Getting Sentimental at Here Come The Boys

As the title suggests, we're getting Sentimental over at the Here Come The Boys Challenge... well not really "sentimental", but the challenge this time is to use Sentiments Only; that's right NO IMAGES aaahhhhh!  I thought it was a challenge too far, as I love to colour my images :-) but once I started I actually thought of a few ideas where a sentiment alone is  perfect - especially for a masculine card, which obviously we're all about at Here Come The BOYS!!

Of course the first trick is to find a great sentiment... this gorgeous one came from Create With TLC, as do so many of my favourite sentiments.  This is from the Awesomeness Word Art collection and you can get yours here.  That Craft Place are having a Sentiment challenge too, so I'm entering there.
This is a smaller than usual (for me) card, it's A6, or 6" x 4"and it's Kraft.  
I printed the sentiment BIG (I love digis, scaling is one of their many features!) then used a Sakura glaze pen (that I've had in my stash for YEARS and never found a use for) to go over some of the words to give them emphasis.  It's hard to photograph, but looks really effective in real life - it looks embossed, but was really easy to do, I wasn't particularly careful either, lol.
I distressed the edges with various coloured ink to match the background paper, which is from Die Cuts With a View's Far East mat stack (I don't know if it's still available, I've had that years too!)  Stampin' for the Weekend and 
My Mums Craft Shop have Autumn Colours challenges so I'm entering those.  
I matted it on to some pearl/metallic green cardstock from my stash then added the eyelets to give it a sort of Poster look.  I used my had-to-have Cropadile (eyelet setter), for only the second time ever! I was going for a vintage/shabby chic feel, to suit the style of the sentiment, but when I really look at it the sentiment is more Art Deco, oh well, I'm still going to enter the Vintage challenges at Charisma Cardz, The Crazy Challenge and Bunny Zoes Crafts.  This card is pretty much devoid of embellishments, I don't know if it fits the Totally Papercrafts CAS challenge, I'll enter but will understand if it's deemed inappropriate :-)
The ribbon is from my stash as well, I love it for "manly" cards :-) 
I used the same layout on the inside of the card, I didn't have another sheet of the paper I'd used on the front so I inked up another sheet from the pad to tone it down, the jotting panel was a scrap of heavily textured paper I found in my White Scraps folder... I have no idea where it's from, which is a shame as I love it - especially for vintage/shabby chic cards. Through the Craftroom Door and Fab'n'funky Challenges have Anything  Goes challenges running, so I'm entering there.
That's it for today's card, pop over to the Here Come The Boys blog and see what a Sentimental lot we are, lol.  I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge, it's really not as hard as you think, and it does eliminate that age old problem of finding a suitable image for a masculine card!!
I just thought I'd give a quick update on my son Matt; he is back at work, he has a slight limp and still has a dull ache in his (missing!) toes... this could apparently go on for up to a year, as can the swelling that plagues him after a long day on his feet.  All in all though, he is in a much better place than he was a few months ago, he has decided that prosthetic toes (at $16,000 none of which is covered by his health insurance) are not on the agenda - if we win Lotto that may change, lol.  The babies are growing fast, it keeps his mind focused elsewhere than his foot, so that's a good thing; Nathan has cut two teeth this week, is crawling everywhere in a commando style, Emily hasn't quite mastered that - but she can get herself from laying to sitting which she does to watch Nathan get himself into all sorts of strife, lol. I'll post a couple of pics next time :-)
I'll be back in a few days, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Off Yer Rocker!

The new challenge starting today over at Here Come The Boys is going to set you Off Yer Rocker... or maybe not; we just want to see some Rocker Cards.  I'd never made one before, but as you can see, once I started I was on a Roll (see what I did there? roll... rock and roll d'ya get it? do ya??) sorry, bit carried away!)  and made two

The idea for the first one just popped into my head... I thought the cute baby image from Pink Gem was perfect for a rocking cradle... well it was once I cut the wheels off the pram, lol.  Hobbycutz has Inspired by a Song as their challenge theme, how about Rock a Bye Baby?

