Aah to be 21 Again.... AGAIN!

Today I have "the other" 21st Birthday card I made for the weekend.

I made an easel card... because I like them :-) I used a Tickled Pink digistamp Li'l Valentine Luca that I altered using Word by taking out the flower and choccies Luca was holding and putting in a card (which I stuck tiny number stickers on) and a key which was part of the Key to My Heart image from Bizzy Becs.

I duplicated the image (shrunk right down) and cropped both so that the key fit in his hand - sending the top part of the key "behind" him and bringing the other part in front of him... I was really pleased with how it worked out, though I could have done a better job of colouring it!   Papertake Weekly has Make Your Own as its theme, I made my sentiment too, so I'm entering there.

The papers I used are from DCWV - the Le Chateau 12" pad, and Kaisercrafts Le Chateau 6" pad... talk about the French Connection, lol.  I think all the keys on the Kaiser paper make it PERFECT for a 21st card!   Stamptacular Sunday has Patterns galore (use 3 or more patterned papers) I have so I'm in.

I've used the sketch from Stamping With The Dragon this time, I DO like a good sketch :-)

I've used gems from my stash for around the left edge of the image panel (cut and embossed with an Mpress Curved Rectangle die) the brads and the nice manly little metal key on the sentiment panel are also from stash, so I'll be entering Lisa's Waste Not Wednesdays challenge as well as The Paper Shelter challenge to use a Metal Embellishment.

I coloured the image with Copics, adding a few extra shadows with Prismacolor pencils, it's working for me :-)  In case you were wondering, Shane is a redhead!

I distressed around the edges of the sentiment and image panel (as well as the jotting panel/tag) with metallic gold ink; I like the vintage look it gives, without it making the overall effect too dull. It hardly shows in the photos, but it's defo there :-)  Cute Card Thursday has Distressing as their challenge theme, so I'm entering there.

I added patterned paper to the "inside" (if there is such a thing on an easel card) so I made a separate jotting panel/tag using the same die and some more paper from the Kaisercraft pad to fit into the pocket I left by simply not gluing down the top of the dp panel (a gift card went in there too). Everything was matted on card from DCWV Neutrals pad. 

Crafts 4 Eternity has Brilliant Birthdays and Divas by Design has Happy Birthday so I'm entering there, and the Simon Says Challenge is an Anything Goes, so definitely in there too, lol.

That's it for my "other" 21st card... I have to get on to my Mother's birthday card next, she's definitely NOT 21, in fact she's only a couple of year's off FOUR times that!  I was looking at our wedding photos just the other day, and the "borrowed" that I wore was the gold cross my mum got from my dad for HER 21st, I have a lovely photo of my mum wearing it, in fact this is the card I made for her 80th birthday... using that photo!

Anyway, I digress.  I'll be back in a day or so, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Aah To Be Twenty One Again!

Well, I don't really know if I WOULD like to be twenty one again really... all that angst!  This card is for the used-to-be-little-girl across the road from us... I can't believe she's 21!! I made a side-stepper simply 'coz it shows off all the card at once! We're going to a party for her on Saturday night, combined with her boyfriends 21st! I have to come up with a card for him yet, bit more of a challenge as I haven't known him since he was eight as I have Hayley!

I'm really pleased with the end result; it doesn't have a huge amount of embellies on compared with some peeps, but for me it's got plenty!  I've taken the piccies indoors, but the colours are pretty accurate. 
The colour was easy to decide, the invitation is red and black (coupled with the fact that her car is black with ladybirds on, her numberplate is "ladybrd" and her first car was red with black dots on.... getting the picture? lol) so I figure she likes the combo.  I've used the delightful digi "Blanche" from Saturated Canary, I have about twenty of Krista's fabby images... this is the first time I've been brave enough to colour one up!  I coloured with Copics and Prismacolors (the black is pencils, I get a better outcome with black pencils than Copics) the Saturated Canary challenge this time is Black White and One as is  Craft Your Passion , I'm hoping the grey that's on the paper doesn't discount it.   Craft Your Days Away wants Shades of Grey + One colour, so I know it's fine there!  I added some Stickles to her earrings and a Swarowski crystal to her sash, very glittery IRL.

Jotting panel on rear of tag

Sentiment tag

The sentiment tag fits in a pocket made simply by not gluing the top edge of the rearmost panel, there's a jotting panel on the back and room in the pocket for the voucher that is our gift.  I attached the sentiment (cut using Standard Ovals and Classic Scalloped Ovals) only at the top so it can "overlap" the front of the pocket.  Aud Sentiments wants us to put our sentiment on a tag, I have so I'm in.
The paper on the main part of the easel is from Starfish Lane, the rest of the papers are from my stash... Kaisercraft After Five and Shaken Not Stirred, the red and black card comes from my stash too... so I'll be entering Lisa's Waste Not Wednesdays challenge.
I cut the scrolls with a Marianne Designs die (that's three dies I've used, so I'm entering the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge to use two or more dies), there are black pearls on the "curlycues" of the black scrolls and the corners of each dp panel, so I'm entering Paper Crafting Journey Swirls and Pearls challenge.  I Stickled up the red scroll... of course it doesn't show in the pics, lol.

Trust me, it Blings!

The flowers are a mix of stash and new arrivals from Mulberry Crafts in the UK... when the parcel arrived (in very quick time, I might add!) it was amazing to see that it came from a place in Wales about ten miles from where I lived until emigrating to Australia with my folks forty years ago!  The world is indeed small :-)  Bizzy Becs challenge this month is Flower Power, so I'm in!
The only other embellishment on the card, apart from the silver and crystal brad on the sentiment, is the metal and rhinestone key in the floral arrangement; I must have taken twenty photos trying to get the bling factor showing, you'll just have to trust me - it blings :-)  The Paper Shelter  wants us to use a Metal Embellishment -I'm in.
My Mums Craft Shop has Birthday Girls and Divas by Design has Birthday, what you might call variations on a theme, lol, so I'm entering those... as well as the Simon Says Challenge Anything Goes challenge, of course!
Well that's it for today, I have to go to bed... should try to get on to making the other 21st card but have so much else to fit in.  The old adage about Haste making Waste showed up big time today; long story short, I was rushing to get some paperwork finished for one of my clients, I Cut information (two weeks worth of Data Entry) from one spreadsheet, Pasted it into another spreadsheet and then promptly saved the one with data cut from it and didn't save the one with it pasted into... normally (as in when I'm not rushing!) I NEVER Cut, I always Copy, figuring it's better to have the info in two places than none... and it would seem that that is very sound thinking, as now I have to do two weeks of data entry AGAIN, grrrrrr.
Hopefully I'll fit some craft time in and be back with something super :-) Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

It's a Jungle Out There!

The new challenge starting today over at Here Come The Boys has a "Jungle" theme.  When I first saw the theme I wasn't sure what to do... but I was actually surprised how flexible it is - and how many appropriate images are out there.
I made another slimline card - just a sheet of A4 folded in thirds, too easy.... and it'll go at standard postage!

Another bonus of this style of card is that the "inside" basically IS the "outside": so you're decorating both in one fell swoop!

I used two of the Tall Jungle Blocks images from Bugaboo - perfect for long skinny cards, lol.  There are 7 images in the set, and EVERYTHING in Bugaboo is on half price sale until the end of July so this set was only $3... what are you waiting for? (Just to let you know I have no alliance with Bugaboo, I just LOVE their images, ☺)  

I've coloured with Copics, with some extra shading using Prismacolor pencils.  I coloured the borders to look like picture frames... well, I hope they look like picture frames - 'twas the plan, lol, then popped them up on foam dots.  

