Fairy 5th Birthday

The card I have today was the one I made for my darling granddaughter Emily for her 5th birthday... I haven't blogged her 4th birthday card yet, but this one jumped out at me from my drafts so this is 'it" :-)  It is a combination shaker and hidden-sentiment card... a real "mover and shaker" lol.  The photos are a little dark, not much I can do about it now though!

Here is the "hidden" element NOT "hidden" :-)  and Here's a link to the tutorial I used to help make the Pull Tab for the sentiment, thanks to Jenny McGuire :-) I typed the sentiment using Fiolex Girls font... the little hearts were a hit with Miss Em :-)

The gorgeous image is a digi from (sadly now defunct) Anita Be Stampin', her name is Meadow.  She fit the bill perfectly for Emily, being a fairy, that I could add copious amounts of pink, purple and shiny stuff to :-))

Her wings are quite heavily "black" so I printed her using my laser printer and added some Gold Decofoil to them using my laminator... it looks REALLY good IRL
I coloured the image with Copics and added some detail with  Prismacolor pencils, then fussy cut itand popped it up on some foam dots.
I cut the shaker window with a set of heart shaped dies I've had for years, can't remember the brand... X something, lol.
I backed it with some glittery white card and filled the shaker with all sorts of glittery gemstones and heart and flower-shaped "bits".  I added some double sided ribbon around the base of the shaker, to cover all the foam used to build up the receptacle part  I added two strips of the same ribbon to the bottom of the card and a bow to the heart.

The paper is digital from Nitwit Collections (it's from the Fairytale Dreams FQB, or possibly "Fairytale Too" which are additional papers for the same set.  
The inside of the card has one of the borders from the set on as well
The number 5 on the front is wooden, coloured with Jo Sonja's acrylic paint then embossed with Bridal Tinsel EP.  I used foam letters to make the "Emily" on the inside, colouring them with a Copic marker before adding Ice Stickles for that essential sparkle.  I added a little pink acrylic butterfly... to cover a smudge actually :-)
That's it for Emily's 5th Birthday card.  I'd like to enter in the following challenges: 

Addicted to  Stamps Anything But a Square

As You Like It Favourite: "Birthday or Christmas and Why" - I like making Christmas cards because, well it's CHRISTMAS, but I like making birthday cards because you can personalise them.. and make them for the special little peeps in your life like in this case :-)

Tuesday Throwdown Hearts

Sasayaki Glitter Hearts and Stars

The Paper Shelter Letters and/or Numbers

Fab'n'Funky Challenges With a Number

Little Red Wagon Move On ( have a moveable element)

Cute Card Thursday Wings

Pile It On Pretty in Pink

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Use Patterned Paper

Send a Smile for Kids Anything Goes for Kids
Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, Crafting With Friends Challenge #80, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, Gem of a Challenge, A Perfect Time to Craft, Creatalicious Challenges, Crafting With Attitude and Corrosive Challenge All have Anything Goes

I will be back soon... I have to have more surgery on my mouth next week (a block bone graft this time) and anticipate having to spend time home... I am SO nervous about the recovery from this one!  I don't "have" to go any further with the implant process, but the bone graft is necessary so I suppose I just have to suck it up this go round!

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna x

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Last month I had a win over at the Little Miss Muffet Challenge Blog and the delightful Kathie asked if I would like to be part of their "Customer Appreciation Day" today... of course I said "Yes please!"

I got to use an image that is brand spanking new, and even though it's called Spooky Park Scene" I thought I could use it for an (always-needed) Christmas card; I just knew it would be perfect for a moonlit scene to go with a line from the Christmas poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas", I decided to make a pull-tab card so the "Miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer" would magically "appear"

I extended the lines of the snowy hills a little and added one to the front.  

I used one of the uber-talented Jennifer McGuire tutorials to learn how to make a Hidden Slider card (here's a link, the card structure starts at about the 4-minute mark - I just used a ruler and scalpel as I don't have the slot dies) and cut hidden bits and the "covering" snow hill out of scraps by hand to make sure it was big enough to conceal the sleigh and reindeer until you pull the tab.

Getting an image with a sleigh and 8 reindeer was, well impossible! I ended up grabbing a free coloured image from the web that had three reindeer and by copying and pasting added the extra reindeer using Photoshop.  Here they are peeking from behind their hill :-)

I used different inks, pigment, dye and alcohol to colour the night sky then flicked watery white acrylic paint on for snow. I coloured the moon with Copics then put a coat of Viva Pearl (Creme) on it and a thin coat of Viva Pearl Ice White.  The stars are Swarovski crystals.  I coloured the rest of the image with Copics, added Jo Sonja Texture Paste to the snow and then heat embossed it with white glitter EP (homemade using Clear EP and fine white glitter)  Of course it ALL looks so much more glittery in real life!

I cut the little Christmas trees from a border die that I've had for SO long, and that I can't remember (and didn't write on the storage box for) the name of... any ideas please let me know :-) that got the coloured with Copic, texture paste snow and glitter treatment.
The snowflake (I don't have the maker of that noted either, sorry) and the holly (Cottage Cutz Winterland Holly) were embossed the glitter and the red Candi centre is from my stash
I stamped the sentiment (from Kaisercraft) on the pull out tab using my fabulous fool-proof Press to Impress stamping platform... and STILL managed to get it crooked!! (I DID stamp it after the card was assembled, so not the platform's fault, lol)
That's about it for my pull-tab card.  This wasn't the first one I've done, but the first one I've blogged... the other will make an appearance from my Drafts Folder one day :-)  In the meantime I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges;

Sweet Stampin' Christmas in August

Christmas with the Cuties Add Some Sparkle

Merry Christmas Challenge Anything Christmas

Sweet Stampin' Christmas Anything Christmas

Hiding in my Craft Room Super Scraps Saturday

Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets

The Paper Shelter Punches and/or Dies

Aud Sentiments Anything Goes + a Sentiment

Send a Smile for Kids, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, 4 Crafty Chicks, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, A Perfect Time to Craft, Creatalicious Challenges, and Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge all have Anything Goes themes

Do pop over to the Little Miss Muffet Challenge Blog and check out the new images on show in their Customer Appreciation Day, I enjoyed being part of it, I'm sure you will too.  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Engagement Wishes for Chantz

Well, I did a quick count today and I have (at least) 47 cards in my Drafts... so it really is time to get some of them outta there!  Today's card is one of the oldest ones; it was made for my son Chris's friends Chantelle and Jesse's engagement in January... two years ago!  As they are getting married very soon I thought it was time to share their engagement card

This is a deceptively simple card, well it was for me.  I scoured Pinterest looking for images and thought "how hard can it be?", hmph.  I cut and trimmed and glued and fiddled for hours with the damn thing, it looks okay in the end but tbh it should look spectacular for the time it took :-) at least it's a shaker card, so a little bit different

I used heavy linen card (which I like to use for my "special cards", Chantelle merits "special" - Chris has been friends with her since pre-school...  they are now 34 and still best buds.  Here's another card I made for one of her "special" birthdays :-)  I cut the glass shapes using an MFT die called Layered Champagne, I had to trim it up a bit as I had real trouble lining up the inside and the outside layers - I think the shaker effect is better shown by having the window see-through all layers, of course, next time it gets a shaker stuck to the front and I don't have to line anything up, lol

I filled the glasses with gold flatbacks from my stash, sticking a few extra ones to the outside of the card to represent bubbles escaping from the glasses, and a few on the corners of the gold foil card to make it look a bit more finished.  The "Congratulations" is a sticker.  Lastly I added a couple of bows in off white ribbon... this ribbon was actually from when I made my son and daughter in law's wedding cake (here's a pic if you're interested)  I added a couple of bows to the inside cover piece too... they actually cover the piece of tape I put across the top of the stem to stop the "bubbles" falling down to the bottom of the glass!
As you could see right through to the part of the card you'd write on I made a "flap" to cover that up, I just hinged it with a piece of gold card, and more of the ribbon and another bow, worked perfectly - though it is another step that wouldn't be necessary if I'd just stuck the shaker to the front... tell me it was all worth it!
And that was that (FINALLY) done 
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges

As You Like It Wants to know what's your favourite, Ribbons or Buttons and Why: I like ribbon because it can be used simply as ribbon or for bows, it keeps cards flat (for postage) and tends to stay stuck (unlike buttons on occasion).  That said I use ribbon sparely, despite having hundreds of metres (no exaggeration) I also tend to use it on more feminine cards... on masculine cards buttons are a definite go-to

Simon Says Challenge Use a Die or Punch

Crazy 4 Challenges Windows

Cardz 4 Galz Food or Drink

My Time to Craft Wedding/ Anniversary/ Engagement
Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, 4 Crafty Chicks, Crafting With Friends Challenge #72, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, A Perfect Time to Craft, Create and Inspire, Creatalicious Challenges, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Attitude, Corrosive Challenge and Card Mania Challenges all have "Anything Goes" challenges

That's it for today.  I will be back very soon (I am making a concerted effort to at least get to this year's cards in my Drafts!) I have made a couple of cards that I'm quite excited to share, using "different" techniques; of course by the time I DO share them they'll be old hat, lol.

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

DIY King

The card I have today is for my husband for Father's Day.  Not only is he the DIY King, but, as it says on the inside of the card he is "Dad to our Incredible Young men".  It's a shaker card ... my first one!  

I've made it a shaker card, because that's the challenge theme this fortnight over at Here Come The Boys ...actually the theme is Slider or Shaker.  Hop on over  and check out the rest of the DT inspiration ...cute! 

The image is  "DIY King" - a digi (but of course!) from Just Inklined, perfect for my husband; especially right now as we're in the throes of Doing Ourselves a project in the al fresco area ... not today though, I'm letting him have a day off - to cook the barbecue for the family :-) I've coloured the image with Copics.  Stamp Something has its September Digi day challenge so I'm entering there (next week is their last challenge, I'll miss their challenge blog as it's one of my faves)

As I'd never made a shaker card before, I went trawling blogland and found a couple of good tutorials, here's one (so there's no excuse!) and to be honest it wasn't that hard!  I didn't use a die, I just cut the frame out using my trimmer; Sir Stampalot has "It's a Frame Up" as it's challenge theme, so I'm entering there.
The papers are Echo Park's Walk in the Park (yes, again!) and blue card from DCWV.  My mum and dad got me the trim last time they were in Malaysia on holiday, they just got back from their latest trip...I now have a whole new set of goodies! (this is the way they "pay" me for budgie sitting while they're away, lol) 

The sentiment is computer generated, the "DIY" uses Alpha Wood font (free from dafont.com) and I think it's perfect for this theme.  The little clear plastic beads have rainbow colours on them, they look for all the world like soap bubbles or water drops.

The inside of the card is basically an exact copy of the front, all in all a very easy card (once you get your head around the shaker thing, of course!)  The Paper Shelter and Simon Says Stamp have Anything Goes as their challenge this time...too easy, I'm in!  Sweet Stampin' has Anything But A Birthday so I'm in there too.
I've made a card for my Dad for Father's Day...it will make an appearance soon :-) I'd like to wish him, my hubby and all the Dad's celebrating Father's Day today a very happy day.

I have another post coming up (well as soon as I've typed it, lol) for a GDT spot for Cupcake Inspirations, I hope you'll come back and visit... until then, happy crafting, Dee