Day #19 - 40 Days Event

Nearly half way through the '40 Day' celebrations, which means it is exactly 3 weeks 'til I turn 40!!!! So today I've picked another li'l challenge that is close to my heart - recycling. I hate waste (a BIG bone of contention in our household!!) so there is nothing I like more than to use my crafty scraps & turn the packaging into something useful too! The pic to the right shows packaging from themed ribbon, a pack of brads & a li'l pack of embellies (forgot to photograph before I started altering! LOL) & the slideshow below shows them in action ... as part of two li'l accordian albums I put together for Auryn's teachers (he had his last day at Tiggywinkles Nursery today).
So today's challenge is to alter/recycle/repurpose something & either link it here or e-mail me if you don't have a blog & I'll pick a winner after July 27th to receive a bunch more alterable goodies! I might even get a pic up for you to see! LOL
And as I'm also the Guest Designer for the Arty Girlz ongoing Recycling Challenge ... don't forget to link your project there too - that's gotta be the easiest multi-challenge project ever! LOL

FIVE Challenges in One!!

Yup! You did read that right - I'm taking multi challenge layouts to the next level! LOL
First up, Deanne Burton is hosting today's '40 Days' event. Now I don't usually enter these - doesn't really seem right as I organised the whole event, contacted our fabulous participants and all the other behind the scenes stuff ... but Deanne specifically invited me to play along - & it would be rude not to! LOL
Anyway - the challenge was to create a layout with the word 'happy' included somewhere (1) you can increase your entries into the draw by creating a completely new layout (which this one is) AND by using one of Deanne's fabulous sketches ... which brings me neatly to challenge #2 - posted yesterday, Deanne's mid-month sketch! (2)
Arty Girlz current challenge is to create something with a male theme - that's my littlest man on a playdate with a buddy in the pic (3), Colour Your World are looking for summer themed layouts with sunny colours (I think but my translation could be a bit skewed) ... so that's 4!
Last but by no means least Janean set the following blog challenge (y'all know Friday is Blog Challenge Day, right? ) on the Croppinsville blog ...
For the anagram challenge, I'll select a word. I'll then select an item or two using the first letter of the word. The remaining letters are up to you. You must then use the supplies listed along with items you selected for the remaining letters to create your project. This weeks word is: CROP.

C~
R~
O~Orange
P~

So your challenge is to use something orange. Then you'll need to come up with something for C, R and P. Hope you enjoy!
So I have: C = COSMO CRICKET (like you couldn't see that coming!) R = Red Rub Ons O = Orange P = Paper Punches (Flower & Corner Rounder)

So there you have it! total number of challenges = 5!!!!

Arty Girlz #42

OK! This is my last post for tonight (yup! I do realise that it is, in fact, tomorrow! LOL) This is my take on the Arty Girlz challenge this week, which was (unusually) a sketch. I'm also going to count this card towards Fab's Big Christmas Challenge ... but I guess I'll get the others made before I link it all up! LOL. It's my own fault for going for the nutter option ... I could just do the one card! LOL.
This is another 'use my stash' card - still working my way thru all that HOTP - but I gotta say, we're not even making a dent in the pile just yet!!! Got a loooooong way to go!

Hello Sunshine!

This layout was really quick to put together using fabby 'Hello Sunshine' by Cosmo Cricket ... and it is just the perfect colours to go with some more of my real ale ephemera.
A few weeks before Sean's birthday bash, he picked up a bottle of Badger's 'Long Days' ale for me to try ... they bring out a new summer ale each year. Obviously, you have to check out the label first! LOL. I knew I'd be saving this one to use on one of Sean's birthday layouts - so that gave me a starting point. The bottle tops squash fairly successfully in the Big Shot - with much less effort than on my old Sizzix machine ... I think it's about time that found a new home! LOL
The journaling reads: Forget the solstice, for us summer officially starts with Sean's birthday barbeque ... The weekend closest to 9th June. Sometimes we'll celebrate ALL WEEKEND!
And as I've used the beer labeles and bottle tops - this is another one that qualifies for the Arty Girlz ongoing Recycling Challenge!

Got Flowers??

I love flowers but they die too quickly - especially in the warmer weather ... & they play havoc with DS2's hayfever (he's really suffering this year, poor love!) Here is my solution. DS1, being the kind and thoughtful lad that he is, bought & drank this bottle of ale cuz he thought I'd like the bottle. Isn't that just the most thoughtful thing ever? LOL.
Anyway, I decorated it with rub ons & ribbon from the Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste line. You do have to persevere a bit to get the rubs to stick to glass ... but it's well worth the effort I think. It does help if you cut close around the image & tape it into position first. The 'bloom' on the ribbon is also a rub on - they work really well on the gosgrain type ribbons as you get a little of the texture coming through.
Ooooh! Is that a recycled bottle then? So I guess it's another one for the Arty Girlz recycling challenge!
I have finally got the daisy die I've been waiting on - it seems to have been sold out for the longest time. I cut two for each flower (I reversed as they are not symmetrical), inked the petal edges & highlighted the detail with burgundy chalk. Each petal has been curled a li'l bit before sticking them together. The centre is a ribbon knot (Fleuriste again) and I highlighted the petal centres with glamour dust for a li'l subtle bling. The stems are just bamboo canes from the garden (use a hot glue gun to secure the flowers to the stems).
Just a couple more posts to come later today, so watch this space!

Hey Sugar!

Absolutely fell in love with these papers: Hey Sugar! by Cosmo Cricket. Although they have love-themed journaling cards & Strip Tease titles, they are sooooo pretty you could use them for anything girly ... So I Did - & just in time for Arty Girls 'Hint Of Pink' challenge this week!!
I bought one of the American Crafts D Ring albums a while ago, as I wanted something in which I can house layouts of varying sizes (rather than having an album for each size) - It's the 6x12 layouts that are my biggest problem ... they make no sense as an album purely by size. Anyway, I've been wondering how to alter it & so haven't actually started using it - as soon as I got these papers I knew they were the ones! I had the 'Hey Sugar!' Paper Crafting Kit & I've also used a Buck Naked Button; Nursery Trim Trimmerie, Victoria Ready, Set chipboard & Doodle Rub Ons. & I LOVE IT!!
Next up, another recycled project for Arty Girlz ongoing Recycling Challenge. I bought a couple of slatted, wooden picnic tables & these li'l .75" cubes are the spacers supplied for keeping the slats the right distance apart while you screw them into place. So I made these li'l inspiration cubes for my scraproom. I used some tiny scraps from the Hey Sugar! kit, Elementary & Fleuriste Rub ons. The words I've used are: Love, Life, Idea, True, Play & PINK!!

Back again tomorrow with more!!

In Case of Emergency ...

I have been making more of the scrummy flowers from Friday's post (look out on Thursday to see why!) & I finally had enough of struggling along with a blunt tapestry needle ... no good at all! I have no idea what has happened to the plethora of sewing stuff I know I have had at one time or another, so I sent DH down the the local supermarket on Sunday afternoon to buy one of those emergency sewing kits they hang on the ends of the aisles. He returned with a nasty plastic box thingy - seriously hideous and yet, exactly what I had asked for ... Oh dear, that simply wouldn't do!
Cosmo Cricket to the rescue! Trim Trimmeree to be exact. LOL. The tubes that Trim Trimmeree are packaged in are absolutely crying out to be altered (they are clever folks over at Cosmo HQ you know!) and are the perfect size for an emergency kit - mine's for sewing but you could fit mini make up brushes, fave cosmetics, lip balm or whatever in there too! How about an emergency journaling kit with notepaper, decorated pencil, eraser etc - I see some fabby gift ideas here!
So, back to the kit. The tube lid is already threaded with ribbon, so just takes a circle of paper to finish it. It happens to be exactly the right size for a 2.5" circle punch (it's like they knew what I'd want to do & made the dimensions to fit my tools - spooky huh?) I've inked the edges with Chestnut Roan fluid chalk ink - I like a bit of shabby chic - & then just ran a fingernail in the recess to get the paper right in around the edge. I did the same with the bottom, which might be a bit sad as no one can see it ... but I'd know if I hadn't finished it off & it would bug me! I wrapped a strip of the same paper around the tube. Instead of trying to disguise the join, I tore it & inked it up ... made it the front in effect. I threaded the chipboard tag, embellished with rub ons, and initial (which I altered with co ordinating paper cuz it clashed) on to thin chiffon ribbon And threaded them onto the ribbon band around the tube, stuck it all in place and finished off with a sparkly button.
The needle case is a really simple 'matchbook' & the felt is held in place with a fastenater staple, which doubles to keep the matchbook closure secure. I've also made a li'l ribbon band to stop the measuring tape from unraveling. It's just held together with a couple of stitches & a tiny button.
Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie 8x8 paper pad; Nursery Trim Trimmeree; Storybook Cigar Box (for chipboard elements); So Precious rub ons.

The best bits for me are that, cuz it's pink none of the guys in my house will borrow it AND it's another project for the Arty Girlz ongoing recycling challenge (for which I'm the permanent GDT) - go recycling ... go me!!

Fab's Big Christmas Challenge ... May

Fab's challenge for May - at 'Nutter' level is to create five Christmas cards & as I'm proud to own that title (& a couple of others beside), that's just what I've done. I've used Cosmo Cricket 'Be Good' range (last winter's release) as I had some bits left over from a previous project - & you know I'm all about using your scraps! Lots of ink too - these papers are great for a vintage, aged, distressed kinda look.
In the first card, I've used alphabutton fashions. I'd already used the 'Y' (& here comes the clever bit), so used the negative & matted it onto 'peppermint' paper to make a new one. I raised the 'J' & 'Y' on foam tape & embellished each letter with vintage Trim-Trimeree
For the next one, I matted one of the 'just your 'holiday' type' stickers, threaded with trim & layered it over a scrap of patterned paper. The letters are from the 'storytime' cigar box (watch out for the altered box later this week!)
More 'storytime' chipboard on this one - and yep! I did get the sewing machine out! LOL. My mum told me this evening that you can use it to sew fabric too - like to make clothes & stuff!! Gotta wonder what she'll come up with next ... I guess she'll be telling me you can use an iron for smoothing stuff other than paper & ribbons or something - what's that about???
Anyway, the li'l gift there is a chipboard buckle, backed with paper & a ric rac faux bow attached.
Card #4 is a li'l winter forest. Just triangular scraps on a pyramid card (I cut mine from a standard card blank).
This last card also doubles for the ongoing recycling challenge at Arty Girlz - those li'l tags inside the stocking ... they are the paper names from the barcode strips. I hand cut the stocking & raised it on foam tape. I used a black sharpie to add the dots around the edge of the sticker - a regular pen will work but sharpies dry quicker!

Let's Go Green!

I had a li'l bit of exciting news while I was away - the Arty Girlz, Crissie & Julie, have selected me as their guest designer for the ongoing recycling challenge over on their blog. You can join in this challenge at any time - just click the banner for full deets!!
... & check out the 'guest designer' blinkie on the right (scroll down to just below my DT places) - way cool huh??

Missed Deadline!!

This first card is the one I made for Di Hickman's Card Sketch Team this week (March #2) - but I forgot to e-mail it over on time (I am an idiot!!). I loved this sketch so I made a couple of others too! Having a bit of a run on St. Patrick's Day Cards! LOL. I bought these rub ons 3 years ago & hadn't touched them, so it was about time - I still have a few left, so I'll be using them for some good luck cards I think.
The papers, shamrock ribbon and card blanks were all from a HOTP Personal Shopper for CardMakers kit (Feb 07) - currently on sale in the shop for just £6.99 (RRP 17.50). There's a bargain or two to be had over there! LOL.
You could also try your hand at winning one this week - We are sponsoring the challenge over at Arty Girlz and have a March Kit up for grabs. I'm gonna try & get around to comment on every entry - but if I miss you out please don't hate me!! I'm making lots of DT stuff right now but it's all a bit secret squirrel. I really want to get ahead on some deadlines so if I'm AWOL from blogland again for a while - that'll be why!! LOL
I have a busy family week coming up too - Dad visiting next week before he returns to Bulgaria, DS4's birthday on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) & his party the next week on Easter Monday. So lots to do!!

