Sketch This card 10 & Congratulations Louise!!

Here is my attempt at the sketch This card template week 10. I love these papers!!!

This next card is to say Congratulations Louise!!! My work mate passed her exams & I went round on Saturday for a BBQ & several drinks. It was great to relax after having been under the weather. I had made a pink card for her some time ago but she saw it by accident when she came over for my birthday. not to worry, I had new papers I wanted to play with!!!

I have been tagged again, by Linda & here are another 7 random facts about myself,

1) I am terrified of heights. 2) I love Goat's cheese. 3) I adore Home Alone the movie.

4) I love getting wet through in a rain storm, then jumping in a warm bath, fluffy clothes & sipping hot chocolate. 5) I love cats & dogs. 6) I hate arguements & arguing full stop.

7) I love being cuddled, so long as I am allowed to cuddle back!!

Cards made for me.

The first card is the Art Journal wk 16 made for me by my team mate Nic aka Purplestroud.

It is fab. She has gone with the theme of my blog & my fav colours. Isn't this just gorgeous!!!

The second card is an ATC from my wonderful friend, Cath. She wanted to send me Get Well wishes & as she is an massive ATC fan & fab ATC maker, I recieved this. It means a lot to me.

DCM Challenge - sketch

Due to copyright, I am not going to show you the sketch for this challenge, but if you pop over to the DCM blog you can see it & take part for yourself. Made this quick as I am very tired. Work is hectic & I haven't stopped all day. I start my day at 7.30am & by tea time I am shattered.
Starting to feel a bit better, my tummy is settling down from the last few weeks problems I just need plenty of rest.
The card is made using Amethyst papers from Dovecraft. The quote is See D's clear stamps.
Piece of white ribbon from an article of clothing & two punched flowers, one using the big shot die & the other an actual punch.

Art Journal Week 16

This week's prompt is, Incorporate Someone Else's Art. So my team mate Nic & I have decided it would be simpler to make each other a card. I don't have any craft friends living near me. I asked Nic what she intended to do & as we are both doing the Deck of Me, this seemed the solution. Here is the one I have made for her. I had made this as a card & loved its subtle colours. I haven't uploaded it as I forgot to take a photo. The stylised flower & quote are stamped in lilac & then tiny purple beads are glued on. The butterfly was cut out from a decoupage sheet & it is 3D. I'll upload the card tomorrow. Am very busy all day at work & too tired to bother with the computer. Once I've eaten & watched telly to chill out I can't be bothered with anything else. Roll on Friday, 3.30pm!!! I'll post Nic's card for me when it arrives.

2 Versions Of a Sketch & I'm Tagged!

These two cards are both made using the wonderful card sketch from Di Hickman.

I was very brave & used orange as these Amethyst papers are so gorgeous!!!

I have done layered stamping again & dual coloured stamping. Am loving these techniques.

Now for the tag! I have been tagged by Ronda.
so these are the rules...
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their seven things and post the rules as well . At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!OK, here goes...

1) I am far too organised!! I have to have lists everywhere & I get incredible satisfaction crossing things off as I go!
2) I take immense pleasure out of laying on my sofa or in bed listening to the rain fall. I feel so safe & warm inside while the elements rage.
3) While I am organised, I can be terribly untidy. Don't get me wrong, nothing is out of place in my home, I just have a lazy habit of walking in & dumping things down intending to move them later but then get too busy doing other stuff.Then I have to blitz the area of said dumping ground because it drives me mad. I guess after years of being a cleaner this is my way of rebelling!!
4) I worry far too much about wasting time. I can never sit & watch television. I have to be crafting or flicking through ideas mags or on the computer!!! Time is precious every minute has to be used fully & wisely.
5)I miss my old life. Really miss it. I know things change & move on, but I miss the old things like places, jobs & people. I miss working in the Commercial Glasshouse most. I miss that tomato smell & being green all the time!!!
6)I have begun to love who I am!!!
7) I strive to be happy despite all the crap life has thrown at me. I think I am getting there slow but sure.

I now tag, Gillian, Kathy, Micayla, Dawn, Pearl, Megan & Beckie.

Apologies for the long post it kind of had to happen, hope you haven't dropped off with boredom!!!

Sketch This Card number 9

Had an absolute ball this weekend playing with some new paper & ideas. Made quite a few but won't put themn all on the blog at once!

This card sketch was fab & I will definately use it again , as I also wil the previous 8.

I found this chunky pink ric rac in my sewing box & just had to use it. Papers are Dovecraft, Amethyst. flower cut with my fabby Elliott, (big shot) I am very into stamping greetings & images over stamped for greetings right now & am extremely pleased with the results. (see the card in the post below for an example of an overstamped image)

This is another challenge using felt. It is Caardvarks. I thought I had best do another card & made this simple vase with flower. The flower centre has beads stitched in the centre.

This card was made using a sketch from Dawn's blog & i used papers Amethyst from Dovecraft. Designed by UK designer,Kate Knight. I was rather miffed to discover that both packs 6" & 8" have totally different papers in them. So I bought both!!!!!!!! Only 6 sheets were the same in each. They each had 6 totally different & as I love them all, I decided to get them.

It is a little late, but having being very busy at work & not feeling well, I decided to leave them until the weekend to make. I have 3 others, to share for other challenges, also using these fab papers, but am waiting on camera battery re charge!!!!

DCM - Fun fabulous Felt!!

This is a card I made this morning. It is commissioned by Lyn for her friends, Amanda & Mark.
This is exactly what they wore on their wedding day. Suede skirt & trousers which I have represented with black & navy felt. Black shoes & black knee high boots also in felt. The top had to be cut from purple paper in a design similar to her top & he wore a Union Jack shirt which I made from a print out of a flag!!! I have drawn the faces to match theirs from the photo she let me see last week.
Thought it would fit perfectly for this challenge & to show I am not cheating, I will be making a completely different design for the latest Caardvark challenge which is also to use felt!!

Art Journal Week 15 - Parents

This is my card. It was hard to do as those of you who read my blog regular will know that my mum died when I was just turning 7 years old. I do love this photo of them & I always think how happy & carefree they looked when they were courting. Then my sister & I were born, mum got cancer & our family unit broke.

Another UKS & Pencil Lines Collaboration

Well I have done yet another duel challenge as I think they go hand in hand.
this is pencil lines sk#28 & the April Week 3 challenge.

Blue & White 10pts - Colour scheme & photo
Recycled 5pts - The white leather disc with metal flower is actually a belt piece.
when working at School, a girl had broken it & dumped it in the bin. I figured I'd find a use for it!!!
Dic defintion/ poetry 5pts - Poem on page instead of a 2nd picture
Bling - Corner stamping has tiny clear gems & the dot of the i in the title has a large one.
something hidden 5pts - my journalling hidden behind the photo.
The journal reads;
I read this poem out aloud at Sunday School Anniversary. It was given to me by my best buddy's Aunt Clarice, way back then when i was 9. I won a prize, a book of poetry by Hilda Boswell. I loved that book more than anything. I was very proud that day.

I have no idea who the author is of this poem & no poetry books in the house.
I lost my beloved book years ago too!!!

Paper is Rhona Farrer. Stamps papermania morsels. Two shadow hearts backed with pastel blue paper. Title computer generated & hand cut using the font Signature in wordart.

DCM Mid week extra Moving Home

Moving home is this week's theme for the card challenge over on DCM.

This is just a quickie as I am in the process of doing a 12x12 layout & need to sit & rest a bit as well.

Been a rough day & not feeling too crash hot.

It's tea time now & then I shall put my feet up!!!

I have used a cartoon as a base for this card & tied a key with ribbon around the New Home message. Made one similar last year for my manager. It was simple to do & thought it might be a good idea to have another in reserve!

Not A Lot of Blogging Going On!

I haven't blogged a lot of late. Mainly as I haven't made a great deal to share.
My birthday minibook is taking shape, but I don't want to rush to finish it & spoil it. (As is my book of Happy. It is a progression of a years work & won't be seen until December.)
I had a fabulous Easter weekend relaxing & spending time with friends. I did do some crafting, but mainly rested up as it is very busy now at work.Most of the stuff made has been cards I am uninspired to scrap much don't feel I can make a page for making its' sake.
Hands up to not doing anything else with my word HAPPY recently. The page I had planned never came to being as it wouldn't gel & got religated to the bottom of the pizza box I use for scraps!! Ali is busy with her book & no prompts are coming each week to set the brain on fire!!
I do have a couple of challenges to do but getting motivated after a 7 hour day is quite hard.
I've also recently had a problem health wise & have not been 100%. Things are settling back down now, but am still very uncomfortable in my tummy.
I had a fantastic massage over the weekend & it made me very drowsy. I slept most of it if I wasn't watching television.
I have done the blog rounds where possible, but I have noticed that many people are not updating their blogs or reading other people's. So perhaps the novelty is wearing off for a lot of them.
I get on the forums when I can but even they are relatively quiet at the moment.
Must be all this summer sun we are having!

Another Di Hickman Sketch

Here is another fabulous sketch. Sadly the photo doesn't show that the red card is textured. I bought it as an A4 sheet & made the DCM chinese card with it.
Papers are byMM. Red sticky ribbon, red blossom, metal heart & pearl brad all papermania.

DCM Crossing Continents & A sketch

This weeks dare was set by Saffa. We were to make a card to celebrate a festival from another culture. I chose Chinese New Year as I have such gorgeous Chinese paper! The Chinese Lady is printed on watercolour paper to create the same textured look as the papers used from the DCWV Far East.
The sketch is from Dawn.
Pop over her blog & take a look at her sketches for some inspiration. When I saw this it was just perfect. So big Thank You to Dawn.

Sketch This Card WK8

Another fantastic sketch this week from the ladies over on the sketch This card blog.

Papers used MM Boho Chic & K&Co for the inside of the mini envelope.

DCM Recipe & Another Layout

Yesterday was Mid Week DCM day & we were given another recipe to use. I like recipes.

5 circles, 3 squares & 1 flower.

I had a very hectic day at work as Easter is the start of the Jetski season & I will be very busy now until July/August!! I made this card because spring is very much on my mind. The yellow gingham paper has 5 circles cut from it & buttons placed on a piece of green gingham behind the circles. 3 silver squares house 2 photos of the daisys I have as my screensaver & the flower.

I wish I'd had more time to do another but am so tired. After 4 days off the 5.30am get ups were a rude awakening!!!

This is another collaboration between a Pencil Lines sketch & the UKS Weekly Challenge.
Use something foreign 10pts, Australian photo of Koalas my dad took.

Use wavy edge 10pts, I cut the BG Scarletts letter In the forest paper wavy.

Use toes 10pts, hmmmmm! Hence the Koala! You can see his toes in both pics. He was sat in a tree outside the house Dad stayed in Port Macquarie in October last year.

Caardvark challenge - Stars

I saw this challenge while blog surfing several links on Pearl's blog looking for inspiration. I loved the idea of playing along, but didn't get around to making it until last night. Lucky for me the card doesn't need to be done until 17th. I kept it quite dark so the compass papers looks like the sky with twinkling stars in it.

Inter Team £5 challenge.

Here is the completed layout as promised. The layout below of me as Cinderella actually cost less than this one!!!!!!!!! As will the one I am currently working on!
Two sheets of Bazzill cardstock in Navy & Sky 90p
Two sheets White A4 card 20p
Papermania Ribbon pack blues £2.99
4 white shirt buttons 16p
seashells free
Total spend £4.25
Titles were allowed to be computer generated mine was calligrapher, as it is easy to hand cut!!
Only basic tools were allowed just like the challenges set in Scrapbook Inspirations.
The photo is Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.

Art Journal WK14 Birds

I am a member of the RSPB & have been for a number of years. So birds have meaning to me. When I read the prompt, I did wonder how best to illustrate their meaning. Then I remembered the fab photos both my father & I took of the Housemartins, that nest every year on his bungalow. (The pics on this card aren't clear but they are in my photos slideshow in the sidebar, if you are interested in better close ups!)
Last year, their was a crisis & the nest fell. The three babies were still okay & almost fully fledged. Dad taped an old plant pot in place near the original nest & put the babies into it. They lived happily their for another week before flying away. We hope they do come back again this year, towards the end of this month they are due. Hopefully the weather conditions will be better for them & the mud they use for their nest will be better.

Pencil Lines sketch #26 & UKS Combined

I used the fabulous Pencil Lines sketch #26 for the April Week 1, UKS challenge.
The two combined gave me 40pts. I have also finished my inter team £5 challenge which I will share with you later on this week.
Cardstock is coffee & cream papermania.
Use Children's Book title 10pts
Cinderella
Use Tartan 10pts
Brown ribbon
Something New 5pts
Well practically everything on this page is new except the brown tartan ribbon!!
2 Brown Patterned Papers 5pts
I used striped by SEI, Granny's Kitchen.
Brown floral patterned HOTP & the photo corners are also HOTP.
Chipboard flower painted chocolate.
Queen & Co ribbon, tartan & spot.
Big choc brad papermania.
small scrap of HOTP paper for journalling & HOTP tag.
I really enjoyed creating this page.

DCM Art Attack

Art Attack
I dare you to make a card inspired by a work of art. If the original art is out of copyright (this happens when the creator has been dead for 70 years or more) then you may use elements of the original artwork in your piece. Otherwise its inspiration only. Look out for colours, patterns, textures, compositions, shapes or themes that inspire you, and remember to show us the piece of art that inspired you to create so we can see the common ground.

Well, I have been out & about all day & forgot to upload my entry for this weeks dare over on the DCM blog!!! Shock, horror how remiss of me, good job these blogs can be accessed from anywhere!!!!

Here is my entry, you might need your sunglasses as my chosen artist to represent is Clarice Cliff. I love those bold shapes & some of the ceramics she did are gorgeous.

I much rather prefer Rennie Mackintosh, but couldn't come up with anything.

This design is made out of circles of paper & card with shapes cut into them. I used a heart shaped punch for the flower.

Di Hickman's Card sketch

I saw this sketch over on Di's blog, which I found via Pearl's. I fell in love with it instantly & was so glad to be off work today to make it. I have left the card blank inside so that I can write a message instead of a greeting. I added a smaller version of the photo just inside to tie in the front design. The photo is one of my own, taken last spring.
It feels distinctly spring like today. I have done some housework & tackled my £5 inter team challenge, which will be completed tomorrow.
I feel the urge to crack on with more projects, as long as they have a truly fresh feel to them.
I hope you are all having a great Easter break.

Sketch This Card no.7

This week's card sketch is flowers. I made this at the weekend & decided that with the addition of my trade mark small tag ( I ended up buying some of these once my recycled ones ran out!) this card would fit the bill.
I know it is a touch dark, but it gives dimension to those gorgeous butterflies. Papers are again, DCWV, Far East. Bloom, Dunhelm. Stamps from a set by See D's, Garden of Friendship.

Verily Very Vintage- take 2!

I did overtime today & didn't finish work until 5pm, but was suprisingly full of life. So I found the time to make this before I veg out on the sofa for the rest of the evening!! Roll on 3.30pm tomorrow, when I kiss good bye to the office for 4 days.....

DCM LE - Verily Very Vintage!!

This is actually a card I made over the weekend. I planned to do another for the mid week dare, but was far too tired & the bits wouldn't go together on the card front!!!

But, this one is ideal. I LOVE VINTAGE, as you may well know, but I wanted this one to have a slightly modern twist. I deliberately didn't stamp the flower image clearly to give the faded look.

The centre flower is a chipboard one (the centre from my 40th LO). I coloured it using a versamark red ink pad. The ribbon is papermania. I stamped the wordings, (Love in bloom is faded at top right corner) in both red & black for that fab two tone effect. I like stamping & wish I had the cash to splash out on the brush markers, but sadly the big bills roll in & Mr Brown was not kind to single people on low wages in this year's budget!!

If I feel more awake tonight I may make a second.

More of the card sketches

I had so much fun with these sketches & am now up to date. I think a new sketch goes live today. The other 3 are in a post lower down.

sketch 4, Happy birthday.

I did try a larger stamped flower, but it took the eye away from the gorgeous paper.

sketch 5, Congratulations

Flowers are from papermaze. Petaloo make them.

sketch 6, Chic. The pink label is hand painted & these are new pearl brads from papermania. A birthday pressie to me!!!

Art Journal wk13, On My Mind

There are a lot of things on my mind right now, some I need to process & think about more, but the things that are foremost are flowers & nature. So gentle & soft they never cease to delight me & make me smile.
This paper is one of my favourite from the K&Co Brianna pad. The language of flowers with delicate butterflies. I have added pressed flowers & a simple title.

Card Sketches 1-3

Yesterday, I couldn't get a scrap page design to work. My teamies & I are doing ourselves a £5 challenge over the Easter Weekend & so far I get going great guns & then realise I've blown the budget with one item!! Thankfully it is all still very much at sketch level so nothing lost!!

Talking of sketches, as I was so itching to craft yesterday & unable to progress with my layout, I turned my hand to some cards. In total I made 8, two of which are in the post below for the DCM, & 3 of them for this sketch blog that I found via Pearl's blog. So far I have completed the first 3 sketches.

sketch 1, Friend

Sketch 2, Birthday

Sketch 3, Special Wishes.

I thoroughly enjoyed them & aim to get the other 3 done today to catch up.

I also designed 3 cards of my own which I will share with you through the week.

Told you I was on a roll!!!!!!!!!