Vintage Wedding Exploding Box

It's time for another challenge over at Fussy and Fancy and the new theme is VINTAGE.  Don't you just love all of the vintage stamps and digi's out at the moment?  This was a relatively new style to me when I made it, and I hadn't got any stamps, so I went with papers, dies, ribbon and distressing instead.

I made this for a friends wedding and they had a vintage theme to their day so this fitted in quite well.  I do like to match my cards to the event, don't you?  I did personalise it a bit more than in the pictures below but obviously just wanted to show the basic project.

If you'd like to make an exploding box, I have a tutorial here with pictorial and written instructions.  I'd love to get your feedback and see your finished projects.

Materials used:

Pearlised card - vanilla ice shimmer

Nestability - labels eighteen

Distress ink - vintage photo

Martha Stewart edge punch - doily lace

Magnolia Doohickey die - bloomy tag

Sentiment - together forever

Ribbon & Pearls

I'd like to enter my project into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - one paper taker
Creative Inspirations - anything but a card
Dutch Dare - anything but a card
Sassy Studio Designs - fancy folds
Inky Impressions - die cuts/punches - TOP 3
A Little Bit Crafty - anything goes

By the Cute & Girly - vintage

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

In the Garden

Good morning crafters, I hope you're all enjoying your long weekend.  Hope you all got loads of Easter eggs?  Mark took me out for a meal last night instead of buying me an Easter egg, you can't argue with that can you?

It's the first of the month so that means only one thing!  It's time for a new challenge over at the Clarity Stamp Challenge.  The theme for our second challenge is "IN THE GARDEN" which is where I know a lot of us wish we could be.  I keep looking out of the window at our garden thinking it needs a good old tidy up but then it starts snowing and I think better of it.  Oh well one day soon hopefully!

Anyway back to the challenge and here's my inspirational card for the challenge to get your creativity going and if this isn't enough the rest of the design team have loads more ideas for you too.  You could be in with a chance of winning a £50 Clarity Stamp gift voucher.  It's a pity I can't enter myself!!

I love creating scenes with my stamps and the sets are ideal for these types of cards

Materials used:

Stamp - garden set

Stamp - cherry blossom

Stamp - small birds in flight

Stamp - wrought iron chair

Stamp - small tree silhouette

Stamp - haberdashery set

Adirondack ink - lettuce, stonewashed, sunshine yellow

Liquid pearls - pastel raspberry

Glossy accents

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

I love Promarkers - spring is in the air

Stamping Sensations - great outdoors

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Spring Days

Spring?  More like winter isn't it?  I think we've had more adverse weather conditions in the last few weeks than I've every seen before in spring. We've had snow, heavy winds, heavy rains and floods, but very little sunshine!  Those poor spring bulbs will be coming up with their winter jackets on, tee hee.  At least the nights are starting to pull out and the mornings are lighter too and of course we change the clocks at the end of the month so the nights will be even lighter.  Fingers crossed for some better weather though.

Enough of me moaning.....

It's time for another challenge over at Fussy and Fancy and you've guessed it already we've chosen the theme of SPRING DAYS, so brighten us up with some bright spring colours or some lovely spring blooms.  Here's my card to try and brighten your day:

Materials used:

Nestability - scalloped oval

Distress ink - crushed olive & spun sugar

Promarkers

Sentiment - for you

Ribbon & pearl buckle

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - anything goes
Really Reasonable Ribbons - ribbon & flowers
Whimsy Stamps - stitch it
Creative Inspirations - spring colours
Paper Crafting Journey - ribbon or lace
Inky Impressions - flowers
Paper Shelter - Spring

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day everyone, hope you all get suitably spoilt!  I know I did with a visit from my daughter yesterday, bunch of flowers in hand and a bag full of crafty goodies.  I was smiling like a Cheshire cat.  Bless her she even buys me a card that I can pick to bits afterwards, she knows me too well!  It's got a great dress on it that would make a brilliant stencil....

My post today is the card that I've made for my Mum who I shall be visiting later today.  I sent her a bouquet of flowers yesterday because I think it's always nice to get a surprise like that isn't it?  I don't do it every year otherwise she'd be waiting for it.

Materials used:

Stamp - clockwork

Coloured with promarkers

Gems from my stash

Stamp - blazing poppies

Cosmic shimmer misting ink - blue lace

(free with Craft Stamper subscription)

Mica powder - pearls & pastels

Versamark

Embossing powder - clear

Adirondack ink - cloudy blue & denim

Ribbon - carnival collection

Nestabilities - labels eighteen

Frantage - aged ivory

Card candi - regal gold

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

IndigoBlu - blue
Passion for Promarkers - one for the ladies
Papertake Weekly - anything goes

Creative Inspirations - Mothers day
Dream Valley - Mothers day
Joanna Sheen - Mothers day
Quirky Crafts - no dp
That Craft Place - anything goes
Crafts 4 Eternity - marvellous Mums
Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Clarity Stamp Challenge - Launch Day

Happy Friday crafters and I'm pleased to be able to tell you that the Clarity Stamp Challenge blog has launched it's first challenge today, yeah!

It's taken weeks, if not months, of planning and now you're able to join us and share our excitement too.  The theme for our first challenge is "ANYTHING GOES" so dust off your Clarity Stamps and pop along to the blog for some inspiration from the design team.  You could be the lucky winner of a £50 Clarity Stamp gift voucher.  Tempted now?

Here's my inspirational card using a new technique and a new product for me.  I had great fun with a my crafty friend Hazel playing with different ways of using Dylusions Inks and I think I've fallen in love all over again.

Materials used:

Stamp - wire art heart

Stamp - "love" from the birds and flourishes set

Stamp - small leafy swirl

Stamp - love you (NDC)
Adirondack ink - red pepper & denim

Versamark

Clear detail embossing powder

Dylusions ink - postbox red & London blue

Distress ink - worn lipstick
Card candi - regal silver
Ribbon saved from a box of chocolates

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - sketch #42
Craft Us Crazy - anything goes
Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon
Crafts and Me - dies/punches
Divas By Design - anything goes
Inky Impressions - splash of red
Dream Valley - ribbon and bling
A Gem of a Challenge - add a bow

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Tara's Corset

Oh dear, I've really been a bad blogger haven't I?  At least I have been on my blog, but I've been busy elsewhere getting ready for the launch of the Clarity Stamp Challenge on the 1st March.  Am I let off?  Pretty please? Aw thanks....

Whilst I'm on a roll, let's get straight onto the new challenge over at Fussy and Fancy where the theme is PINK AND BLACK.  I love this colour combo so this card was really easy to make, but as it was for my bosses daughter I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not.  Turns out the whole family loved it so more brownie points for me, yeah!

Here's my card, but why not pop over and have a look at what the rest of the team have designed.  I'm totally amazed when I see their projects as they are all so different and use so many different techniques too.

Materials used:

Stamp - Corset

Coloured with promarkers

Papers - Dovecraft "Back to Basics 3"

Embroidery thread from my stash

Background stamp - Latin script

Mica powders - pearl & pastels

Ribbon & pearls

Distress ink - spun sugar

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Inky Chicks - birthday
In The Pink - pink & bling
Inky Impressions - favourite colour combo
Paper Shelter - celebrations
Penny's Paper Crafty - anything goes
Ooh La La - sparkle & shine



xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Some exciting Clarity Stamp news

Happy Sunday crafters and I'm here to tell you about some breaking news here in blogland.

Yesterday saw the launch of the new Clarity Stamp Blog Challenge.  We will be kicking off with our first montly challenge on the 1st March but if you want to pop and have a look at the blog beforehand you can say "hello" to the talented design team.

We've got a massive prize for the random winner of £50 to spend on the Clarity Stamp website courtesy of the very talented Barbara Gray, who will be popping in from time to time to say "hello".

We hope that you can come and join in the fun, so remember to put a big circle on your calendars around 1st March and we look forward to seeing you then!

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Party Animal

Well that's it for another year, hope all of your festivities went smoothly?  No burnt turkeys, brussel sprouts like bullets or yorkshire puddings like frisbies!  Did Santa bring you everything on your list?

I'm sure that you're all ready to relax after a few hectic days so we've got a new challenge starting over at Fussy and Fancy today to help you get back into your crafting.  So why not stick the kettle on, take your cuppa to your craft space and pop and have a look at the DT's inspiration?

I bet everyone's like me and has loads of stamps lurking that have never been inked, well this is one of mine!  I bought it with all good intentions and then, yep, there it sat until now....

