A Balanced Diet

The challenge at Anything Goes this week is Coffee Break or Food. For my card I've gone with the food side and used this stamp by Bild Malarna called Mrs Diet. I've coloured her with Promarkers and cut her out with a Marianne Design die. The papers are scraps from my stash and the leaves are cut with scraps too.

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

This is my second go at the Blurred Vision stamping challenge at Technique Time Tuesday and I do prefer it to my last effort. I wanted to use something other than flowers and came across this stamp set by My Favourite Things called So Nifty which was the first thing I bought when I found My Mum's Craft Shop in Poundbury. I've stamped the manikin with Gathered Twigs Distress ink and blurred the body part with a Stampin Up blender pen. The background is stamped with the tape measure from the set with Frayed Burlap and again blurred with the pen. The bobbin was die cut from scraps and stamped and I've added some brown and white bakers twine which I've lightly coloured to take the brightness down. I wanted to add some buttons but didn't have anything that would go in my stash so I raided my slippers!

The greeting is from the same set, again stamped on scraps. A strip of lace across the middle to finish.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges
Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground - Snippets
Anything Goes - Anything Goes
My Mum's Craft Shop - Just For Girls

Heavy Metal

That's the challenge at Anything Goes and I think I'm just in time to enter. I've used the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches

It's not quite heavy metal as it's the bottom of a foil container. I went to a Plant & Cake sale at the village hall yesterday and although there were some lovely cakes, I only came away with some shortbread fingers and they were in this container (yes I have eaten them all!)

I cut the bottom out and smoothed it with the edge of my bone folder then cut the cars out with Marianne dies. I'm really pleased at how they came out

I've added quite a bit of sillicone glue to the back of the card so it won't crush. The bottom backing paper is from my stash and the top one is from a Wild Rose Studio pack. The sentiment is from an Inkylicious set called Journey. I've added a strip of mirror card which has been through the Cuttlebug in one of my favourite embossing folders for men. I've sanded it lightly and added some blue alcohol inks to take most of the shine off it. I'm also entering this into the Joanna Sheen challenge which is Recycle and the Cards For Men challenge which is Anything Goes

Mail It

Mail It is the theme of the current challenge at Anything Goes. I've used this layout from Sketch Saturday

This is a Wellington Bear embossed sticker layered on a Nestie. The backing paper and sentiment are from the Wellington Ultimate kit. I've cut out some little envelopes from white and kraft paper and some raffia to finish

Friends

Sjoukje has come up with this lovely sketch for us at Sunday Sketch & Stamp

For my card, I've gone with the theme of Friendship which is the current challenge at Crafty Cardmakers and used vintage colours. The image is a Mabel Lucie Attwell stamp by The Artistic Stamper. I've stamped it with Rich Cocoa Memento ink and added a touch of colour with brown toned Promarkers. The two backing papers are by Papermania. I didn't want a sentiment so I've added a large cream Prima flower. A lace border and some square gems to finish. I'm also entering this into the Anything Goes challenge which is seeing double - two girls and 2 dogs

Sense Of Time

This is another card using an idea from Julia Dunnit's Grunge workshop at Kraft Crazy and I've followed the sketch at Seize The Birthday

 I've used a page from an old book and put it through the Bug with a cogs embossing folder. I've then highlighted the embossing with Tumbled Glass distress ink and the edges of the page with Broken China. I've then gone over the edges with some turquoise Perfect Perarls. A final touch is a spray and flick with some Rich Gold Cosmic Shimmer Mist. The clock is from a set by Stampin Up called A Sense Of Time and I've stamped it with Broken China. I've then used a cracked glass mask over it with versamark and used some pearl Perfect Pearls although it doesn't show up in the picture. I've cut it out with the large Spellbinders Cogs die and added some gold foil touches. The sentiment is from the same stamp set again stamped in Broken China. I've used the smaller cog dies on scraps of various gold mirror card then sanded them to take off the brightness. These have been placed across the card and the centres of one of the smallest cogs have been placed in the four corners

I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Seize The Birthday - Sketch & Masculine
Anything Goes - Make It Manly
CRAFT - Use Embossing
Quirky Crafts - Make It Messy

You can just see the pearl through the cracked glass mask on this close up

Shabby Chic

This is my attempt at Shabby Chic which is the current challenge at both Anything Goes and Polka Doodles. As most of my cards go to the animal charity shop, I didn't want to go too shabby so I've come up with this card. The backing paper is a piece of vellum that came from a Papermania Christmas pack a good few years ago. I found two pieces in my pile of oddments and thought this one would go well (the other has holly leaves on). The image is from the Polka Doodles Love & Cherish CD. I wish I'd remembered this CD sooner as there are some great Valentines images on it. The heart lace was bought from a small haberdashery shop in Christchurch. I was so annoyed when I got it as I got talking to the owner and missed my last bus so had to walk the three miles home. I'm so glad that I did get it though as the next time I went past, the shop had closed down. The corners were in my box of bits to use up and the buttons were on the way to the bin when I was sorting out as I thought they looked a bit, well, shabby but I gave them a final chance and here they are. The sentiment is by Craftwork Cards . I've cut a circle of card and stuck some lace to it then stick the greeting to it and that's about it

Cosy Christmas

I packed up all my Christmas stash at the weekend but hadn't actually put it away. Then I realised that I hadn't made OH's Christmas card but I know he still has the Prague one I made him a couple of years ago  in his study so I thought I'd just pinch that and put it in a new envelope - job done. However, today I went to put the boxes in the spare bedroom cupboard where they live most of the year and found another box full of Christmas stash that I hadn't even opened this year! Of course I had to go through it just to see what I had missed. I can't believe I actually bought more papers this year.

