Underwear for Christmas

I've had this digi image and sentiment printed off for ages and just not got round to using it. That is until I saw the Fab n Funky challenge for this week:

Keeping It Clean and Simple

This is clean underwear!! The image is from Whimsie Doodles, which I have enlarged ('scuse the pun!) and coloured with Promarkers. The sentiment is from the same set. I've used paper from Sundae of Seasons from Polkadoodles as my backing and everything else is from my stash. A bit of corner rounding and inking and the card is complete!


I've used eyelets to thread the string through as a washing line and added some tiny little wooden pegs too! A great quick and easy card to make, which is just as well as I don't seem to be making much of a dent in filing my Christmas card box!

• Backing paper: Sundae of Seasons by Polkadoodle
• Image and sentiment: Whimsie Doodles coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash
  

Dude Time Doodles! It's The October Blog Hop!!

Welcome to everyone!

This is the first Blog Hop for Dude Time Doodles and it kicks off our first event as a Design Team! The Blog Hops take part on the last day of each month and its not any ordinary blog hop - nope! It's to launch all the new images from Dude Time Doodles and the Design Team can showcase and shout from the roof tops just how fantastic the new images are!


And! Yes, there is an AND!! Because Dude Time Doodles is soooooooo generous, each of the Design Team, as you hop your way around each have an extra special something on offer on each of their blogs! If you visit the Challenge Blog there are also other prizes on offer:

$20 CSN Stores Gift Certificate
Stamp-By-Step Gift Certificate worth $20
Full set of new release of BDD digital images worth $30

The little extra that I have that you can only win by leaving a comment on my blog (this one!!) is Larry Lane - the bowler extraordinaire! Look at him below - the concentration gets me every time!!

So, if you want to win Larry (and who won't?!) just leave me a comment on this post! The blog hop runs until 7 November so any comments after that date won't be counted - so get in quick!

If you've found my blog from Miss Cleota then you are on the right track!! If you've found me by mistake (hope its a good mistake!) then no worries - you can start where you want and hop that way, once you get back to me, you've gone full circle!


Another new image that is being released in November is Pete Plumber. And its Pete who I've used in my creation this month. Each of the Design Team (the full list is on the Dude Time Doodles Challenge Blog) have used a new release image - so if you want to see them all in full glorious technicolour then hop over and see them!

I've made a door hanger with Pete, coloured him with Promarkers and used letters from my Sizzix Round-a-Bout alphabet die set. A bit of inking and it's completed!

Now your next stop is Miss Hetty! Go and see what she has to offer!

All the images are aimed at the guys in your life - and we all know how difficult it can be to make them a card! Look no further - Dude Time Doodles store can sort all that out for you!

Don't forget - the first Dude Time Doodles Challenge starts on 5 November and is a twice monthly challenge - 5th and 20th of each month with prizes every time! Blog Hops are on the last day of each month where you get to see all the new releases and can win the whole set too!

The winners will be announced from this blog hop on the Dude Time Doodles Challenge blog after 7 November. Good luck!!!

• Yellow card: My stash
• Image: Pete Plumber - coloured with Promarkers
• Dies: Sizzix Round-a-Bout alphabet dies
  

Fairy Pink!

I really do enjoy the Digi Sparkle challenges although I must admit, the current one made me think a bit more! Heather is asking us to use:

A limited colour palette (2 or 3 colours only)

I was determined to use the lovely fairy image and wanted to use pink but got stuck! I then realised I already had some Funky Hand papers printed from Funky Little Christmas download. So the colours that I have opted for (not including white and skin tones!) are pink and brown.

I've used one of my Nesties dies to cut the scalloped shape and decided to part cut / highlight the fairy as I thought that too much white could be distracting.

The glitter I found in my stash and its sort of a coarse glitter which still gets everywhere! The ribbon and pearlescent snowflake are also from my stash.

Oh, and before I forget, there is a 25% discount at Funky Hand on all digital downloads until midnight 31 October - go and fill your boots, or at least your hard drive!!