Materials used:

Stamp & sentiment - party animal

Coloured with promarkers

Glamour dust - crystal
Sentiment - Jane's script

Nestabilities - splendid circles
Distress ink - barn door
Ribbon - carnival collection

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Passion for Promarkers - happy

Really Reasonable Ribbons - anything goes

Charisma Cardz - anything goes

Pixie Dust Studio - celebration

Divas By Design - anything goes

Paper Shelter - anything goes

Crafters Companion - winter friends

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone busy blogging!!

I hope that you have great celebrations planned or just a peaceful and healthy crafting time.

My thoughts go out to those that are less fortunate and also to those of you that are suffering from ill health.

Fingers crossed that you are all able to spend Christmas in your own homes and that you haven't been driven out by the floods.

Whatever you're doing and where ever in the world you are, please stay safe!

xx Happy crafting and glittery seasonal hugs xx

Winter Chloe

This is a virtual post today as it's a busy weekend for me!  It's my partner Marks 50th birthday and he has no idea what I've got in store for him (mwah ha ha ha).  I can't say too much yet just in case he reads this but hopefully he'll like everything and if I remember I'll take some photos to show you all!

As you may know I love getting all inky and making this card was no exception.  To make the background for this card, in true crafting style, I was using the ink left on my splodgemat from another project so I didn't waste any!  I brayered it onto my card working around each edge into the centre, spritzed it with water, placed some creased cling film on and left it to dry before removing the cling film to reveal the mottled effect.  After adding the tree branches I then stamped the snowflakes using versamark and brushed with silver mica powder and with a quick spray of hairspray they were there to stay.  A quick flurry of glamour dust for the snow on the branches and a chance to play with my fluffy stuff and voila......

This card is a reminder for the challenge currently running over at A Gem of A Challenge where the theme is "Lavender and Lace".  Can you tell I had fun making this?

This digi stamp doesn't come sitting on the bench but she begs to be sat on something doesn't she?  So I masked her up and, using one of my other stamps, made somewhere for her to sit in the snow.

Materials used:

Digi - winter Chloe

Coloured with promarkers

Glamour dust - crystal

Stamp - wrought iron chair

Stamp - tree

Stamp - snowflake flurry

Mica powder - pearls

Fluffy stuff

Background created using:

Adirondack ink - wild plum and denim

Krylon leafing pen - silver

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Papertake weekly - snow white
Stamping Sensations - treemendous
Try It On Tuesday - let's get inky
The Stamp Man - in the bleak mid winter
Stampin For The Weekend - let it snow

xx Happy crafting and glittery seasonal hugs xx

What a cracker (plus tutorial)...

14 more sleeps to go, 14 more sleep 'til Santa.....

Have you made any Christmas decorations this year or have you just been concentrating on your cards?  Well here's an idea to either brighten up your Christmas table or your mantel piece.  I've even included a tutorial of how to make them so all of the hard work has been done for you, you've just got the fun bit of making and decorating them in your own style.  Why not email me a picture of your finished cracker (email in the side bar) and I'll add the photo to the bottom of this post?

Here's my cracker using a design which is less traditional, but still as much fun to make  You could always put a little gift inside before you tie the ribbons at each end or insert the cracker strips to create the band when you pull it open too!

Materials used:

Digi - robin set

Coloured with promarkers
Glossy accents
Digi papers - coconut ice
Printed onto card
Sentiment - vintage Christmas sentiments
Distress Ink - victorian velvet
Ribbon - carnival collection
Pearls from my stash

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - anything goes
Whimsy Stamps - anything festive
Joanna Sheen - with love at Christmas
Emerald Faeries - Christmas
Cupcake Craft - merry Christmas
Fashionista Challenge - winter
Hooked on Craft - Christmas
Love To Create - anything goes
Cutie Pies - cutie Christmas
Dream Valley - Christmas
One Stitch at a Time - more than one fold
Ribbon Girls - ho, ho, ho


If you'd like to make your own crackers I've included a tutorial below! As I said above I thought it would be nice to share a gallery of them, so if you'd like to show your finished cracker along with this tutorial please send me an email (email in the side bar) and I'll add it to the bottom of this post.

Right here we go...