I made a semicircle (well technically I made a circle, then folded it in half, lol) then drew the rockers and struts onto the bottom edge; I stuck the body of the cradle on (with the top half protruding above the fold) then cut the unwanted part of the bottom edge away... I actually had to "offset" the cradle as it had more weight toward the back and didn't sit level, easily solved though. Sweet Stampin' wants to see Shaped Cards, I'm in, and Crafty Creations want you to Make It Yourself, so I'm in there too.

I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils as I didn't want the colouring to show through... then I ended up covering the entire back of the card in patterned paper anyway, duh!  No patterned paper on the front though so I'm entering Moving Along With The Times No Designer Paper challenge.  I'm entering Paper Creator Crafts Pink or Blue challenge too - blue of course, not pink :-) The Crazy Challenge has B is for... in this case B is for Baby Boy and Blue.  Colour Me Copic has Dudes, Guy, Masculine for their theme so I'm in there too. The ric rac is from my stash as are the little metallic rhinestones in the centre of the stars.

My second card is another addition to my stash for Christmas.  I thought the Bugaboo image Christmas Brat Boy Elf would look good sitting on a little rocking ledge - another thing I love about digis... I printed him up pretty big so he was easy to cut around :-) I coloured with Copics and covered the back with red paper so the card looks okay from both sides.  I made the ledge stand out from the front of the card and made a gusset for him to sit on (so you can't see down between the elf and the card) it looks really effective IRL but was hard to photograph.  

The papers are scraps from a Kaisercraft pad, I don't know which one(s?) as they were in my Christmas scraps folder.  Digi Makeover want you to Use Your Scraps so I'm entering there.  Gem of a Challenge, Allsorts Challenges, Stamping Sensations, Crafty Calendar and Great Impressions all have Christmas challenges so I'm entering them all :-)  The sentiment is from an ancient pad of el cheapo stickers in my stash... I mounted it on some gold foil card - it improved it a bit, Aud Sentiments wants to see a Christmas Sentiment, I'm in. I added some rhinestones to some of the little ornaments and some gold border stickers around the edge of the green and that was it. 

My Rocking Card doing what it should... Rocking!!

Through the Craftroom Door, Simon Says Challenge, Paper Crafting Journey and Catch The Bug all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them.
That's it for today, pop over to the Here Come The Boys Blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration.... it really ROCKS!!  I did it again, rofl!! 
I hope you get a chance to join in the challenge, it really is EASY to make a rocker card.  There's a great prize this time around - from the fabulous Bugaboo :-)
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Christmas in Brown and Cream

Whew, the weeks are just rushing by!  It's time (already!) for a new challenge at Here Come The Boys, and this time the theme is "Christmas in Brown and Cream".  

I've done something a little different (for me) this time, I've coloured a dark background.  I used Copic Ink and a brush, adding some gold Perfect Pearls powder to the mix... it looks SO effective in real life, but is too subtle to see in the picture, sigh.  The too-cute image is Star of Bethlehem by Crissy Armstrong, and you can get it (and many more!) from Whimsy Stamps...the Whimsy Inspirations Challenge is Shabby Chic/vintage - this is about as shabby chic as I go, I hope it's enough :-)
The fab sketch is from Sketch and Stash, you know I like a nice sketch :-)
I coloured the image with Copics as well, adding some extra shadows and highlights with Prismacolor pencils, great for the really fine nooks and crannies, lol.  I know I've taken a bit of poetic licence with the green hills, they should be sand dunes but they just looked unfinished. 
I embossed "the" star by  with a Versamark pen and Gold Sparkle EP, the wooden embellies got the Gold Embossing treatment too; Craft Your Passion has an Embossing theme so I'm entering there.  Crafts-Too Challenge You has a Christmas theme with the Twist being what Christmas means to you; I remember the Nativity plays my kids were in when they were little... and sitting with all the damp-eyed Mums watching their offspring perform, each knowing theirs was the "Star" of the show, even if they were just one of the shepherds :-)  Now I (finally) have grandchildren, I can hardly wait to be on those uncomfortable chairs again :-)  Stamping Sensations has All Creatures Great and Small, Moving Along With The Times has Christmas Cuties (tick tick here methinks!), Deep Ocean Challenge has Christmas is round the corner, Addicted to Stamps has Christmas is Coming, Crafty Little Fairies has Christmas in October and Simon Says Challenge has Christmas or Holiday so I'm entering all those.  Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge has Inspired by a Carol, I have O Little Town of Bethlehem (one of my favourite carols, especially when sung by littlies!) 

