Making The World Sparkle....

Less is More - Stripes

2012-02-11T10:31:00.003Z

I had a lovely glow when I first read this morning's challenge over at Less Is More. STRIPES! I love stripes - I am always buying stripey papers in all colours. Then I had a cuppa and woke up properly and read the challenge again - ONE LAYER. Oh no! I don't do stamping at all and I certainly don't do all that messy inking business so seeing the cards already made by the early birds I was in a bit of a dilema.

Then I found this gorgeous image I have had some time called Cefer and Domino by Little Musings. What better than stripey cats! After a bit of positioning trouble I finally printed this and coloured it using promarkers. Purr-fect - my second one layer card.

Seeing Spots...

2012-02-10T17:59:00.005Z

I scoured the colouring pages websites for an image suitable for a 10 year old girl and came up with this. The Bratz characters are quite funky and a major plus for me is that they have full faces - images such as Magnolia's Tilda and Edwin creep me out!

I've coloured her using Promarkers in shades of lilac and pale lime and used patterned papers from Dovecraft's basics range. The flowers are digi images carefully cut and coloured. Looking at this card for too long makes your eyes go funny!

I've entered this into the following challenges...

Sew Many Cards - Birthday Card Challenge
If The Shoe Fits... - Anything Goes

Rosie's Birthday..

2012-02-07T19:32:00.005Z

Just a quick post today - a big number birthday card for a little girl who is about to be 2. The paper is one I printed from a crafting CD when my printer needed more ink and the colours didn't come out as they should have but it's still usable.

The lettering is done with die-cuts and I've finished off with a few random punched flowers.

Happy Birthday Less Is More

2012-02-04T17:53:00.006Z

I can't believe the Less is More challenge blog is a year old - how time flies! The challenge there this week is to use the colour 'aqua'. I wanted to make a card that totally sums up the Less Is More ethos and ended up with the following effort...

The flowers are made from a simple digi image as seen before in the Kitty and Peppa cards. I've carefully cut around them and coloured with a pale aqua promarker. I've scored lines above and below the flowers to add a bit of texture (difficult to see) and finished off with a printed greeting.

Voila! Happy Birthday to the lovely ladies from LIM and may your blog continue and prosper xx

Peppa Pig...

2012-01-31T22:01:00.007Z

Following on from Hello Kitty, here's another quirky card for a little girl - this time a Peppa Pig fan! I acquired this image from another colouring pages web site - try googling "Peppa Pig colouring pages" and you'll see how simple it is! The papers are from the same pack as the Kitty card and I've finished with another digi stamp flower.

I've entered this into the following challenges:

The Pixie Dust Studio Pixie Challenge - Let's Go To The Zoo
Sweet Stampin' - Use an animal

Less Is More - Cut It Out

2012-01-24T15:07:00.011Z

The Challenge at Less Is More this week has been to create a card with a hole or aperture. I am really loving this blog - each week I am inspired to make cards I wouldn't have thought of making by meeting whatever challenge or theme is provided. And I so love clean and simple cards - I somehow can't get the knack of those creations with all the flowers on them.

So I've made a start on Mother's Day cards - I'm pleased with the result but it was so difficult to photograph it so you can see the hole. I've added more pics so you get the idea. The aperture is on the top sheet of white card and I've attached it to the base card with 3D sticky pads. The butterfly is an X-cut punch with black diamantes on it and I made a scalloped frame using Nesties to go around the aperture. I'm going to make a batch of these in different colours - it was really quick to do.

Hello Kitty!

2012-01-22T16:14:00.006Z

Today's card is for a little girl who loves all things Hello Kitty. I found the image on a children's colouring pages site which is always my first port of call when anyone requests a 'character' card. I just download the images to my computer then I can resize and alter them as required.

They have everything from Barbie to The Simpsons - a treasure trove of free digi images! I've coloured Kitty with promarkers and used Dovecraft Back To Basic papers.

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge - Sketch
Crazy 4 Challenges - A child's Birthday Card
Stamptacular Sunday - Seeing spots

Sunday Blues

2012-01-15T16:34:00.005Z

Full of cold today! It's probably my own fault for going out last night without a coat but one must suffer for fashion! Freezing temperatures here in Sunderland - it's so frosty outside it looks more Christmassy than Christmas did!

Today's card continues the cold theme in shades of blue - a 30th birthday card using the delightful Lola Rose image from Pink Petticoat. I've paper pieced the frock with spotty Doodlebug paper and coloured the rest of the image with promarkers.

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Anything Goes With Blue
Crazy 4 Challenges - Monochromatic in Shades of Blue
Crafts 4 Eternity - Blues

Less Is More - One Layer with Birds

2012-01-14T13:06:00.004Z

The theme at Less Is More today is a one layer card using birds. Oh dear - way out of my comfort zone! Not the birds but the one layer business - I can't stamp to save my life and I'm lost unless I'm adding embellishments!

I set to work going through all my digi images and found this gorgeous bird house by Little Musings . I thought it would take ages to line it up with the greeting - but it didn't. I've started to use Microsoft Publisher when I'm printing off digi images as there's a lot of control over sizing and placement. It's coloured with promarkers and that's it! My first one layer card!

Pretty In Pink

2012-01-13T18:53:00.005Z

Christmas seems so long ago! I've had a lovely break from all things crafty but I've finally had to make a start again as orders are building up!

I love making girly cards and the image on this card is one of my favourites. It's a freebie I found ages ago by Jim Harker at Just Inklined called Wedding Shoe and it is so easy to colour (using promarkers) and decoupage.

It's matted onto pale pink card and I've increased the 'pinkness' by adding a gossamer ribbon and some Card Candy coloured pink with promarkers.

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Do You Stack Up - Pink!
Art Impressions Stamps - Pink, pink and more pink!

Pastels...

2011-12-22T22:31:00.004Z

I think this may well be the last Christmas card I post this year..... I now have my bah humbug head on and I am fed up with making anything to do with Christmas - roll on Mother's Day!

I love all things NitWits and couldn't wait to use some more of their gorgeous products on this year's cards. I used this cute pink snowman die cut from their Joyful Hearts range and kept the layout of the card simple to show off the image. All the shapes are cut with nesties and I've added a touch of bling with pale pink diamantes on the squares and snowflake.

Voila! End of the Christmas cards till at least next July!

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

CRAFT Challenge - Pastelles for Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Last Christmas card of the Year
Try It On Tuesday - Anything Goes
Lets Craft and Create - Anything Goes

Happy Christmas

Sharon xx

Rockin' and Rollin'

2011-12-17T12:13:00.004Z

Amongst the odd requests I've had for cards this week is one for a 60 year old Elvis fan... it's not often that these requests stump me but it took a lot of searching the internet to come up with this idea. I found this wonderful Elvis sihouette on an embroidery transfer website, traced it onto black paper and used it as the main image on this card. I also used foam pads to give even more of a 3D effect. I'm so pleased with the result, you can tell who it is immediately!

This card fits in perfectly with the challenge this week over at Less Is More - the theme is 'music' and what better than one of the greatest artists of the 20th century!

Another Sparkling Card...

2011-12-13T14:23:00.004Z

Nearly finished the Christmas cards now - just another dozen to make! Following on from my previous card, I started playing around with more of my old peel-offs and came up with this...

I've added bling to the trees in the form of red and clear diqmantes and decorated the bottom of the front of the card with an X-Cut border die. The greeting tag has been added with co-ordinating red ribbon and is done on the computer in Copperplate Gothic font for those folk who like to know such things.

This was so quick and easy to make, I made additional ones in green and blue colourways! I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Cardmakers #58 - Use It Three Times
Cupcake Card Challenges - Don't Look At The Light (Sparkly, glittery cards)

Bargain Card

2011-12-09T16:48:00.005Z

When I found these peel-offs in a bargain bucket for 10p each I was determined to make something with them... here I am 2 years later and I still haven't used them - until today!

I'm enjoying the clean and simple look at the moment as I still have another 20 cards to make by next Friday! This card took about 20 min to make - mostly just cutting, trimming and sticking. It actually looks a lot classier in the flesh as I have used heavy linen card and the gold and silver is matt rather than shiney.
I've entered this card into the following challenges...

Polka Doodles - Quick Christmas card
Moving Along With The Times - Last Minute Christmas

Blue Christmas

2011-12-08T18:41:00.007Z

After a request to make a special Christmas card for a new baby boy, I scoured the internet for suitable ideas and found this delightful snow baby image by Jenni Hamilton at Card Mad Fairy's creations. There are some lovely images to be had there with prices starting from 50p - it's certainly a site to add to your favourites if you like digi stamps. There's some particularly lovely oriental images that would be fab for Chinese New Year cards.

