birthday spotty box

I make cards all of the time, but upon seeing the price of some gift boxes I have decided that I need to get into gift wrap too!

I have made this box out of a sheet of 12x8” paper which I bought and then did not like on the layout...

It was dead simple to do and considerably cheaper than on the high street. This makes the chocolate inside look very classy.

I scored card at 3 1/4”, 5 3/4”, 9” and 11 1/4”. Then scored up from the bottom 2 1/4” and cut up the score lines...

At the top I folded a flap and scored to bring the top to a point. Simple and easy but I think it looks great!

firey birthday

I have a tonne of eyelets, but I hardly ever use any, and after buying some lovely WRMK eyelets which came with loads of 3/16th plain eyelets I really had to use them somewhere...

So I raided my rather large paper stack and found this Christina Cole Pink Stripes paper, which if full of really rich colours. I stamped my Magnolia presents and coloured them in complimentary colours using Whispers pens.

It was finished with Bazzill (orange peel finish, but no idea of the colour), and a Pebbles Inc rub on.

This is an unusual opening for me, but I like it and must do it again!

no ruduolf only holly

I did another theme and variations for this months Rudolf Challenge on UKScrappers.

I used exactly the same design as I did on this stars card, here using Doodlebug paper holly jolly dot line, bazzill in grasshopper, Ladybug stitched grosgrain and American Crafts felt shapes.

The message was stamped with Karen Foster snap stamps and black staz-on ink.

Other cards have gingerbread men or christmas trees in place of the holly.

magnolia's new home

I bought the ‘Edwin’s Town’ stamp from Magnolia and when it arrived it was HUGE. Way too big for my little scrapbook pages or cards, so I attached it with a pair of scissors to end up with 3 separate houses.

Here I stamped the smallest one and coloured it using H2Os. The image was layered on Bazzill bling and finally onto a card with a scolloped bottom. The card was finished with a scruffy hand drawn line (very unlike me) and a piece of ribbon from my large collection

The message was stamped with Karen Foster snap stamps (I love these so much).

Oh and it fits this weeks challenge ‘get the edge’ on the scrummy stash cafe blog too!

scrummy birdie covers

Over on the Scrummy Stash Cafe Blog they set the challenge of making something inspired by album art. I saw this and thought ‘I’ll give this week a miss’, but then started to think about it!

I have been inspired by the Paul Simon Album Graceland, I’ve tried to stick to the colours, and have used a similar style for the message.

I used a stamp from Imaginesce ‘For Peeps Sake’ collection, twinkling H2Os, a goggle eye and my Karen Foster Snap stamps in small. The red scolloped background is from an old Colorbok scrap pad I bought when I was new to scrapping.

more stars for arty girlz

I love stars, I particularly love this star. It’s my only Sizzix window cut die (never really use the window) and I use it all of the time!

My latest thing is drawing a rough double line around everything, here both on the white frame (in black) and the star (in white).

I used Doodlebug throughout, Boy O Boy Dotted Line, Ladybug and Blue Jean Bazzil, Ladybug stitched ribbon, my Karen Foster snap stamps.

Oh, and it fulfills the requirements of this weeks Arty Girlz challenge too! Yay for me!

i can do elegant!

I love the cuttlebug embossing folders, but like so much of this stash I have I don’t use them enough to really justify having them (never mind wanting to buy more!)

So, I made a point of using them. When I make cards I am very organic, the design grows out of me playing. When I first envisioned this card it was a lot more complicated than it ended up.

I used 5/8” blue grosgrain ribbon, my Karen Foster snap stamps for the message on a tag cut with a Quickutz die. I also used pearl card from the Papermill and Bazzill bling in Blank Check I think!

Not much else to say...

you're a star arty girlz

The Arty Girlz challenge this week is to use stars, so here I go.

American Crafts simply chic papers, Karen Foster snap stamps, and lots of gem stars. Not really liking how regular they are must try and be less ordered from now on... 

hearts and bones

I finally managed to make something approximating a Valentines card, only a month late so not bad...

I used Pebbles Inc. patterned papers, DCWV plain card, Doodlebug rub-ons, Making Memories brads and an American Crafts felt heart.

In other news,  I got some bargain DVDs so will have many happy nights in watching those. I can highly recommend My Name is Earl on DVD (how we have spent evenings the last couple of months) and I would also recommend the film Venus (very funny at times).

thinking of papertrey

A while back I bought the Text Boxed set of stamps from Papertrey Ink, and really I’ve not used them enough to justify their purchase.

However when I saw that this weeks DCM challenge was to use stitching I had an idea right away.

I marked the stitched design by hand and then sewed it using a back stitch with regular thread. I used the flower from the Text Boxed set, stamped it with Doodlebug  bubblegum ink and cut it out. They were mounted onto the card using 3d foam.

I used American Crafts ribbon, and Bazzill bling in Petty Cash. I also used assorted gems from my collection.

american hugs & kisses

I love American Crafts stuff, it seems to be used on nearly every card I make. Here American Crafts The Goods papers (Rudolph (Spots) and Trimmings) with a Ned Jnr sidekick rub on message.

I also used velvet ribbon from Dovecraft (a bargin at 99p for 5m) and Dovecraft Christmas brads.

b is for birthday ribbon

More American Crafts ribbon used here, I have loads of the stuff and need to get more use out of it than just looking at how nice it is. I love this look of knots tied into the ribbon.

I used American Crafts Simply Chic Paper, but the large B with Quickutz Merry alphabet and stamped the rest of the message with Karen Foster mini snap stamps.

happy birthday ac stripes

I’ve been trying to sort a bit, and I came  upon this ribbon, which had come tied around a bag of sweets I got for Valentine’s last year.

It was a lovely 3/4” grosgrain which just had to be used for something and it matched perfectly to the American Crafts Celebration Musical Chairs paper.

I also used some American Crafts simply chic paper for the green and my fabby Karen Foster snap stamps.

Just a simple little card, but I though fun.

scrummy foamy thanks

This weeks challenge of the Scrummy Stash Cafe Blog was to dig out your collection of funky foam and use it!

Now the only thing I have used funky foam for in the last to years is as a pricking mat for when I am going to sew on my layouts...

A good look around and I found an unused sheet of brown foam. I cut the letters using the Quickutz lemonade font. I used Adornit paper in Twinkle Stripes from the Hailey Collection and a Maya Road chipboard flower (bought at today’s crop) painted in cloudy blue Adirondack paint dabber (again new from the crop). The edges of the flower were inked using a Doodlebug blue jean ink pad.

The ribbon was from my stash, it was a lovely twill weave and the button was again liberated from my stash pile. I carefully hand cut the scollops on the bottom edge of the card using a piece of bazzill as  a template...

planes, trainss & automobiles

This weeks challenge over on cardvaarks is to make cards with a transportation theme.

I recently bought these fabby Maya Road chipboard buttons which just fit the theme nicely.

Combined with Doodlebug paper and American crafts ribbon. I finished the card with a handwritten message.

doodley butterflies

I’m copying myself again, this time the doodley snowflakes are now doodley butterflies!

Doodlebug paper and Bazzill cardstock with spotted ribbon from stash and  decorated chipboard butterfly from American Crafts.

I’m continuing my recent trend of managing to finish challenges because this  one fits the current Arty Girlz challenge, spring.

doodley snowflakes

I was just playing and out popped a Christmas card. It’s amazing how this can just happen...

Doodlebug paper, Bazzill and ribbon with an American Crafts chipboard snowflake.

Not much else to say. I am pleased that I found a use for this paper, I was concerned that it was a bit busy.

colourblind stripes

I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking when I made this, I knew I wanted to make something sunny and bright, and bright it  certainly is.

I used the Making Memories Kids Collection Max pad. Flowers and buttons from my stash. Oh and Karen Foster snap stamps...

Here this card stands as testament that even the best of us (and that is not me by a long way) can get it wrong...

tied up with ribbon

Do you have yards of beautiful American Crafts ribbon lying around? I know I do, and I hardly ever use the patterned stuff because I can never really think what to do with it.

Well I was playing around and came up with this.

American Crafts Midtown Coral ribbon with American Crafts Simply chic papers. The two tones are the front and back of the same piece of card! The message is written with the Karen Foster snap stamps (small size).

Oh and all of these squares fit nicely into this weeks Papertake challenge.

easter bunnies love you

 I want to start this post by thanking everyone who has left me comments. I really do appreciate them and visit every blog linked. 

I write this blog mainly as a card receptacle for myself, not thinking that anyone else would care what I get up to. It is really nice to hear your feedback, thank you.

This year I have been behind in everything, I missed Valentine’s (and Mother’s Day today) and am always late with my Rudolf cards, but having promised my mother I would put a card kit together for her to make her own Easter cards I had to do it!

This is the sample I made and there are a further 9 all cut, stamped and tail put on the bunny ready for her to make up.

Papers are the lovely ‘For Peeps Sake’ range from Imaginisce, the bunny is a Quickutz die, stamped message is Karen Foster snap stamps and yellow paper trim is from the pastel Paper Frills box by Doodlebug.

Now I am terrible at always having scraps which I neither throw away or do anything with, so I am trying to use them up as I go.

This second card is made from the scraps of the Easter kit the yellow ‘ribbon’ is the reverse of the pink bunny paper, I had a 12” strip less than 1/2” wide but it got used. The other pieces are the bottoms of the paper.

I stamped ‘some bunny loves you’ with my Karen Foster snap stamps and embellished it with a few tiny heart buttons. The smallest scrap left was less than 0.5 mm wide so I was chuffed with my resourcefulness!

choo choo

I saw these fabby chipboard buttons from Maya Road whilst browsing the internet and new I had to have them straight away, not only did they have a house in them (I am scrapping the house at the moment) but there was a train!

Train things are not easy to come by, so I leaped at such a cute thing. I made the layout I had in mind first and then set about making a card. I used four of the chipboard buttons, and paper cord from IKEA and finished it off with the message stamped with my Karen Foster snap stamps!

Simple and easy.

As a bonus to these fabby buttons you also get a really cute box too!

scrummy buttons

Over on the Scrummy Stash Cafe Blog this weeks challenge was to use buttons, buttons I have and it appears I had an idea too.

I used Papermania buttons from a caddy I got years ago, they are so cute, but the colours just don’t seem to match anything I have, so I have most of the box left.

This card there was nothting for them to match though!

I used an American Crafts Ned Jnr Sidekick rub-on for the message, and that was it!

its a boy arty girlz

I am finding my mojo again, not only have I risen to the Arty Girlz challenge of using circles once, I’ve managed it twice in a week! This might owe a debt of copying to Mystic Nat (thanks)!

Here I marked circles onto scrap chipboard*, using a Quickutz die, then cut them out using a craft knife. They were then covered in KI memories ‘It’s a Boy Heartbeat’ paper.

The card was finished with 3 blue pearl hearts (free off a magazine) and a Pebbles Inc. rub-on.

*scrap chipboard: usually found on the back of paper stacks and also to support card packs etc...

happy bird day

Sometimes there is just some stash that I see and I have to have, it was this way when I saw these fabby Maya Road chipboard birds and branches. I just love them.

Buying them and using them for me are two quite different things, but I am trying not to keep unopened stash ‘because it’s too nice’ so I bit the bullet.

The bird is covered with Basic Grey Lily Kate papers and the branch with Love Elsie Betty XO, an embossed paper for a bit of texture on the branch.

I’ve also used Vanilla Bazzill cardstock which I stamped using a doodlebug heart in doodlebug Bon Bon ink, I also used this to ink the edge.

I finished with the message ‘happy bird day’ stamped in Staz-On black using my fabby Karen Foster snap stamps.

It was quite a simple card, but I have not quite mastered the art of covering chipboard... must try harder!