********

Materials needed:

1 x piece of A4 card (plain or decorated)
Hougie board (or similar with cm measurements)
Ruler & pencil
Craft knife (or scissors)
Cutting mat
Double sided tape (or glue)

1)  Take your A4 piece of card and place it right side down onto your Hougie board in a landscape orientation.  Working from the left hand side score down the narrow edge at 2cm, 5cm and 8cm.  Turn the card around and repeat at the other end (see diagram 1 below).  Alternatively measure the intervals with your ruler, mark lightly with a pencil and use a scoring tool

DIAGRAM 1 (click to enlarge)

2)  Do not fold your card at this time as it makes it easier to complete your other measurements (believe me it's tried and tested!)

3)  Leaving your card right side face down but this time in a portrait orientation on the Hougie board, you now need to work from the left hand side and score along the long edge at 6cm, 12cm and 18cm (see diagram 2 and 3 below)

DIAGRAM 2 (click to enlarge)

DIAGRAM 3 (click to enlarge)

4)  Do not fold your card at this time as it makes it easier to complete your other measurements (believe me it's tried and tested!)

5)  That's the work done with the Hougie board, now you need your pencil and ruler

6)  With your card in a landscape orientation, starting at the left hand side and working on the previously scored 5cm line along the narrow edge, you need to measure and mark intervals at 2.5cm, 3.5cm, 8.5cm, 9.5cm, 14.5cm, 15.5cm and 20.5cm starting your measurements from the top of your card.  Turn the card around and repeat at the opposite end (see diagram 4 below)

DIAGRAM 4 (click to enlarge)

7)  As per diagram 5 below, match up the intervals on the 5cm line with the sections where the horizontal and vertical 2cm and 8cm lines cross.  This is easier to understand by looking at the diagram than it is trying to explain to you.

8)  You should now have diamond shapes on your card which need to be cut out and discarded (see diagram 5 above)

DIAGRAM 5 (click to enlarge)

9)  You now need to fold your card to form the cracker shape (see diagram 6 below).

DIAGRAM 6 (click to enlarge)

10)  Place either double sided tape (if you're feeling confident) or wet glue ( if you want to be able to adjust it) along the narrow edge (see diagram 6 above).  Where the folds overlap to form the join the cut out pieces should match it you have followed the instructions carefully.

11)  All that's left to do now is to decorate your cracker

Here is another example of a cracker where I've used pearlescent card and a small holly berry stamp to create the card base and then used a contrasting paper to highlight.

I'd love to see your projects, who's going to be first in the gallery?

CHRISTMAS CRACKER PHOTO GALLERY

Please feel free to reference this tutorial, along with your project on your blog and any craft sites but PLEASE spare a thought for the time and effort that has gone into producing this and a link to this tutorial would be very much appreciated.

xx Happy crafting and season glittery hugs xx

Fairy Chloe

Welcome to December crafty friends and only 24 days left to do all of your present shopping and to finish off all of those Christmas projects too.  How many cards do you have to make?  Do you make them for everyone or only those close to you?  I usually make cards for Mark (my knight in shining armour) and my daughter, everyone else gets a shop bought card.  I know the card police will be after me but I just don't get the time to make one for everybody, I wish I did!

Anyway, less of my woes and onto today's card which is a reminder for the current challenge running over at A Gem of a Challenge.  The host for this challenge is Debbie and she's chosen paper piecing as her first challenge.  Now this isn't a technique I use very often, but I had great fun making this card and got completely covered in glittery too!

I love using digi stamps as they can be resized to suit your project and elements can be moved within the image as well or even removed.  Santa and his reindeers were at the top of the postcard but would have been hidden by this lovely fairy so I moved it to the bottom instead.  Hope you like the card I created for my DT submission, but please pop over to the challenge blog for more inspiration from my teamies too.

 Materials used:

Digi - fairy Chloe

Coloured with promarkers

Sprinkled with glamour dust - crystal

Glossy accents

Digi - Santa postcard

Distress ink - bundled sage

Paper - Miton & Co - Xmas pack

Stamp - Santa is coming

Stamp - calendars

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - anything goes

Passion for Promarkers - distressing

Whimsy Stamps - traditional Xmas colours

Creative Inspriations - traditional Xmas colours

Crimbo Crackers - anything goes

Paper Crafting Journey - case a DT card (Linda GDT)

Divas By Design - glitter & sparkle

Paper Shelter - Christmas

Creative Card Crew - anything goes

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Christmas Owl Tree

Yeah it's Friday again and I've got a long weekend this week.  I was off yesterday and I'm not going back to work until Tuesday!  I'm not really rubbing it in but I so need a rest and to start my Christmas shopping too...