I used papers from Kaisercraft, the cream paper has gold dots, the gold and brown card for matting is from my stash, as is the gold cord.   Delightful Challenges want us to Add a Frame or Mat, I've added double - I'm definitely in, lol.  I used the same basic layout for the inside of the card, and another of the wood embellies.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Bearly Mine Challenges, Stampin' for the Weekend, Creative Craft Challenges,Through the Craftroom Door and Colour Me Copic all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them.

Well that's it for today's card, pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's Brown and Cream Christmas makes = I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge too; it's not as scary as it sounds, there's a lot of brown and cream Christmas-suitable papers out there, and plenty of images that look great in these colours too.  I even enjoyed colouring this up once I started :-) Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Sketch Time at Here Come The Boys

Time for a new challenge at Here Come The Boys... and it's a Sketch, I love a good Sketch - here's my card

I've used Weekend Walter from Dr Digi (who is our sponsor this time around), I had the image and sentiment ("Just want to say thanks... for being such a great role model for our Sons") printed and ready to make a Father's Day card for my hubby... then ran out of time (sound familiar, lol) Totally Papercrafts have Add Humour (hubby has a great sense of humour, and loved this!) so i'm entering there and Gem of a Challenge has for the Boys so I'm entering there too.
Here's the sketch I followed (well this being a Sketch challenge, I would wouldn't I, lol) I coloured the image with Copics.  The papers are from Kaisercraft's Le Chateau collection (which I think is discontinued) and the black matting is from my stash... as is the jute mesh and the Metallique Bronze Card Candi
My husband, just like Walter, LOVES tea... so the little charm is very fitting :-) Craft Your Passion wants us to Add a Little Charm, so I'm entering there.
I followed the sketch for the inside of the card too, nothing new in that, lol, but used Kaiser cardstock as the background as I didn't have enough of the patterned paper I'd used on the front - the mesh is a bit less mesh-like too because i caught one of the threads on the top piece and had to "match" the bottom... and on it went!

Creative Craft Challenges, Papertake Weekly, Moving Along With The Times, Catch The Bug, Oozak andThrough the Craftroom Door all have Anything Goes challenges running, so I'm entering there.

That's it for today, pop over to the Here Come The Boys blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration; it's amazing how the same sketch can look so different :-) I hope you get a chance to show us your interpretation of the sketch too, don't forget to make your project suitable for a man or boy!  We've got a great prize of 2 digis from Dr Digi - bonus!
I'll be back in a few days, health permitting (I have a chest infection at the moment, legacy of not taking the head cold I had last week seriously - a mistake oft made by asthmatics!).  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Here Come The (Baby) Boys

Well as the title suggests, the new challenge starting today over at  Here Come The Boys is Babies... Baby BOYS that is!  Here's my card

It's funny, some cards just seem to be more fun to make than others, this was one of the "fun" ones!  
I used the gorgeous Wee One from Wee Stamps, I've flipped it because I just prefer my image to be "looking" to the right (I dunno why!) and with digis it's so easy to make it happen :-) The Pink Elephant want us to use a digi image or digital papers, so I'm entering there.
I've coloured using Copics, adding some texture and highlights to the baby's hair with Prismacolor pencils.

I used coarse textured blue card for my matting, it was super thick and quite hard to cut with my lovely new border punch (one of eight my Mum and Dad got me when they were in Malaysia recently, thanks Mum xx) Bunny Zoes Crafts want us to use Something Blue, plenty of blue here, I'm in :-) The theme this time around at Clear It Out is: Men/boys and the Stash element is: Punches or die cuts - I've used both so I'm in there too.  I used one of the  punched out scrolls on the edge of the image panel, adding a baby bottle die cut I got in a set from Make It Crafty, painted white and embossed with Pastel White glitter.  The image is mounted on a mat cut using Nestabilities Lacey Squares which I also embossed with Pastel White Glitter (using Hot Set Powder and very fine glitter), it looks so nice and glittery IRL! The  Crafts-Too Challenge You challenge is Theme: Texture, Twist: Shiny/Glittery so I'm in.
The sentiments are from Bizzy Becs Digi Ticket Stubs, Little Boy. Totally Papercrafts has "Happy Birthday Baby"  (Birthday or New Baby) so I'm entering there, Crafts 4 Eternity has Cute Kids - this wee one definitely fits the bill so I'm in there too, Cutie Pie Challenge has A Cute one for the Boys so I'm there and 

My Mums Craft Shop has Boys Only, as does Eclectic Ellapu so in there as well.

The papers are from a pad I got in Spotlight, Totally Gorjuss has a "Dotty" challenge so I'm entering there.  The ribbon is from my stash as is the Card Candi and the little pearls on the scroll border; Addicted to Stamps has a 1 2 3 challenge... I've used 1image, 2 sentiment tickets and 3 embellishments (Card Candi, ribbon and pearls) so I'm entering there.

I finished the inside, as usual, to match the outside.  Through the Craftroom Door, Divas by Design and Colour Me Copic all have Anything Goes challenges, so I'm entering there.

I hope you get a chance to pop over to the Here Come The Boys blog and check out the rest of the Team's inspiration.  Hope you get a chance to enter the challenge too, a baby BOY card is always a handy thing to have on hand :-) 

Well that's it for today, I actually have a few cards that I've finished, taken pictures of and sent so I should be able to show you those soon - I just have to find the time to "blog" them, lol.

Either way I'll be back soon.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

I've Got Some Christmas Blues... and it's only September!

Well I sort of have the Blues... we have a new challenge starting today at Here Come the Boys - and the theme is "Blue Christmas in September"

The fabulous image is from Dr Digi who is our sponsor this fortnight, this is Surfin' Santa and you can grab yours here.  Divas by Design has a "Water Themed" challenge so I'm entering there and Deep Ocean Challenge has You Are My Sunshine so I'm in there too.

I coloured with Copics, adding a white highlight to the sunglasses, and some gloss to them too... just for good measure!  
Fab'n'funky Challenges wants us to use Opposite colours (of the colour wheel), I have so I'm in, Stampin' for the Weekend  has Colours of Summer and Sweet Stampin' has Got the Blues (only like I have, lol) so I'm entering them too :-)  
The papers are digis from Bearly Mine Designs, the Christmas Wishes set, the blue card is Canson and the white matting has glittery dots all over it, so nice IRL.  
I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, the horizontal band has the white glittery paper and the blue has been punched with a Christmas punch that my lovely Mum just brought me back from her (latest!) trip to Malaysia.

The snowflake charm is part of a challenge win from the lovely Nikki at Bunny Zoe Crafts, attached with bakers twine; The Crazy Challenge has a Bingo theme, I've used the "Charms/Image/Punches or Die Cuts" row.  I've got loads of layers here... 
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long wants to see 4+ Layers, so I'm in, and Crafts-Too Challenge You want to see Texture + Your Style... I think I've got enough texture and this card is my "style", such as it is (focus on the image and only a few embellies - whatever you'd call that style, lol)The sentiment is from Create With TLC, my 'go to' place for sentiments, Aud Sentiments wants us to use Any Sentiment... too easy!  The pearls are actually Pebbles from Scrappers Must Haves, they're translucent but didn't look quite right, so I gave them a coat of Stickles, now they look just fine :-)
I finished the inside using the same sketch, dispensing with the charm, lol.  

Whimsy Inspirations Challenge has Masculine as their theme, as do Creatalicious Challenges and My Mums Craft Shop so I'm entering there. Bearly Mine Challenges, Addicted to Stamps, Totally Gorjuss, Through the Craftroom Door and Paper Crafting Journey have Anything Goes challenges while Papertake Weekly Anything Goes with the option of Christmas, so I'm entering there too.

Well that's it for today's card, I hope you get a chance to pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's "Blue Christmas" cards, why not get a start (if you haven't already!) on your Christmas cards... you'll be in with a chance at some of your own Dr Digis too - bonus! 

