4 of the best ... - Daring Cardmakers Challenge

We have decided to revisit your most favourite dares of 2007. The four top dares, decided by the number of comments you made on them are (in no particular order): 'buttons', 'ribbons', ...'and cut' and 'frames'. We would like you to use this week as many of those dares as you like to make your card in any theme and any style.

I made this wedding card back in the summer and never got round to putting it on my blog , so I thought I'd use this one for my daring cardmakers challenge. I hand cut the flowers and the frame and used a button and ribbons on the flower. Of course the papers and flowers are all Pink Petticoat!

Shop Till You Drop - Papertake Weekly Challenge

This weeks challenge is 'Shop 'Til you Drop'.
Anything to do with shopping this week, what with the sales round the corner lol!! Handbags, shopping bags, dollar/pound signs etc etc!!

I had a couple of cards in my stash that I thought would fit the bill for this challenge. The first one I uses paper and sentiments from Pink Petticoat - Lola's Boudior in envy, the flower is from Poppicraft, beads and ribbon from local market.. The second is paper from a Crafter's Companion cd and a decoupage downloaded from somewhere in cyber space! The sentiment is from Pink Petticoat and ribbon off the local market

Food For Thought!

This weeks Papertake Weekly challenge is 'Food for Thought'. Please use something yummy on your cards! Any food will do! Chocs, sweets, cakes, dinners(?!?)lol!!Let's see your food for thought!

So, here is my creation...

I downloaded the paper from ScrapBrush (there are some fab free papers) and used for the backing paper and also to mat and layer. I put some scrap matt silver card through the cuttlebug using circles embossing folder and printed off an image from Pink Petticoat, Doodleicious collection and added a ribbon from Poppicrafts.

It was one of the quickest cards I've ever made lol and it had to be quick. Its for Ellie's boyfriends birthday tomorrow and I'd forgotten oops!

Going Crackers!

This weekend I decided to make my own Christmas crackers with the help of the online tutorial. I'm sick of paying out vast amounts of money just so we get something half decent inside. Dawn gave me the idea in the first place...thank you dawn!

I decided that I didn't want your traditional looking crackers so went for more of a shabby chic look. I didn't have a theme for my table so I was open to anything. Anyway, after having a good hunt around I found some fabby free digital papers by Kate Hadfield called "Just Minty Mocha". I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. Just to add a hint of Christmas I punch a snowflake out of white glitter card and added that to the name plate.

Each cracker has something useful and only cost me between £1-£2, bargain!

Inside Out!

This weeks dare at Daring Cardmakers has been set by Gillian. Her dare is ..."To take the design of your card to the inside as well as the outside. Add a little finishing touch to match the theme on the outside, or Surprise the receiver with a flap, foldout, decorated journal block to write on,or one of those pop-out delights....It really adds so much to a card when there is attention to detail on the inside as well as the outside. I know some of you are finished your Christmas cards alreadyso this week it's Any theme, Christmas or not But make the inside count too :) "

Here is my creation...

I used the online tutorial for a surprise pop-up card from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/surprisepopup.php. I covered my card with Pink Petticoat papers of course and embellished with ribbon from my local market, flower, flower charm, flower ribbon and ribbon brad from Poppicraft. The Fimo 18 is from http://www.karacterkrafts.com/. I'm really pleased with how this has turned out, its better than I imagined it would be and I know Ellie's going to be thrilled with it!

Inspiration thanks to Louly!

Just a couple of cards I've made lately getting inspiration from Louise. Rylee asked me to help him make him a Christmas card for his Mummy and Daddy and with him only being 5 months old he was finding it difficult to manipulate a pair of scissors and a glue stick! I was showing him some of my favourite blogs, when we came across a Christmas card on Louise's blog, that Rylee thought his Mummy and Daddy would like. I eventually persuaded him to pose in a santa suit, wearing a cheeky smile whilst I took a photo of him! (he's gonna hate me when he's older... up to now I've had him wearing a spider suit and a santa suit, can't wait till Easter lol!) Anyway this is our creation......... We used red felt to cover the card and black felt for the belt, Great Granny's button box was raided for the buckle and black button. We stuck white marabu across the bottom to finish it off and set 3 black eyelets in the belt.


And this is the other card... I used a bird temple from Crafty Templates, paper from Pink Petticoat and wobbly eyes from my craft box. The peel offs came from my local craft store.

Hi Carrie & Fae! I can see you lol!!!

Black Tie

This weeks Papertake Weekly challenge is to make a black and white card! It can be for any theme/occasion but black and white only please!!

I thought I'd do a two in one! Here's my black and white card for the weekly challenge and heres my entry for Liz over at Pink Petticoat who is holding a competition, her brief was to make a card using one of the images from her fab new collection "Pom Pom Trees".