I made the sentiment on the computer using Kingthings Lupine font.... how cute is that! The paper is from the  Die Cuts With a View Animal Crackers 8" collection, perfect size for a DL card.;  believe it or not the Joanna Sheen challenge this time around  is Animal Crackers, so I'll be entering there and Charisma Cardz has Favourite Animal... I think giraffes are so kinda clumsy-cute, making them among my favourites, so I'm entering there.  As I've had the paper in my stash for yonks, I'll be entering the Waste Not Wednesdays Stash challenge. I don't keep it with the rest of my paper as it's an odd size so I keep forgetting I've got it, shame as it's pretty cool.  The only embellishment on the card apart from Card Candi on the corners (I seriously didn't think it needed much) are the leaves cut from scrap card in various shades of green using Martha Stewarts Leafy Branch punch.  Totally Gorjuss has Leaf It In (use leaves) so I'll be entering there and Crafty Calendar has Fun in the Sun, I feel this fits so I'm in there too.

The Paper Shelter and Divas by Design both have Anything Goes challenges running, so I'll be entering those... gotta love an Anything Goes challenge, lol.

That's it for today, why not pop over to Here Come The Boys and check out the rest of my teamies work... it's awesome.  Why not enter the challenge yourself, you could win this great prize.

I'll be back in a day or so with one of the 21st birthday cards I have to make this week... proving more of a challenge than I thought, 'specially with stiff fingers - though they're a lot better since I increased my medication :-)

Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Simple Wedding Card

Well, as my fingers have been too stiff to do much crafting (Arthritis + Winter = very sore!!), I thought I'd just pop the card I made (and didn't use) for last weeks Less Is More challenge on to my blog today.  It will be a short post (do I hear a sigh of relief, lol) as typing isn't the easiest with wooden lumps for fingers!

I used one of the Wedding Doodles collection from Digistamp Boutique, so I'm entering their monthly challenge.  The image comes in black, I changed it to gold using Word and used the same colour to make the sentiment (using Bradley Handwriting font) and the border - for which I used one of the characters from the Splendid Ornamenty font in text boxes flipped so that the flourishes mirror each other (left to right, top to bottom)  
I hope that I explained that well, it sounds so complicated and was so easy, lol.  Inside the card I flipped the image and reduced it in size.  
The gold mat is a pearl paper (of course it doesn't show in the photos!) embossed with Cuttlebugs Swiss Dots folder.  The zig zag border stickers (or peel offs) are from my stash: when I started scrapbooking, I bought a quadzillion of these things and still have about a quadzillion minus ten left, lol. Needless to say I'll be entering Lisa's Waste Not Wednesdays stash challenge!
As I said, it is a very simple card, but it let me investigate some digital manipulation techniques like recolouring, so worthwhile exercise.  I think it's very versatile; it would be very easy to make a set of Thank You cards in different shades, or to add very pastel colouring for a subtle effect and so on.
Well, it's lovely outside, so we're off to take the dog for a walk: it's our industry Awards Ball tonight in town, so the dog is going to "Nanna's" for a sleepover and we like to have him well worn out before we take him there.... though, for a Jack Russel he is particularly laid back (unlike our last one who would drive us crazy if we were tardy in the walking department!)
I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for the Here Come The Boys challenge, I do hope you'll pop back and check it out.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna 

Kraft, Vellum and Roses for a Baby Girl

I have a card today that is, while not laden with embellishments, at least a few steps away from the clean and simple ones of my last couple of posts. 

 It all started when I printed the cute Pink Gem Baby Girl Teddy digistamp on Kraft and coloured with Prismacolor pencils, it gives such a lovely soft finish, and I thought a vintage feel was what was needed... I know I could have gone  a lot further but the image was disappearing :-)  
I used the sketch from Gem of a Challenge, but didn't realise until I took the photos that I had rotated the panels, but not the rest of the sketch... I hope it still "counts". 
I cut the image panel from Kaisercraft paper with an Mpress Antique Frames die, distressing the edges with some gold ink; the die the next size up was much larger so I hand cut the mat using American Crafts cardstock.   The vertical panels are more of the Kaisercraft paper covered with some patterned vellum from my stash.  The ribbon is also from my stash Stamping With The Dragon has Ribbons and Bows for their challenge so I'm entering there.  The roses and blossoms are stash again, as are the pearls, so I'm entering the Waste Not Wednesdays Stash challenge.

Cupcake Inspirations has this great Photo Inspiration, I used the colours and the roses for my card so I'm entering the challenge.  Di's Digi Designs has Pile on the Flowers and Bizzy Becs has Flower Power for their theme so I'm entering there too.  
The flourishes are cut from Marianne Designs die, The Paper Shelter has a Swirls and Pearls challenge - I'm in! and the sentiment is from Craftworks.  Totally Papercrafts wants us to use Lots of Layers, that's never really challenge for me - I LOVE layers!  On this occasion though I haven't popped my layers up on foam dots as I usually would, it just didn't seem to work.  

I finished the inside with more of the vellum over a pale pink paper from my stash, Digital Tuesday has Inside Out (to decorate the inside of your card) and That Craft Place has an Anything Goes challenge so I'm entering those.  I'm going to pop a link on Sassy Cheryl Show Me Thursday, though this isn't the only thing I've been up to this week;  My arthritis has been bad (it is winter here, and so not unexpected, but still unpleasant) and we have an outdoor spa which is really good therapy - the only thing is it needed a good clean so I emptied it and scrubbed it with descaler for FOUR hours which set my arthritis off BIG TIME.... do you see the irony?  

Anyway, don't know if it's because I was so stiff (or that I was on the phone to my sister so a bit distracted, lol) but, long story short, I fell in to the now-spotlessly-clean-but-still-empty spa and hit my back on the seat resulting in me needing a hot spa even more, luckily it filled and heated by 8pm so hubby and I had a good bubbly soak and nice glass of wine.  The bruise is coming out now, and believe it or not I've got whiplash out of it.... I used to be a labourer installing swimming pools, without serious injury and now I can't even clean a spa without injuring myself - I wish someone had seen it - at least that way someone would have got a laugh out of it!!!
Anyway that's it for today - until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Red Velvet Acceptance

Well, as discussed in my previous post, here's the "other" Acceptance card I made for my neighbour's daughters 21st... though I am thinking of not using it for that after all and using the "leftover" paper to make a more casual card instead... at this rate the RSVP date will have come and gone and I'll have 25 Acceptance cards in my stash, lol

As with my last card, it's DL size (which is a third of A4) which makes it standard postage rate... handy as I'm going to give it to my friend across the street, lol.  The background paper is a faux velvet, it's REALLY lush IRL, but you know you can never capture that in photographs.  It came, as did the lovely pearlised butterfly print, from Starfish Lane, my go-to place for "fancy" paper!  The ribbon came on a gift - my son loves to wrap his gifts elaborately, which is a great source of goodies for me, lol - so I'm entering Lisa's  Waste Not Wednesdays Stash challenge.

The sentiment is computer generated using Splendid Ornamenty font, which includes the flourishes in it's character set.  I finished off with a  butterfly punched from the velvet paper using a Martha Stewart punch.

The inside was finished with the same elements as the outside... too easy!  Digital Tuesday has Inside Out as its theme, I always decorate the inside as well as the outside of my cards, I just  hope the computer generated sentiment is "digital" enough; I also hope one word is enough of a sentiment to enter the Moving Along With The Times Make it Sentimental and Corrosive Challenge Sentimentally Yours challenges!!

One thing for sure, I can enter Crafty Creations, That Craft Place and Creatalicious Challenges  as they have Anything Goes challenges running. 

That's it folks, I'll be back soon with another card... I've got some images coloured ready and I've made another Clean and Simple job, but I may keep that for a rainy day blog-wise, lol.  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna