Sketch Time at Here Come The Boys

It's Sunday, and a new challenge is starting over at Here Come The Boys.  This time around we have a sketch for you to use. I love a nice sketch... and as you'll see this IS a nice sketch :)  Here's my card

and here's the sketch.........................
As soon as I saw this great image "Bathing Beauty" from Kenny K I thought of the film Memphis Belle (which I LOVE), she even has the anklet that the beauty on the plane had! The Cutie Pie Challenge current theme is Favourite Films, so I'm entering there.  I coloured the image with Copics.

I thought the papers from Kaiser's Vintage Timeless pad suit her well. The Pink Elephant wants us to use 3 papers + our favourite embellishment.  I've actually used 4 papers, embossing the square panel with Couture Creations Hedged Maze folder, then distressing the embossing back, I don't use a lot of embellishments on my cards (I just buy them, lol) but brads feature often, as the stars on this card do.  Foam dots don't count as an embellishment, but I use them A LOT... I love the 3D look :)
In keeping with the vintage theme I used Kraft instead of white cardstock, Moving Along With The Times has Lets Get Krafty,  Cupcake Craft Challenges want us to Get Our Kraft On and  Papertake Weekly have Anything Goes with the optional use of Kraft, so I'm entering there too.

I followed the sketch on the inside too, using some postcard scrapbooking paper from my stash, The Anything Goes Challenge has Mail It for their challenge so I'm entering there.
The sentiment is computer generated, I cut the image panel with Mpress Curved Rectangles die then used a smaller one from the set cut in half for the sentiment.  Simon Says Challenge and One Stop Craft Challenge bot have Birthday/Celebration challenges so I'm entering there.
That's about it for today's card, hope you can join us in the challenge this time around, pop over to the blog and check out my teamies inspiration... it's amazing how differently we all used the sketch.
I'm off now to my Son and Daughter in Law's place to visit them and the twins... and to take them some dinner (my Son and DIL that is, not the twins :))
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Two Peas in a Pod

Well, as promised, today I have the card I made for my folks to give my Son and Daughter In Law on the birth of the twins.  I'd like to thank all you lovely peeps that left comments on my previous post and on the post announcing their arrival - they are very much appreciated, as all your comments are :)

Simon Says Challenge has a Happy Birthday theme, this card is for a Birth-day (it was given when the bubs were only four hours old!) so I'm entering there.  I used one of the lovely new-ish Sweet November Sleeping Baby Fairies (Phew!) digistamps from All That Scraps, there's three in the set; this is "pea" and I've added the mirror image before printing (I love digis!) to make my "two peas in a pod".  Crafty Creations has Flowers or Fairies so I'm entering my baby fairies there, Aud Sentiments challenge is For a Child, so in there too and Gem of a Challenge has Make it Cute - I think it's cute, so in there too :)

I've coloured with Copics and Prismacolor pencils, embossing with iridescent EP around the edges of the image panel, the sentiment is computer generated. Catch the Bug has Anything Goes with Cardstock + Bling, so I'm entering those.  Totally Gorjuss has Something Blue, so I'm in there too :)

The image mat is cut with Nestabilities Lacey Squares. The papers, including the die cut borders, are from Kaiser's Lullaby pad.  This is the first time I've used the white lace/mesh fabric "stuff" that I got from Mulberry Crafts, I just felt that the card needed something to "soften" it, this worked a treat.  The ribbon, pearls and little hearts (white, coloured with Copics) are from my stash. Oozak has Anything Goes with Pearls Lace and Ribbon, I don't have a lot of each, but they're there so I'm in!

The sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday is a beauty... as usual!  I followed it for the inside of the card too!  Papertake Weekly has an Anything Goes challenge so I'm entering.
Well that's about it for today's card, very simple but quite sweet - my Mum doesn't like heavily embellished cards so she loved it, and was pleased to hand it over to her new Great Grandies ;)
The twins are coming home from hospital tomorrow (or later today, as it's past midnight!) so we may get to visit them at home over the weekend - and I can start catching up on all the cuddles we couldn't get when they were unwell!
I'll be back on Sunday with a DT card for Here Come The Boys... there's still time to enter our fab photo inspiration challenge - or I'll see you for the new challenge on Sunday.  
Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Twice as Nice

Today I have the card I gave to my Son and Daughter in Law on the birth of their twins... my grandchildren - still getting my  head around that one ;)

 As soon as I found out they were having twins, I knew the image I wanted for their card, this gorgeous Lili of the Valley stamp comes with the sentiment and is one of the sweetest images out there for twins.  Gem of a Challenge want us to Make It Cute and Crafts 4 Eternity want as Cute as You Like - I'm in, lol.
I don't "do" stamping very often, being a lover of digistamps (so much more forgiving than rubber... I must have stamped that sentiment 20 times before I got a good one, lol) I used Stazon ink, but I think I'll have to get some Memento as that's what seems to be the go.