So I used Pink Petticoat "Daisy Daisy - flourishes" for the backing paper and one of the "Pom Pom Tree's" image stamps. The black ribbon was wrapped around a bundle of towels from Dunelm that I brought for Ellie when she starts her spray tanning after Christmas at college (I'm beginning to like the idea of her training to become a beauty therapist ... level 3 is alot better than level 2. Last year I was waxed within an inch of my life..!) and the white chiffon ribbon, which hasn't shown up very well in the photo is from my local market.

Saffa's dare - Candy Stripes

This week is Saffa to set the dare! "I love the stripey candy sticks that are around at this time of year so inspired by this I challenge you all to create a card featuring stripes of some kind, the occasion is up to you but you must use some form of stripes on your card. Maybe stamps, or paper, or ribbon..."

So here is my creation. I drew a shoe and used this as my template. I covered the shoe with Pink Petticoat "Doodleicious" bubblegum multi paper and embellished with a button from my button box.

Congrat Shoe Lations

I've been so busy this weekend making party invites for Eloise's 18th Birthday the end of January. Ellie is definately a shoe girl. When out shopping she'll generally come back with pairs of shoes, and has been known to buy the same style of shoe in three different colours! Which is why I decided to have a shoe theme for her birthday. Her chosen colour is pink and pistachio and I've used a selection of papers from Pink Petticoat and embellished with ribbon, buttons, paper flowers from Poppicrafts and gems.

Here are a few of the invites I made.

(I'm dreaming of a) White Christmas!

This weeks Papertake Weekly challenge, White Christmas, is to make a white Christmas card! You can use an accent colour or two if you like, but lots of white this time please!!

For this card I used Pink Petticoat "Rainbow Christmas" backing papers and printed Pink Petticoat "Monograms" on the reverse of some glitter card and cut them out. I added some snowflakes punched from the same glitter card.

Tweet Tweet!

This weeks Dare at Daring Cardmakers ... "the theme is to do with our feathered friends!(Are you remembering to feed them now it's chilly out)Robins, love birds, cartoon birds, stamped birds, paper pieced birds, dingbat birds. Its up to you. I dare you to make a card with a bird or birds on, it doesn't have to be a real species, the more weird and wonderful the better!"

I made this using Pink Petticoat papers from "Doodleicous Christmas" and the image stamp from "Rainbow Christmas"

Papertake Weekly Challenge - We three....Kings?!?!

Here's my card for this weeks challenge, which is ..."We three... Kings?' is to use 3 images on your card! (Christmas if poss please!!) They can be three the same or three different!!"

I used Pink Petticoat Rainbow Christmas papers, punched out 3 snowflakes from black card and added a snowflake brad from Poppicrafts.

Santa's Little Extra Helper no 6: "Hang Up Your Stockings"

Here's my entry for this weeks dare. The papers are Pink Petticoat "O' Christmas Tree" and the stocking is cut using my new toy - Cuttlebug!

Altered Note Books

I took these boring, ordinary black note books and added a bit of pizazz!

I used Pink Petticoat papers, some ribbon and the paper flowers from Poppicrafts, along with the flower shaped swirly clips.

More Exploding Boxes!!

Well I did say that I was hooked. That hooked that I made two yesterday...I did end up with a headache though, must remember to pace myself next time lol. I was asked to make another baby exploding box but this time in pink. Why do I find it easier to make girly cards? I enjoyed making this one far more than the blue one. Perhaps its cos I'm always conscious of making a boys card look too girly, whereas a girls card can never look too girly. Anyway, the other box, a wedding card, was made using my mother-in-laws Wendy Rhodes Exploding Box template, which was brilliant, although I must say I prefer my version with 3 layers rather than Wendy's which only has two! I've decided that perhaps I should leave the exploding boxes alone for awhile now so that I dont get bored of them...not sure if that'll happen, but I can try.

This is only a quick blog, not that you'd notice...I'm off out for lunch. My darling daughters (cough) are taking us out for a meal to celebrate our 21st Wedding Anniversary last Thursday. Oh I forgot to mention...I got a Cuttlebug for being the most fantastic wife in the world! Personally I think it was to shut me up moaning about needing one and not being able to live without one. Amazing that after all these years it still works doesn't it....yeah that too lol! No, the old "everyone else in blogland has one, but me!" pmsl......

Papertake Weekly Challenge - O' Christmas Tree

I've just started doing these weekly challenges, firstly with Daring Cardmakers and after looking at hundreds of other blogs and seeing peoples challenges for Papertake, I thought "oh what the heck, lets give this one a try too". So heres my attempt at the weekly challenge "O' Christmas Tree"

Santa's Little Extra Helper no 5: Baubles, Bells & Bows

Oooh I'm beginning to really get into these card making dares! Here's my effort for the mid week challenge.

I used Pink Petticoat "O' Christmas Tree" in cranberry for the backing papers and for the bauble and Pink Petticoat sentiment and tags. The rest were scraps from my craft cupboard.

Exploding Box!

My first attempt at an exploding box and i'm hooked!

I was asked to make a Christening card much like the ones I've done before, but you know how it is ... I was bored of making them. So on the off chance that the person who specifically asked for a name card would like something different I set off with this creation. I found instructions here http://glitteradventure.blogspot.com/2006/11/exploding-box-class.html which I found easy to follow and started printing papers from Pink Petticoat and Crafters Companion Cds. I dont think its too bad for a my first try.

Golden Highlights

I made this card for a friend today. She asked me to make a Christmas card for her Mum and partner (although to begin with it was just her Mum, in case anyone notices lol), she had no idea what she wanted so I had free range with it. I decided to use my "Ultimate Keepsake Board", which was one of the first I ever bought and this was the first time I'd used it! I have to say I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Thought I'd also use this card for this weeks DCM dare, which is "to make a card for any season or occasion but must include gold somewhere". I think it fits the bill lol!

Piles of Presents

This is my first time doing a Daring Cardmakers challenge. The subject is "Piles of Parcels". I used Pink Petticoat Rainbow Christmas for the backing papers and the puff box template which I resized and printed on to backing paper from a Crafter's Companion Christmas cd I had lying around and tied them up with silver curling ribbon.

Another Christmas Handbag

Yet another Christmas card! I used Pink Petticoat handbag card template and papers.

I've not really done much crafting this week, haven't had the chance. Its just been one of those weeks!

Curvy Card

Used the fantastic curvy card template for this birthday card. I'm really pleased with it and think that its going to be one of my favourite templates. I know its only the second one I've made but the results are fantastic - even though I say so myself!

Christmas Handbag

I was asked to make a Christmas card in the shape of a handbag and here it is. I used the handbag template from http://www.craftytemplates.co.uk/ and pink petticoat doodleicious Christmas paper. I cut the holly leaves out by hand from photo paper printed green and used red beads and gold cord from a Christmas decoration I massacred that I brought from Poundland.

I Hate November!

I got loads done yesterday, not sure how I managed it, but I did. I was asked by the girls and the father-in-law to make a card for the mother-in-law's birthday, as if I didn't have enough to do lol!, cos I personally find it dead easy to make 4 completely different cards for the same person....NOT! Which is the same thing that's happened with the male birthday cards - all 3 males live in the same house, both the girls want cards making for them, so that makes 9 different cards!

I decided that inspiration was required and had a good look on pink petticoat, which is why three of my cards look very similar to the design teams, but i do think their my interpretation of their ideas - thanks Becky and Jo! Anyway I managed to get six cards made, including a Christmas card a friend had asked me

to make.

I have decided since taking this photo and finding in the deep dark depth of my craft cupboard, that I'm going to add purple teardrop gems over the flame just to add a little sparkle.

Another Baby's First Christmas!

I've made another Baby's First Christmas - I used the template I downloaded for the birth congratulations card and used my Pink Petticoat papers to cover the card.

Crafty Templates

Done three male cards with the help of crafty templates. I'm soooooo glad I subscribed. Anyhow this is what they turned out like!

I've got loads more cards to add to my blog, but I just don't seem to have the time. I must try to make more of an effort to blog!

Men!

Why are men so difficult to make cards for? I've got 4 male relatives birthdays coming up next month, and every year is the same ... what card do I make for them! Well, I've subscribed to http://www.craftytemplates.co.uk/ and look what I found. I've even managed to use some of my leftover bits of paper and card, which is a bonus. That's two birthday cards sorted anyway!!

Curvy Card

Downloaded this fab template from http://www.tjcdesignsforum.co.uk/ designed by Louise Bridgen and decorated it with Pink Petticoat papers. I absolutely love it cos its so different and am thinking of making a batch of these to send out to special people at Christmas.

Baby's First Christmas

Was up until daft o'clock this morning creating this and another Christmas card. I'd got my new Arty Farty Paiges Template earlier in the week and then had to wait for my Fimo Christmas Baby to delivered from Karacter Krafts which the postman bought yesterday. So as you can imagine I was itching to do something.






I'm really pleased with the results. It's turned out better than I imagined it would. I can't wait until Christmas now to give my gorgeous card to my gorgeous Grandson!

I didn't realise how time consuming this would be. I'm trying desperately hard to upload all my photos of my creations and craft as well. Obviously, I need to get the balance right .... but thats not going to happen now cos we've got visitors!

Birth Card

Baby Girl

I made this card using a template downloaded from houseofstirfry.com and then covered it with Pink Petticoat paper of course!

Betty Boop

This was one of my first attempts at iris folding and probably my last! I was pleased with the outcome, but it took awhile for me to get there!!!