I know I've been quiet over the last 2 weeks but I've been working on my Clarity samples for this weekends shows on Create and Craft.  Who's going to be watching?  I'm normally glued to the box on Clarity weekends and I try and fit a bit of craft in between the shows, oh and a bit of housework as well - yuck!

Anyway onto today's post.  We have a new challenge over at Fussy and Fancy and the theme of our new challenge is:

Well it just had to be a Christmas theme didn't it?  We've got to help you to get through that list of cards and presents you've got to get made haven't we?  If you want some inspiration why not pop over to the challenge blog to see what the Fussy and Fancy girls have made.

Here's my card for the challenge, I know it's not my usual style but I thought I would try a CAS card for a change using one of my new stamps from the NEC.  I also had to try my new embossing glitters from WOW and they certainly are WOW although trying to photograph the sparkly tree and avoid the glare on the glossy accents was almost impossible.

Materials used:

Stamp - Christmas owl tree

Coloured with promarkers

Glossy accents

WOW embossing glitter - glamour green

Stamp - snowflake flurry

Distress ink - bundled sage

Sentiment - Christmas bauble set

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - anything goes
Passion for Promarkers - distressing
Whimsy Stamps - traditional Xmas colours
Creative Inspirations - traditional Xmas colours - TOP 3
Little Claire's - Christmas - TOP 3
Divas By Design - glitter & sparkle
Paper Shelter - Christmas
Corrosive Challenge - anything goes
Dream Valley - non traditional Xmas



xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Cartwheel Jodie

Welcome to the weekend and fingers crossed nothing's going to get in the way of me crafting all weekend!  Life's pretty hectic at the moment so my crafting is having to take a bit of a back seat,  so after having my nails done yesterday, finishing the housework, no one to visit and nothing in the diary, I shall be in the my craft room from dawn until dusk - yeah!!!!!!  I'm hoping to have a bit more of a play with the goodies that I bought at the NEC last weekend too, so watch this space for them...

Anyway here's a reminder for the challenge currently running over at A Gem of A Challenge.  It was my turn to pick the theme again and I chose "Ribbon and Lace" which I thought would be easy, but I started with the background for my card (a purchase from the NEC) and then realised that I hadn't included those two elements - doh!  I ended up making a flower out of lace and adding a ribbon bow behind it - sorted.

Please pop over to see what my talented teamies have made for this challenge and below you'll see what I made too:

Materials used:

Digi - Cartwheel Jodie

Coloured with promarkers

Mask - script

Distress ink - spun sugar

Stamp - haberdashery set

Die - snowflake corner

Frantage - aged ivory

Ribbon

Lace and button from my stash

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - flower power

In The Pink - punches and/or dies

Paper Crafting Journey - anything goes

Sassy Studio Designs - no patterned paper

Divas By Design - anything goes

Penny's Paper Crafty - anything goes

Pink Elephant - punches/dies

Dream Valley - anything goes

xx Happy crafting ad glittery hugs xx

Hobbycraft show - NEC

Well what a day I had yesterday at the NEC, I don't think that I stopped smiling all day!  Had a fantastic day out with my crafty pal Hazel and also met loads of other crafting buddies from around the country.  It's so nice to put faces to names of the people that you know through their blogs and facebook pages. I also had a chance for hugs with the fantastic Maria Simms and Barbara Gray and to catch a glimpse of Joanna Sheen and Sara Davies!  WOW what a day....

In between all of the chatter and hugs and catch up I also managed to do a bit of spending and even had to take a trip out to the car to deposit my goodies as my rucksack was a bit heavy - oops!  Here's a couple of piccies of my purchases:

Now I've got to tidy up my craft room and find new homes for all of this lot, so I may be gone for some time.  If you don't see me for a little while please send a search party - tee hee.

Hope everyone that's visited the NEC this year has had a fab time and it'd be great to see your stashl.  Why not add your link in my comments for me to pop and have a look?

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx