Fun Folds at Di's Digis

Yet another fortnight has flown by, meaning there's a new challenges starting over at Di's Digis Challenge Blog.  The theme this time around is no challenge at all for me... it's "Fun Folds"; I LOVE trying out different folds for cards, it's one of the things I stalk blogs for. ideas for something just a little bit different.  Having said that my card today uses a very straightforward fold :-))

It's a stepper card, of the simplest variety,  In fact I haven't seen one THIS simple I don't think... I just put a couple of folds along the long side of a sheet of A4 card and decorated it!  The bonus is that, when folded flat, it fits in a standard business size envelope (DL) so it will go for standard rate postage, yay!
It's a bit hard to see the stepper effect in the first pic, here's a pic from side on.
I made a Christmas card as that is the one type of card I NEVER have enough of... and my Mum will be super thrilled if I actually have a few spare this year... I think I managed to let her have one last year, even though she asks me in about September if I'll have any available for her to give her "special" friends... which is nice, and makes me feel "special" as I did when the daisies I picked for her when I was six made it to a proper vase :))
The cuter than cute image is "Not a Creature Was Stirring" and you can get it here .  I coloured with Copics, adding lashings of Star Dust Stickles to the snow, snowflakes and fur trim.
I followed the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

with the first step of my card being at the position of the ribbon... I added a diecut "Peace" (from a great set of Christmas word dies by Sizzix) that I slathered in Xmas Red Stickles ... and a bit of a Memory Box Snowflake Corner die on the "other" side of the image panel to add some interest to the edge of the step.
I matted the image panel and the patterned paper panel behind it with gold glittery cardstock from my stash... I've learned my lesson though after the last time I used this stuff and the glitter went EVERYWHERE; I sprayed it with Workable Fixative that I've had in art stash forever!! It hardly dropped a grain of glitter - meaning that despite getting a lot of handling the mats stayed nice and glittery too.  Hard to see in the pics... of course.

I used Kaisercraft Paper, from the Christmas Carol pad.  I actually forgot to mat the background papers so I added some gold peel off sticker borders to make them look more finished, and some peel off corners on the largest panel too.  I had already distressed the edges of everything with gold ink, the only other thing I added were some red rhinestones from my stash (on the largest panel at the back, in case you can't spot them, lol)

I finished the inside of the card in the simplest manner... no point in overdoing the inside of a Christmas card; that said, I'll probably stamp an appropriate Christmas message on it before sending it - for standard postage of course, lol
So that's it for my card... another one for my Christmas card stash - it's better than last year when I had about two done by November, lol.
Hope you get a chance to check out my teamies fabulous work... you can pick up some ideas for Fun Folds of your own, and of course you could then enter your card in the challenge.  There's a fab prize on offer from Crafty Ribbons and of course as always if you use one of Di's sweet images you go in an extra draw!
I would like to enter this card in the following challenges, and hope to be back soon (then, I always do intend to be back "soon", life just gets in the way, lol) with something from my draft folder.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Crafty Creations	Seeing Spots
Little Red Wagon	Seeing Spots
Crafty Cardmakers	Dots
Allsorts Challenges	Bring on the Bling (stickles & rhinestones)
Simon Says Challenge	Clean and Simple (there's hardly any embellies, hope it's CAS enough!)
The Paper Shelter	It's a Celebration
Hiding in my Craft Room	Any Holiday
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge	Trees (The meeces are IN a tree, lol)
Winter Wonderland	Twinkle Twinkle -All Sparkly and Bright (The Stickles and rhinestones)
Outlawz Friday Colouring Challenge	Anything Goes: Christmas Twist
Craft Your Passion	Always Anything Goes
Art by Miran	Anything Goes
Through the Craftroom Door	Anything Goes

Joy to the World

Well I've finally found a few minutes to "blog" one of my Christmas cards... it's probably one of my favourites for the year, (though I haven't finished making all I need yet!) so I'm giving it to my Mum and Dad :-)

I made a three-step card, I've seen these around blogland and always fancied making one, it being Christmas and having almost no time to spare seemed to be the right time to try one, lol.  I used this great template and tutorial, it really wasn't that hard :-)

Sketch Saturday wants us to use any of their sketches after # 215, I've used # 240 though ended up adding the corner element to all four corners; I can't help it, I'm a symmetrical kinda gal!  The super sweet image is Berry, a digi from Wee Stamps. I coloured with Prismacolor pencils, adding some gloss to the berries.  The sentiment is a freebie from The Desert Diva, thanks very much :-) I was going to colour the ornament but decided against it. 

The image panel and narrow gold mat was cut using Nestabilities Standard Ovals as a template, the Kraft mat was cut using Nestabilities Floral Ovals, one of my favourite Nesties.  I just find the difference in size between the Standard and Floral Ovals doesn't always suit, so freehanding is the way to go.

The paper is Kaisercraft's Twig and Berry - 1 sheet (it's red one side and green the other!) Delightful Challenges wants us to use Red and Green and Stampin' for the Weekend wants us to Use Some Red, so I'm entering there.  The banner is from my Christmas scraps folder.  I used gold stickers (peel offs) from my stash for the borders and the corners, the leaves are from Mulberry Crafts and the Dewdrop berries are from The Ribbon Girl, I used very fine gold wire from my stash to finish the arrangement. Clear It Out has an Anything Goes theme and we can use any Stash so I'm entering there.

Now, the really significant thing about a three-step card is, wait for it, the three-steps! which of course are on the inside of the card.

I finished them with more of the Twig and Berry paper, gold stickers and a flourish cut with a Memory Box Snowflake Corner die.  The oval on the left came from a Kaisercraft 6" pad and the mat behind the jotting panel was another of the Floral Ovals dies.  The "JOY" letters are wood, coloured with Chalk White ink then embossed with iridescent EP, they (of course) look much nicer IRL!

Pile It On has P is for... for it's challenge, I'm thinking P is for Pencils, Peel Offs, Patterned Paper and Pretty image - I know, bit desperate :-)

I don't usually list the challenges I'm entering but as there are so may Christmas challenges running at the moment I thought you'd forgive me.... so I'm entering all these:

Papertake Weekly Christmas Creatures (NOT Berry, the little furry friend she's holding, lol)

Moving Along With The Times Walking in a Winter Wonderland

My Mums Craft Shop Winter/Christmas

Crafty Hands Season's Greetings/Winter

Brown Sugar Challenge Christmas

Jingle Belles Christmas

That Craft Place Christmas

Crafty Calendar Christmas
Deep Ocean Challenge Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Anything Christmas related)

Card Makin' Mamas Christmas

Colour Me Copic Holiday Themed

Sweet Stampin' Last Minute Christmas (I do have some even-more-last-minute cards to enter here too!!)

Crafts 4 Eternity Christmas Chaos (goes without saying, lol)

Cute Card Thursday Christmas Catch Up (I may, catch up that is!)

Paper Crafting Journey Christmas

Cuttlebug Mania Anything Christmas

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge Anything Goes

Corrosive Challenge Anything Goes

Gem of a Challenge Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations Free and Easy

Divas by Design Anything Goes

I hope you like my card, I really do (which doesn't always happen, lol) I've got quite a few more cards to show over the next week or so; mostly Christmas and CAS - some CAS because I thought Clean and Simple was appropriate and some less CAS and more SOT - Short Of Time!!!

We're in the middle of a heatwave here, we failed by 0.9 degrees today to reach a December record of five days in a row over 38C; instead of a record it was just HOT - though not as hot as yesterday at 40.4C It's forecast HOT again tomorrow, but we should have a balmy 29C on Tuesday.  Our hottest month is February, so it looks like it's going to be a long hot summer, sigh.

I'll be back with some cards soon, until then, Happy Crafting Donna

Flowers for Mum

Today I have another Mother's Day card... this is the one I made for my Mother In Law; as it's technically from her son I used a "boy" image :)

I've only made one Centre Stepper card before, and that didn't have the extra "step" in it... I think I like this one better :) Penny´s Paper have Step card or Easel card for their challenge, and the Anything Goes Challenge is Shaped Not Square so I'm entering there. Cuttin' and Stampin' has Shaped and Divas by Design has Shaped (not square or rectangle)  so I'm hoping my rectangle-with-a-bump gets me in there too; I know I can enter the Hobbycutz challenge which is More Than One Fold - this thing took longer to cut and fold than all the rest of the making!

As I said I used a "boy" image because the card is from my hubby, this is Joe With Flowers from Digistamp Boutique coloured with Copics.  I'll be entering Left of Center Creative Challenges who want us to use a digi image, Digistamp Boutique's monthly challenge as I've used one of their images and Tuesday Throwdown's challenge Smell the Roses (flowers in the image or paper, I have both) Colour Me Copic and Great Impressions both have Celebrations as their challenge theme, so I'm entering them too.

The papers are from Kaisercraft - Peachy Keen, I love these colours and we're heading into autumn here so they are season appropriate; My Mums Craft Shop has Spots or Stripes for their challenge (I have stripes), Oozak has Anything Goes with Earth Tones for their challenge, Clear It Out has Anything Goes, Use Stash and 2 or more papers; the papers and the cardstock (DCWV) are most definitely from stash, as are the paper flowers that I got from a discount store right at the beginning of my card making journey, so I'm in.  Stamping With The Dragon has A Flower for Mum while Crafty Calendar, Without Words, By the Cute and Girly, Simon Says Challenge, 

Card Mania Challenges, and My Sheri Crafts all have some sort of "Flower" challenge so I'm entering them.

I've used two dies from Memory Box, Puffy Clouds and Wrought Iron Fence - this is their first outing, I LOVE them!   I think the fence is really effective in this brown colour, it looks kinda rusty :)  I used the largest of the clouds on the "inside" (back?) of the card to decorate the jotting panel, My Time to Craft has Show Us Your Inside for their challenge, I'm in!

I created the sentiment on the computer, feel free to grab it if you like (it will be on my Freebies page for later anyway).  Aud Sentiments wants us to use a Sentiment for mother and child, I think this is suitable so I'm in there,2 Sisters Challenge, Creative Belli, Creative Inspirations, Going Grey with Scrap-Creations, Hanna and Friends and The Squirrel and the Fox  all have Mother's Day themes so I'm entering there too.  

Crafty Creations want us to KISS - Keep It Sweet and Simple that is ;)  This card really is quite simple (folding aside, lol) so I think it can go there, Love to Scrap, The Paper Shelter, Whimsy Stamps and Forever Friends all have Anything Goes challenges - I KNOW it can go there!

Well, that's it for today's card, I'll be back on the weekend with a DT card, until then, Happy Crafting, Donna