I've used a fold I often use, I don't really know what it's called - really it's just a normal fold with half the front cut away :)  in this case I decorated the inside to match the front exactly, ensuring the ribbon and square doilies were aligned then added a dragonfly (from my stash) on the front doily in exactly the same spot as the one on the inside so that you could see a pink and a blue dragonfly with the card open or closed.

I coloured with Prismacolor pencils and (the devil being in the detail, lol) added an extra "roll" to the little girl's middle because in "our" twins case she is significantly chubbier than the boy :)  The papers are from Kaisercraft's Lullaby pad, Totally Gorjuss has Something Blue for it's challenge; I hope HALF blue is enough :p
I embossed the edges of the image panel, sentiment panel and square doily with iridescent embossing powder, giving the same treatment to the Card Candi (stash) on the bow on the front; looks lovely IRL!  The 2 Sisters Challenge is Sparkly and the Catch the Bug challenge this time around is Cardstock + Bling - I'm in!
As I said I finished the inside to match the front, I waited until the babies were born then printed their names and birthweights on tiny tags to add to the bow on the inside; I love little personal touches like that - my DIL does too. Love to Create wants us to use a tag somewhere on our project... hope this counts :)
The little pacifier charms on the front were from Pink Gem Designs, Divas by Design want us to Use Some Metal, as does Totally Papercrafts, so I'm entering there.
The ribbon came twice this width (I think it was from the Ribbon Girl) and I cut it down to a more manageable size.  Paper Crafting Journey has Ribbon or Lace - this is kinda both! - and the  Lili's Little Fairies  challenge is Buttons and Bows so I'm entering there too.  The Pink Elephant wants us to use Decorative Paper (easy) + our Favourite Embellishment - not so easy... I don't use a lot of embellishments, but ribbon and Card Candi are my "go to" so I'm entering there.
Cutie Pie Challenge's theme is Your Favourite Film, to be honest it's not my Favourite, but I was thinking of Twins with this card... there is a significant weight difference between our twinnies, I hope they don't end up like Arnie and Danny - 'specially as Emily is the bigger twin :))
Creative Craft Challenges has All About the Kids (babies are small kids, and these ones are MY kid's kids, lol) Aud Sentiments has For a Child as does Paper Pretties, so I'm entering there; The Paper Shelter and Simon Says Challenge both have Anything Goes themes so I'm entering there too.

I thought I'd share a photo (or three!) of the twins... I promise this won't keep happening, it is a craft blog after all - but they are so gorgeous - they've had a few issues with weight loss, so we are still not allowed to hold them :(  Daddy can - he's staying in the hospital full time, so he gets to "help", his reward is a cuddle!  Don't worry, I'll get my cuddle-fix when they're well enough;)

Hope they'll soon fit their size 0000 suits!

Well that's it for today's card.  I've got a card that I made for my mum and dad to give for the twins, so I'll be back with that in a day or so.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna.

Flower Frenzy at Di's Digi Designs Challenge

Today we have a new Di's Digi Designs Challenge starting... the theme this time around is "Flower Frenzy".  Now we don't mind if you add flowers, use floral paper or, like me, have an image with flowers on, as long as there's a lot of 'em ;)

 The image I've used is Curly's Butterfly and you can get him here on Di's fab new website.  How cute is he? and very versatile too.  Craft Your Passion has Make it Cute as does Gem of a Challenge, so I'm entering there and Crafts 4 Eternity has Cute as you like so I'm entering there too.
I've coloured with Copics, adding some Ice Stickles to the butterfly and around the bouquet... not that they show in the pics of course.

I've used the sketch from Sketch and Stash this time around, you know I love a good sketch :)  I cut a scalloped border with Classic Border dies from Nestabilities to take the place of the lace in the sketch, and I haven't used a sentiment - I'm leaving it open.  I think it makes a super Anniversary card, so I'm entering the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge which has a theme of Fuzzy Friends (Anniversary or Wedding Card)
The papers are from a new (well new for me anyway!) pad from Kaisercraft; Botanical Odyssey, very lush indeed!  Digital Tuesday has Spring Colours for their current theme, so I'm entering there.

I followed the sketch for the inside of the card too.
The flowers are a set of Joy Craft dies, the two on the front are the large and medium, the two on the inside are the medium and small.  The centres are Card Candi... to get the smallest one to be a better scale I cut a piece of Card Candi using a Fiskars hole punch - it took me longer to balance the Card Candi on the punch than it did to cut and shape the flowers, lol.  The Paper Shelter and Simon Says Challenge both have Anything Goes themes, so I'm entering there.
That's about it for today's card, having such a nice easy challenge theme should mean I'll see loads of you entering the challenge; sure hope so :D  The prize is a goodie too, $10 from There She Goes Stamps, yay!
I'll be back tomorrow or Monday with one of the baby cards I made for the twins... I'm just about to go and see them (and their parents of course!) not allowed a cuddle today, they have lost a little too much weight :( For Nathan in particular that is a concern as he has now dropped under 2Kg, so they need to rest and they are now getting topped up with formula; my daughter in law is very keen to feed them herself so she is feeling a bit frustrated at the moment - but she does realise that the best way to monitor them is to measure their feeds - I'm sure it will all sort itself out in a few days. My son is being fantastic, he's sleeping at the hospital and keeping track of everything, doing the nappy changes (until Elaine can get out of bed at least), scheduling visitors, all sorts - we're so proud of him.  Before I go I have to wash some 00000 size clothes, the 0000 are still drowning Nathan :p
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna 

Twinnies Day

Well the day has finally come... I'm a Nanna!

Emily Olivia & Nathan Rhys

arrived today.

Emily arrived at 2.15 pm (local time)  weighing 2.750 Kg or 6lb 1oz and was followed one minute later by her brother Nathan Rhys, weighing 2.095 Kg or 4lb 10oz.  All are well, Nathan (because of his lower than expected birth weight) will spend some time in an Isolette, but will hopefully join the rest of his family in their room by the weekend.
They did allow him to come to the room when we went to meet the babies, we took a couple of photos of my son's new family :D

The new family

Emily Olivia

Nathan Rhys

It's nice to have them here, safe and sound. Our love and thanks go to our darling son Matt and his lovely wife Elaine, :x  :x :x :x :x

I've made a card (surprise!) and one for my folks to give too... I'll be back tomorrow with some pics.  I'm off now to bed, it'll be the first time I've ever slept with a Grandad, lol

A Host of Golden Daffodils

 I have another card with a spring feel to it today, which is kind of ironic as we're heading into autumn here... glorious day today, blue sky, fresh breeze and only about 26C - so much better than those too-hot-for-me months ;) 

I've made another easel card, do love 'em! Addicted to Stamps has Easel Cards for their challenge theme so I'm entering there.
I've used another sweet image from Di's Digi Designs, this is Little Bunnies Daffodils; such a joy to colour - which I have done with Copics and Prismacolor pencils.  My Time to Craft has a Bunnies challenge - I'm in - Deep Ocean Challenge has Cute and Cuddly for their challenge so I'm in there too.

I've used the sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp, great sketch thanks!  I used papers from Kaisercraft's Magic Happens pad (which I've had for-eva so I'm entering the Totally Gorjuss Something Old challenge) and Merci's Tangerine Tang pad.  I got the Merci paper in Big W! it's fabulous, heavy weight and most sheets have glitter or foil (on this one the orange circles are foiled, not that it shows in the pics, grrr).  The card for matting is from American Crafts and Bazzil, 

 I cut the image panel using Nestabilities Labels One and the orange mat for the image using Nestabilities Decorative Labels One.  The orange mat on the sentiment is from Nestabilities Floral Ovals, the purple is from Nestabilities Standard ovals and the sentiment itself is from Craftworks Cards :-)  The ribbon is from my stash, Craft Your Passion and Paper Crafting Journey both have Ribbon or Lace as their challenge themes so I'm entering there. 

I added daffodils and bead sprigs from Mulberry Crafts, a leafy flourish from Cheery Lynn and some small punched flowers with Gold Stickles centres.  I coloured pearls to match using Copics.  The current 2 Sisters Challenge is Flowers for Spring, The Paper Shelter has Spring, Colour Me Copic  has Spring Colours, My Mums Craft Shop has Spring has Sprung, Simon Says Challenge  has Easter/Spring as does Gem of a Challenge, One Stop Craft Challenge and Bearly Mine Challenges have Anything goes themes so I'm entering there too.

Well that's it for today's card, now just a quck note for my Followers (and anyone who Follows any Blog really ;) )No doubt you'll have heard that Google is binning their Reader; I have investigated it and as far as I can tell we Bloggers need to find a different way of receiving posts from Blogs we Follow, there are a couple of Readers that fit the bill, Feedly is one and the most popular of them seems to be Bloglovin' ... you don't have to "rejoin" any of the Blogs you Follow, if you sign up for Bloglovin' (which is easy to do, I might add) all the Blogs in your Reading List will be migrated there.  After 1st July, when your Reading List will no longer appear on your Blogger Dashboard you will need to Follow new blogs using your Bloglovin' account (your daily feed is sent straight to your email, so easy peasy) or by clicking on the "Follow This Blog on Bloglovin'" Button if it's available on the Blog you want to Follow
In short, you do need to sign up to a new Reader like Bloglovin' to get notification of when a blog you follow has a new post, you don't have to go to every blog you Follow  now and "reFollow"; your list will go over to Bloglovin' automatically.
I hope that all makes sense,it's just that I can feel a kind of panic out in Blogland the last week or so since Google made their announcement and thought I'd share my thoughts on it :D
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna