blue skies and broken dreams

I think balloons floating away in the sky are one of the saddest things in the world, it almost certainly means a child has lost their toy (I also think dropped ice-cream cones are incredibly sad too), so this card is bitter sweet for me.

I tried Kristina's gapped panel technique from Online Card Classes Day 2 of Clean & Simple 4, but I'm not too keen on the card I've made, it would probably would have looked better without the gaps. I was disappointed in my version because Kristina's looked so pretty (but she is the pro :)...)

I will say thought that I'm quite chuffed with my inking because it really isn't me and I don't even own any distress inks, this is done with old KI inks.

Lawn Fawn scattered showers and stitched hillside border dies

Lawn Fawn hello sunshine stamps

I love you as much as an elephant

My parents were big into arts and crafts and the whole 'self sufficiency' thing of the 70's, their home is littered with pictures, furniture, and soft furnishings all made in the 70s, I even remember painting thimbles as a child.

One of their endeavours were those pictures made with thread and pins in a board. My dad loved the geometrical shapes and I was fascinated how you could make a curve out of a straight line, when I was 7 or 8 my dad explained my first taste of calculus, about approximating a curve to lots of bits of straight line. Now when I teach calculus to the chemists at university (they need it for all sorts of things, very useful is calculus :P) I always think of those string pictures. I've even been thinking of making one for my office.

Now Jennifer's inspiration for adding texture on Day 4 of the Online Card Classes Clean & Simple 4 was using thread and sewing, and I knew instantly that I wanted to emulate some of the characteristics of those string pictures.

not the smoothest piece of shading

Day 4 of Online Card Classes Clean & Simple 4 was all about different ways of adding texture to your clean and simple cards. Yana shared a very pretty card using faux embossing using die cuts of the same colour as the background.

I've been thinking of variants on this card for a while so it seemed perfect to add the texture and share today.

My colouring isn't very smooth particularly between the the green and yellow, and I felt I could do this much better with the bullet nibs of promarkers, but the fine detail of the shape was difficult to work with too much as it is quite fragile, I'll have another go when I have more time.

hello dots & stripes

I've lead quite a nomadic life, it is not great for organising and using your crafting supplies. I have held lectureships in 4 cities in 5 years, each location I've had some supplies, it is this transitory lifestyle which lead to the ebb and flow of posting on this blog.

I've settled now a little bit more, we've bought a house and I am moving everything in, everything from the house we still haven't yet sold, everything that never got moved out of our parents, everything from the 17 places A & I have called home in the last 5 years!

Unpacking one of these boxes I found the strips of echo park dots and stripes paper that formed the basis of my wedding thank you cards, all made up into a panel and I thought that I could use that, so here it is... my very quick creation, a testament to growing up and settling down!

cas(e) this sketch #108

I'm back to being super busy, but to save my sanity I'm trying to make sure I get half an hour of internet time and time to make one card each day.

Whilst browsing the web on the bus on the way home I saw CAS(E) #108 and had an idea straight away, now my interpretation of sketches is rarely direct, but this is barely recognisable...

And this is the sketch upon which it was based...

Now back to work!

inspired by...

So I'm taking the @onlinecardclasses Clean & Simple 4 but despite all my stuff much of what they have been showing I don't have the means to do, but I was inspired by day 2 which should have been about die cutting to make this...

using about every colour ink I have and Lawn Fawn Daphne's blossoms stamps, you can probably see where the inspiration came from but the card is nothing like it should be :(

rainbow stripes

I'm loving the wibbley wobbly rainbow look so I've reworked it with a few sequins into a birthday card :)

cas(e) this sketch #107

I've been adding a few new blogs to my feedly, things that had got lost when safari no longer handled RSS and other things I've only occasionally browsed, and the cas(e) this sketch blog was one of them.

Since I'm trying to take at least half an hour of me time each day away from work I took the time to make this card, now the colouring perhaps isn't as smooth as I would like, but it it all in the lines!

There are some lovely cards for sketch 107, this task was perfect for getting my mojo going :)

I've used lawn fawn lets roll and good fortune stamps and dies. This morning I had shipping notification from make the day special to say my order had shipped so I should have some more lovely stamps and dies any day now...

joy - christmas in january

A few years ago a group on UK Scrappers had 'rudolf day' where on or near the 25th of each month we all committed to making a couple of Christmas cards so that when Christmas came around there was no panic...

So after sending bought cards (omg) for Christmas 2014 I thought I'd try and get ahead. In doing so I've been inspired by Lawnscaping Challenge 98... stamp a background. I inked the circle in two colours of KI Memories ink, and then stamped hearts from Science of Love in one of the inks, pretty and delicate :)

Finished with Lawn Fawn hearts, stitched snowflakes and scripty joy die.

is it a bird? no it's a plane...

I've been really busy with work for the last few months, 16 hour days, 7 days a week busy, and I just can't continue, even over Christmas I was working, so I'm taking time to relax each day now, whether that is watching  tv for an hour, or making a card.

Consequently this challenge on Lawnscaping has provided a valuable break for me. 

This card was intended to be a one layer card, I spent ages stamping it all out and colouring it in, only to discover a mark on one corner of the card :(

And so I carefully cut out the image, and reworked it slightly. I was quite chuffed with the background with the 'bon voyage' stamped over the inked area :)

I'm also quite fond of the sentiment!

And I finally got out my copics, other than a very quick play on Christmas day I haven't even touched my new toys :(

Lawn Fawn Bon Voyage, Blue Skies & Hello Sunshine stamps

Copics as above

feathered friends - lawnscaping challenge 98

Lawnscaping challenge 98 was to create a background, now I've been looking forward to using the cute  Simon Says Stamp exclusive Lawn Fawn Feathered Friends set for ages so it seemed the perfect excuse... its coloured using a mixture of promarkers and flexmarkers.

Edited to add (010215): this card was placed as a 'top mow it all', thank you <3

rainbow brite

I've just found out a good friend of mine has passed his Chief Engineer exams and so I wanted to write to congratulate him. Now R loves rainbows, not just the ones in the sky but anything with the rainbow colours, so that was my inspiration. I've messing around with the Lawn Fawn stitched hillside boarders for a couple of weeks now and it just seemed so obvious to make this card.

Lawn Fawn dies: scripty hello, stitched hillside boarders, puffy stars

sizzix baby

I treated myself to some sizzix doodlebug stamps and dies over christmas, but I have to say that I"m quite disappointed in them, they do not stamp near as nicely as I have become used to with my Lawn Fawn stamps, it is a shame as I love doodlebug and I bought too sets (this baby boy set and a set with houses), but I won't be buying any more...

bunting birthday

Messing around yet again with my Lawn Fawn dies, really into this nautical look right now.

float my boat

I've not really used my stitched hillside boarders die much, just once or twice here and there, but I think it makes an awesome seascape for my Lawn Fawn Float My Boat stamps and dies.

primary colours

I've spent my day cutting out stars from scraps of card, and I'm quite pleased with the effort, I'm always happy when I get a gender neutral card :)

presents (you can never have enough)

Dead chuffed with this one, especially as it is made entirely of scraps :), I don't know if I'll ever finish the American Crafts simply chic papers, but I keep on chipping away at it.