• Backing papers: Funky Hand - Funky Little Christmas download
• Image: Digi Sparkle, coloured with promarkers and gitter
• Everything else: My stash
  

V for Vertical

The ABC Christmas challenge is

V for Vertical

And I chose one of the two sketches on offer (the more simple one!) The image that I've used is a little tongue in cheek, as I wonder if she will stay vertical after many of those cocktails?!

The image is from Bugaboo and has been coloured with Promarkers. The red and green card is from my stash - I was going to use some patterned paper but it just didn't look right plus I got slightly sidetracked when watching Murder She Wrote.....

I'd coloured two images in so decided to flip the colours in the second card. The gems are from the Pound shop - 4 different sizes on a sheet!

I've layered the image onto black card and added some inking and doodling, and that is it! Although the two cards took me an entire episode of Murder She Wrote to make!!

• Image: Bugaboo, coloured with Promarkers
• Card: My stash
• Gems: Poundshop
  

Polkadoodle Challenge 43 - Autumn

It's Friday again so time for another Polkadoodle challenge! This week, Fliss is our host and she's asked the Design Team for something

Autumn

I've gone for the flower angle again! Made with papers from Sundae of Seasons - I've printed on both sides of the thin card. The circles have been made with a compass, edges inked and then scrunched up.

I've added wooden beads at the top of the stick (to hide the pointy bit) and also underneath (to hide the hole!)

Hope you can join in with the challenge this week - you have until Sunday 7 November at 12noon GMT.

• Papers: Sundae of Seasons
• Everything else: My stash
  

Football at 18

My Mum asked me to make a card for my cousin's eldest who turns 18 mid November. I've worked on the basis that all boys like football and the fact that I found this stamped Penny Black image in my stash.

I've used the Friday Sketchers sketch for the layout:


And papers from the 6x6 Retro Stack from DCWV with a bit of nifty cutting and gluing as the 6x6 was not big enough for the height of the card! I've used Promarkers (what else?!) to colour him in and used numbers from my Sizzix Round-a-Bout alphabet dies. The plain card is from my stash, and I think it used to be a card blank that I cut up.


Lets hope Adam does like football! He looks a bit like the image anyway!

• Papers: DCWV 6x6 Retro stack
• Image: Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers
• Dies: Sizzix Round-a-Bout alphabet dies
• Everything else: My stash
  

Vintage Tree

I'd been sent a wonderful digital scrapbooking kit by Alison Sloan called Comfort and Joy and was asked if I could make a few physical cards. So I did and here is one of them! All the papers are from the kit and I've drawn inspiration from Jo Kill to make the tree.

The papers have a lovely vintage feel to them (there are lots of elements too included with the kit but I've not used any here) so it fits the Charisma Cardz challenge which asks for

Vintage

I've added a bit of inking here and there around the edges and the scallops have been made with a heart punch so quite easy to make!

The papers are wonderful so expect more of them!

• All papers: Comfort and Joy Digital Scrapbooking kit (soon to be released!) from Alison Sloan
  
• Inspiration: Jo Kill
  

Craft Juice Tuesday - Week 36

Welcome to another Craft Juice Tuesday! This week has a Halloween theme!

For more details on each item, just click on the picture and it will take you directly to it's Craft Juice listing

Need some vampire lip balm? Then look no further! Buy from Sea Willow Herbs

Cute little ghostie finger puppets from WhidbeyWollery

And a fab recycled t-shirt that has become a bag! From Phyllis Dobbs

See you next week for more Craft Juice Tuesday!

Spooky Doorhanger!

I don't really send Halloween cards but I do enjoy making them (think its the goth in me!) so when I saw the By The Cute and Girly challenge for October which is:

Spooky!

I decided to make a doorhanger instead. Because it is my latest craze too! I've used a cardboard template, drawn round it onto some pretty thick sort of pearlescent black card (not got a clue where it came from as it found it in my A4 card box!)

I've inked it with silver ink which I've had for ages and not really used (shame on me!) and the letters have been cut with my Sizzix Round-a-Bout die set and then put through a Cuttlebug embossing folder.
The image is from Bugaboo and I've coloured him with Promarkers and added him to the doorhanger with foam pads. I think I'll be making more of these in the future when my boys get old enough! Mind you, Jacob can be a right stroppy little git at times!

• Dies: Sizzix Round-a-Bout alphabet
• Embossing: Cuttlebug
• Image: Bugaboo, coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash
  

Dude Time Doodles!

Good news!! I've joined the brand new Dude Time Doodles Challenge Blog! I'm part of the first team and also part of a very talented team of ladies! The Design Team can be found in my sidebar and we are from all over the world!

The first event kicks off on 31 October with a Blog Hop and we have some surprises lined up along the way so you won't want to miss out!

The challenge blog sets new challenges on the 5th and 20th of each month - typically a sketch challenge first and then a recipe or theme for the second challenge and with exciting sponsors!

Dude Time Doodles is all about the men in our life - so not many frills and fancy things will come from Dude Time Doodles, but if you want a giggle or a smirk, then it will be the challenge blog for you!!

Thank you Boni!!

Comfort and Joy in Gingerbread

A lovely sketch from Inspiration Sketches this week which I have used the new digital scrapbooking kit (yet to be released!) from Alison Sloan called Comfort and Joy.

All the papers are from the kit and I've added some real burgundy organza ribbon and a chipboard sticker topper that I bought last year and never got round to using (possibly because I bought many!)

The papers are very rich in colour and have a traditional but contemporary twist to them. I've only used a small selection of the papers here - there are loads to go at, plus digital elements too!

Thank you to Alison for asking me to 'play'!

• All papers: Comfort and Joy from Alison Sloan
• Dies: Nestabilities
• Everything else: My stash
  

Slowly Getting There!

I've had quite a good weekend for crafting - managed to get ahead of myself and coloured some images and feel like I'm starting to make a dent in the almost empty box of Christmas cards!

I've used the sketch from Papertake Weekly for this card:


And I've used an image that will be available as part of The Blog Hop in November - there is just about time to enter the October challenge if you are quick! Click here for more details! The image is from Di's Digi Downloads and I've coloured it with Promarkers and glitter glue.

The sentiments are from two sets of acrylic Studio G stamps. The printed papers are Papermania 6x6 A Wonderful Christmas Time stack plus an off cut of burgundy from my stash. Amazing how I seem to have plain matching card stock for almost anything! Mind you, the size of the 'box' is fairly cavernous!!

Despite the sun shining all day, this card is not showing quite as bright and vibrant as it is in real life. I think its the blue cast we now get as its practically winter.

• Papers: A Wonderful Christmas Time 6x6 stack from Papermania
• Image: Di's Digital Downloads, coloured with Promarkers and glitter glue
• Sentiments: Acrylic Studio G stamps
  

Super Birthday!

I found a new challenge site (well, new to me!) whilst blog hopping a while ago and the current Cards for Men challenge is:

Happy Birthday

Basically, the challenges are all male based, which, is no bad thing as sometimes these are the hardest cards to make!

I've used a Digi Sparkle image, coloured with Promarkers and printed my own sentiment. The backing papers are from Boys and Girls from Funky Hand which I found scraps of in my box and I am determined to use what I have hence the tall thin card blank!

The string is from my stash, along with the silver star. A nice quick card to make and such a fab image!

• Backing papers: Boys and Girls download from Funky Hand
• Image: Digi Sparkle, coloured with Promarkers
• Sentiment: Computer generated
• Everything else: My stash
  

Simple Doodles Challenge 29 - Shape It!

Welcome to another Simple Doodles Challenge! This fortnight the brief is to make

A Shaped Card

So no 'normal' shapes are not allowed! I've used the gift card from Polkadoodles Paper Boutique Vol 2 - Creative Christmas. This is the A5 size and I've cut out all the shapes and layered them up plus added some glitter glue here and there for sparkle!

The sentiment is also from the same cd and I've tied it to the candy cane with sparkly string.

The challenge is open until Friday 5 November when the next one is set. Good luck!

• All paperbased items: Polkadoodles Paper Boutique Vol 2 - Creative Christmas
• Everything else: My stash
  

Last Minute!

Totally last minute I am today!! I wouldn't mind too much, but I coloured this image specifically for the Penny Black Saturday challenge last week and its not that the card took me that long to make either!

The challenge this week is a sketch:
And I decided to make a male themed Christmas card. So used a silver card blank, coloured the image with Promarkers and added some Christmas papers that I found in my stash, so not got a clue where they are from. The silver snowflake (which looks black in the photo!) is from Matalan in the January sale.

This will go in my Christmas box as I have two events in the run up to Christmas. I had a look in the box yesterday and was a bit shocked to see how depleted my stocks are! Must make amends - fast!!

• Image: Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash
  

Polkadoodle Challenge 42 - Welcome Baby

Welcome to another Polkadoodle challenge! This week Enfys is our host and she has chosen the theme of:

Welcome Baby

This could be any project you like, not just a card, to welcome a new baby. If you are stuck for inspiration, have a look at what the Design Team have created! The deadline for entries is Sunday 31 October at 12noon and the maximum number of challenges is 10.

I've used the new cd - Sundae of Seasons and have created a jar to hold some baby stars. I've covered the jar with a wide strip of ribbon and used one of the sentiments to create the main focal point, using seed beads on the heart.

And Mr Blogger obviously does not like this particular picture..... but here is the view from the back of the jar - still made it fancy with more pink ribbon and bows!

The stars are from the same cd and I've simply cut them out and used kebab sticks. I've gone over the letters with liquid pearls so they stand out more, tied yet more pink ribbon under the stars, and that's it!

A fairly quick and easy project to make - it took longer for the glue to dry!

Good luck with the challenge and please don't forget our rules!

• All paperbased elements: Sundae of Seasons from Polkadoodles
• All ribbon: My stash
  

I'm In Simply Cards and Papercrafts!

Who-hoooo! My first time being published (in a magazine) and its a good job the pic of me is tiny as it is a very terrible one!

It's the current issue (77) of Simply Cards and Papercraft and I'm in the free Best of British booklet that comes with the magazine. Anice gave me the opportunity to write a little tutorial and to submit a card using the Funky Hand All I Want For Xmas download, and there it is in all it's glory!!

Just a Cute Baby Bear!

I needed to make a baby girl card as a friend is due any day so this fits with the Just Cute Bears Challenge which is:

Baby Creation

I've used some fancy scissors to cut the scallop edge (I must expand my Nestabilities!) so its not quite perfect! All the card is from my stash and I've coloured a Digi Sparkle bear with Promarkers.


I've dotted around the edge of the card with a sparkly pink gel pen. The ribbons are from my stash and the Queen and Co brad was sent to me (along with a pot of others!) by Jenny (thank you!)

A great quick card to make so I think I'll make some more like this to pad out my box!

• Image: Digi Sparkle, coloured with Promarkers
• Brad: Queen and Co
• Everything else: My stash
  

Snowman

Another great challenge on Digi Sparkle this fortnight and once again I am almost last minute! The challenge is:

Christmas

I've used the snowman from the Digi Sparkle Christmas set, coloured him with Promarkers and a bit of glitter glue. Really sorry about the terrible photo but all the ones I took had a blue cast and this is the best I can offer!


I've added a bit of inking around the edges plus dots with a blue gel pen. The sentiment is a die cut that I found in my stash and I've added some pearlescent snowflakes. Ribbon is also from my stash.

I always wonder if I have enough Christmas cards so I think I'll be on a bit of a mission for the next few weeks as I have two Craft Fairs coming up - one on 20 November and one on 5 December so I need to make sure I have enough stock!

• Image: Digi Sparkle, coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash
  

Cute or Scary?!

I've made this little monster from my own template and used papers from the new Funky Hand download Spooky Dookie which has papers that can be used not just for Halloween!

The card fits with the Let's Ink It Up challenge which asks for

Halloween Colours

The only bit of ink (if you don't count the liberal amounts around the edges of the monster!) is the little Stampin' Up sentiment stamp which was sent to me in a swop by Jenny (thank you!)


I've added some big wobbly eyes rescued from an old project Jacob made at nursery and then hand cut all the other shapes. The spots are from a hole punch - my cutting out skills are not that good!

• Template: My own
• Papers: Spooky Dookie download from Funky Hand
• Sentiment: Stampin' Up
• Everything else: My stash

Craft Juice Tuesday - Week 35

Welcome to another Craft Juice Tuesday! This week it is all about being stuck in an office (when really you'd rather be crafting!) For more details on each item, please click on the picture which will link directly to the Craft Juice listing.

Fancy a new pen holder for your desk? Buy this one from Little Wren Pottery

Do you eat lunch at your desk?! Buy from Sou Zou Creations

Now these are just my kinda thing! Funky office clips from Whimsical Expressions

See you next Tuesday for more Craft Juice Tuesday!

No Girls Allowed!

Now this was going to be something completely different for the Sassy Cheryl challenge this week which is:

Add Some Dimension

I was going to make a card with the image I'd coloured with Promarkers and at the last moment decided to make a door hanger! The dark blue card from my stash was ideal as it was quite thick and didn't need to be doubled to add thickness and strength.

I've punched holes around the aperture and added some string for interest. The three silver stars are table confetti (although quite chunky!) and the lettering is from the new Funky Hand download Spooky Dookie as I really like the ransom note style lettering (although you could punch them out too).

I've inked the edges with black ink and the image has been layered onto some bright blue and then black card, although it doesn't really show in the photo - just take my word for it!

• Image: Sassy Cheryl, coloured with Promarkers
• Lettering: Spooky Dookie download from Funky Hand
• Everything else: My stash
  

Engagement Again

This is the second Engagement card I've made this weekend as one of my cousins got Engaged last week. This is also for the Incy Wincy challenge which asks:

Faux It Up!

Although you can just about see it if you look close enough, I've added a faux running stitch with a black fineliner around the edge of the card and also the punched out heart.

The stamped heart uses a stamp that I got ages ago as a freebie in a magazine. The two little birdies have been stamped using two Hugs and Honey stamp sets (I bought a bargain pack in The Range on Friday with 3 of the acrylic stamp sets in, 2 different sized paper packs, die cuts and stickers all for just under £10!)

The items on the 'washing line' have been inked around the edges and the birdie one I've added tiny silver gel pen dots around the edge too. The embroidery thread is from my stash.

This was a really quick card to make and I think I may make more to add to my box as its good for any type of Wedding, Engagement or Valentines Day occasion!

• All card: My stash
• Stamps: Heart - my stash, Birdies - Hugs and Honey acrylic stamps
• Everything else: My stash
  

Engagement

I very nearly did not manage this challenge as I didn't think I'd have enough time, however one of my cousins (Jane) got engaged last weekend and I decided to use this lovely simple sketch from Card Sketches as a base for their card.
I've used white cardstock for the base then added red organza ribbon across the front and tied at the side with some thin red satin ribbon to hold it in place. The two hearts are stamps that I got as part of a magazine freebie quite some time ago. And I had to glue the actual stamp back onto their block before I could use them!

I've used a red Whispers ink onto the same white cardstock and then silver ink onto ruby red cardstock, cut them out and added over the ribbon with foam pads.


I've got quite a lot of seed beads and like the look of them, so these have been glued (hopefully very well!) on. The sentiment is computer generated and I've inked the edges for definition.

• Stamps: Freebies from a magazine
• Sentiment: Computer generated
• Everything else: My stash
  

Forever Autumn

A great sketch this week over on Corrosive Challenges:


And I've made this card using papers from a brand new digital scrap booking kit that is due to be released early next week from Alison Sloan. The kit is called Forever Autumn and it really lives up to its name! Wonderful rich colours and very easy to work with!

I've kept my card quite simple, using a compass for the circles, doodling a fine line around the edges and then layering up double sided printed circles in different sizes to make the central flower.
I've inked the edges of the circles before scrunching them up to create a very touchy feely card!

Thank you Alison for the kit - you are very generous!!

