Birthdays Only Challenge at Here Come The Boys

Well yesterday was one of my "boys" birthdays... my youngest son Chris turned 28 - where did the  time go??  As I'm really busy at the moment with life other than craft, it was a lucky break for me that the challenge starting today over at Here Come The Boys is "Birthdays Only", as it meant today's card could do a sort of "double duty"

I always make a "special" cake for my boys (actually all the family get one, they all have a different "favourite, lol) and over the years The Cake has taken on more and more significance, so when I saw this image over at Digi Doodle Shop (now sadly out of business) I had to have it, then when I saw the great sentiment (on the inside of my card) "Birthdays, it's all about the cake" over at TLC I could hardly believe my luck - not only was it perfect, it was one of the ever-generous Paulette's freebies BONUS!  The sentiment on the front is a die cut from Craftworks Cards.
This great sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp gives loads of room for interpretation - I love sketches like that - obviously my card is a rotated version :-)
I coloured the image with Copics, adding some extra shading with Prismacolor pencils.  The papers are from Echo Park (A Walk in the Park pad, I'm on scraps, aahhh!), and Inque Boutique (I think) I love these cheery colours - who says a man's card has to be dull?!  Without Words has Whizz Bang (use bright colours) as their theme, so I'm entering there, Moving Along With The Times has Let's Go Dotty, Craft Your Passion has Use your scraps and Divas by Design has Two or More Patterned Papers, so entering there as well :-)
I spelled out "Chris" using metal letters I got in a pack from spotlight ages ago, fixing them with brads, which is the reason I have a strip of patterned paper on the inside of the card - to cover the "legs" of the brads! 
The Paper Shelter has Birthdays as their challenge theme, My Mums Craft Shop has Inspiration From a Song (I was actually thinking Rihanna's song Birthday Cake, not the obvious, lol) and Fab'n'funky Challenges has Birthday; include 3 of something - I've got three bits of Card Candi as well as three papers, so I'm in :-)
I've used Mpress Victorian Frames dies for the image panel and mat, and my Carl Punch corner rounder on all the patterned paper panels.
Chris is going to Kuala Lumpur with a friend next weekend for a wedding, we decided to give him some spending money as his birthday gift so I made sure his card had a place for some cash :-)  
I put the sentiment on a tag, adding an eyelet with my fabby new Cropadile... sooooo much easier (and more reliable!) than the Fiskars system I was using (rarely, because of disappointment with the results) before.  I double matted the tag, meaning I could use the back of it to write our personal message, then I popped it in front of his money giving at least a tiny element of "surprise" to the whole cash-as-a-gift scenario :-)
Joanna Sheen has Anything Goes (Excluding Christmas) and the Corrosive Challenge is Anything Goes this time around too, so I'm entering there.
That's about it for my card today.  My son is a truly lovely young man (no bias here, lol) so I hope this year brings him much happiness... unfortunately his job came to an end on Thursday so he is job hunting as soon as he returns from his little holiday to KL :-(  Never easy at this time of year in Australia, as many places close for a several weeks over Christmas/ January (it's the summer holidays too), but he is very employable and has never had any trouble getting work; it's not always in his field, (he is a photographer) but he has eclectic taste and an ever increasing skill set, lol.
Don't forget to pop over to Here Come The Boys, check out the great range of Birthday projects by the team, why not have a go at the challenge too... it may be Christmas but those guys in your life still need birthday cards :-)
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Wish Upon a Star

Well I've managed to grab five minutes from my renovating to "blog" a card I made last week.

I used the gorgeous Star Bear from Sassy Cheryls.  I just LOVE this image!  I printed it on linen card, as I wanted to keep a "textured" look to the bear, which I coloured with Prismacolor pencils.... it was a bit hard to get even coverage but worth it as he has a distinct fabric look.

I used the sketch from the 2 Sisters Challenge, rotated 90 degrees.  I hope I can get this post done in time to enter (I just fell asleep while typing, for about 40 minutes!) 

I've used papers from Kaisercrafts December 25th Collection, red card from my stash for the mat which was cut using Nestabilities Fleur De Lis Rectangles dies, and gold card also from my stash.  Whimsy Inspirations Challenge is to use Traditional Christmas Colours, so I'm entering there, That Craft Place is to Use Red, so entering there too.

The star trim under the (computer generated) sentiment is also from my stash, as is the burgundy and gold  flower/star on the corner.  By the Cute and Girly has Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as their challenge theme, and My Mums Craft Shop has Inspired by a song - can you guess which song inspired this? lol, so I'm entering those too.

The inside of the card is finished very simply with more papers from the December 25th Collection, the patterned border is in fact one of the preprinted ones from the pad, the mats were cut freehand.
Crafty Creations has Christmas is Coming for their challenge and Crafts 4 Eternity has Midnight Magic (bedtime theme, moon, stars etc... I've used stars)  so I'll be entering there too.
That's it for today's card.  I've a very busy day tomorrow (well later today now as it's gone midnight, lol); it's my son's birthday and as well as decorating his cake and going out for his birthday dinner (which means picking up my folks ahead of time), we are finishing removal of our kitchen... we have taken out all the cupboards, knocked down the brick wall that was the "backing" for our breakfast bar and have taken up some of the floor tiles (we have to get up enough for the new kitchen "footprint".  We did that this afternoon, but I spent HOURS emptying cupboards before that... I've decided we have way too much "STUFF"!! and we'll NEVER move from here, lol.
I'll post some reno pictures soon, and I'll be back on Sunday with a card I've made (which I really like!) for the next Here Come The Boys challenge, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Twin News

I just thought I'd post an update on "the twins"  My daughter-in-law had a scan yesterday and....

It's a Pigeon Pair

My son and DIL are very happy, though when I said to my son I thought there must be at least one boy in "the mix" because he had sounded so pleased, he said he genuinely was that happy because he had "seen my babies hearts beating", if you knew tough guy Matt, you'd know why that brought a lump to my throat.

The babies are a little smaller than the Obstetrician would like... they are at the very bottom of the "normal" range, but there could be a discrepancy of a week in their dates, which could account for it.  They will keep it closely monitored (but didn't say what could actually be done about it!)

The good news is that Twin One (now know as the Princess, lol) has caught up a lot, there is now only a couple of percent difference in size between she and The Little Lad.

Anyway, thought I'd share :-) Donna

Wedding Wishes

My hubby is feeling quite old... not just because he's working like a dog, lol, but because his Great Nephew is getting married on Saturday!  Here's the card I made for John and his lovely bride Melina, we wish them every happiness in their future together

It's an easel card... you know I love 'em, lol.  Well as you may or may not know, "life" is super busy for me at the moment (I know, I hear the cry echoing across the world, lol).   

Knowing this was going to be the case and also knowing I have a few "must make" cards coming up, I decided to cheat and purchased some of the ready coloured images from Lilli of the Valley... this one is from the Die Cuts range (DC 011 Weddings).  They are beautifully coloured and as there are four or five different images to a sheet are a good way to get an image if you don't want (as if!) or can't afford (more likely) to buy the stamps - coz face it, you (if you're anything like me) want 'em all!!  I'm entering the Catch the Bug Things With Tails challenge, I know it's a bit cheeky but horses DO have tails so I'm entering... and anyway I'm sure this groom is wearing tails on his suit :-)  I thought I'd share over at Sassy Cheryl's Show Me Thursday challenge too.
I used one of my favourite types of paper on this card - textured pearl.  This is Pebble in a pale lavender, part of my birthday stash from Starfish Lane, the white and silver paper on the horizontal panel is also from Starfish Lane.
I used silver foil card again for the matting, I love this stuff - it's nice and neutral but still adds an element of bling.

 I used a sketch from Sketch and Stash this time around... they have a Free Sketch challenge, so as long as you use one of 'theirs' you're in. I tried having the image at an angle, but the symmetrical beast in me just wouldn't allow it, I hope it's okay.I used my new Nestabilities Labels One die to cut the image... it just fit (they come pre cut in squares), the mat is also a new-for-me die; Decorative Labels One - they were in my "surprise" Christmas box, but hey ho I "needed" them now :-)   The Pink Elephant has Punches and Dies as their theme, I'm in,  and Crafty Cardmakers wants us to use more than one punch and/or die cut... I have so I'm entering there too.
The sheer ribbon is from my stash, it has pale gold edging - I would have preferred silver but as I don't have any I figured it was pale enough to get away with.  
The gem in the centre of the bow is also from my stash - I just found them when I dragged out my Christmas papers/embellies box!  They're from Kaisercraft.  I made the little tag, printing the couples names on the computer then cutting it freehand - note to self, MEASURE, with a ruler THEN cut; suffice to say it was a bit bigger when I started, lol.  Addicted to Stamps has Tags as their theme and Crafts 4 Eternity has Terrific Tags as their challenge theme, so my terrifically small tag is going in there as well.
I added more of the die cuts "inside" (I can never decide if it is the "inside" of an easel, lol), gluing only half way up so that I could fit a gift card behind it.
I edged the silver mat with EK Success Scrolls and Hearts punch, adding a couple of pearls from my stash to act as "stoppers", a couple more pearls on the computer generated sentiment finished the card off.  Divas by Design and Paper Crafting Journey both have Anything Goes challenges running, so I'll be entering them.
That's it for today's card, it is so much more delicate IRL, but you'll just have to take my word for it :-)
I'll be back in a few days with another make, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Here Come The Boys Favourite Film Challenge

A new challenge starts today over at Here Come The Boys... we want to see your craft projects (suitable for a man or boy, don't forget!) inspired by your Favourite Film.  One of my all time favourite movies, and one we use to herald the start of the Christmas season in our house is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, here's my card inspired by this movie.

I've kept it pretty simple, it's a DL size card which I thought that was very clever as it goes at standard postage... until I remembered the special rate that applies to Christmas cards, duh!  Oh well, it won't hurt :-)  

The image - Tropical Santa, Suntan -  is from Bugaboo; I bought a couple of these "summer" Santa digis, they work really well for my cards to overseas (Christmas being in the middle of Summer here). Craft Us Crazy has Favourite Holiday for their challenge, Christmas is by far my favourite so I'm entering there, The 2 Sisters Challenge is to use your favourite Christmas image... I love 'em all! so I'm entering there and the Winter Wonderland challenge is One for the Boys (use an image of a boy or man), so I'm in there too.

I coloured the image with Copics, The Pink Elephant wants us to use our favourite colouring medium, I love Copics, especially for strong colours, so I'm entering there.  Without Words has Whizz Bang (use bright colours), I hope my colours are bright enough to enter there!

I shaded Santa's beard, but it just looked dirty, so I painted in some texture using Jo Sonja's Titanium White... it hardly shows in the photo so I took an underexposed picture - you can sort of see how it works, much better IRL of course!  I may add some gloss to his sunglasses yet, haven't decided :-) 

I followed the sketch by Cute Card Thursday, I wanted a very "unfussy" sketch, this one delivered! I cut and embossed the image panel with Mpress Curved Rectangles dies, cutting the gold mat freehand.  The faux stitching was also done freehand with my piercing tool, but I have bought a piercing wheel that I will have a go at using soon - on straight lines!!  Stampin' for the Weekend has All Stitched Up for their challenge theme, so I'm entering there.  The sentiment is from TLC Creations.. where I get a lot of my sentiments - so many brilliant ones - and the Create With TLC blog is well worth checking out too, loads of ideas and lots of freebies; Pauline is very generous :-)  I added gold Dew Drops as the only embellishment, Crafty Creations has No Flowers for their challenge... I'm in!  I finished the inside of the card along the same lines as the front.

Creative Craft Challenges has Special Occassions, not birthday, as their challenge theme so I'm entering there, and Papertake Weekly has Anything Goes with the option of Christmas, so I'm entering there too.  

Crazy 4 Challenges has Favourite Christmas Carol for their challenge, I thought of an Australian Carol called  Upside Down Christmas, which refers to the lure of the beach (which is a very popular setting for Christmas lunch here, though not for us... it's Boxing Day for us)  Paper Crafting Journey, Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, Bearly Mine Challenges, One Stop Craft Challenge and Cards for Men all have Anything Goes challenges, so I'll be entering them as well.

Anyway, that's it for today's card, do pop over to Here Come The Boys and check out my teamies work.  It's a pretty easy challenge theme this time around, and we're offering you the chance at a Guest spot on the DT, so why not have a go?  It's our DT leader's birthday today too, so I'd just like to say Happy Birthday Woo and many more :-)

I'll be back in a couple of days, though our kitchen/most of the house renovation starts in earnest this week so crafting and blogging will probably be a bit hit and miss for a couple of weeks!

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

What a "charming" couple

Well, as you may or may not have noticed my crafting time has still been very limited.  Today, however, is my son and daughter-in-law's third anniversary so I had a good excuse to sit and make a card! Happy Anniversary Matt & Elaine!

 I don't have a lot of time to "blog" it though.... some of you are probably very relieved to hear that, lol. Creative Craft Challenges has Special Occasion, NOT birthday as their challenge theme, I think an Anniversary is pretty special, so I'm entering there.
The cute image I've used is a recent purchase from the Digi Doodle Shop...in their closing down sale unfortunately.  It's really sad to see  this little shop go, I had quite a few of their images... now I have quite a few more!  When I was trawling through my burgeoning digi collection I realised how few images I have that work for anniversaries, 'specially someone else's anniversary!  I'm glad I grabbed this one now :-)  The computer generated sentiment inside says "Happy Anniversary... to a charming couple".... snakes, charming, get it?  Hubby didn't, but then my youngest son did so I felt better :-)
I've coloured with Copics adding some (very few) Prismacolor details. The Pink Elephant has Use Your Favourite Colouring Medium as their challenge, which I have, so I'm entering there; and My Mums Craft Shop has Bold and Bright, which this is , so I'm entering there too.

The papers are from Kaisercraft's Made With Love collection, I've used only one paper (along with one image and one ribbon) on the front of the card so I'm entering Crafty Creations Just One challenge. 
The acrylic hearts are from my stash, coloured to suit using Copics, and I've added Stickles to the hearts and the centres of the flowers on the image.
I've used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch this time around, it was ideal for the oversized image (I really should pay more attention sometimes when I print my digis, lol) and the busy background paper.  I chose to use the sheer polka dot ribbon so it didn't compete with the paper too.  I'm entering the Paper Crafting Journey Ribbon or Twine challenge and I hope the polka dots are enough to get me in to the Gem of a Challenge.  
The Paper Shelter , Stampin' for the Weekend, Catch the Bug and The Crafty Pad all have Anything Goes challenges running.... I KNOW my card qualifies for those, lol  
Well that's it for me today.  The kitchen renovation actually "begins" tomorrow (well we should be getting the skylight fitted, so a start of sorts) hopefully they can put one in my craft room too - though we "went solar" with our power last year and most of that face of the roof is covered with solar collectors, so I'm not sure if they can fit a skylight tube in.... we'll know tomorrow at 2pm!  I'm still trawling tiling shops looking for "the" wall tiles, but one of my spare rooms is brimming with new oven, hotplate, dishwasher - even the kitchen sink, lol.  

The cupboards and tops are being made (well the granite was made millions of years ago, but you know what I mean!) the floor tiles are ordered (we had to change 75m of tiling because we altered the kitchen layout and couldn't match the floor, curses of open plan living) the new window is going in once we remove the old kitchen - which we'll do the weekend before the new kitchen is scheduled, eating out for more than one week would be too hard..... or would it?????  We're not even thinking about ripping up the old tiles until work settles down a bit, we did our bathrooms two years ago and it's really hard work and very dusty... we have a few weeks over Christmas, I may be able to nag encourage hubby into it then, lol

Well, I promised it would be a short post then didn't deliver, sorry 'bout that!  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna