Funky Fellas!

Don't know if you are familiar with Funky Hand products, but Anice produced some physical paper packs last year - Funky Fellas and Funky Females. I've used the female pack a number of times but just kept looking at the fellas pack! I do find it difficult to do male cards sometimes as I'm careful not to over bling it!

Anyway, this was a commissioned card and I've used two of the papers from Funky Fellas. Inspired by Anice's recent tv appearance and the first demonstration for Now That's Funky, I thought I'd have a go at paper ripping (or is it tearing?)

The strip I ripped off the blue paper I added to the top of the card (don't like waste!) The letters are cut using the Round-a-Bout alphabet from Sizzix and they are cut from funky foam which was a very good colour match! A little bit of doodling around the edges of the card finished it off.

• Paper - Funky Fellas physical backing paper from Funky Hand
• Letters - cut using Round-a-Bout Sizzix alphabet in funky foam

Was It Really That Quiet??!!

Rather than watching the telly last night, we played some videos of the boys when they were a lot younger. Actually, Jacob only featured a few times but there was a lot of Samuel!

I did most of the filming (the video camera was bought as soon as we found out I was expecting!) and as I sound terrible I didn't speak (broad Lancashire accent sounds terrible on recordings!) so the only noise was what ever the boys omitted or the telly in the background. Samuel actually, at 3 weeks old did a good jig to the Bee Gees 'Staying Alive' and Madonna's 'True Blue'.

The boys were fascinated by themselves although Jacob kept insisting it was him as a baby when it was Samuel!

This pic is of Samuel and he was about 3 weeks old. The t-shirt was a freebie from a magazine and as he was so small it fitted him! You can just see that his ears have no real ridge at the top - when he was born his ears were almost completely flat and his head cone shaped. Due to the fact he was engaged from 30 weeks....... and arrived 5 days late!

He chunked out quite a bit from 2 months (this photo he's 3 months old), so much so that my brother said that Samuel's wrists and ankles looked like we'd put elastic bands round and the flesh had puffed over the sides! The pillow case is one I 'borrowed' when I left home in 1993 and was mine when I was a child. My mum knitted the tank top Samuel is wearing and it matched a pair of chocolate coloured cords. I made him some braces so they would stay on!! His ears are now normal!

Samuel was a week short of his second birthday when Jacob arrived. Samuel looked so sweet on the video and he kept patting and rubbing Jacob's tummy to keep him quiet! Jacob is not 24 hours old in this photo and he'd not yet had a proper bath. His eyes were a bit puffed up as he arrived pretty quickly!
And here they are in May this year on holiday. Struggle to get a decent pic of them together and smiling these days. Jacob does the cheesy toothy grin thing and Samuel pretends to be sad.....

Little devils!!

Tilda & Co Challenge 30 - Sketch This

This could well be the last challenge for the week as I really need to get on with the thank you's for the staff at nursery as Samuel leaves on 4 September..... but then again.....!!


Anyway, this is the Tilda & Co Challenge 30 which is a sketch:


The Tilda challenge this week is:

Please make your work using the Sketch as your guide,

You can rotate the sketch & even resize the Elements if you would like to,

But do not move the elements around,

As long as we can still see the original sketch layout and can be easily recognised then that is fine!

Please remember your work must include at least one Magnolia image.

So here it is! Pink Petticoat papers which I printed off ages ago and not got round to using them, layered onto lilac and pink card. The oval has been treated to the good old silver gel pen dots. Tilda image courtesy of Jozza's goodie bag from our meet up a few weeks ago, and its been watercoloured. And look - no ribbon!!! Are you shocked?! I've used raffia instead which has been threaded through the heart brad.


The image in a bit more detail

• Papers - Pink Petticoat (both little pink flowers and lilac big swirls)
• Image - Tilda, hand coloured with watercolour paints
• Brads - Making Memories bright daisies and purple heart slider
• Raffia - from my stash
  

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 8 - No Pink!

Told you there would a few challenges this week!! For some strange reason, I do get excited about the Penny Black Challenges! And for this week, I was determined to make a Christmas card, so I was quite pleased when I read that pink was not allowed!

This weeks challenge -
Challenge 8 - No Pink!!
Your cards can feature any colour, but NO PINK !!

I had some of the Funky Christmas Time backing papers left over (and I HATE to see any scrap go to waste!) and wanted to use them again. Hand water coloured the image - I am so enjoying using my trusty watercolours again! I spent a bit of time faffing with the layout as I felt that it needed (oh yes!) some ribbon to finish it off. The edges of the card and image have been dotted and drawn on with the gold gel pen, although, thinking about it now, the image would look better, I think, with faux photo corners......

I'd actually cut the ribbon too short (not concentrating!) so it would not tie in a bow particularly well, so its now a single bow!

• Image - Penny Black hand coloured with watercolours
• Backing paper - Funky Christmas Time download from Funky Hand
• Ribbon - Gold satin edged gold organza from Blackburn market
• Eyelets - Metallic from Dovecraft

Its A Double! DCM Challenge - Sprinkles & Friday Sketchers 13

I've decided to combine two challenges in the one card (sound like a pro eh?!) and its the layout from Friday Sketchers Challenge 13 and my take on the Daring Cardmakers Challenge - Sprinkles.

