Dad - You're A Star!

This was such a great card to make! I've used some freebie paper I got probably a few years ago from a card magazine - I downloaded the file as I find that the actual giveaway in the magazine is a bit hard to use as the paper quality is not always the best.

The star is one of my own templates and I've used my Sizzix Round-A-Bout alphabet set for the Dad letters and Cuttlebug Baby Face alphabet for the You're A Star sentiment.

A bit of inking with black and a red inkpad and the card is complete!

It fits the following challenges:

Ladybug Crafts: It's All About The Males
Crafting For All Seasons: Father's Day
Ambers Cards and Crafts: Special Man
Paper Play: Fathers Day
Delightful Challenges: Fathers Day
Craft Us Crazy: Fathers Day
CRAFT Challenge: Fathers Day
Sew Many Challenges: Fathers Day
Fussy and Fancy: For A Male
Alphabet Challenge: F for Fathers Day
Secret Crafter: For A Male
One Stop Craft: Fathers Day
Sentimental Sunday's: Fathers Day

• Papers: Free from a magazine a few years ago
• Dies: Sizzix Round-A-Bout and Cuttlebug Baby Face
  

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 26 - Sketch

It's Friday again so that can mean it's another Polkadoodle Challenge! We are already onto week 26 and it's another famous Nikky sketch for this week.

The Design Team were asked to follow the sketch and to use Not For Girls double cd.

All the elements you see here with exception to the big blue brad are all printed from the double cd. I've added a double row of faux stitching (one black and one white) around the edges plus a bit of inking and that is about it! The image that I have used can be resized to as big or small as you wish which is great!

A really simple card but effective! The DT have really excelled themselves this week and there are some excellent samples for you to have a look at on the Challenge blog!


You have until Sunday 22 November at noon GMT to enter and challenge 25 is still open until this Sunday (15 November) so you can still enter that one too!

We hope you can join in with us this week!

• All paperbased elements: Not For Girls double cd from Polkadoodles
• Large brad: My stash
  

Tangerine, Turquoise & Chocolate

The current Pollycraft challenge is a colour theme:

Tangerine, Turquoise and Chocolate

I completed their last challenge and because I managed the 5 'S' I got to pick a free download from their shop! After a lot of deliberation, I finally settled on Tyler and Piper Rockstars and used one of the images for this card.

I've used watercolour pencils for colouring with a little glitter glue on the guitar. All the card is from my stash on which I've doodled and inked the edges. The brads are from my stash too.

The sentiment is from the male Clare Curd Signature Range. The Pollycraft image was a dream to colour so watch out - I'll be using it again!

• Backing papers: From my stash
• Image: Pollycraft - Tyler and Piper Rockstars coloured with watercolour pencils
• Sentiment: Male stamp set from Clare Curd Signature Range
• Everything else: My stash
  

Hmmmm

The current Stampin Chic challenge is a sketch (excuse the tiddy pic!):


It's been a while since I managed a Stampin' Chic challenge so quite pleased it was a sketch but sometimes it doesn't quite go to plan! And here is my effort. And you can tell it was a quick make. I think its the spotty paper that doesn't sit right - I should have just used some plain card instead.


Anyway, all paperbased elements including the image are from the Clare Curd Signature Range and I've coloured the golfer with watercolour pencils. The card candy is from Craftwork Cards. I've inked all edges with Whispers Chestnut ink and then rounded them.

More effort needed next time I think!

• All paperbased items: Clare Curd Signature Range - The Big One
• Image: Clare Curd Signature Range - coloured with watercolour pencils
• Card Candy: Craftwork Cards
  
  

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
  
  

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
  

Geometric Patterns

The Creative Card Crew challenge this week is:

Geometric Patterns

So here are two Fathers Day cards which use the same templates and papers, just in a slightly different way. I've taken my inspiration from a recent papercraft magazine (I can't remember which one as I get around 4 - well, subscribe to 1 and then sort of find myself buying the others!!)
Basically, its a 5inch square card that I have cut a corner off, covered with either plain blue paper or DCWV Retro 6x6 paper and I've made the tie template myself and then covered them with the same paper from the pack. Edges have been lightly inked and then doodled, and the sentiment I've handwritten, simply because I'd forgotten to print it off through the computer before I started!

These are really simple and easy cards to make and really, you could add your own template to the front.

• Backing paper: Blue, from my stash; Patterned - DCWV Retro 6x6 paper pack
• Template: My own
• Sentiment: Handwritten
  
  

Stampin Chic - Sketch # 3

It's no secret that I enjoy working to a sketch and this one was good to work with! It's the third sketch challenge on Stampin' Chic: I used the DIY Man from the Stampin' For Him set (plus sentiment) which I have coloured with watercolour pencils and chalked the edges of the image as it was a little stark! Inked all edges in brown and bright blue in keeping with all the colours.

Backing papers are from V Funky and are offcuts I had left over from a previous project (I am determined to use all my bits up before I print more off otherwise I'll be buried in an avalanche of papers!)

As you can see, I under estimated how much brown backing card I would need after I'd layered the image and done the bit across the middle, so the sentiment is only half layered.. but I don't think it looks too bad.... or does it?!

Card candy from Craftwork Cards (yes I have all but one of the packs - because you just never know when you'll need some!)

• Backing paper: V Funky from Funky Hand
• Image & Sentiment: Stampin' For Him - Clare Curd Signature Range
• Card Candy: Craftwork Cards

Handy Man

This week, the Pink Elephant has a sketch:

I used the image intended for last weeks Stampin' Chic challenge which I just did not get around to doing. I've coloured it with watercolours and a little bit of silver gel pen. All edges have been rounded and inked. The textured background is a sheet of card which is just the perfect colour!

Card candy and tiny nuts added too.

• Textured background: From my stash
• Image: Clare Curd Signature Range coloured with watercolours
• Card Candy: Craftwork Cards
• Other embellishments: Scrap store
  
  

Have A Monster Birthday!

The second Creative Card Crew Challenge is:

NO PAPER - KEEP IT CLEAN
Now, before you all panic, it is easier than it sounds. We all love our designer papers, don't we? But you can also achieve some wonderful results when you don't use the papers. So why not give it a try? You just might amaze yourself.

I'd bought the funky monster dome plastic stickers earlier in the week from the pound shop (amongst some other needy craft supplies!) and wanted to make a monster card with them so this challenge fitted in perfectly! I've used card from my stash - a smaller circle in the contrasting colour is layered onto a larger circle, all inked with my very fading black ink pad and then a strip of bright orange card added with rounded corners.

The sentiment has been stamped in black ink with a mini Studio G alphabet set. I've a lot more of these stickers in the pack so you may see some more of them!

• Monster stickers: Pound shop
• Coloured card: All from my stash
• Sentiment: Studio G mini wooden alphabet set
  
  

Robots and Spots

This weeks Friday Sketchers challenge is:

And this is what I made. The robot stamp is by Papermania and I've used a black Ink It Up ink pad as its more watery and easier to use on such a large surface. I've rounded all the corners, inked them and also chalked the background to the image as the white card was too stark.

The papers are from the same collection 'For Him' 6 x 6 and the stamps are from a clear acrylic Studio G set. And I've coloured in (badly as it was dark!) the little star on the boy sentiment.

I think I need to use this stamp more often!

• Backing papers: Papermania 'For Him' 6 x 6
• Robot stamp: Papermania
• Other stamps: Studio G acrylic set
  
  

Fore A Top Bloke (Bad Joke!)

There is another new challenge blog in blogland! This one (Stampin' Chic) is by Clare Curd and her new Signature Range (which I do like!) Anyway, I felt in need of a little retail therapy over the weekend and had a good look at the clear stamp packs Clare has launched. And as my stash is a little light on the male themed cards, I went with the fellas stamp pack. And you get a lot of stamps for just under £6!

Anyway, the current challenge is:

LIMITED SUPPLIES CHALLENGE
We challenge you to only use no more than ONE piece of patterned paper, that's it one piece of patterned paper but of course you can also use other supplies like brads, ribbons etc., you can also use plain card if you have it... in fact whatever you want as long as you use no more than ONE piece of patterned paper!

The image actually helped a lot in choosing the backing paper! Just had to go for the diamond pattern! Printed backing paper is Dovecraft 6 x 6 which I've rounded the edges and inked. I've coloured the image with watercolour pencils and also inked and rounded the edges. The brown plain card is from my stash and the card candy just finished it off! The layout of the card is actually based on a recent Forever Friends sketch which I liked.

PS Bad joke in the title - sorry, but could not resist!

• Backing paper: Dovecraft 6 x 6
• Image & Sentiment: Clare Curd Signature Range (image coloured with watercolour pencils)
• Card Candy: From Craftwork Cards
  

Friday Sketchers Challenge - Sketch 18

This weeks sketch on the Friday Sketchers Challenge # 18 is this:

And here is my interpretation! I always seem to make girly cards, so decided to have a change! The papers are all from the Masculine Dovecraft 6x6 collection that I bought ages ago and have only used once or twice. I've inked the edges of the card stock and papers with blue and black inks and added the gold stars (which are supposed to be table confetti!) and the sentiment which is a peel off, and layered the Penny Black image with 3d foam pads.

The image has been coloured with my watercolour paints.

• Backing papers: Dovecraft Masculine Collection 6x6 papers
• Image: Penny Black, handcoloured with watercolour paints
• Embellishments: Table confetti plastic gold stars