• All papers: Forever Autumn Digital Scrapbooking kit from Alison Sloan
  

My Important Dates

I'm terrible with addresses, important dates and other information. So, when I saw the Forever Friends challenge I knew I would have to make a book to hold all my important dates such as Birthday's and Anniversaries etc.

The current challenge is:

Home Decoration

I've made the covers from some off-cuts of card - 3 layers which I've glued together and then covered the outer panels with papers from The Big One by Clare Curd. I've layered the image (which is a sticker) onto black and pink pearlescent card.

The lettering has been cut with my Cuttlebug Baby Face alphabet set. I made the pages inside the book which are sized at A6 (get 4 from a sheet of A4) and have just used word to make the dates. Printed on both sides otherwise I'd have struggled to get big enough hoops!

I've deliberately left the covers quite plain as I don't want them to get squashed or dog-eared, plus this way, it will be easier to dust!

I just now need to write in it and remember to look in it, as I've realised I've already forgotten a Birthday from earlier this week.....!!

• Backing papers: The Big One by Clare Curd Signature Range
• Image: Forever Friends sticker
• Dies: Cuttlebug Baby Face Alphabet
• Everything else: My stash
  

Polkadoodle Challenge 41 - Spooooky!

It's Friday so that can only mean another Polkadoodle challenge! This week I am hosting the challenge which is to create

Something Spoooooky!

This can be anything you want - the more spookier the better and the Design Team love to see creations other than cards - so get creative! The deadline for the challenge is Sunday 24 October at 12noon GMT and please remember our 10 challenge rule!

I've made two bookmarks this week from coffin shaped card! Both characters are from the new cd Sundae of Seasons and from the Autumn collection. Both are pre-coloured (great if you are in a rush!)

I've added some drippy goo punches which were sent to me by Lis - thank you for coming to my rescue!! To finish off the bookmarks, I've doodled a white line with a gel pen around the edges.

Pretty quick and easy to make and with other characters available on the cd, you could make a set!

Good luck in entering!

• Images: Sundae of Seasons cd from Polkadoodles
• Punches: Martha Stewart Drippy Goo sent to me by Lis (thank you!)
• White gel pen: My stash

To Kiss A Frog

It seems that this is the time of year for getting Engaged! So needing to make a card, I took inspiration from the Friday Sketchers sketch:


One of the members of staff at nursery (although we are no longer there, but it's been big part of my life for 6.5 years!) got engaged a few weeks ago, and knowing Kim, I think she'll like the card I've made!

I've used backing papers from a brand new digital scrapbooking kit from Alison Sloan called Forever Autumn. And its that new, its not even released yet, so this is a big sneak preview! A big thank you to Alison for letting me dabble with the kit!!

The image is from Digi Sparkle which I picked as part of my recent winnings from winning their Challenge, and I've coloured it with Promarkers.

The red heart has been made by me from fimo and everything else is from my stash.

Just got a few more Engagement congratulations cards to make now - one of my cousins got Engaged at the weekend. Ah, I do like a good Wedding!!!

• Backing papers: Forever Autumn Digi Scrapbook kit from Alison Sloan
  
• Image: Digi Sparkle, coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash
  

Herd It's Your Special Day!

It's no secret that I do enjoy working with sketches and the less fussy the better! This one is from the current Paper Play challenge: And I've used an image and sentiment from Digi Sparkle which will be part of the bundle of images that can be won on the November Digi Blog Hop - I'm part of the Design Team and receive the images so I can create something with them! I've coloured the very cute sheep with Promarkers and have layered both the sentiment and image onto card from my stash.

The background papers are from A Work In Progress (Cinnamon Toast Collection) and are intended to be used for digi scrapbooking but I like the papers so much I print and use! I've doodled a black line around the edge for definition and the thin black ribbon is from my stash.

The October Digi Blog Hop is still running - it is open until 25 October so there is still time to enter! For more details click HERE!

• Backing paper: A Work In Progress
• Image and Sentiment: Digi Sparkle, coloured with Promarkers
• Everything else: My stash