Monday 30 July 2012

Let It Snow - but not just yet!

Hello there!

Here's my entry for Week 5 of the Viva La Verve Challenge over at SCS.  I managed to make cards for all five sketches IN TIME!  I'm amazed!  :)

The sketch for this week is the wonderful CAS sketch by Andrea;


And my interpretation;


As you can see, I changed the focal shape.  Other than that it's a very literal interpretation of the sketch.  I really enjoyed this sketch, possibly my favourite one this month :)

Thanks for stopping by once again :)








Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Navy, Sky Blue
Stamps:  Wile Rose Studios - Snowflakes; Penny Black - Crystalline
Ink:         VersaColor - Silver, Lapis Lazuli; TH Distress Ink - Broken China
Other:     WOW! Embossing Powder - Super Fine Silver, Super Fine Clear; Spellbinders Labels 24;
               rhinestones

Sunday 29 July 2012

CASology Week #3

Hello peeps!

How is everybody?  Enjoying the weekend I hope :)  The weather here is a bit up and down but we've managed to have a BBQ between the showers, and one or two of these...


I apologise for the photo not being great - it's either too sunny or too overcast here and this is the best so far I'm afraid!

The cue card word for this week at CASology is 'fruit'



Now, as you may know by now, I'm not a cutesy person so this was quite a challenge for me.  I knew I wanted to think outside of the box (what's new there!) and as I don't have any fruit stamps I had to come up with something a little different.  I don't know about you, but this counts as one of my five a day :)

I hope I'll get this linked up in time - once again I'm leaving it right to the last minute!  Aargh!

Thanks for stopping by :)








Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Grape, Apple Green
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Big Day Additions
Ink:         VersaColor - Black; WOW! clear embossing pen
Other:     WOW! Ebony and Violet Pearl embossing powder; rhinetsones 

Friday 27 July 2012

Sunshine!

Hello all :)

It's all a bit back to front, I know, but I am finally posting my card for Week 1 of Viva La Verve!

I have to admit, this sketch did daunt me a little bit.  It's not a layout I would usually use as there are so many layers!  It did hurt a little bit to keep piling on the layers, but I did it!

Here's the sketch;


And here's my card;


I wanted to go with pastels for this card, which is also a little out of my comfort zone.  My mojo went for a wander when I sat down to make this card, I hope it doesn't show too much?! 

I made this card when we were having the particularly horrible weather and I was indeed, wishing for sunny days!  It would seem my wish came true as we have had some absolutely glorious weather the lsat few days, however, typically as I'm typing this, it's overcast again!  Hopefully the cloud will clear and the sun will come back out for the Olympic opening ceremony this afternoon/evening - I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by, as always.  Enjoy the ceremony this evening, apparently we're all in for a real treat :)








Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Lilac, Ivory Linen, Coral Pink, Grey, Sky Blue, Lime, Primrose
               Yellow
Stamps:  Verve - Sunny Days, Bloom and Grow; Waltzingmoue - Flourishes - Scallop and Dots;
               SU! - French Script
Ink:         TH Distress Ink - Milled Lavender, Wild Honey; VersaColor - Evergreen, Black, Old Rose,
               White
Other:     WOW! embossing powder - Opaque Bright White; Crafty Ribbons - Saddle Stitch ribbon in
               pastel pink and yellow; Spellbinders - Labels 18; embroidery thread; pearls

Thursday 26 July 2012

Filigree Jewels

Hello!

I am back for my third post of the day (I know, like buses hey!?)  Sorry to bombard you with posts, but while I've got the chance I wanted to get them all up before I miss the challenege deadlines!

I made this card for this months' challenge over at Jay Gee's Nook.  I haven't played along for ages which is a shame because I always really enjoy the inspiration that is provided and it always gets the mojo going!  :)

The inspiration board for this challenge was GORGEOUS!  I couldn't pass up on the opportunity!


How stunning is that bad boy?!

Hopefully you'll be able to tell which aspects I plucked as my inspiration...


And here's a little close up - hopefully it shows the dimension.  Also, I was quite pleased with myself that I managed to pop up those tiny little elements surrounding the fleur de lis - hence the close up!


These are not usually colours that I would use together, but I think they look really nice and subtle and let the intricacy of the die cuts do the work.

I really hope you like it, another enjoyable card for me :)


Thanks for stopping by :)









Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Grey; parcel wrapping paper
Stamps:  None!
Ink:         None!
Other:     Spellbinders - Parisian Motifs, Fleur De Lis Motifs, Classic Scallop Circles Small;
               rhinestones



Fifty Shades of Verve

Hey!

This is my second post of the day, please scroll down :)


I am determined to get every week completed for the Viva La Verve challenge this month and I'm getting there!  I have made a card for each week so far, just waiting for week 5 :)  I am gradually uploading them all too which always helps! 

The sketch for week 2 was as follows;


I made a set this time, a card and a bookmark, both based on the sketch.  The colours were inspired by 'THE' book that everyone's reading - Fifty Shades of Grey.  I have succumbed and bought the trilogy - I'm two thirds of the way through the first book - it's a shame life gets in the way, else I wouldn't put it down!

Anyway, back to the creativity because that's what we're all here for :)  Here's my little set;


It's very 'un-me'.  Look at those panels all skewed!  I never knew I had it in me!?  :)  I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out which is a bonus :)

I know it's not obvious that I used the sketch, but I did, honest!  If you look and compare, all of the elements are present.  I didn't use the same shapes and like I said, I skewed the panels, but it's all there :)

I hope you like it, I really enjoyed it :)


Thanks for stopping by :)











Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Grey, Black.  Papermania V&A
Stamps:  Verve - Notebook Paper, One Person; Waltzingmouse - Flourishes - Scallops and Dots
Ink:         VersaColor - Sky Grey; SU! Black; TH Distress Ink - Milled Lavender
Other:     PapermaniaV&A Cornfield ef; WOW! embossing powder - Super Fine Clear Gloss
               Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallop, Labels 24;
               Crafty Ribbons - Leandro Blue seam binding; Tonic corner punch; pearls and rhinestones

Happy Birthday Divas!

Hi there!

Over at Verve, there are no fewer than FIVE birthdays this month!  That's a lot of cake :)

The Diva Dare, therefore, is to create something birthday related.  I have cheated a little by using the week 4 Viva La Verve sketch for the layout (two birds, one stone - don't make out like you wouldn't do it too!)



There's just something about Verve stamps that make me feel like I need to come up with a really bright and uplifting design and this one was no exception.  Maybe it's the sunshine :)



See?!  Very bright for me!  I hope y'all like it, let me know :)

Happy Birthday Divas, eat plenty of cake and make sure you are spoiled by your nearest and dearest :)

Laters,








Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Raspberry Pink, Peppermint, White Linen, Primrose Yellow
Stamps:  Verve - Hope Blooms, Sunny Days
Ink:         VersaColor - Magenta, Cyan Blue, Old Rose, Black, Evergreen; Rangers Perfect Medium;
               TH Distress Ink - Spiced Marmalade
Other:     WOW! embossing powder - Violet Pearl, Flourescent Yellow and Green, Mandarin;
               Crafty Ribbons - Rose Quartz seam binding; Spellbinders Labels 18; pearls

Wednesday 25 July 2012

From Me To You :)

Hello!


It's been a while, and I have been busy making things, just not had a chance to upload any!  The weather has finally caught up with the season and it's made it much better for photography.  I have now taken photo's of all the cards and things I have been making over the last week or so and will endeavour to post them all on here in the near future :)

This is something totally different for me.  A dear friend of mine has just moved house and she's not been having the greatest time lately, so I wanted to give her something as a house warming present and something that would (hopefully!) cheer her up a bit. 

Her favourite poem is The Mask of Anarchy by Percy Bysshe Shelley.  I hadn't read it before, but I reckon I could probably recite it word for word now - all 92 verses!  Not that that's a bad thing, I really enjoyed it and I'm so glad I read it as it's still so relevant.

Along with being a gift, I am also entering this into this month's challenge over at WOW! Embossing Powder.  Their challenge is to create anything but a card.


So, without further, here are some photo's;



The first picture is the box I made to put the booklet (I don't know what else to call it?!) in.  It fastens underneath the label so that there are no ugly joins :)  I used my new WOW! embossing powders that were sent to me as my prize for winning their challenge last month - they are awesome! I have been embossing everything lately! (more than usual!)  For this I used Verdigris and Metallic Copper - they turned out even better than I expected :)

Like I said, there are 92 verses to this poem so I'm not going to bore you by showing you every page.  Here are the first few verses and then the final verse (as this is my favourite!)






It's probably not very easy to read in these photographs, and for that I apologise.  I hope you can get the gist though?

I think it's pretty self explanatory as to how I put it all together, however if anyone has any questions then just let me know as I'm more than happy to answer them :)

I think, all in all, this took about three days to complete - which I don't think is too bad?!  Obviously I didn't get them all right first time, in fact, there are some verses I must have written out four or five times, but it was surprisingly therapeutic and I enjoyed every minute :)  I really hope my friend likes it, that is the most important thing!

Anyway guys, thanks for stopping by as always and I'd love to know what you think as this is, like I said, something very different for me :)

Edited to add:  If you would like to see ALL of the pages and more photographs, they are in my SCS gallery - the poor moderators!








Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - Off White, Turquoise, Dark Brown, Ivory Linen.  Gold Mirror
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Big Day Additions, Flourishes - Scallops and Dots; Verve - Glad Tidings
Ink:         VersaColor - Gold, Evergreen; TH Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Other:     WOW! embossing powder - Metallic Copper, Verdigris; 2" binder rings; Spellbinders
               Labels 1 and Labels 18; pearls



Thursday 5 July 2012

Christmas!

Hey!

This is my second post of the day, please scroll down for my CASE Study post :)

I am DETERMINED to get a head start on Christmas cards this year!  Last year I was fully intending to do the same but then all of a sudden it was December - doh!  Well, as it's July already (can you even believe that, where did the last six months go?!) I thought I'd better get cracking.  I have a mojo packed day today which was a nice surprise!

Here are todays efforts;


For this card I tried to channel my inner Becca!  Becca always finds new and imaginitive ways to use dies - what this gal can't come up with is nobody's business!  Anyway, as I don't have the Spellbinders Heirloom 2010 dies, I cut out the Labels 24 die and sliced two of the corners off and joined them together to make a template of my own.  (Ok, so I'm not very good at explaining these things, if anyone really wants to know how I did it then just email me and I'll endeavour to elaborate, possibly with the aid of photographs!)  I then cut six of these and using a technique I saw on Becca's blog, I made this ornament.  (An extremely simplified version I might add!)

The colours, surprise surprise, look better in real life, but you get the idea :)

Ok, here's card number two;


This is a nice simple one using a stitching technique me and my Mum used to do to make pictures when I was little :)

And my final card of the day;


Kinda similar layout to the first one, but with a little window cut out for the snowflake to flutter in the breeze :)

Thanks for stopping by and an extra thank you to anyone who just read all my waffle - you are true fans!  :)








Supplies
Joyeux Noel
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Forest Green, Pillar Box Red, Dark Brown, Ivory Linen; Gold
              Mirror card
Stamps: Verve - Glad Tidings; Waltzingmouse - Flourish and Scallops
Ink:       Versacolor - Gold, Brown
Other:    Spellbinders Labels 18; Embossing folder; Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold embossing powder; pearls

Winter Wishes
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Sky Blue, Silver mirror card
Stamps: Verve - Glad Tidings
Ink:        Versacolor - Lapis Lazuli
Other:    Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallop; Papermania clear embossing powder; blue thread; pearls;
              square rhinestone

Merry Christmas
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Forest Green
Stamps: Penny Black - Crystalline; Verve - Glad Tidings
Ink:        Versacolor - Gold; SU! Black
Other:    Spellbinders Labels 18; Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold embossing powder; Crafty Ribbons - Cream
              seam binding; red ribbon; pearls