhibiting at this Fair and I did virtually twice as well as last year! So quite pleased with my little self and I am now preparing for my second and last fair of the year on 6 December at Bolton Abbey (details in my sidebar) which I am doing with Lynsey. We make a good team, plus I get a ride in Bumble too!!

Anyway. As part of the finishing off things I have started, I need to complete Donna and Danny's acrylic Wedding album. Only have 3 pages (6 sides) left to complete. And here is two of them.

I've more or less (sort of) followed the Papertake Weekly sketch:

And have completed page 1 and the front cover of the album. Printed paper is 12 x 12 Bella Bella by My Minds Eye with the dark brown being Bazzill Basics 12 x 12. The ribbon, flowers and gems are all from my stash and actually use left overs from making the Wedding Stationery.

I've decided to keep the front cover plain plus it is more likely to get handled more so I don't want bits dropping off!

More pages of the album to come over the next few days as I am on a roll!

• Printed Papers: My Minds Eye 'Bella Bella' 12 x 12 double sided
• Plain paper: Bazzill Basics 12 x 12
• Everything else: My stash
  
  
  

Remember Autumn?

Do you remember the autumn?! Before all the rain and winds?! Well, I made this card with left over papers from my take on the Get Funky Challenge for November which was set by Enfys and is a theme of Autumn Woodland.

The papers are from Now That's Funky - Sweetie Pie collection and I've simply rounded edges and then inked them. I've made the hat pin by using beads from my stash and the ribbon is also from my stash.

The card will actually be sent along with the acrylic Wedding album that I made for the challenge to my cousin David and his wife Janis.

There is still time to enter the November Get Funky challenge - you have until 30 November and you could win a £20 voucher to spend on Funky Hand products!

• All papers: Now That's Funky from Funky Hand
• Everything else: My stash
  

Polkadoodle Challenge 27 - Sketch & Non Male Theme

It is Friday again, so it is another Polkadoodle challenge! The weeks really are beginning to fly by and to be quite honest (and I'll say this quietly) I'm sick of making Christmas cards!

So how pleased was I when Nikky challenged the Polkadoodle Design Team to use the sketch below, to use Not For Girls cd and to make a Girlie card!!!

However, the challenge for all of blogland this week is to use the sketch and the theme of brown.


So here is my creation! I've used the brick effect paper as the main backing from Not For Girls, overlaid it with one of the 'textured' plain papers, added a sentiment strip also from the cd and printed off my own little girlie birdie and coloured her with watercolour pencils to match the colour theme.


If you look really closely, you can just about make out two little diamond gems in the corner of her sunglasses! The ribbon is from my stash and does actually match the colour scheme quite well, just the lighting in the kitchen skews it a little. The charm is a recent purchase (along with a few others!) from ebay.

So there you have it! This week's challenge is open until Sunday 29 November at 12noon GMT and as always there is a prize for the winner! For more details and to see the rest of the DT creations, pop over to the challenge blog.

I'd like to say a big big goodbye to the very lovely Saskia who has stepped down from the Polkadoodle Design Team. Her creations are wonderful and I will certainly miss her and her never ending support. Good luck Saskia!!

• All paperbased elements: Not For Girls cd
• Image: Not For Girls cd coloured with watercolour pencils
• Everything else: My stash