I found a lovely Forever Friends set so I've used a topper from that to make him a card. I'm quite pleased as I haven't had to cut into any new papers as these are just scraps from other projects mounted onto mirror card I've added some Craftwork Cards poinsettia flowers and some heart gems which are always left on the sheet! So this will be us this Christmas, sat in front of a log fire with a glass of wine but I'm sure there will be a ginger and white bundle of fur between us.

I'm entering this into the Anything Goes - Traditional Christmas Colours challenge, Joanna Sheen - With Love at Christmas and the Forever Friends  - Christmas Cards challenge

Anything Goes

When we cleared out my Dad's house a couple of years ago, I came across a bag of watches. None of them worked and they weren't valuable so I thought I may use some of the pieces on my cards at some point. I found them hiding in the back of a drawer yesterday and decided to make a box to keep them in. This was a Turkish Delight box  from last Christmas which has been sat in my craft room waiting for a makeover.

I've covered the box in backing papers and stamped the top with the Artistic Stamper Cogs background stamp and distressed the edges. I've also use Phineas Pinchbeck as a centrepiece and the letters are cut from Tim Holtz Carnival Sizzlit strip and embossed with clear powder. I've also added a few cog like sequins which came from Poundland.

I'm entering this into the Artistic Stamper November challenge which is Anything Goes and this fortnight's challenge at Anything Goes which is - Anything Goes.

Christmas Cuddles

I've made this card for the Anything Goes challenge which is animals. The image is Christmas Cuddles by Wild Rose Studio and is coloured with Promarkers with glitter added to their hats. I think this is such a cute image and will be using it a lot again this year. The background has white snowflakes cut with a Cuttlebug die and the blue is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I've cut some more snowflakes from a clear glitter sticky sheet and also cut the mat for the sentiment from it and although some of it looks cream, it is actually white.

Forever Friends Colour Challenge 45 and Anything Goes 76

Where did my mojo go! I went away for a lovely few days in Prague and must have left all my inspiration there as I've been finding it really difficult to make anything since I've been back. I know the first two weeks back I spent a lot of time with Buddy as he likes a cuddle but every time I've been in the craft room I've just moved things about and cut a few bits of card but nothing of any consequence. So today I've looked at various challenges and decided to have a go at the Forever Friends colour challenge based on the picture below

And this is the card I came up with using the pinks from the picture

I've used Pink Parfait sticker, papers and sentiment. The doily is by Dovecraft and I've coloured it Pan Pastels. A bit of lace on a strip of card and some flowers to finish. The small gems in corners have been replaced by larger ones but I posted the card before I could take a picture of it. 

The layout comes from the current Anything Goes challenge which is the sketch below

Summer Days

The current challenge at Anything Goes is Summer Days. I've used a stamp from Summer By The Sea by Stampin Up and stamped with Vintage Sepia Versafine. I've coloured it with Pan Pastels. The backing paper is from The Good Life Forever Friends pack. I was stuck for a sentiment but came across this from another Stampin Up set which I thought was perfect. The shells are Marianne and Dye-namics dies.

Paperback Christmas Tree

While I was blog hopping last night I came across KraftyKows blogspot and the fabulous Paperback Christmas Tree and decided I needed to have a go. I went to the charity shop and bought a damaged paperback which was going to the tip. It was larger than the normal size and I'll get three out of it for my 50p.

I did a search for a tutorial and there are loads out there but they all say to fold the bottom of the page up so it is flat. I've left mine hanging as I like the effect and I've sat it on a glass candle holder - another charity shop buy for 20p. Once folded I coloured the edges with Peacock Feathers distress inks and added a few sprays of Aqua Lagoon Cosmic Shimmer Mist. I added some aqua sequins all around which were from a pack that cost me £1.00 at the Market Gallery in Southampton. There are loads in this pack and I've hardly used any. I  finished it with a star sprayed with the same Shimmer Mist. I'm not 100% happy with the star so that may change on the next one as I'm sure I'll be making lots of these. They are so quick and ideal for children to sit and make once the book is cut.

This is what I used

And this is the tree

And the bottom pieces which should have been folded up along the horizontal edge

I'm entering this into the Anything Goes challenge which is Let's Not Be Square and the Incy Wincy  challenge - Anything But a Card.