My first ....

.... Tilda card - what took me so long?!!!

This week's challenge on PaperPlay was set by Mandy and it's called "Pretty Pastels".  We are sponsored this week by Card Mad Fairy, who are offering a prize of some of their digi images, and also our old DT member, Kate, has put together a lovely prize package.

This was another challenging one for me, I'm not really a pastel-kinda girl!  But one of the images I coloured at Mina's workshop last week has a pretty pastel blue dress, so I decided to use it on my card.

I'm also entering this in the following challenges: A Spoon Full of Sugar (3D something - I've popped up the image), Creative Cottage (circles), Quixotic Challenges (distressing - I always do!), and, for the first time Just Magnolia (anything goes).

As far as I can remember, I don't think I liked Tildas very much when they first came out.  But I think I've got used to them, 'cos now I do like them, and have recently even bought a few!!!  I really enjoyed colouring them, it's very easy to decide where to put shading, as all the lines are already there in the stamped image!  Here's a close-up of the image - this is the one without the bruised face!!  I put stickles on her lacy underskirt, very cute in real life, invisible on the photo!!

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Dasher"

Stamp: Magnolia "Tilda Writing Diary"

Colouring Medium: Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Other: Nestabilities, MS Doily Lace punch, ribbon from stash, needle + thread

Thanks for looking!

Big Girl ....

.... Colouring!!  I went to a workshop last week, where the lovely Mina was teaching how to colour with Distress Inks.  I've been itching to try this technique for a while, and I really enjoyed the class.

I sat down to make a card for yet another friend who is about to turn 50, and is a real girlie-girl, so I decided I'd do a Gorjuss Girl card for her, using the Distress Ink technique.  I had great fun colouring, and it's amazing what tiny quantities of ink are needed - very economical!!!  Here's my card:

I used this week's lovely sketch from Friday Sketchers - really nice to work with.  I'm also entering this into Totally Gorjuss (use a Gorjuss Girl!), Daring Cardmakers (Die-Cuts - I've used die-cut ribbon), A Spoon Full of Sugar (Happy Birthday) and The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge (Distressing).

Here's a close-up of my colouring:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey Urban Prairie

Stamp: Gorjuss Girl "Sent with Love"

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks.

Other: BG Buttons, Needle + thread, ribbon sent to me by Elisa (thanks, hun!)

Thanks, Mina - I hope I've done your tuition justice!!!  Everyone else, thanks for looking!

My Craftroom - Before ....

.... and after!!  Now it's all done, I thought you might like to see some pics of my finished room.  It was originally my daughter's bedroom, when we moved here over a decade ago, then it was a spare bedroom, and it became my craftroom in Aug 2008.  Here's a picture I took back then, just after getting my desk and moving my stuff in:

See that yellow wall with the daisy on it to the right of the photo - that's the side of the awful old built-in wardrobe that we ripped out and that the carpenter replaced with this wonderful thing:

It holds a gazillion books, and extends over the doorframe for even more.  Look, some spaces are even empty - room for more books, yahoo!!

And here's the craft end of the room, the left side with my Expedit unit and the right side with my lovely cow-pat green walls!!:

You can see here how tiny the room is - but it's so handy, I can just swivel round and grab stuff from the drawers and shelves without lifting my bum off the seat, instead of rummaging around in the boxes full of stuff that were piled on the floor and windowsill!!!

And here's a pic of me (in my glamorous decorating clothes!!!) doing the mural, and the finished job:

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!

A very challenging ....

.... challenge on PaperPlay this week, well it was challenging for me anyway!!:

"We would like you to create a project without using any patterned paper. Cardstock only can be used.. however you can ink it, emboss it, stamp on it, rip it.. whatever you fancy doing!"

We are delighted to have been sponsored this week by Whiff of Joy, and they are giving one of their gorgeous stamps to this weeks' winner.

Some friends have had a baby, of course it's a girl!!!  So I made her a card and it's my DT entry:

As anyone who knows me (or reads my blog) will know, I am awfully fond of patterned paper, so this was a definite challenge to me.  I stamped my dotty white background using Versamark and heat-embossed with white e.p.  The main image stamp I've had a while, I originally bought it to use on baby cards, but ended up using it for the first time on a Hallowe'en challenge - I made it into a Salem's Lot card, altered to look like a vampire face peering through a window.  The stamp consequently creeped me out for two and a half years.  I like it with this soft ink, though - I think I've broken through that particular phobia at last!!!  I used my MS punch to make a border for the double layer of circles - I think it makes it look like a flower. 

Here's a close-up:

Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill Swiss Dots, Coredinations and Bazzill.

Stamps: Hero Arts "Raindrops", Inkadinkadoo "Moon Baby"

Punch: MS Valentine Lace

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Victorian Velvet

Other: Ribbon, needle & thread

I'm also entering it in the following challenges: Crafty Creations (Distressing), and Creative Cottage (Green - the ribbon on my card was taken off a toiletry gift box!)

Thanks for looking!!

The sun has....

gone in again.  Oh well, this is Ireland!!  We've had some glorious weather over the past week, Friday and yesterday were particularly nice - I was out in the garden planting strawberries, tomatoes, rhubarb and chilli peppers (try cooking something with that combination!!).  Having great difficulty getting my stuff back into the craftroom, somehow having more storage is messing up my head, can't work out where is the sensible place to put things.  I guess I'll keep struggling with it!!

I was asked to do a card and gift tag for a couple who are celebrating their 65th Wedding Anniversary next week.  They were married on 24th April 1945.  I just can't get over how long ago that is - WWII still had a few months left in it, for goodness sake.  I spent days and days dithering over what kind of image to use - nothing I have seemed appropriate for a man and a lady in their late 80s. Then I had a brainwave and decided not to use an image, just text!!!  I went for a sort of vintage romantic look.  Here's my card (taken today when the sky was grey and cloudy!):

I used this week's sketch on Friday Sketchers.  I'm also entering this challenge on Cute Card Thursday, their challenge is called "Touchy Feely", they want to see texture, I've used cuttlebug embossing!! 

I was asked to use pink/blue colours, but it wasn't going so well, so I ended up with the blue/yellow/white combination, which happily fits the colour challenge on this week's Basic Grey Challenges.  I'm proud to say that I've used papers from more BG collections than I've ever done at the one time before.  I've got Figgy Pudding, Skate Shoppe and Nook + Pantry all together!!!

Here's a pic of the card and gift-tag set:

Recipe:

Papers: BG Skate Shoppe, Figgy Pudding, Nook & Pantry

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen

Font: English

Other: Crackle Paint, Big Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities, needle and thread, cuttlebug embossing folder, Hero Arts pearls

Thanks for looking!

Those pesky nephews ....

.... keep getting older!! Yep, it's time for another teenage nephew card, I dread them!!!!  Started it at a crop yesterday, I did a lot more talking than crafting (also drank a lot of tea and coffee and ate a lot of sparkly cupcakes made by my baking crafting friend Liz!!).  Here's the finished article:

I used the sketch on this fortnight's Basic Grey Challenges, making it a more "boy-ie" version with stars instead of flowers.  I've used BG Archaic papers and stickers. 

I'm also entering this in this week's Creative Inspirations challenge, which is to use the colours green, brown and blue.

The numbers I made by cutting out chipboard, painting with Crackle Paint and then inking with Distress Inks.  Here's a little close-up - I love the crackle effect:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey Archaic

Font: City Burn Night after Night

Other: Tim Holtz Crackle Paint and Distress Inks, eyelets and needle and thread

My craftroom is almost finished - the storage unit is done, walls all painted, we made up the Expedit unit today (eeeeeeek - claps hands, jumps about a bit!!!!) and moved the desk back up.  I have to do a template for some words on the wall and paint it, and move all my stuff back in and that's it.  Will post a few before and after pics when it's all done.

Thanks for looking!

Shiny Happy People ....

.... is the name of my challenge on PaperPlay Challenges this week, - use a "person" stamp/image, but it must have gloss, shimmer or sparkle on it. We're very excited to have Simon Says Stamp on board as a sponsor for this week's challenge (and the second Thursday of every month), they're offering a gift voucher as this week's prize, great news!

Here's my DT entry:

Recipe:

Stamp: "Blossom" by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Early Bird"

Colouring Medium: Pro-markers

Other: Ribbon, Glossy Accents, Antique Linen Distress Inks, Nestabilities, needle & thread.

I've used the sketch from this week's Friday Sketchers, and this week's Stampin for the Weekend challenge is called "Ribbons and Bows".  Simon Says Stamp are looking for a card for a child, and Quixotic Challenges is "The Joys of Spring". Check!

I think I'm starting to get the hang of the pro-markers, although I still haven't bought the good non-bleed Letraset paper - all in good time!!  I tried to challenge myself not to distress the edges, in the end I had to use distress ink - can't bear white edges!!!

Thanks for looking!

Deadlines are ....

.... sometimes a good thing!!  My step-mother asked me to make a card for her friend's birthday, and since it's at the end of this week, I had to put down the paintbrush and get crafting.  Yayyyy!!

I've used this week's challenge on The Sugar Bowl, which is called "Sketch by You", participants get to choose whichever sketch they wish from the Sugar Bowl archives.  I've chosen Sketch No. 21, I've used it before and it's a lovely sketch.  I'm also slipping it in at the tail end of Quixotic Challenges - "Case It".  I love Rowena's work, and I guess I'm influenced by her in the way I'm using more and more stitching on my cards, although she uses a machine and I hand-stitch (and they're consequently taking longer and longer to do!!!).

Here's my card:

I've used new Basic Grey Kioshi papers - I like these particular ones, but some of the papers in the set are ..... hmmm ..... not really to my liking!!

Off for lunch with my friend now, then when I come home I have to do my DT entry for next week's PaperPlay - more deadlines!!!

Thanks for looking.

Happy Easter ....

.... it has been a very busy week here.  So much for holidays, I'm hoping next week will be a lot less frantic.  We've been .... yawn .... decorating!!  Husband has decided that, since we're on a roll, we should do the hall, stairs and landing (started but abandoned about two years ago) as well as the craftroom.  Our oven and kettle broke, and since the dishwasher had been ailing for about a year, we got a new one of those too (haggled a great deal by buying them all at the one place).  Then when we fitted the new oven, the old hob wouldn't fit back in, so after much faffing about, cursing and the like, we had to replace the hob too.  Beans on toast for the next six months!!!

I promised DD on her birthday (last summer!) that I would do a "Banksy" image on the wall of her room when we redecorated it.  The room was done, but it has taken me until now to get around to doing the image (ooh, the shame!!).  It ties in with the nightlight already on the wall, as you can see in the pic of the full thing here:

The stencil was very complicated to do, took an awful lot of cutting out to get the detail just right.  I thought it would take ages to paint too - but it must only have been about half an hour or so.  I'm delighted with the result, but more importantly, so is the "birthday girl"!!!

Here's a little close-up of the Banksy girl:

And that's it, back to the grindstone, I have to make a lot of cards, read a lot of blogs, comment on even more blogs, and as for the housework ... I don't want to think about it!!!

Thanks for looking.