The papers I've used are just basic pastel stripes and spots from my stash, the matting shape is from Nellie's and I've coloured him with promarkers. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but I've added white glitter to the 'fur' on his snow suit.

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Delightful Challenges - Blue Christmas
The Pink Elephant - Snowflakes and sparkle

Season's Greetings!
Sharon

Wishing You a Green Christmas!

2011-12-03T17:09:00.007Z

Today's card is one I've made many times before in various colours - the thing that makes them all slightly different is how I decorate the baubles which are cut from nesties. I really need to invest in some shaped bauble dies if I'm going to make this card next year as most people have received a version of this one!

One bauble is embossed with a Tim Holtz folder then highlighted in silver, the second has an Anita's Glitteration snowflake and a green diamante and the third has glittery star peel-offs. So easy! I've entered this card into the following challenges:

LESS IS MORE - use the colour green
CRAFTY HAZELNUT - mainly monochromatic
ALLSORTS CHALLENGES - going round in circles
CREATIVE CARD CREW - monochromatic

Happy Crafting!

Sharon

Big Five O!

2011-11-28T19:08:00.003Z

I get lots of requests to make cards for special age birthdays and my favourite way of doing this is by focussing on the number itself. I make the numbers using Word Art, reverse the image then print them onto the back of the paper. It's easy to carefully cut round the printed lines - I tend to use a pair of fine embroidery scissors for this task.

The backing paper is by Nancy Watt for making Cards Magazine and the stars are made using Sissix die-cuts. I've entered this card into the 'Milestone Birthdays' challenge at Crafty Emma's Store CES Challenge

Saturday Challenge

2011-11-26T10:10:00.003Z

The Saturday Challenge theme over at Secret Crafter this week is Flowers and Borders - two things that are perfect for a birthday card for a 60 year old lady.

The rose image and paper came from an old issue of Making Cards. I'm going through piles and piles of card magazines at the moment and trying to use up some of the gorgeous papers that come with them. The die-cut border is from X-cut and I've added a silky burgundy ribbon and some diamantes to bling it up. The layout is my 'lazy layout' that I use when I'm in a rush and can't think of any other!

Teenage boys...

2011-11-21T23:13:00.004Z

A difficult category at the best of times - you even have to be careful with the embellishments you use so it doesn't look 'lame'!

I focused on the age and used a bold, masculine paper and greeting that came with a Making Cards magazine a couple of years ago. The numbers were created with WordArt in Microsoft Publisher and highlighted with faux stitching.

Another Sketch...

2011-11-12T14:09:00.007Z

I enjoyed the challenge of designing a card around a sketch so searching through The Daily Dar e blog I found another that looked quite easy to follow...

This one is the current challenge over at The Digi Doodle Shop. I have loads of Christmas cards to make for various people so using this as the template (and turning the drawing upside down) I came up with the following:

The patterned paper is old Dovecraft and the image is saved on my computer with the tag Dove Art Snowman... I am unable to find the artist to give full credit so many apologies there. It took no time to make so I think I'll spend the afternoon making a batch of these.

Cute Baby Boy

2011-11-09T18:24:00.009Z

Another request for a baby card - this time just for a singleton! In an attempt to use up some of my old stash, I've used an image from a sheet of cute baby images by Ruth Watkins for Craft Creations. I've seen her designs in a number of publications over the years and bought these some time ago but as we all do, put them in a file and forgot about them! The paper is very old Papermania.

The layout is based on a sketch challenge over at Sketch and Stash Challenge Blog.

I don't usually try sketch challenges so this is a bit out of my comfort zone but I found it quite easy to follow.

The same customer also wanted another baby boy card for her mum so as they were going to the same baby I tried to make it as different as possible:

The image is an old fave from The Digistamp Boutique and the paper came from a baby boy scrapbook kit.

I've also entered this into the following challenges:

One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi

Triple Trouble!

2011-11-05T15:44:00.003Z

It's not very often you get asked to make a card for triplets! This gave me a great excuse to use a cute digi image I recently bought from the Digistamp Boutique. I kept the card simple - printed the image 3 times and the ribbon part 3 times aswell to add a touch of decoupage. The greeting printed in Candy Round BTN font and then I added some peel-off stars.

This card fits perfectly this week's challenge at One Stop Craft Challenge. The challenge this week is on the theme of 'Three' to celebrate their third anniversary.

A Touch of Magic

2011-10-28T18:32:00.004+01:00

Not having kids of my own, I'm not really up on what kids are into at various ages but I thought that this was definitely cute enough for a nine year old. I didn't have any fairy digi stamps so I used a sticker from a children's sticker pack and the spotty paper from a bargain basket in my local craft shop. I'm so busy making Christmas cards at the moment that I used my fave layout for easiness.

I've entered this into the following challenges:

Polka Doodles - Week 43 Challenge - Mystical and Magical

Wheels of Steel

2011-10-11T19:49:00.004+01:00

It's such a long time since I posted anything - life and holidays and work have just taken over a bit recently. I've still been making loads of cards though and I made one this morning that fits with the challenge over at Here Come The Boys perfectly. The Wheely Nice theme is ideal for this card I made for a colleague at work who wanted a blue motorbike card for her son-in-law.

The image was found thanks to Google - how did people make cards before the internet??

Less Is More - Christening Cards

2011-09-17T08:52:00.004+01:00

This week's Less Is More challenge is 'anything goes' so I've entered these Christening Cards I've recently made. They fit the clean and simple criteria perfectly and they really are so easy to make. Also,I think it's nice to personalise cards like this with the baby's name and the date - makes the card stand out from anything shop bought.

Fabulous 21st!

2011-09-11T17:53:00.006+01:00

Remember when you were 21 and had a figure that would fit into a dress like this!

The cute image is from Pink Petticoat and I've paper pieced it with polka dot patterned paper in a shade that is made for red-heads. I've finished it off with various sequins and diamantes and decoupaged the cake, hair ribbon and handbag. I think I'll make a stock pile of these in an assortment of colours as they are perfect for girly birthdays.

Con 'grad' ulations

2011-08-16T19:18:00.004+01:00

I'm trying to catch up with posting some of the cards I have made in the last couple of weeks and looking through some of today's challenges decided on this one...

The sentiment says it all! I made the mortar board embellishment myself from black paper and used the red tassel from a Christmas card in my recycle box. The 'certificate' is made by rolling up a small piece of parchment and tying with a red ribbon.Some random stars and the computer printed greeting finish it off. I love the clean and simple look to cards like this and find them much easier than all that stamping and patterned paper and flowers style that is trendy at the moment.

I've entered this card into the following challenges..

Anything Goes Challenge - Happy Birthday/Celebration
My Time To Craft - G is for..... (Graduation)
Try It On Tuesday - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Use a non-stamped sentiment

Mummies To Be..

2011-08-13T13:48:00.006+01:00

A couple of work colleagues have left work in the past week to have their babies and as we already knew what they are having (1 boy 1 girl) it made it very easy to make these cards.

The image is Alexa - Just Chill I'm Having A Baby from the Digistamp Boutique. I coloured each Alexa with appropriate promarkers for the baby the mummy is having and added the greeting using X-Cut die-cut lettering. Each Alexa is on a lightly chalked background which didn't photograph very well but makes the image stand out in real life. I wasn't sure the images would work well this size but it made them a lot easier to colour and cut out. These cards proved so popular I'm going to make a batch for my box to sell!

Simple Anniversary Card

2011-08-01T20:05:00.004+01:00

I was totally inspired by a new challeng blog I found this weekend - Lucy's Lovely Lines Challenge over at the Lily Pad Cards blog. It's not often I copy from a sketch but this one was perfect for the anniversary card I needed to make.

As soon as I saw this I knew it would work using hearts instead of stars.

I die cut 5 Cuttlebug hearts and stuck them in a line but the 4th heart is raised using a sticky pad to give some dimension. I resisted over embellishing and just used a single diamante to highlight the raised heart. The greeting was printed directly onto the base card. This is probably card making at it's simplest but I'm really pleased with the classy look of this card.

The Gruffalo

2011-07-25T11:05:00.004+01:00

A special request today from a friend whose little boy is almost one and loves the gruffalo character .

Both the Gruffalo and the balloon were found using Google images. I chalked the background to prevent it looking too plain and added a computer greeting. Not the most technical card I have ever made but I am sure Oscar will be impressed.

I've put this card forward for a couple of challenges:

Saturday Challenge - Use a number
Corrosive Challenge - Cards for Kids

Glam Mam

2011-07-15T17:33:00.004+01:00

I had a last minute request for a card this week for a card for a glamourous Mam who's about to turn 50!

This gorgeous digi stamp was drawn by a very talented crafter called Sylvie. Check out her blog - she has some wonderful freebies.

I paper pieced the digi using some very old Papermania spotty patterned paper. The hanger is coloured with a silver ball pen and I've finished off with some ribbon and purple diamantes. The 'thing' in the middle of the belt is a peel-off squiggle.

Very glamourous - I would love to fit into a dress like this!

I've entered this card into the following challenge:

Do It With Digis - Use Spots or stripes or Both

Less Is More - Blue Anniversary Hearts

2011-07-04T20:54:00.003+01:00

I was inspired by this week's Less Is More challenge to make this card. The theme is 'shades of blue' and this gave me the ideal excuse to move away from the pink colours I would normally use for this type of card. I've cut the hearts using a cuttlebug die and added diamantes for a bit of bling. The basket weave background done in white and bluey white paper adds some texture.
As a lover of lots of white space on cards I'm really enjoying these Less Is More challenges - very inspiring!

Finding Nemo...

2011-06-26T13:31:00.004+01:00

Here's a strange little card I was asked to make... a birthday card for someone who loves the Finding Nemo film. Thanks to the internet, I've never had any trouble finding images of famous characters and this one came from a children's colouring pages website.

I've coloured the image with promarkers and added the greeting 'just keep swimming' which I'm told is a song from the film. The embossed background is a cuttlebug folder. I have issues about these folders - the pattern isn't continuous at the edge so that you can emboss larger sheets of paper and I had great difficulty embossing the turquoise paper which is 13cm x 13cm in size. You can see the 'join' which is very annoying!!

I've entered this card in the following challenge:

The Corrosive Challenge Blog - Slippery when wet (something relating to water)

More For Father's Day

2011-06-17T17:49:00.007+01:00

Yay! At last I've made my first easel card and now I can't stop. I've liked the look of them for a while and thought I understood the principal of making one but needed to practise first! No need - the first one I made looked fine and everyone I showed thought it was ever so clever so there's no stopping me now.

I'd seen something similar to this but using circles on a recent challenge blog but I can't remember who made it. I was so impressed I had a go. The cute footballer image is Justin from Digi Boutique, coloured with promarkers. The greeting was made in Microsoft publisher using a basic shape (banners) and inserting a text box. The football used as the stopper is just a peel-off on card. Now that I have these sussed I need to start experimenting with different shapes and sizes.

My second attempt is using Drinking Jim again. The stopper this time is a clipart picture of a beer glass. The paper is very old - from the stash I must use up before I am allowed to buy any more.

I'm entering the second card in the following challenges:

Terrifcally Thrilling Thursday Challenge Card for a boy/man
Pear Tree Designs Father's Day
Sparkles Forum Challenges Father's Day

Some Father's Day cards...

2011-06-11T14:15:00.006+01:00

A couple of last minute Father's Day cards here - both made with a great character called Jim from the Digi Boutique and some lovely Argyle paper from an old issue of Making Cards magazine. Although the same materials have been used on each card I think I prefer the card with the buttons on - I'm not 100% sure about the 3 stars on the first one...

Both Jims are coloured with Promarkers

I've entered the second card into the following challenges...

C.R.A.F.T Challenge Father's Day
Saturday Challenge A Male card

New Babies...

2011-06-02T19:14:00.006+01:00

I've had a few requests for new baby cards recently. I sometimes struggle with these cards - I want to make them really cute with ribbons etc but I'm never satisfied with the results. I suppose as long as the people I make them for like them there's no problem but they often leave me very unsatisfied! I know the effect I am striving for but can't seem to get there!

I got the sticker for this first card a few years ago in a pack labelled 'Crystal Stickers' but no brand name! In my recent efforts to use up old stash I 'found' them and thought this cute giraffe image was ideal for a baby boy. The blue spotty paper came with and old edition of Creative cardmaking and the embossing folder is my favourite Swiss Dots. Cute but no wow factor.

The second one is for a baby due this weekend. I felt a bit uncomfortable doing a card for a baby not yet born but maybe that's just me. The image is a freebie by one of my favourite card designers, Katina Killey and the backing paper is Pink Petticoat. Maybe the layout is a bit basic but I wanted to show off the delicate colour of the paper.

Wedding Cards

2011-05-22T18:58:00.005+01:00

Last month's Papercraft Inspirations magazine had some cards made with wonderful downloads available from the mag's website that I've been itching to copy. I've kept to a very simple layout and used the minimum of embellishments.

It's the first time I've copied a card directly from a magazine because I loved it so much. The images printed really well and once I had 'sliced' the bride's bun, the ribbon veil was easy to position. I threaded some beads onto wire and used these to cover where the ribbon goes through the card.

Same Sketch - very different cards!

2011-05-16T19:47:00.004+01:00

Sometimes I am just totally lacking any inspiration and end up making cards using the same design over and over again. This is a favourite layout - I made these cards about a week apart and didn't realise they were the same until I uploaded them ...

The first one is something I often get asked to make - football related cards. It's always Newcastle, Sunderland or Manchester United. I was actually thinking of making some 'England' ones for Father's Day but gave up on that idea cos they are so crap at the moment! The card is a simple decoupaged image with co-ordinating home made striped paper down the sides.

The second card is even simpler - a crucifix blinged up with ribbon and a bright blue diamante, with speckled blue edging down the sides. There's not really much else I can think of for a Christening - when I looked in the card shops the offerings were very boring so at least this card might stand out a bit.

Mum To Be

2011-05-03T19:26:00.005+01:00

A quick card today then back to the Father's Day cards...

I've never made a congratulations card before for a mummy to be and I spent a happy hour going through all my digital images to find something suitable. I bought this super cute image last month from the Alexis range at The Digi Boutique and it fits the occasion perfectly. It's coloured in pastel Promarkers to match the checked paper that came free with a magazine a couple of years ago. The greeting is done with alphabet dies from X-Cut. Sweet and simple but I'm pleased with the overall effect.

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Try It On Tuesday - Use something old and something new
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Cards for Men...

2011-04-22T10:59:00.004+01:00

With father's day looming I thought I'd better get in the mindset for making men's cards so I started off with something that needs no thinking about - a big number card.

Plain and simple but very effective. The striped paper is from an old set by Papermania called 'For Him' and I love the colours in it.

I've entered this card in the following challenges ...

Bunny Zoe's Crafts - One for the boys
The Paper Variety - Use a number

Name Cards

2011-04-21T09:37:00.006+01:00

After the success of the Mother's Day cards, a few friends at work have asked for similar cards for little girls with their names on them...

This first one is for a child with a very unusual name - I've never come across this one before. The striped paper is an old one from Doodlebug and the big butterfly is made with my new favourite die from Marianne designs. I've also added some punched butterflies and flowers and a few diamante trails coming from the butterflies. I've entered this card in the following challenge:

Flutterby Wednesdays - OPEN (include butterfly, fairy or angel)

I'm not as pleased with this second card. I don't know whether I have made the letters too big or used the wrong patterned paper but I don't feel it is as pleasing on the eye as the first one is.

Still I now have orders for loads of name cards so I'm off to the shops this weekend to treat myself to some new scissors with very fine points!

Anniversary Quilling

2011-04-07T20:24:00.005+01:00

I got a quilling set for Christmas a couple of years ago and as part of my quest to start using some of the stash packed into my spare bedroom, I decided I would have a go at using it. This coincided with a request from David, a work colleague, for a 'very special' card for his wife on their Ruby Wedding Anniversary. I trawled the internet for inspiration found some great ideas so this is my first attempt.

The greeting is made from large peel-off letters and the flowers are a mixture of punched, quilled and silk flowers. The leaves are also punched and I finished off with some random bling and peel-off hearts. The card itself is A5 size.

I am so pleased with this card and now Mother's day is out the way I'm going to have a bit more play with different quilled shapes.

And more importantly, David and his wife loved it!

I've entered this into the following challenge:

Charisma Cardz - Weddings and Anniversaries

Mother's Day #2

2011-04-02T15:52:00.003+01:00

Wow - two posts in one day! Here's another card for Mother's Day. The image is a from the Digi Stamp Boutique, where I get most of my digi stamps. The image is coloured with promarkers and matted using scallopped nesties. The paper came with a scrapbooking set from Pound World!

I'm loving this butterfly punch from X-Cut - I've used it on loads of my Mother's Day cards and everybody thinks it's very cute.

I've entered this into the following challenges:

The Crafty Pad - For the Mums
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Flowers for Mum

Mother's Day

2011-04-02T11:38:00.005+01:00

I'm back after a lovely break in Tenerife - a week of sun, gorgeous food and relaxing by the pool has done me the world of good!

Here's a couple of the Mother's Day cards I made before I went...

This first card is something I often do when I'm struggling for inspiration - take a word or number and enlarge it in WordArt or a similar programme then print it on patterned paper. I've found that striped paper usually produces the best results. Then I mount the letters on plain paper and carefully cut around, leaving a rim of colour around each letter. I've finished this card off with a punched butterfly (X-Cut) and some bling.

I've entered this card in the following challenges:

Less Is More - A Touch of Red
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Butterflies

This next card is also of the clean and simple variety. The gorgeous 3D flower sticker is from Anita's Dimensions range -they are so pretty and have a lovely sheen to them. The spotted paper is a from a pad that came free with a card mag.

I've entered this card in the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Bloomin' Blossoms
One Stop Craft Challeng e - Spots and Dots

Mother's Day

2011-03-20T09:15:00.004Z

I've been frantically making Mother's day cards all this week - I have a dozen or so ordered by various people and I want to get them finished before I jet off to foreign shores! I really enjoyed making this one - who would have thought that cerise and orange would go so well together.

I found the image somewhere on the internet - I wish that when you download stuff to your computer there would be something attached telling you where the image came from. May be there is and I'm just not computer savvy enough to know how!

The image is coloured with promarkers, the flowery backing paper is Doodlebug and the ribbon came from a box of Christmas chocs - recyling at it's best! If anyone is interested, the font used is Curlz - I often see cards and love the greetings on them but no one ever tells you the font they have used! It's one of life's little niggles.

A Load of Best Wishes.......

2011-03-15T22:05:00.003Z

Today's card is a bit corny... it's for someone into pick up trucks and the message inside reads 'loads of best wishes on your birthday'. The back of the truck is loaded with lots of 'best wishes' slips of paper. Ah well - it made me snigger!

The papers came free many moons ago with Making Cards magazine and the digi image is a freebie I found here via the Free Digital Stamps website, a source of hundreds of freebies.

Pretty Pastels

2011-03-07T19:57:00.003Z

I got some lovely Pink Petticoat papers free with Quick Cards Made Easy magazine this month and as I wanted to make a pastel coloured anniversary card they came in very handy. The image is one of my favourites from the Digi Stamp Boutique - it's ideal for all sorts of 'love' occasions. The photo does not really do justice to the paper - it's a lot prettier in real life!

I've entered this into the following challenges...

Happy Mondays Challenge - Pretty Pastels

Less is More - Pastel Colours

Spring Birthday Card

2011-03-03T17:21:00.003Z

Another order from work - a birthday card for a friend's mam - the request was for something classical with Spring flowers on it...

I kept it simple - the flower image (gawd knows what it is - I don't do flowers) is a pre die cut decoupage from my local craft shop in Sunderland - I don't know who makes them but I love using them for last minute cards. The paper is from a scrapbook set I got from a pound shop and the 'frill' is made using a new X Cut border die I treated myself to earlier this week.

I've entered this card into the following challenges...

The Pixie Cottage - 'Spring'

Crafty Creations - 'feminine Birthday in blues and greens'

Creative Inspirations - 'In the garden'

One Stop Craft Challenge - 'Spring Flowers'

Happy Crafting

Sharon
x

Football for Girls..

2011-02-24T19:26:00.006Z

A strange request today... a birthday card commissioned for a friend's sister with a Newcastle United football theme.

I checked the NUFC website to see if there were any images I could use (steal!) but to no avail. Nor could I find any images of girls in footy strips ( well I did find some but they weren't wearing anything else with the footabll shirt if you see what I mean! )

So I used the club crest as the main image and added 'girly' touches with the ribbon, the black diamantes and the scallopped nestie.

A strange card but it ticks all of the boxes... obviously as a life long Sunderland fan I washed my hands thoroughly afterwards!!!

Bizarrely enough this satisfies the requirements for the following challenge...

Charisma Cardz - Black and White with one other colour

Happy crafting!
Sharon x

First Birthdays...

2011-02-19T09:46:00.006Z

Two first birthday cards today - both are bright and cheerful. When I looked around the card shops for some inspiration, a lot of the cards were in pastel colours just like new baby cards and personally I thought they were a bit insipid. At one, children are attracted to bright colours and shapes so I've tried to make these stand out.

The first one is made with some pink and purple spotty paper I downloaded from the internet - I think it's from Crafts Beautiful website. The number shape was created in Wordart then printed on to the back of the patterned paper to make it easy to cut out. I finished it off with a ribbon and a flower in coordinating colours.

The second one uses the same method for the number but I've added some balloon peel-offs pieced with the colours of the striped paper, which is from the sweet shop collection by American crafts.

Clean and Simple

2011-02-12T10:03:00.004Z

Back in my comfort zone today - I discovered some new challenge blogs last night that I hadn't seen before so I had to have a go...

I found this cute digi stamp while I was blog hopping, my new favourite pastime! There's so much talent out there to inspire you as well as a ton of freebies. This cow image is from Janna's Papiersalat blog which is written in English and German but it's easy to find her gorgeous free digi images. The pink daisy paper has been in my stash for years - I got it from Hobbycraft when I first started making cards. I finished off with some googly eyes from the Early Learning Centre and a large X-cut punched daisy.

I've entered this card into the following Challenges:

Clean and Simple - Sketch

Totally Papercrafts - Clean and Simple

A Touch of Magic

2011-02-11T09:24:00.006Z

There's some lovely free papers with this month's issue of Creative Cardmaking - gorgeous mythical figures in pastel watercoloured shades of green, purple and blue. Not usually my thing but they were so pretty I was inspired to have a go at a style of card that is way out of my comfort zone - look there's no white space!

The image and the greeting are from the magazine. I've layered and embossed some lilac card to go behind the image and finished off with a handmade bow and some punched flowers and leaves. I'm so pleased with those flowers and leaves - I have loads of punches but never use them so they might get a bit more action after this.

I've entered this card into the following challenge:

Charisma Cardz - Mythical/Fantasy

Back to reality now - off to do the shopping!

Another Engagement

2011-02-08T19:56:00.003Z

It must be 'cos St Valentine's Day is just round the corner but love is definately in the air! Another request for an Engagement card, this time for the daughter of my manager at work.

I wanted to make something delicate and pretty rather than cute and I hope I've managed to do this. The heart shape was lightly hand drawn on the front of the card and then covered in tiny punched flowers. I used tiny circles of lilac vellum for the middle of the flowers then carefully stuck them on with tweezers. My cards aren't complete without ribbon somewhere so I used a lilac white ribbon to finish down the side. The result - a very clean and simple card.

I've entered this card in two challenges:

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Have a Heart

Craft Cardmakers - Hearts

Amy's Birthday

2011-02-05T19:08:00.004Z

My friend, Katherine, has a little girl who has just turned nine and she wanted a card with her name on that she could frame for her bedroom. I though pink was definitely the colour to use...

I was going to use a plain pink background but it looked too pink if that's possible. I finally settled on the white daisies on a pink background. I coloured the centre of the daisies with a pale green promarker to match the butterflies which are from Papermania.

My First Blog Award......

2011-02-02T19:49:00.004Z

Wow! I've been sent a blog award by the wonderful Charlee - I'm amazed that anyone even reads my mumblings, never mind sending me blog awards. Thank you so much - I feel honoured to accept it.

This special award, is aimed at bringing unknown good blogs to light, and in accepting the award I have had to agree to the following conditions:

1) You have been tagged, do you want to accept? YES! then create a post on your blog and post the love blog photo.

2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept.

3) Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged.

As the aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, please don't tag somebody with 3000 followers.

So the bloggers I am awarding it to are:

CARRIE - makes great cards and does very funky stuff with bling and clothing!

SYLVIE - is a very talented lady who does the most wonderful digi images which you can get from her blog

SANDRA - who was my first blogging friend and makes lovely brightly coloured creations.

Hqappy crafting

Sharon
x

Cutesy Engagement Card

2011-01-28T19:11:00.004Z

Today's offering features extremely cute Forever Friends decoupage - the lazy sort that is already die cut and just needs layering! Sometimes you only have time for the easy option. The backing paper is part of a baby girl scrapbooking kit and is actually just one sheet of paper so I didn't have a lot to do at all. I've finished it off with some pale pink and brown punched flowers - a cute card for very little effort.

Spotty Frocks

2011-01-23T14:37:00.002Z

Two birthdays this weekend - my sister-in-law and her best friend. So I decided to make them matching cards and what better than glamourous spotty frocks. I found this fabulous freebie digi stamp on a marvelous blog called The Creative Mind of Sylvie - she is a very talented lady has has some wonderful freebie digi images, everything from golf bags to glamourous Goths! Have a look there - I've now added her to my fave sites.

I've paper-pieced the frock with spotty papers I got free with a magazine, added some rich brown ribbon and a brown coloured diamante (I always wondered how I would use them!).

Teenage Birthday

2011-01-15T14:55:00.003Z

I've never been keen on making cards for men and teenage boys are even worse! For this card for a work colleague I used the easy option - numbers. The papers are very old - the Papermania For Him range that was out a few years ago. The numbers are from templates made in Wordart then traced onto patterned paper and mounted onto navy plain paper for definition.

I've entered this card into the following challenge:

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Colour Challenge - use Teal Blue and Brown

Anniversary Couple

2011-01-08T16:08:00.004Z

I found some lovely vintage images some time ago on a great site called Create With TLC and I've been dying to use them. This image of the dancing couple has a lovely 50's glamour feel to it.

The image has been coloured as usual with promarkers (pastel green) and a tiny turquoise gem added as her earring. The polka dot paper is wrapping paper and I've continued the turquoise color scheme by adding some pale turquoise gossamer ribbon.

Trusty Card Layouts

2011-01-03T16:03:00.004Z

Do you have a layout for your cards that you always use when your imagination has gone AWOL?? This card below shows mine...

The image is a digi freebie I got with Complete Cradmaking some time ago - I love it cos it's so easy to colour and decoupage.

One of my New Year Resolutions is to start using up some of the piles and piles of stash that I have hoarded over the years. This paper is from a Papermania pack called Olive Essence that I have always found difficult to use - I wish packs of patterned paper came with some block colour sheets aswell so that everything matches.

I've entered this card in the following challenges...

Kaboodle Doodles - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Challenges - Anything Goes

Back to normal...

2010-12-31T10:27:00.004Z

It's that strange time between Christmas and New Year when you can never remember what day it is and all you do is eat and watch TV! I've had a lovely trip to Hobbycraft this week where I invested in some label nesties, a couple of embossing folders for the Cuttlebug and some bits for next year's Christmas cards! I will start earlier next year.

Here's a very simple card I've made today to add to my collection. The very cute house image is from the Digi Boutique and I've coloured it with promarkers - took all of about half an hour to make.

I've entered it in the following challenges:

Let's Craft and Create New Beginnings

I Love Promarkers Anything Goes

ABC Challenge Keep It Simple

Finally, to everyone who bothers to read my little area of blogland.... hope you have a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2011

Sharon

xx

Scottish Piper

2010-12-21T22:14:00.004Z

Now this is the sort of request that gets me excited! I was asked for 'something with a Scottish Piper on it for my dad's 80th birthday!" My main worry was where on earth I would find such an image but once again the internet was my friend. I googled images of pipers and found this fab image which is actually a colouring sheet for a child.

I used my trusty promarkers (Forest Green, Cornflower and Cool Grey3 ) for the colouring and I paper pieced the kilt and shawl with rather fetching tartan paper - this is the first time I have tried this technique and I am dead pleased with the result. I decoupaged the bagpipes which nicely covered up the raw edges of the tartan paper.

I've decided to enter this card into the following challenges...

Digital Tuesday Let's Celebrate (must include digi image)

Papertake Weekly Challenge Anything Goes

Passion For Promarkers Anything Goes (using promarkers)

Birthday Shoe

2010-12-19T18:48:00.004Z

I found this wonderful image of a wedding shoe while flicking through blogs - I believe it's by Jim Harker, the man who draws the La Pashe series - I'm sorry but I can't remember exactly where I found it - it may have been via Jak Heath's wonderful blog - she always has loads of gorgeous freebies. If you ever have the time to trawl the interwebby you can find loads of lovely free images like this - though do be a bit more organised than me and make a note of where you get them!

It's not the best photo - I took it with the card on the window sill at work - but it's coloured with promarkers and the matting is embossed with swirls. I couldn't resist finishing it with lilac diamantes and ribbon - I'm starting to use these in every card I make!

Last of The Christmas Cards

2010-12-18T17:35:00.007Z

That's it for another year...next year I really will try to start earlier as it has been quite stressful getting all the cards finished! Before we know it it will be Mother's Day!

Everything on this first card has been recycled - the lovely purple card started life as file dividers which were going to be thrown away at work. The ribbons were cut from clothing and the big silver snowflake was pulled from one of last year's cards.

I cut the baubles using two small nestie circles and embossed two of then with dots and swirls - to highlight the embossing I've coloured them with silver paint - very effective. I love the challenge of making cards like this from nothing.

This second card was actually a nightmare to make - it took ages to thread the ribbon through the holes in the Nellies die. The image is once again Ice Pop - the cutest snowman on the block. It's hard to see on the pic but the background is embossed withthe swiss dot embossing folder.

I love this final card - it's so touchy feely. The tree is made from a long triangle of card with grooves cut up each side then wound with fluffy wool. The baubles are big pink diamantes and it's finished off with a silver star and a ribbed silver pot. Very girly.

I'm now looking forward to making normal cards again!

2 Weeks To Go!

2010-12-11T14:00:00.006Z

I'm frantically trying to get my Christmas cards finish - I'm getting sick of the sight of trees and snowman etc!

I love this quirky snowman image from the Digi Stamp Boutique. He's called Ice Pop and I've tried to make him frostier by using shades of ice blue. I've entered it in the following challenges:

Paper Cutz Challenge - digitally stamped snowman

A few more Christmas cards...

2010-12-05T10:02:00.005Z

Back to the Christmas cards again - next year I am definately going to start making them in August!!

This card was very easy - all I used was a holly punch and some red diamantes. I made a circular base using two different size nesties then just stuck the punched holly shapes on top. The diamantes were used for the berries and a red bow finishes it off. I'm pleased with this - it has a very traditional feel to it.

I like the feel of wintery iciness in this card. The spotty paper is acually tiny baubles - it came free with a magazine a couple of years ago. The image is an Alex and felicity digi from DigiStamp Boutique, my current fave place for digis.

A Break From Christmas Cards......

2010-12-03T16:15:00.005Z

I had a welcome break from Christmas cards this week when a work colleague asked for a 60th birthday card for her mam.

She asked for something with flowers so I used an old favourite - a lovely floral image I got with a Complete Cardmaking ages ago. The image was coloured with promarkers and decoupaged. I matched the image with a couple of patterned papers from the Dovecraft Happy Holidays pack, a contemporary red and green geometric pattern and a subtle two tone green pattern. It's finished off with some red diamante gems and a red ribbon. another happy customer!

It is also suitable for the following challenges...

Paper Cutz Challenge - Two patterned papers

Still Snowing #2

2010-11-28T10:53:00.004Z

I spent an hour earlier this morning clearing about 10 inches of snow off the car that had been building up since Friday - I just wish it would go away now as it is seriously annoying me. I dread to think what the car park will be like tomorrow at work!

I made this simple card with a free embossing folder that came with a recent issue of Creativity magazine. I wanted something classic looking so I used a deep aubergine coloured card with gold paper and highlighted the edges of the tree with lilac ink. Purple diamantes and aubergine and gold ribbons were added to finish the look.

I've entered this card into a new challenge site I found called GingerloftChallenge - the criteria being to add a bow to your card.

Still Snowing!

2010-11-26T12:08:00.004Z

It's STILL snowing here and I'm still making Christmas cards. If this continues I don't think I'll be leaving the house this weekend - the cupboards are full of food so I don't think we'll starve!

Even with all the wonderful stash you can get to make Christmas cards with I still have trouble making them for men...

I found this cute digi stamp on a wonderful site called Crafters Digital Art Center which I stumbled upon while jumping from blog to blog. There are loads of free images there but I would advise to download them as soon as you see them because the site is so vast you'll never find them again!! I printed a couple of these images, coloured them and decoupaged them and added some gorgeous starry paper from Dovecraft's Jolly Happy Christmas pack. I guess the result is quite masculine.

After seeing a number of articles in card magazines using brown paper (they call it something like 'Kraft Paper'! ) I purchased a roll of it as I like the rustic feel it gives to cards. I've enlarged the image here and given him some roly eyes (craft section Toys R Us) and I'm quite pleased with the result. It's for a 14 year old boy and I think they're the hardest to craft for!

Snow Is Falling....

2010-11-25T11:56:00.008Z

Like many in the North East of England, I woke up this morning in a winter wonderland. I reckon we had abou 4-5 inches through the night. The roads are treacherous - I took my other half to work this morning and even at 7.00 am traffic was travelling at about 15 mph.

So here I am, snug at home after doing the shopping, about to have a pleasant afternoon making Christmas cards - which I really should have started to make in September!

To get my creative juices flowing, here's a couple I've made, greatly inspired by the gallery on the DigiStamp Boutique website. I love these cute Christmas images.

This first card was inspired by Kerry Cox's lovely card featuring Francis the penguin - I love the contrast of the cerise and white and just to add a bit of dimension I decoupaged Francis' scarf. The snow flake punch was from Hobbycraft and I finished them off with diamantes.

The second card was inspired by a lovely card by Susan Baxter of a cute little girl called Chloe. The big snowflake is recycled from one of last year's christmas cards - I always pull off the useful bits! Pale blue diamantes were added and a tiny pom pom used as the snowballl.

Now to see what I can come up with myself!

2010-11-21T15:16:00.002Z

Where has this year gone to?? I can't believe it's the middle of November and I am up to my eyes in glitter and snowflakes making Christmas cards...

Here's a couple of age birthday cards I made recently as an escape from all thing festive...

This first card was a commision from a work colleague who wanted something pink and girly. I love the combination of pink and black polka dots and the gosgrain ribbon finishes the card off nicely. As with all 'age' cards I use Word Art to make the number templates and then trace on to patterned paper. The paper was a freebie with a magazine - I always keep stuff that comes free with mags - you never know when it'll come in handy.

Same method used here but with a bigger number. The stripy paper is from a baby girl scrapbooking set I got from Poundland a couple of years ago - proof that crafting needn't cost a fortune. I'm not totally satisfied with this card - it seems very 'flat'. I've tried to lift it with some doodled stitches around the number but this isn't one of my favourite cards - hopefully the recipient won't be too bothered!

Caravan of Love!

2010-10-15T08:31:00.003+01:00

A friend asked for an anniversary card for her parents who are avid caravan fans and I knew the ideal image to use. I've always loved these Jolly Nation decoupage figures - I just wish that they would bring out some new designs! The company seems to have died a death.

I'm off to Hobby Craft today with my mam. She has recently won £300 (yes - three hundred quid!!!) worth of vouchers so I am hoping to help her spend them - share the love and all that! She loves knitting and crocheting rather than cardmaking but surely she can't be spending that much on wool!

Some for the boys..

2010-10-10T16:35:00.004+01:00

I didn't realise I had been away for so long!! I haven't stopped making cards - it's just getting the time to post them! Here's a couple of special requests I've recently had for little boys.

Bart Simpson is a favourite character for big and little kids and I had no problem finding plenty of images of him on the internet. What was good luck was finding an image with the name of the recipient next to it! I printed a couple of the same image and decoupaged it. I over-coloured with pro-markers to intensify the colours.

I've been experimenting with making my own backing papers by repeating an image in a table in Word then removing the lines giving the effect of a repeated pattern. I used an image of Bart's head and I'm really pleased with the result...

I used the same method for making the skull and crossbones paper on this card and enlarged the image slightly to make the three accents. The decoupaged image was a freebie with a magazine - Papercraft Essentials I think.

Happy Anniversary

2010-08-05T20:10:00.007+01:00

Summertime is such a popular time to get married which is why I seem to have been inundated with requests for anniversary cards lately.

This first card is a very simple decoupage by Craft Creations, found very cheaply (no pun intended) in my local craft shop in Sunderland. The flowers and birds were so easy to cut and it was finished off by matting the image on red card and adding a computer printed greeting.

In this second card I totally left my comfort zone by using coloured card for the base card - usually everything I do is on cream or white card. The image is from the Lovebirds collection from the Digi Stamp Boutique and is coloured with pro markers which perfectly match the Papermania patterned paper. Couldn't resist the ribbon even though it is a bit naff.

Finally, the one I'm most chuffed with is this Golden anniversary card for a friend's parents. I used a mixture of Bazzill and Bazzill Bling white textured card. The embossing is done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and the heart dies are also Cuttlebug The flower is from Dainty Supplies in Washington who do loads of lush wedding accessories and I finished it off with a pearl headed pin. I was inspired to make this card by one of my favourite bloggers, Michelle at The Card Grotto, whose cards are simply gorgeous.

Some for the Boys

2010-07-15T19:38:00.005+01:00

Lordy, I didn't realise I have been away for so long - I guess life and work just took over a bit! I've still been making plenty of cards though!

Here's a couple of special requests I've had recently, both of which were for 40th birthdays. The club badges were found pretty easily on the interwebby. I printed several copies of each badge on to heavy paper rather than card (easier to cut out) and just decoupaged the image to make the badge stand out. The Liverpool card is the most successful as the badge is long rather than square and I feel the card is more balanced because of this.

The Manchester United badge is more of a square shape and I couldn't make it it any longer or it wouldn't have fit widthways. Still it was very easy to decoupage. Both recipients have apparently framed their cards and it does give me a little tingle to think of my 'artwork' being on someone's wall.

Christenings..

2010-04-24T09:49:00.006+01:00

It must be the season for people to get their babies christened because I've had requests for quite a few lately... and all girls!

The first one was very simply made with a peel off crucifix which I triple mounted on white and pink card. The personalised greeting makes it extra special for the recipient and I finished it off with a pale pink ribbon down the right hand side.

Another crucifix but this time it was hand cut from white card, mounted on pink and silver paper then decorated with pink ribbon and gems. I added further spangly stars and mounted the greeting in the same way as the cross.

This one is my fave. I cut the 'dress' from white card (I drew the outline myself - hence the very basic style) and decorated it with a piece of old net curtain. some pink ribbon and some tiny pink pearl things which I got as part of a nail decorating kit! It looks so delicate but in reality was just made from scraps.

These are the cards I like making best - made from leftovers and scraps and costing very little. Cards don't have to have expensive embellishments on them to make them look good and if I ever do see an embellisment in a shop that I really like I examine it closely to see how it was made and try to copy it myself at home.

I Like Driving in my Car!

2010-04-09T19:55:00.004+01:00

I love driving and I can't imagine being without my car! I had a trip out today to the new Range superstore that has recently opened in Stockton. I was impressed at the craft supplies they had there - quite a large selection, everything from Dandelion and Daisy stuff to punches and beads.

I treated myself to a new large daisy punch, some Papermania It's A Man's World decoupage sheets for Father's Day and some gorgeous embossed 8x8 card blanks to make some BIG cards!

I haven't actually made many cards lately. Like a lot of crafters I get just as much enjoyment out of buying stuff rather than sitting down and making stuff! Here's a card I recently made for someone who has just passed their driving test. The patterned paper is actually a map of the north east that I printed from the PC and the tiny road signs were also lifted from the internet and scaled down to size.

Another day.... Another Mother's Day Card (or 3)

2010-03-11T19:40:00.005Z

The last lot of Mother's Day cards were finished last night to take into work this morning - I'm off tomorrow yay!!

When I'm tired I always fall back on simple lay-outs like this one. The pink flower is decoupaged usung some sheets I got from my local craft store in Sunderland for just 10p each. I am really loving decoupage at the moment.

More decoupage here but not as traditional! I have used loads of these La Pashe images from the 'Flippin' range and this one is just ideal for Mother's Day. The patterned paper on the front made me think of bathroom wallpaper anyway so it fitted perfectly.

My final effort with the Complete Cardmaking CD image, this time in delicate lilac shades. It really is a pleasure to colour and cut out.

I've had rather a strange request for a card that has got me thinking hard - someone wants a card for a 60 year old Cliff Richard fan - where on earth do I go with that theme??? Hopefully I'll have a dream about it and wake up tomorrow totally inspired!

More For Mother's Day...

2010-03-08T10:05:00.004Z

I've become really attached to this image from the Complete Cardmaking CD - it is just so lovely and dead easy to colour

I've done this version in blue and lemon and decoupaged the butterflies as well as the flowers. It looked a bit bare until I added the peeloff borders which I normally avoid like the plague. I'm still not 100% sure about it but I'm a bit like a production line at the moment so it will have to do!!

I love this decoupaged flower - it was pre-cut so took just minutes to put together. The patterned paper came free with Creative Cardmaking some time ago. I always keep the freebie papers that come with magazines - you just don't know when you'll need them.

Flowers for Mum

2010-02-27T15:39:00.003Z

Two weeks to Mother's Day and I'm up to my eyes with orders for cards. This is a quick card I made for this week's Allsorts Challenge using an image from the free CD that came with this month's Complete Cardmaking. I've coloured it with promarkers and done a bit of decoupage on the flowers. The patterned paper is from a collection by Nancy Watt that was also a freebie with a magazine. I usually use 'mam' rather than 'mum' cos that's what we say up here!

Just For Men

2010-02-14T12:14:00.009Z

Whilst browsing the Sunday card challenges on a fab blog called The Daily Dare I came across a fortnightly challenge which actually started last Sunday on Rosie-D's Challenge Blog. Needing a card for a 50 year old Newcastle United football fan, as a lifelong Sunderland supporter I asked for forgiveness and came up with the following effort:

I had a template for a man's shirt which I just adapted by adding the black stripes and for the name and numbers, I coloured some peel-offs with a black permanent marker. I used the colours of Newcastle's away strip for the layering. The footballs are also peel-offs.

Cute As A Button...

2010-02-09T19:11:00.004Z

Another baby, another card! It must be the season for having babies - everyone is at it! I got this cute image from the Digi Boutique which is my current fave online shop. It's coloured in with promarkers and finished off with aqua ribbon. The patterned paper is a freebie from a magazine. The photo has a bit of a pink glow caused by the sunrise this morning!

I am spending this evening sorting out my 12x12 papers into some very useful flat boxes that were being thrown out at work. I'm a total skip rat! I walk round constantly thinking to myself "what could I use that for??" but I think this is a habit most crafters have.

Challenge - Dare U 2 Digi Stamp

2010-01-30T16:00:00.002Z

This chanllenge is from yesterday but I wanted to make something bright to cheer myself up - I am so sick of the snow which has returned overnight. I got these gorgeous papers free with this month's Simply Cards and Papercraft and the digi image is from the Digi Boutique.

White on White - Charisma Cardz Thursday Challenge

2010-01-28T19:31:00.005Z

This challenge got me dead excited - I just love the look of cards using all one colour and the possibilities with white are endless. I made this card using a tiny daisy punch, some ribbon and some corregated white card. The middle of the flowers is peel-off waste - I save absolutely everything! The greeting is a E-Z Rub on transfer. This challenge business is great!

Cute Baby Boy - Sunday Challenge

2010-01-25T19:27:00.008Z

Here's my first attempt at a challenge - I have followed the sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp blog for this card. The pram stamp is from the Clear Choice Baby Toys set and is coloured with my new pro-markers that Santa brought me. The paper is from the Imag-e-nation store in Washington - a bargain at only 35p for a 12x12 sheet

A Little Shopping ..... and the return of the lost mojo!

2010-01-23T16:51:00.006Z

Totally lost my mojo over Christmas - must have had a bit of a glitter overdose with all those Christmas cards! A bit of crafty shopping has helped - had a lovely morning at Dainty Supplies and Imag-e-nation in Washington. Got some oval scallopped nesties that I can't wait to use and loads of little 'bits' - ribbons and gems and stuff like that.

Eased myself in gently by making a quick engagement card for a party we are off to tonight using my fave Papermania patterned paper and a Digi Boutique image

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T10:17:00.002Z

This year I am going to.....

1. Keep all my stash in some sort of order so that I know where everything is (yeah.. right!)
2. Try to use up some of my 'old' stuff.
3. Try to stretch myself by entering some competitions and challenges.
4. Make things in advance rather than crafting at midnight!

Here's wishing anyone who is reading this a happy and prosperous 2010

Happy New Year!

Sharon
x

Some recent cards...

2009-12-29T10:42:00.007Z

Aswell as making loads of Christmas cards, I've still been getting plenty of normal card orders.

I found the girly topper in a card making pack I bought from Home Bargains - dunno if this shop is available all over the country but it's certainly popular in the North East - it's full of reduced toiletries, toys, food items etc and I often find really useful crafty items. The flower is from a pack of 'Hawaiian' table flowers from Birthdays and the paper is papermania. The result is a very girly card.I made this Anniversary card very quickly and it's based around the lovely piece of olive green ribbon. The hearts are diecuts and the floral paper is good old Papermania again .

The roses on this birthday card came from the wedding section of Dainty Supplies - a wonderful craft emporium on an industrial estate in Washington. It really is like my mothership! The pink rose paper was bought ages ago from Hobbycarft. I love cards like this that have 3D toppers but you must remember to use an envelope bigger than the card so that the extra bit fits in!

This is my favourite card of the moment. I saw the card sketch in a magazine and knew it would be so easy to make using my square nesties. The papers and butterflies came with an issue of Creative Cardmaking and I just added my usual diamantes for the butterfly trails.

Aarrgh - another man's card. I get so chewed having to make cards for men because I love adding ribbons and bling to my cards. My imagination really struggles with all things masculine so I just printed and decoupaged this image from Clip-art. I'm pleased with the result but would rather make girly cards any day.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-27T13:41:00.008Z

I've been such a bad blogger lately - Christmas has just taken over everything and really I should have started making christmas cards in April rather than wait until November! Maybe next year! Here's some of the results of my absence...

This grandad card was made using a very cute dowload from the DigiStamp Boutique. I love these cute designs - I think this one is by Sally-Ann Hancock. It was coloured in with normal felt-tip pens from WHSmith but now santa has brought me some pro-markers I am going to have a lot of fun experimenting.

I made this quick card with some lovely papers that I got with Making Cards magazine last year. Lovely christmassy colours and an extra bit of bling with a diamante on the bauble.

More digital downloads - this time the curly trees from Pink Petticoat. So easy to colour and very girly. I decoupaged the hearts and made extra to stick down the side.

This furry Christmas Tree card was made for a work colleague's daughter who wanted something purple and bling! The tree is simply a triangle of card wound with fluffy wool and purple diamantes added as baubles.

This bauble card is my fave - I got a card making kit from The Works and just added diamantes to the ready cut baubles. I added very thin ribbons and peel-off stars and the result looks much better than this picture!

Here's wishing anyone who cares to read my crafting adventures a very Merry Christmas and best wishes and lots of crafting in 2010!

Pirates and Pink Frocks

2009-11-05T16:57:00.006Z

I've had a lovely afternoon.... finished work early and popped to Chester-le-Street to see what crafty goodies I could find in Boyes. I wasn't disappointed - got loads of ribbons for Christmas cards and some gorgeous A4 Daisy and Dandelion Christmas papers. Had a sneaky box of chips aswell before I came home (when did 'boxes' of chips appear??)

No more work now til Monday so I got the weekend off to a cracking start with some cardmaking..

I made this for an 8 year old boy - got the papers a few months ago in Papercraft Essentials but I never thought of using them until now. Very simple decoupage.

This frock card was made using up the leftover papers from the flower card in my previous post - I hate waste and have a box full of scraps - every cardmaker should have one! The frock sticker was from a scrapbook set I have had for years. I added a few diamantes to freshen it up but the light is so poor today that you can't see them!

Right - back to the Chrimbo cards!!

Pink Appeal

2009-10-28T19:42:00.005Z

Each year, my office has various events during October to raise money for Breast Cancer. This year was no exception and over the past weeks we have raised over £2000. One of our events was a Bake sale and to thank various mums and grans who helped us produce so many yummy pies and cakes, I made these cute thankyou cards.

I've also had requests for various birthday cards and these are a couple of my faves...

Orange can be such a difficult colour to use but it really makes this card stand out. The spotty paper was a magazine freebie and the flower is one of my rare attempts at stamping - it's a Build a Flower stamp set from Clear Expressions (Hampton Arts) and I must admit it is very easy to use for someone like myself who has two left hands when it comes to stamping. It's decoupaged but you can't see this very well.

So... all bouyed up after the orange card, I had a go with one of my wooden stamps and was surprised with the result - no smudging! I was so pleased I stamped it twice and decoupaged the flower head. The pretty paper was from a sample book given away with Cardmaking and papercraft a few moths ago.

Flippin' Teenagers

2009-10-24T14:09:00.004+01:00

Had a lovely morning shopping in Sunderland - new boots, new shoes, a new top for tonight and a visit to my favourite craft shop. Bought some silver peel-off borders, Making Cards magazine (cos I love the freebie papers you get with this mag) and loads of plain card to make my Christmas cards. A successful morning.

Here's a fun card I made using La Pashe's Flippin' Teenagers. There's some fab images in this range for both teenagers and those who still think they are!

The music notes are from a Doodlebug set and the border is made with waste collected in my hole punch! Matches the dancer's skirt and made me think of disco lights.

Card Frenzy!

2009-10-21T17:38:00.005+01:00

I've been so busy this week........so many birthdays, so little time. And I really must start making christmas cards!!

This first card is one that I often do for 'big birthdays'. It's so easy to make the outline of the letters in wordart then trace the image onto patterned paper. I'm dead pleased with the scallopped effects as well - the ones above and below 'sixty' were made with my nesties, cut into strips then carefully taped on so you can't see the joins. The scallops round the greeting were make by punching loads of small circles with my hole punch and arranging them aroung the edge of the cut out greeting. You really don't need loads of expensive equipment to get the effect you want.

Same papers used here for the girl's 7th birthday card - the 7 is also done in WordArt. Background is just stars punched in toning colours and a few spangle star confetti bits to add a bit of bling. Even 7 year olds are partial to a bit of bling!

This lady bathing card is made with one of my fave products - Jolly Nation decoupage. I tried to get the effect of wallpaper and a border behind the bath using checked paper and a spotty ribbon and I think it works well.

Finally, a 40th card for a bike mad bloke. Made with lazy crafters' decoupage - the sort that is pre cut for you! Still, everyone needs to make shortcuts every now and then and no-one knows any different! It was only when I took the picture that I realised that the 40 today sign looks a bit like a speed road sign. Total accident but left me feeling dead clever!.

Back In the Swing of Things.....

2009-10-19T19:10:00.006+01:00

I've just had a lovely break in Turkey despite being deprived of all things crafty for a couple of weeks and I've come back raring to make cards!

I made this Hello Kitty card in about 20 minutes flat - I make so many cards for other people that I often leave it to the very last minute to make them for myself and this was made in a panic before I went to work one morning last week! I bought a great Hello Kitty colouring and sticker book in the Poundland shop which will supply me with enough images and stickers to make about 20 cards - total bargain!

I got the template for this glamourpuss in Papercraft Inspirations a few years ago and I just love the diamante collar on it - very girly. It goes great with the 'purr-fect birthday' greeting. I missed my ginger fur baby so much when I was away that I think I have cats on the brain at the moment!

I made this final one for a special work friend Stephen who has just married his lovely girlfriend Ashley in Cyprus. The image is one of my faves from Pink Petticoat and I got some wonderful embossed heart wallpaper as a sample from my local decorating shop. I'm dead brazen - I just ask for loads of samples so I 'can match the furninshings' and no-one ever bats an eyelid!

Busy Week of Cardmaking...

2009-09-17T20:13:00.008+01:00

I got the inspiration for this anniversary card from a cardmaker I greatly admire called Michelle at The Card Grotto. She makes fabulous cards and I hope she doesn't mind my interpretation of her card. I love blog hopping and can spends hours admiring other people's creations. It's also nice to know that other people appreciate what I do - a lovely lady called Sandra has left a really nice message on my blog and has started following it so a big thankyou to her!

Next up are two very quick baby cards - I used the same basic sketch for each one but added a pink ribbon to the baby girl card. I find sketches really useful for inspiration and whenever I see a card layout that I like I do a quick sketch of it in my card ideas book.

Finally, a card that I'm really quite chuffed with. My heart sank when I got a request for a Power Rangers birthday card for a 7 year old boy. After googling 'power rangers' I found a wonderful site full of images of popular characters for children to colour - Colouring Book Pages. It has loads of characters from Disney Princesses to Wallace and Gromit. I just copied one of the pictures into a word document, resized it and coloured it with normal kids felt-tip pens. I did this a couple of times to make a decoupaged effect and just used a couple of die-cut coloured circles for the background. It reminds me a bit of one of Roy Liechenstein's pop-art pictures. Roll on the next strange request!

Lots of Birthdays...

2009-09-05T09:54:00.005+01:00

Loads of birthdays coming up....

I got the decoupage butterfly as a freebie with a magazine and knew it would be perfect for a girlie birthday card for my other half's mam! As usual he tells me the night before that he needs a card making cos he hasn't had time to buy one and expects me to make it in minutes. Actually it only took about half an hour but I hate being put on the spot cos my imagination just turns to jelly!

I do love making footie shirt cards and often get requests for both Sunderland and Newcastle cards - what one must do for one's art! This is the current away shirt for my friend's little lad who is Sunderland daft. It's often difficult to get a good picture of the back of a shirt to copy from so I have often gone into sports shop changing rooms to 'try on' a shirt armed with my digital camera!
My old faithful - the glam frock card. Everyone who gets one of these always says 'I would love to fit into a dress like that! I saw a similar card to this in a magazine a couple of years ago and must have made it over 20 times since - sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

An unproductive break....

2009-08-05T19:00:00.004+01:00

I've had a break from blogging this past month... a mixture of being busy at home and work and a bit of a deflated mojo! I've only made two or three cards in the past month and those were only for my special customers. To try to get back in the swing of things I bought some downloads from the Pink Petticoat site with a wedding theme and have been busy manipulating the images and just having a good play with sizes and colours. However, sometimes simple is best and I'm pleased with the overall look of this next card...

The image been coloured with pro-markers and the flowers have been decoupaged. I then painted over the flowers and heart with some pearlescent glue to add some sparkle.

The next card I made is just plain odd - a King Charles cavalier spaniel theme for a 50 year old lady! Hmmm... I knew that paw paper I got free with Papercraft Essentials would come in handy one day! My favourite bit on this card is the paws up the side where I tried to echo the pattern on the paper - apart from that it's a bit naff!

Fathers Day...

2009-06-20T09:42:00.008+01:00

Making cards for blokes always fills me with dread though the products now available is starting to make the task easier

I used a cup template that came free with Papercraft Inspirations and just enlarged it on the photocopier to make this. I'm pleased with the look that the peel-offs give to the trophy - I knew I would find a use for them one day!

I think 'tie' cards for men are the equivelant of handbag cards for women! This was made with lovely Dovecraft 'male' papers and I just added buttens to the 'shirt'. I've made this card on a number of occasions in different colourways and I'm always pleased with the result.

I got this grandad decoupage from my local craft shop in Sunderland - I think the range is 'Old Codgers'. The patterned paper is from a sports scrapbooking kit and I couldn't resist adding a little Sunderland badge to it.

More Shoes... and a cute Baby Boy

2009-06-06T08:02:00.006+01:00

I had a bit more experimentation with colours on the shoe card...

I love making these - they are just so cute. The spotty papers are all freebies from various magazines and I got a huge pack of the textured paper from my local The Works. Like most crafters I have a hoard of ribbons which finishes off the tag. In fact, these would be great to use as gift tags for girly presents.

I think that with baby cards, less is more. I don't like them to be too fussy and patterned. I made the next two cards with just stickers and ribbon - most of my stickers come from pound/trashy shops but can look great when used with the right accessories.

Betty Boop and lots of Weddings

2009-05-22T19:07:00.010+01:00

I've had loads of requests for Wedding cards and as my cake card is a bit old hat now I've been working with some new ideas.

I got this pink cake cut out with a recent issue of Creative Carmaking which is one of my favourite magazines at the moment. There were matching papers to go with it but I wanted to keep it simple so I just used some co-ordinating cerise plain paper and added some punched hearts and a greeting.
I got this felt wedding car embellishment on a market stall in Sunderland but before I used it I photocopied it so that I have a template to make more from card. The pink heart paper was from the same place - it's amazing what you can find in markets!

I had this song going through my head when I was making the other two cards and I thought it would make a cute greeting. The 'chapel' was a rub-on I had from a wedding scrapbook kit. I finished it off with one of my trademark ribbons and I'm pleased with the result.

I loved making this card! I got a picture of Betty from google images and I just traced and paper pieced it. I carefully drew in the face with a black fineliner pen. It was really simple to make but did require some careful cutting around the hair. After people see this I have a bad feeling I am going to get requests for all sorts of weird and wonderful cartoon characters!