Friday 30 April 2010

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #31

Friday night & time for a new challenge at Crafts 4 Eternity. This week we want you to
1. Use the sketch
2. Include a teddy
3. Use some ribbon

I rooted out an old Gorjuss girl for this challenge. I couldn't believe I could only find 2 stamps with teddy bears on in my collection. *Note to self, must remedy that situation!!

The papers were a freebie with a stamping magazine, but are MME & the ribbons are from my stash. She's coloured with Distress Inks & the sentiment is a Catslife Press stamp.


Well there you go. Not really much to report on this one. But if you hop on over to the C4E blog, you will find some fabulous inspiration from my lovely DT colleagues. You can also see the gorgeous digi image, designed by Michele, that is up for grabs as this weeks prize.
Well WooHoo the Bank Holiday weekend is upon us! Shame the weather looks bobbins! Not to worry, I hope everyone has a good one!
Thanks for looking,
Big Hugs,
Andie xx


Thursday 29 April 2010

Magical Tilda

Just a quickie! I really enjoyed making this card. It's based on the fab sketch at Friday Sketchers this week. This is Simsalabim Tilda. Am I alone in not having any idea what that means? It sounds like a magic spell, like Abracadabra! Whatever, she is totally adorable & quite possibly my favourite from the new collection. But they are all just gorgeous.


This weeks challenge at Just Magnolia is 'Anything Goes', I have been dying to ink up this image since it popped through my letterbox. She is a dream to colour. She's coloured with Distress Inks & the DPs are MME - Ooh La La!
This is a new style of card for me, which fits in with the challenge at Papertake Weekly to Try Something Different. I very rarely decorate the inside either.


There is not much else to say about this. The frame was cut from a Nesties die & the flowers are a mixture from Hobbycraft & Bizzy Becs. I also added glitter to the flowers, her dress & the wand. The ticket was a freebie stamp from Craft Stamper magazine.
There you go then. Not such a quickie after all. I'm watching the Leaders debate at the moment & have gotten a bit sidetracked. When Simon & Garfunkel sing about going to the 'Candidates Debate' in Mrs Robinson, it sounds infinitely better than this! I'm non the wiser about who to vote for next week. I did enjoy Gordon Brown's huge gaff yesterday though!! But I feel so sorry for the lady he bad mouthed. She looked so hurt.
Anyway, this is not a politics forum! Better get crafting! Thanks so much for looking.
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Friday 23 April 2010

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #30

Friday evening & challenge time at Crafts 4 Eternity. Michele has designed another fab sketch to follow. The added extras this week are to
1. Incorporate a film title
2. Use corrugated cardboard

I'd been dying to ink up this stamp from Kraftin Kimmie, her name is Vivienne. I got her from Quixotic Paperie & decided, though I haven't actually seen it, to use the film 'Showgirls' as my inspiration. I exposed the corrugation on the cardboard, then coloured it with a mix of liquid pearls & clear rock candy Distress Crackle Paint.

Vivienne is coloured with Promarkers & I used a glitter pen on her feathers, though it doesn't show in the photo. The DPs are an MME freebie I got with a magazine. I just love how foxy she looks!
So there you go. I hope you'll check out the fabulous work of my wonderful DT colleagues here. This weeks prize is a choice of digi images from Michele's fab Crafts 4 Eternity store.
Thank goodness it is the weekend. I've been on a pretty intensive two week training course, that has been brilliant, but quite tiring. It's over now unfortunately. But hopefully now I can finally catch up with myself, even get ahead a little!! It's hard though, I'm currently engrossed in the second of the Millenium trilogy, 'The Girl who Played with Fire'. I don't think I'll be fully back on track until I've gotten through the third one. I highly recommend them, but just don't expect to get much crafting done, LOL!!
Thanks for looking,
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Thursday 22 April 2010

Just Magnolia - Thank you!

There is a gorgeous sketch at Just Magnolia this week, with the optional extra of making a Thank You card. It is their one year anniversary & the team are saying thank you to everyone who has participated in the challenges & to their, oh so generous, sponsors. I want to say Thank You to them for year of fabulous challenges & incredible inspiration!

This is one of my favourite Tildas that combines brilliantly with this Whiff of Joy sentiment. She is coloured with Promarkers & the DPs are Basic Grey - Blush.


I added glaze to the roses to make them look fresh as though they had just been picked & still had dew on them, but it's a bit hard to see in the photo. I also used Prima pearls to try & make the background look a bit quieter. It seems a bit strange adding more to a card to make it look less busy!
So there you go. I hope you like her. Hope everyone is having a great week!
Roll on the weekend!!
Thanks for looking,
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Friday 16 April 2010

Crafts 4 Eternity #29

Fridays is the new day for the Crafts 4 Eternity Challenge, so here is the new sketch & this weeks recipe. This week we want you to
1. Follow the sketch
2. Use fabric
3. Use the colours black & white

I've never coloured an image before, solely in black & white (if you don't include the flower!). I surprised myself with how simple it felt & how pleased I am with the outcome. If I say so myself, it looks better IRL than it does in the photo. I'm feeling inspired now to colour more images like this, or maybe a sepia tone.

There is not much to tell you about this one. The papers are 7 Gypsies & Edwin is coloured with Distress Inks. I'm not just sure when I would ever use this card, so I added a flower rather than a sentiment.


So now you've seen mine, hop on over to Crafts 4 Eternity & let my lovely DT colleagues show you their fabulous creations. They have made some stunning cards.

So the weekend is upon us. Where has the last week gone? I thought I had caught up, but I still feel like I'm not on top of things. I'm on a 2 week training course at work this week, which has been pretty full on, but great fun. I've got another week to go. It was also Jack's birthday on Wednesday. I can't believe my Precious Treasure is seven already! We had to go Lego shopping tonight with his birthday money, so Atlantis Lego rocks right now, LOL!

Anyway, thank you so much for looking.

Big Hugs,
Andie xx


Sunday 11 April 2010

Sketch & Stash #32

These are the Easter cards I made my boys, following this fortnight's fab sketch at Sketch & Stash. Not very Easterish I know, but the idea is these are baby dinos that have just hatched from the (rather naff) eggs in the bottom left hand corner!
There isn't much to say about this. I used my new Greeting Farm stamp from Quixotic Paperie that I got a few weeks ago, but this is the first time it has seen ink. The DPs are some old Basic Grey papers, Skate Shoppe or Hang 10, I forget. I felt, with it being Spring, I was able to get away with flowers on a boy's card!

Ben & Jack are mad for dinosaurs. As I write this, Jack is currently excavating a dinosaur skeleton he got at his birthday party earlier today. He turns seven on Wednesday, but announced a while ago that he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up!
I have to apologise for the fact I have not done much commenting of late. I have been stalking & quietly admiring lots of wonderful creations. But I have been very busy with Easter & working up to Jack's party this afternoon. Fortunately, Jack friends are nice & well behaved so it was not as bad as I had feared! I'm glad it's over for another year nonetheless!! Anyway, I hope to do a bit of catching up this evening.
I hope everyone is happy & well, & having a great weekend.
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Friday 9 April 2010

Crafts 4 Eternity - Challenge #28

All change!! Well not everything, just the new posting time of the Crafts 4 Eternity Challenge. Same fab challenge, but now it's posted on a Friday evening to give you a good headstart over the weekend to get your entries in. This week we want you to use
1. Michele's great sketch
2. Some foil
3. A tag.


I think my tag is plain to see, but the (kitchen) foil is glued over 2 circles of card & is just visible peeping out behind the flowers. It is more evident & looks more effective IRL.

No prizes for guessing I've used a Magnolia image. She is from the Xmas collection, but I chose her because she is so versatile & I can use her all year round. I wonder what she got in her present? I'm not even sure it's hers. She looks like she has just been caught opening something she shouldn't have!!


I usually go for the distressed look with Magnolias, so colouring Tilda with my Promarkers is a first for me. But I like how she turned out. The papers are Basic Grey-Wisteria. The flowers are mostly from Crafty Feeling & I used a EK Success swirl punch which also qualifies her for entry into this week's Just Magnolia challenge.
So I hope you'll join us again for this week's C4E challenge. Please hop on over to check out the fabulous work of my lovely DT colleagues. This week's prize is a fab mini card kit from Michele's own Crafts 4 Eternity store. Check out all the goodies she has for sale here!
Thank you so much for looking.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Big Hugs,
Andie xx


Tuesday 6 April 2010

Whiff of Joy Easter Chocolate Box

I'm so cross with myself. I spent ages making this chocolate box for my Mum & Dad for Easter, then didn't take nearly enough photos of it & am really disappointed with the ones I did! You'll have to believe me that this project is much nicer IRL.
I created it with this weeks Whiff of Joy Challenge in mind, where they have a recipe to use one ribbon, two buttons & three papers. I'd been dying to use Mr & Mrs Foxglove since it landed on my doormat a few weeks ago. I have to say it was a dream to colour.

My DPs are MME Wild Asparagus & the swirl around the edge is the Magnolia Halloween Swirl. I used a fab tutorial at Kirsten's Blogg, you can find it here. Next time though I'll have to make the drawers bigger. I couldn't fit many choccies in & had loads left over. I was so tempted to keep the remainder for myself, but no, I was a good girl & gave those to my Mum & Dad as well. Though not without a couple of quality control tests first!!
Hope everyone is having a good week. Thanks for looking!
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Monday 5 April 2010

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #27

Gosh, it has been a week since I last posted. I've been busy with Easter projects for family that I will share over the coming days. For now I have this week's C4E recipe challenge. Late again, but I've had limited internet access at my Mum & Dad's this weekend. This week we would like you to,
1. follow the sketch
2. create something with an Easter theme
3. use buttons.


I rotated the sketch for my card & used an image that would be suitable for Easter of Spring. This is another Bildmalarna image. I so love the Mimo & Mimosa images.

This is a rather simple card, coloured with distress inks. I used a Martha Stewart doily punch for the trim & the DPs are MME - Bloom & Grow. I threaded the buttons from Bizzy Becs onto a piece of raffia ribbon to add a little texture.


I hope you will join in this week's challenge. You should hop on over to C4E to see the fabulous work of my lovely DT colleagues. This weeks prize is a Guest DT spot for May! But be aware, you only have until Friday 9th April to submit your card. C4E is on the move, from the 9th C4E challenges will be set on a Friday evening, 9:00pm GMT, so you'll have the weekend to get busy & play along!

I hope everyone has had a lovely Easter. It's always over so quickly unfortunately. We've been staying at my parents this weekend & though the weather hasn't been great, we had fun. But boy have I had some late nights! I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to work in the morning. But then I never am, LOL!!

Thank you so much for looking,

Big Hugs,
Andie xx