The Friday Sketchers layout is

And this weeks DCM challenge,

"We're working with sprinkles. If you'd like to join in and play along then create a card using some teeny weeny dots/spots to represent little sprinkles. You might add a splash of french knots, beads, small sequins or bling, teeny buttons, hand drawn dots, paint splotches or think up something else that's teeny, tiny and sprinkled."

Determined to make a Christmas card! Another water coloured Penny Black image, layered onto mid blue pearlescent card. I embossed a strip of translucent vellum with the Cuttlebug snowflakes die and managed to find the blue card underneath, which is sort of shiny with threads running through it (you can see it better on the detailed photo below). The sentiment was cut using the Baby Face Cuttlebug alphabet set and layered onto an off cut of the embossed vellum and the blue card.

Three punched snowflakes with dark blue gem centres have been added to match the Friday Sketchers layout and the sprinkles to satisfy the DCM Challenge are tiny blue and silver seed beads. Some follow the stamped image snowflakes and the rest are random.

• Image - Penny Black, hand coloured with watercolours
• Backing Papers - From my stash, including pearlescent card and translucent vellum
• Tools - Snowflake embossing folder from Cuttlebug, Baby Face alphabet from Cuttlebug, snowflake punch
  
  

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 21 - In The House

I do like the Cute Card Thursday challenges as I can use anything!

Challenge 21 - In The House

The challenge this week is to make a card with the theme of 'In The House' , anything which can be found in the home is fine.

I'd already had the card stock ready - left over from last year (I'd printed it, looked at it, put it down, looked at it again and then ran out of time). I've chalked the edges of the card - lightly hammered cream card, on which the backing has been printed directly - its a Christmas download from Mad About Cards. The Christmas Pudding recipe sentiment is also from the same collection and has been layered onto matt gold card.
The two embellishments I have made myself from fimo. The Christmas Pudding turned out a little chunkier than I imagined, so I am now on the look-out for a cheap pasta sheet making machine!

I tried to make the holly and berries from fimo but it was far too fiddly and the holly looked more like a strange green blob, so I've punched them from green card and red glitter card.

• Backing paper - Traditional Christmas download from Mad About Cards
• Embellishments - Handmade by me and available from September to buy from Tip Top Toppers
• Ribbon - Thin ruby red satin ribbon from Blackburn market

Arty Girlz Challenge 45 - Blue

Once again, I'm starting the week off on a roll! Been a busy bee this weekend not only with a number of card orders but creating cards for challenges. I think I'm becoming addicted! However, I see it as getting cards made in a style that I probably would not have done plus I'm beginning to try and do the challenges as Christmas cards! I know, and its only August!!

Right, the first challenge I've gone for this week is the Arty Girlz Challenge. I came across this whilst blog hopping.

This weeks challenge is to have the colour BLUE as your main feature on your creation.

As always you choose the format so you could make an atc, card, maybe a scrapbook layout with Blue in the title or you could even bake a cake and use blue icing .... it is completely up to you.

I'd already water coloured this Tilda image a week or so ago so I was wanting to use it on something. The backing papers are from Now Thats Funky cd - Cold Snap colour collection. I printed them at A5 size as I wanted a small pattern. The image has been added to the card with 3d foam pads so she stands out a little. The papers have been dotted with silver gel pen just to provide an 'edge'. The ribbon was another 10p bargain bundle from Blackburn market and the flower I found in my stash (I think it came from Lynsey and her recent clear out). The opaque sentiment was a freebie from a magazine a month or so ago.

• Image: Tilda hand coloured with watercolour paints
• Backing paper: Cold Snap collection from Now Thats Funky cd
• Ribbon: Navy blue grosgrain from Blackburn market
• Flower: From my stash
• Sentiment: Freebie from a magazine

Sixties Chick

This was a commission made in a hurry! Made for Pauline from Wedding Toppers for her friend who would be 60 in early August. The hairstyle and dress were specifically asked for (and to include the large lace on the neckline and cuffs!) and that the recipient loved Cliff Richard and John Lennon, so I included two of their album covers.


The black background is from the charcoal pack from Dovecraft, and the number 60 is cut from one of my favourite papers from Funky Hand - Its Funky Too cd, which has been printed onto glossy photographic paper for a shiny feel. The letters have been mounted onto hot pink pearlescent card and then added to the backing paper with 3d foam pads, and the edges glittered with silver.

I added the ribbons, flower and gems as I felt the card lacked a little something and as luck would have it, I had everything to match!

I did have a bit of a panic as I didn't have any white lace and considered bleaching the black that I had, but realised that I didn't have enough time to do it properly and was not sure that it would work right. And then found a new string washing bag - the type you put the washing tablets in - which once cut up small enough worked perfectly (with some sheer white organza ribbon behind)!! Thank God for Persil eh??!!

Wylde Women Award

I got awarded the Wylde Women Award from Jozza!

And I will pass it to Lynsey and Alex.

Tip Top Toppers is One!!

It's been a year since I launched Tip Top Toppers - it certainly does not seem like a year, but it is!


And to celebrate, any online order placed between 1 and 31 August will be entered into a draw to win £10 off their next order. For more details please visit the website.


I've just added some Halloween toppers and die cuts to the website along with some Christmas themed toppers and die cuts. More will be added in September, and as always, if there is something you want and you can't see it - just ask!


You've got to be in it to win it!!