Going Green!

Arty Girlz challenge this week is to use green and with all the Dinosaur related projects I have underway right now it would have been easy just to use one of those! LOL. But I didn't want to do that - so here's a card for DS3's birthday made from HOTP retro papers and a scrap of C9 Design Sorbet Villa. I have no idea why the skull & crossbones - except I love using DS4's cuttlekid. My adaptor plate for the big shot is due in about a week so I might be able to use the cuttlekid dies with that - will let you know how that goes!

Don't forget to check out this post for deets of free stuff up for grabs!

Challenges again!

Pam Sandy (my buddy and fellow tutor at MCC) has a sketch challenge over on her blog right now. The sketch is provided by Alicia Barry of Leisha's Page Plans - who is also a tutor at MCC with us.
Anyway, here's my take on the sketch using Creative Imaginations Coffee House papers - I love them & have plenty of scraps left for card making!! This is also my entry for Arty Girlz weekly challenge to use stamping on your project. I have used three different Alpha stamp sets for the title and the HOTP winter swirls (emanating from under the coffee pot). Ribbon by American Crafts - i think the cardstock is Bazzill - there's also a welcome return to inky edges & a little penwork - I missed that on the last card I made! LOL

Magic Moments

I really don't like to take photos after dark but this layout is for Challenge #5 over at 52 Sketches ... 52 Weeks and the deadline is today! LOL. I used Fancy Pants Crush papers and incorporated another challenge or two into the bargain - Ha! Told you I'm back!!
Arty Girlz challenge this week is to use frames, so I incorporated a button frame around the main picture and Colour Your World have 'Scrap Hearts' as their current challenge - I have used a patterned paper with an all-over heart design and a couple of chipboard hearts - so I guess I have that one covered too! The Effer Dares current challenge (#83) is to make up your own dare - I chose 'Use Black & White Photos' for mine - it seems I never do that any more!
I did have some news to post today - but it's getting late & the day has kinda gotten away from me. Lots of stuff coming tomorrow! LOL

Stampy Scrapping

The Monday Challenge at Sisterhood of Scrap this week is to create a layout with a stamped title. The sisters don't mind if the layouts you use are old or new, so even if you don't have the time during the week to create a new page, why not revisit an old one that fits the bill. This page is months old but I really love the papers (making memories) as they are much brighter than the stuff I'd usually choose. The stamps are by A Muse, stamped & handcut from co ordinating pink paper. So that covers Arty Girlz 'handcut' challenge too!

My layout for the Journaling Junkie challenge #2 was posted today, along with Anam Stubbington's - check them out here & maybe have a go yourself - very therapeutic this one!

Scrappy Holidays!

This is the layout I would have posted yesterday - if the light was good for photographs! Still not a great photo as there's a slight reflection to the bottom of the overlay! So anyway, I used Vanessa Collant's Saturday Sketch from Sisterhood of Scrap - the deal at the mo is enter a layout from any previous sketch to be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize. All supplies are from the November HOTP Personal Shopper Kit (if you live in the UK and want one, I have a couple left & you can e-mail to order while the webshop is down). It's also the LO I'd have submitted for Arty Girlz 'Christmas' challenge - so maybe I'll pop over there even tho the deadline has passed.
You can't tell too well from the photo but there's a fair amount of dimension to this page. I've used a 12x12 overlay (from the kit) & the embellies are both under & on to of that. The overlay is only attached top & bottom of the title banner so you can get into the journaling (in the file folder, middle right)

More Challenges = More Christmas Cards!

Another couple of quick cards to share & yet more stash used up! The first is my take on Di's Dec #1 sketch - you have until Wednesday if you want to play along. I used some scraps from the November Personal Shopper kit for this one (I have a LO to share tomorrow!) I added a li'l bit of fluid chalk ink to the poinsettia - it seemed a bit stark against the vibrant papers. The greeting is a HOTP embossed sentiment (from a non-Christmas pack!)
I think the sketch for this second card is quite similar to the first but the card turned out quite different. This one is from
Sketch This! Cards #34. Again, it's all scraps. The papers & sticker are from DCWV (last year's), the ribbon was a magazine freebie & the li'l ribbon rose came from the centre of a chiffon bow buried in my stash! The best bit of sorting out my new scrap space is that I've come across sooooooo many things I'd completely forgotten about.
Both cards also qualify for Arty Girlz Christmas themed challenge. I'd planned on submitting a LO for that but the photo was too dark - I'll try again when the light is better in the morning!

In my next post, I'm gonna share some pics of my scrap space. They were quite difficult to take as it's such a small area - but I think they give a sense of how much I have crammed in there! LOL.
Don't forget to enter your name for my RAK. Draw takes place Wednesday. Follow this link for all the deets!

Made It - (Just!!)

Cutting it really fine this time! LOL. There are 20 minutes to go 'til the deadline for the Texas Hold 'Em challenges over at Sisterhood of Scrap I'm playing for fun more than prizes at this point - the best hand I could muster was two pairs - a bit lame but soooo fun! All I was missing was the Thursday challenge, a layout using red or black & 4 lines of journaling - this one fits the bill and I finished it in under two hours - which is a bit unusual for me!
But this is more than a one-challenge layout, oh yes indeed!! I have fitted in all 3 Sisterhood of Scrap challenges - the Monday challenge (use 10 pieces of chipboard); Saturday's sketch & the Texas Hold 'Em challenge! AND, it also works for Arty Girlz 'bling' challenge; Shary's 'buttons, bows & brads' challenge; GPP Street Team's 'Muse' & MagikDiva's 'Use a Word'. It would also have qualified for the OLW challenge but I'm about 36 hours too late! Never mind, it'll have to be a seven challenge layout! LOL.
Here's how:

1. Thursday challenge - as explained!
2. Sister's Monday Challenge: 10 pieces of chipboard. I could have just used a longer title (10 letters) but that seemed a bit obvious, so I raided my stash & I used a mix by heidi swap, karen foster, TLC, & a few die cut bits. The clock is a piece cut from a whole one, inked red and a black hand (seperate piece) inked black & stuck on top. There are two arrows - both inked & written on, three alpha charms - I inked the white one & doodled on all three. The title is mounted on a chipboard tag, covered with co-ordinating paper & the black circle is mounted & painted with black acrylic (I found that in my stash left over from a previous project), the last piece is the heart buckle - die cut, covered with mulberry paper & inked black & red. I hope they like it - I REALLY want to be their sister! LOL
3. Sister's Saturday sketch - self explanatory - the examples on their site are for cards but I like it for a LO.
4. Arty Girlz - use bling. It might be subtle bling - but it's there nonetheless. 2 sizes of red twinkle gems (I use these soooo much cuz they are self adhesive!) on the clock hand & the curved arrow - plus the two brads securing the initials at the top - red metallic - I count that as bling!!
5. Shary, from my own DT, set this week's challenge to use at least one button, brad & bow - brads as mentioned above, square buttons on the flower to the bottom left and a larger one at the end of the curved arrow. I have a faux bow (hope that counts) tied through the hole in the chipboard alpha charm that's the first letter of my title.
6. GPP's Street Team Crusade #14 - what or who inspires you? this didn't have to be a piece of artwork - it could have been a regular blog post - but my little man inspires me every day & that has to be worth a layout!
7. MagickDiva's use a word - my word is 'delight'. Fish (DS4) delights in everything he does, all the time, every day. That is why he is my constant source of inspiration & that is why I delight in him!

Hope you like it!!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

I made a couple of cards from the scraps left over from my altered projects - there's still loads left for other projects tho'. Both cards qualify for the current Caardvarks challenge, (arrrgh! missed it! The next challenge is up already!! LOL) which was to use die cuts - the little sentiment blocks are die cut tags, so I guess that counts. There's nothing difficult here, just basic cutting/tearing, layering & lots of inking.

The second card is similar to the first in design, just a bit more advanced. It also qualifies for the Arty Girlz challenge to use just 3 colours (that was really hard!!). It's mostly red & green but there's a bit of blue in there if you look closely! The papers are stitched together (wobbly stitching as always but I'm getting better! LOL). I love this snowman paper sooo much that I didn't want to cover it up - all the detail focuses on the tag to the left. This started as a manilla tag, which was trimmed and then covered with scraps of three papers. The die cut tag was stuck to the centre strip & then the ribbon, folded flowers and buttons (threaded with thin paper 'stitches') were layered at the top and bottom - everything is inked black and I've used a pad that is almost dry to sponge extra ink all around the tag edges - that gives a really soft effect. I keep two basic black pads: one is for stamping so needs to stay 'juicy'; the other I leave until it's too dry to use before re-inking. With the exception of a couple of ribbon scraps, all the goodies are Daisy D's.

Gotta Love Card Challenges!

I do love a challenge (or three) and they are just the thing to get the creative mojo moving! I couldn't wait to get into my scrap space today & make a start on some Christmas cards. I've used the fabby American Crafts double sided cardstock - great for decorating cards or for making patterned card blanks. Look out for a fabby offer over on the webshop later in the week!
The first card uses Di Hickman's latest sketch (October #4). This is such an easy design to do & will work for any occasion - just change the papers & sentiment for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, get wells - anything! Anyway, I machine sewed the panels together, catching the three knotted fibres under the stitching. Don't worry if you can't sew straight (I can't!!) - wobbly stitching is fine but if it really bothers you, either leave it out or draw faux stitches with a black pen. The plain cardstock is the reverse of the patterned ones - I used it to mat the panels & to punch the sentiment square, using this punch. The sentiment is an A Muse stamp & the panel is mounted on foam tape, with a faux bow added to the left. Done!
The second card is based on the Pencil Lines #55a sketch by Gillian Hamilton. I'm loving the midweek sketches as I do most of my challenges over the weekend - which means I almost always miss Pencil Lines! More American Crafts papers but this time I've made the card blank from the cardstock rather than adding panels to a pre-made blank. As you can see, this is a fairly dotty card - so qualifies for the challenge over at Arty Girlz this week too! The arrow is handcut, edged with red fluid chalk ink & then outlined with a black fineliner. The bauble is die cut (Ellison Thick Cuts) & the trim across the middle is a strip of die cut friendly felt. 'Use die cuts' is the challenge over at Caardvarks this week - so this is my second entry for that challenge! Before adding the trim, I used a glue pad & the A Muse Tin Plate background stamp all over the bauble & sprinkled on red ultra fine glitter. The embossed words are by Hot Off The Press & the 'merry christmas' is another A Muse stamp.

Domestic God!

I've been wanting to scrap these photos of my youngest for some time now (he's 3 1/2!) but I'm always put off by the mess & clutter in the background. Somehow, with the busy stripes in the background & picking out the red of his dungarees, the chaos seems less noticeable.
I've been having a few days taking stock & really thinking about where I am & where I want to be. Whether I should scrap more or scrap better - the latter is where I want to be. So for this page, I took my time & added all the details that I've been skipping lately in an effort to produce more. It took twice as long - but I LUUUUURVE this layout - so it was worth it! LOL
The sketch is by Valerie Salmon, for last week's challenge (the new one goes up tonight), the faux stitching (on all the lettering, around the photo mat & along the red deco strip to the right) satisfy the Arty Girlz challenge & this page also qualifies for the Wednesday Stamper challenge: 'children' theme & use at least one stamp. The stamps I used are from HOTP's new Thinga-ma-jigs clear stamp set - I'm really loving the brackets around the title. It would be v. cool to have a set of alphas in a font like that! The polka dot ribbon is American Crafts & the red decorative strip is made by trimming with deco scissors, punching adjacent holes with the cropadile & the dots are added with a vellum writer - I know this isn't vellum but it's just the perfect shade of black!