I thought I'd share the latest photo my son (Matt, not Chris the photographer) took of the twins the other day with his phone, they're nearly five and a half months old now - wow, time's flown! I'm sharing this pic over at Sassy Cheryl's Show Me Thursday blog, such a fun space :-)
Matt's still not back at work yet, the amputation site has healed over, he has started driving again and is going to the gym daily to try and get some flexibility back in to his foot where the scar tissue is hard and inflexible (and to build up his leg muscles which have wasted a little over the last three and a bit months)  He should be back to work by the beginning of next month, he is slowly increasing the time his foot is down, currently it swells once it's not elevated for more than an hour or so.  He has yet to get his orthotics and prosthetics are probably out of the picture as the quote came in at $16000!! a bit much for two toes, when they only last about three years.
One thing about having all this time at home is that he is spending a lot of time with the babies there'll be a lot of adjustment when he goes back to work... for everyone!
Anyway, I'll be back in a few days hopefully, with another card; until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

I'm back today with a card for the new challenge over at Here Come The Boys, with the theme "Lazy Summer Days" - I am a bit late with my post as I was quite unwell earlier - I'm feeling a lot better now, thank goodness!

I've used one of the many fabulous images from Dr Digi, who is our sponsor for this challenge, this is Ambrose King of the Waves.  I've coloured with Copics adding some extra shading (which is really hard to see in the pic!) with Prismacolor pencils and some gloss to the eyes and swim mask. The clouds I did with versamark ink. A Little Bit Crafty  has Summer Sun, as does My Mums Craft Shop so I'm entering there.  Anything Goes Challenge  has By the Sea, Crafts-Too Challenge You has Summer Fun - Beach Colours, The Paper Shelter has Holiday Time and Without Words has Beach Holiday/At the Seaside so I'm entering there... and hoping that my card is CAS enough to qualify. 

I've made the card base with Kraft, again!  The mats are from scraps I had from a DCWV Mariposa pad, you can see them in my "red" scraps folder :-) Tuesday Throwdown are challenging us to Use Our Scraps... I could probably make a thousand cards with my hoard of scraps, lol.  The designer paper is from a Design by Dani pad "All American Summer", I got it as a digi from Jessica Sprague...   I've just discovered this site and they sell Echo Park Hybrids (one of my all time favourite pads is EP Walk in the Park... which is available as a hybrid, yay!)  I did have a bit of a spend up, aah, again :-)  Pile It On has Designer Paper as their challenge so I'm in. The only embellishments I've added are a couple of eyelets and the seashells, which I bought in a pack from my LSS.  I've added some to the front and also to the inside to use them as a stop for the easel. 

I cut the image panel (and the jotting panel inside, with more inked clouds) with an Mpress Victorian Frame die, I hand cut the mats using the die as a guide.  The sentiment is Craftworks, also with a freehand mat.

2 Sisters Challenge wants to see Square Cards, so I'm in, and Little Red Wagon wants Layers so I'm in there too.

Gem of a Challenge want Anything with a B - I have Beach, Burn (check out Ambrose's shoulders, nose and bald pate, lol), Bathers and of course Birthday. Seize the Birthday has Anything Goes Birthday (as always), so I'm in, Cards for Men has "funny birthday" and Inky Impressions, Cuttlebug Mania and Creatalicious Challenges all have "masculine" challenges, so in there too.  My Time to Craft has Sports (swimming, well Ambrose will go swimming after he's finished his ice cream, lol) and Through the Craftroom Door, Colour Me Copic, Cutie Pie Challenge, Paper Crafting Journey and Crafty Calendar all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them too.

Hope you get a chance to visit the blog and check out the rest of the team's efforts, brilliant as always!  With such a nice broad theme and that fab prize from Dr Digi, hope to see you enter the challenge too :-)  

I'll be back in a few days with a card I've got sitting on my desk, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Here Come the... Squares!

So it's that time of the fortnight... time for a new challenge at Here Come The Boys, the theme this time around is "Only Squares" - easy peasy!  I went Squares to the max:-) I made a square card with squares on the patterned paper even a square button!  Here it is.

I've made the card base out of Kraft card, Sweet +Stampin' has Use Kraft so I'm entering there.  Great Impressions want a Square Card so I'm in there too!  I've only used Kraft a few times before, but I think I've found a new fave!

I didn't actually have any Kraft card (I have an A3 pad, but it's just paper) so I bought an A3 folder from Officeworks and cut it up; I got two 15cm cards, one 13cm card (ready folded) and a load of good sized off cuts (at least three cards worth plus odd sizes) from this one folder - it's really heavy card too, certainly a good back up supply, and it cost just $2.50
The image is from Bugaboo Stamps, who are our Sponsors for this challenge (YAY!!), this is Theodore Birthday Sign.  Hobbycutz has For a Child so I'm entering there.  I've coloured with Copics, adding some faux stitching with a fineliner, I've used brown as it's not as stark as black.  Totally Gorjuss has Hot Hot Hot as their challenge, I'm thinking my colours are "hot", so I'm entering there and Allsorts Challenges has Stitching so entering there too.
Digi Sketch Challenge  has an "Anything Goes" challenge whereby you can choose any Sketch; I used the sketch from January 2013, the last sketch from when the challenge was known as Willow Sketchie Challenge.  It incorporated Squares and suited the fairly CAS look I like, Whimsy Inspirations Challenge has a Clean and Simple theme, so I'm in.  I popped each layer up on foam dots, Delightful Challenges has Make it Pop (Use layers or dimension) so I'm in there too.
The papers are from Kaisercraft, Technologic and Class Act.  By Lori Designs wants us to use Designer Paper - I have, I'm in :-) and Paper Pretties wants us to Use two or more Designer papers, again I have!
The ribbon is from my stash, as is the square button; this is actually the back of the button  (the front is patterned blue and green) and I coloured it with Copics to match.  The metal "2" and "U" are from my stash too.  Cards for Men have Use metal for their challenge and Corrosive Challenge has Birthday with a number for theirs - this is a birthday and it does have a number on so I'm entering there.
I finished the inside of the card to match the outside... minus the button :-) oh, and I didn't pop up the layers either (it's too hard to write on the sentiment panel if it's wobbling about, lol).
Send a Smile 4 Kids,Hanna and Friends, Crafty Calendar, Papertake Weekly, The Crazy Challenge and Through the Craftroom Door all have Anything Goes challenges running, so I'm entering them all.

Well that's it for today's card, pop over to Here Come The Boys and check out the rest of the team's inspiration... they've really thought "outside the box" within a Squares Only constraint of course!!  I hope you get a chance to make a "square" card (for a man or boy remember!) and enter the challenge.  Don't forget that great prize on offer - 7 digis from Bugaboo Stamps :-)

I'm just settling in for the evening, we'll be watching the fourth test (cricket) soon, though I use the term "we" loosely; hubby will be watching and I'll be crafting or blogging with the odd glance to update myself... test cricket's like that, you don't have to watch every minute (unless you're my hubby of course, lol)  We just finished watching the (Aussie Rules) Footy, our team won - against the odds - and it was a great game (yes, I actually do like "footy", but only the Aussie Rules kind, soccer is too slow for me, I am easily bored, lol) the dog may get a run before the cricket, but I must admit I'm not feeling that motivated :-) a friend is popping in, with any luck she'll want a glass of wine, and then it'll be too late to walk the dog!

I'll be back in the week with a card I made for my Mum's birthday, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Don't Sweat It...

There’s a new challenge starting today over at Here Come The Boys… we want you to use some ribbon; now you may think that using ribbon on a “guy” card is hard, but it really isn't!

When I made a card for my Brother in Law’s 40^th  recently (here) I was tossing up between using the image and sentiment I used or this one, obviously I used the other one and – luckily as it turned out, I will explain later – it meant I had this one ready to roll.  The sentiment (made on the computer) is "Don't sweat it...Pushing 40 is exercise is enough" it's available on my freebies page if you want it.  
The image is from Digistamp Boutique Shop, one of the fabulous “Alf” images, coloured with Copics, which means I’ll be entering Digistamp Boutiques Monthly challenge.  Creative Craft Challenges, Delightful Sketches, Cupcake Craft Challenges and Paper Crafting Journey Masculine Cards, so I'm entering them and Crafty Creations has Super Hero - I feel this fella qualifies, so I'm in :)
I’ve used this great Stella Says Sketch - I do love a good sketch - so I’m entering there.  I wanted to use one of my favourite “folds”… where most of the front is cut away; in this instance to keep to the sketch I needed only a narrow band of card on the left, so I made the front of the card from acetate with only a little of the black card... so the card will still stand up.  The scalloped edge is a Fiskars Apron Lace punch, the image panel is Nestabilities Labels Twelve, I cut the green and black mats freehand.  That Craft Place has Dies and Punches and My Mums Craft Shop has Dies Dies Dies, so I'm entering there.  

Obviously you could see the glue through the acetate, so I added card to the inside with a jotting panel.

The papers I’ve used are from Kaisercraft’s Chapter One pad, I don’t “do” a lot of green, but I really love this shade.  The green cardstock for matting is DCWV, Stampin' for the Weekend has a Monochrome challenge so I'm entering there.

The ribbon is from my stash, I added knots instead of bows to make it more masculine; Deep Ocean Challenge has Ribbon and/or Lace and Divas by Design Tie a Ribbon so I'm entering there.

I added some black pearls, making sure to put some on the inside back-to-back with the ones on the acetate.

Simon Says Challenge, Totally Papercrafts, Catch The Bug, Whimsy Inspirations Challenge, Digi Makeover, Crafty Friends and Through the Craft Room Door all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering all of those.

Now back to why I say it was lucky I had a "spare" image ... I have spent the best part of the last four days at Hospital with my Mum… 7 hours in Emergency on Wednesday before being sent home at 10.30pm though she is 82 and obviously unwell, then 6 hours on Thursday in Emergency until she was admitted at 9 pm (then taking my Dad up to visit etc) It would seem that the recommended 8 glasses of water a day are NOT recommended for my Mum, partly because she is only 46Kg and some of her medication has a diuretic effect leaving her potassium and other electrolyte levels dangerously low.  Anyway she is home now, looking so much better today, compared with the very unwell lady she was the other night, so thank goodness for that! We can deal with the ramifications when she has picked up a bit.

Anyway that's it for today, pop over to the Here Come The Boys blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration - it shows ribbon CAN be for boys, lol, I hope you have a chance to enter the challenge, there's a great prize provided by Woo... a Tiddly Inks voucher - YUM!

Until next time, Happy Crafting - oh, and "Don't Sweat It", Donna 

New Challenge at Here Come The Boys

It's time for a new challenge over at Here Come The Boys... and the theme this time around is "Must Have Buttons".

I made a card for my husband's brother in law who, though he has just turned 40 (he's a lot younger than us!) has got a chronic "bad back"... so I made the sentiment "You know you are 40... when your Back goes out more than YOU do!"  I think he'll see the humour in it - certainly hope so  [-o< The Pink Elephant has Masculine Birthday as their theme and Colour Me Copic has Celebrate Something so I'm entering them and Corrosive Challenge has My Sentiments Exactly so I'm in there too.

The image is from Just Inklined, this is Throwback Fred... how (un)cool is he? lol. I've coloured with Copics, adding gloss to his eyes and glitter glue to his chain and medallion.
The papers are from Kaisercraft's Shaken Not Stirred collection, I reckon they're great papers for "man" cards.  Creative Craft Challenges has Just Checking (Use checks) as their theme, so I'm entering there and My Mums Craft Shop has Spots or Stripes so in there too. Left of Center Creative Challenges has Red and/or Black so, you guessed it, in there as well!  The red and black cardstock are from my stash.  
The buttons are from my stash too - I wish I could remember where I got them from, they are so useful for this sort of card, having the necessary "drama" to them :) As well as Here Come The Boys having a "use buttons" challenge Stampin' for the Weekend does, so I'm entering there. 
I used the sketch from Sketch and Stash, a nice straightforward one - which suits this style of card; Crafty Creations want us to KISS - Keep It Simple that is ;) so I'm in, Bunny Zoes Crafts want us to CASE a DT member - I've CASED Mina; her Jump for Joy card in particular.
There's a lot of layers on the card, I LOVE layers :) Cupcake Craft Challenges has Lots of Layers as their theme, so I'm entering there.

The Paper Shelter, One Stop Craft Challenge, Whimsy Inspirations Challenge, Creative Inspirations, Eclectic Ellapu and Through the Craft Room Door all have Anything Goes themes so I'll be entering them too.

Well that's about it from me... and Throwback Fred!  Why not pop over to the Here Come The Boys blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration - I hope you have a chance to enter the challenge, the lovely Bugaboo are sponsoring with 7 digis and with so many to choose from it's one great prize :) 

I'll be back in a day or two, until then Happy Crafting, Donna