Foxy Grad

It's coming up to Graduation season and I can't believe a year has passed since we were doing our proud parents bit down in Bath with our daughter :)

I need a few cards in my stash for Hannah's friends who have gone on to do Masters so I thought I'd make a start and ink up this fun set by Concord & 9th and pair it with this little fox.... I think he looks rather good with a Mortar Board ;)

The bold text looks fun in bright colours and I love how you can strike through it with a line too :)

Addicted to CAS has a Graduation challenge this fortnight so I'm going to pop it in over there... hope its CAS enough!!? I don't get chance to play along with challenges anymore so I'm happy to join in and the DT has some amazing inspiration to share too

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Supplies Used:

(Above Average) Concord&9th

(Three Amigos) Mama Elephant

(Hats Off) Avery Elle

Hugs & Kisses

It may sound strange but this is a card I've been wanting to make for ages, ever since I bought the word dies... I was waiting until I found a good lipstick mark stamp and luckily Lil Inkers has obliged in their latest release :)

There are some fab luuuurve themed challenges on the go at the moment... Addicted to CAS and Curtain Call to name but a few and my card fits these the best I reckon :0)

                                       
I started by stamping the lips in pigment ink before diecutting the words and stacking numerous layers behind them... some of which are in pink card to just give that hint of colour.
Yay it actually turned out the way I imagined which is always a bonus... that smoochy mark looks sooo realistic too :)

                                                    
Thanks to Anita who pointed out this would fit in over at CASology too... yeah, HOT lips :0)

Stash used:
Smooches - Lil Inkers
Lots of love - Dienamics Dies
Cherry pigment ink - Avery Elle

Jenny x

Just Desserts!!

Hi there.... it's Saturday and if this scheduled blog post appears as planned we should be enjoying breakfast 'al fresco' on a campsite in Oxfordshire!!! Lets hope the weather is good... fingers-crossed :0)

I'm popping in to share my DT card over at Make the Day Special which was inspired by the One Layer challenge at Lawnscaping but also fits for Desserts at CASology and Summer at Addicted to CAS... triple score.. yes please :0)

           

I'm also feeling smug that I fooled blogger and got all three of those challenge graphics in one line... ahh, its the simple things in life :0)

I used a couple of Lawn Fawn sets and some masking to arrange these yummy desserts. They are coloured with Inktense and regular watercolour pencils... I like adding white gel pen highlights too, it's like the magic finishing touch that brings them to life!!

Right that's me done, I'll have to link them up when I get back home :0)
Thanks for looking and hope you have a great weekend.
Jenny x
Stamps: Here's the Scoop, Many Thanks - Lawn Fawn

Fishy Fun!!

Hello there :0)

I'm playing along with MUSE for the first time today... I just haven't got round to it until now despite tuning in each week to check out the challenge and gallery, but this weeks fun card by my good friend Therese, inspired my card for today's Make the Day Special DT post.....

The hot weather we're having is playing havoc with my crafting mojo so I was happy when I had a lightbulb moment of turning the chalkboard from Lawn Fawn's A Good Apple into an aquarium by flipping it upside down... the rest of the card fell into place quickly after that!! The one blue bird on Therese's card inspired my athletic green fish to show you his party trick :0)
I used a piece of thin clear film sandwiched between the frame and card for a shiny glass effect...

I'm also playing along with Addicted to CAS  where the theme is water... a very much needed commodity around here at the moment!!!
So here are the challenge details....

                       
                                                                                       

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend :0)

Jenny x

Stamps used : A Good Apple, Critters in the Sea, Swimsuit Season by Lawn Fawn

Two Cards and some Fun News

Well that has to go down as the most unimaginative post title in history!!! I'll blame it on being giddy with excitement because I've joined the Paper Smooches Sparks DT for the next 6months... have you seen the talented team I'm accompanying???  It's going to be fun and I can't wait to get started :0)

It just so happens that I have a card for this weeks PS Sparks challenge which is a colour theme and they have a definite nautical feel....

                                                             
At this moment in time I do not have any nautical stamps by Paper Smooches so I made the striped pattern down the edge of the card with these PS stamps

 

I'm really loving the technique of using the back of acrylic stamps to make extra shapes from your sets :0) I also love the fact that a nautical theme means a good dose of eyelets can be used too... I have enough to get through!!
After stamping and embossing the sentiment I felt that gap needed a little something and the tiny flag from the top of the Sailboat die was just the job :0)

My second card is for Dynamic Duos which has a bold colour duo this week with the dessert option of making a card for a child...
                                  
.....I don't usually say no to desserts so I had to join in and use these cute little vehicle dies from Memory Box for an ultra CAS card and seeing as it's a birthday card it's another for the birthday challenge at Addicted to CAS

 James has a large collection of diecast cars under his bed and you will frequently find them lined up in colour families on his track or along the table so this formation just wouldn't do for him!! I made them lovely and shiny with glossy accents and dont'cha just love this itty bitty wheels too!!

 Right much to do today as Hannah is coming home tomorrow night having finished her exams for this year and my crafting space seems to have spilled into her room!!! 

Thanks for staying with me to the end of another long post and thanks to the lovely comments you've already left me about the Paper Smooches DT announcement, you really are the best :0)

Jenny x

A Grumpy Fella!!

Hello again :0)

I was inspired to craft yesterday after seeing the Cats n' Dogs themed challenge at Less is More. Chrissie has used this little character called Magnum on one of her inspiration cards and I knew just how I could use him on a card along with a Stampendous stamp....

Magnum is a digi stamp from Ladybug Crafts Ink but I have prized him from his cat flap... it needed a shoe horn and plenty of grease to do it... Lol. Now he's punched through my card front instead because he's not happy that someone should dare to be jolly and say "HAPPY" birthday!! 

The torn paper hole is a cling stamp from Stampendous which I just had to buy after I saw fellow limette Debby use it for a challenge quite a while back :0) I've Paper pieced the flaps and raised them up on foam for realistic dimension and the sentiment is computer generated, the font is 'Aint nothing Fancy'... love its simple shape :0) 

Just to annoy Magnum even more I'm popping him in over at Addicted to CAS where they're having a birthday challenge... perhaps that will improve his mood!!!

                                                           

                                                              ***********************

I think it was obvious from an early age that I was an animal lover, my choice of toys, games and books reflected that and I even had an imaginary dog called spot that went everywhere with me!!
I think my parents always thought I'd have a house full of animals in later life..... well kids aren't that far off are they!! Lol :0)

Thanks for stopping by
Jenny x

Exploring a Hot Spot!!

I bet that title grabbed your attention *wink*..... well I've been creating using the Hot Spot Large Base die from Paper Smooches for my DT post at Make the Day Special. It's such a fun and versatile shape with lots of scope for your imagination to run with, come and see :0)

First up I've used it to make a Teacher Thanks card and also my entry to the Rainbow challenge at Addicted to CAS, I couldn't resist stamping those rainbow coloured pencils out and using the die as a box for them....

The black, Kraft and acetate layers are all cut with the large die in the set but the two base layers are turned 180 degrees so the window is hidden under the Kraft layer.

James is off to a friends birthday lunch today and a card was needed, his mate loves seals and this little guy from Paper Smooches was an obvious choice, so I used the small zig zag strips from the smaller die and glued them snugly together to make water for the ice hole on the card...

By trimming down the side of the die cut you can use the positive and negative zig zags making 5 from each colour... enough to make a good sized pattern :0) Hehe doesn't he look cute in his scarf??

Right I need to get going and deliver James at his friends house, he's looking smart and is rather excited about the mini disco afterwards.... I hope they haven't got any low ceiling lights because at 6' 4" he's rather tall to cut some moves on the dance floor!!!

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

 

Seed Beads

Hello there,

Sorry about the unimaginative title but I went through some fun tongue-twisting combinations of Seeds, Beads, Berries and Branch before deciding to keep it simple!!

So this card is for the challenge at Less is More this week and using beads on your design is the requirement...... I do seem to have collected a stash of colourful seed beads from when Hannah dabbled in jewellery making a few years ago so it was a case of working out how to use them on a card and this is what I came up with....

This branch is from a PTI set called 'Lovely Leaves' and was the perfect size for the pink beads, I can't believe how quickly this card came together... considering I made it in the early hours of this morning too!! I tested out my idea on a scrap of card and ended up using the very same piece.... the image wasn't central so I had to trim the card and include the pink strip to make up the space..... I have to say I'm pleased I did, I love that solid border of colour :0)

I'm also popping this card into the Spring challenge at Addicted to CAS.... those little pink beads are like buds just waiting to burst when the weather turns warmer!!!... just in case Mother Nature is listening :0)

 

It's been a hectic week here on the run up to Easter but now we are all at home together we can wind down this weekend and I hope to catch up with you all too :0)

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a relaxing Easter break :0)

Jenny x

 

Monster Truck!!

Hello there :0)

The ColourQ#177 palette this week are my kind of colours...... quite bold and great for masculine cards.
I'm trying to use some of my older, forgotten dies and after flicking through my Quickutz dies I found this monster truck and an idea was born.....

I've used Tumbled Glass as the blue in the sky but it's very hard to photograph without bleaching it out.... it's much more obvious IRL!!!
The fonts are a couple of Sizzix alphabets, I thought the different heights would give the rocky road effect :0)
The stripe on the base card is a happy accident too, having tried to re-stamp a patchy image and not quite lining it up again properly, but I thought it looked quite in keeping with the truck/big tyres theme :0)

I'm also linking this card upto Addicted to CAS 'Masculine' challenge..... and lets face it guys cards are a challenge to make!!!

This card reminds me when we all had a go in a Land Rover on an Off-Road course at a Country Show quite a few years ago now. We were passengers with an experienced driver and it was very 'exhilarating' seeing/feeling the car traversing all sorts of gradients at various angles, but James laughed the whole way round the course, he found being thrown about most amusing. Needless to say wanted to stay on for a second go!!..... as I remember it was all I could do to get my feet on flat ground and let my head catch up with them!!!

Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x

Hearts and flowers

Morning all :0)

Talk about sporadic blogging!! I'd love a few more hours in the day to get everything done but I somehow think it would still not be enough!!!

Lets start with Less is More this week which has a fabulous CAS sketch to work with drawn up by Jen.... soooo many possibilities but I decided to use the ColourQ palette this week which is yummy.... seriously those colours look edible to me!!!

Anyhow, as you can see I went with Spring blossom instead of food and I have to tell you about the texture on the cream panel which I embossed with a piece of hessian, or burlap if you prefer. I saw the idea on Pinterest and had to give it a go with some trial and error making a sandwich to go through the bigshot..... I think it was Multi-purpose platform (no Tabs), Acrylic plate, rubber embossing mat, hessian, card, shim (I used a piece of chipboard) and then Acrylic plate. Have a go, it gives you a texture a bit like Aida fabric :0)

This is my DT card from Saturday but I haven't had chance to blog it yet and it just so happens to fit in the Addicted to CAS challenge which is 'Heart'..

I wanted to try the "no-lines" style of colouring so I used the button from a Lawn Fawn set and stamped them in Memento Ladybug before shading with Red and white Prisma Pencils..... I love how 3D they look on a One Layer card!!! .... fooled hubby :0)

So that's all from me today, I need to go and tidy up my craft-desk...or should I say find it!!!

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x

 

A Christmas Bauble

Hellooo ... back again!! Sorry for the neglected blogging and commenting, things are kind of busy around here but that's probably the case for most of us at the moment.

I wanted to play along with the second challenge at Addicted to CAS which is 'Bauble' this time round and I've left it until now to join in so I could play with my new Avery Elle stamp set 'Merry and Bright' which are the latest American stamp company available to buy here in the UK at Make the Day Special.

I love all those fonts together, it just had to be stamped in red... don't ask me why, it just said red to me Lol. To add some interest to the base card I used the dotted and solid line in the set with versamark to make a tone on tone candy stripe effect.
Can you see that sparkle?? trust me, it's better in real life. I added Hero Arts fine glitter to the un-coloured 'Merry' with a Quickie glue pen, a big intake of breath and steady hand!!! ..... I did remember to exhale before the glitter came out but it still got everywhere!!! Lol :0)

Well we are off this weekend to bring our girlie back home for Christmas, it'll be lovely and strange to have her back in the nest again and I'm hoping she'll be trying out some of her new found cooking skills for us too *wink*  James is looking forward to the influx of washing as well as having his big (little) sis home :0)
It'll be a fab Christmas when I finally get organised.... I'm hopeless! it's not like I didn't see it coming *shakes head and rolls eyes*

Jenny x

Stamps: Merry and Bright - Avery Elle
Ink: Cherry Cobbler - Stampin Up

Winter Blues

Hello :0)

When crafting time is limited I just love challenges that work so well together and even better if I can make a Christmas card for them too :0)

Over at Less is More this week we're asked to use hardware on our cards .... hmmm .... well most of my metal hardware seems to be brads and eyelets so at least that narrowed the choice down and I went for simply hanging these three inked and stamped tiles on my card with a brad and triangular loop thingy!!!

Casual Fridays is a two week challenge this time round called Winter Blues and a new challenge for CAS loving crafters in blogland is Addicted to CAS and their first challenge is 'SNOW'..... now that's a Hat-Trick!!

Do check out the fab DT cards at these challenges and sorry for the short post, life's like that at the moment!!

Thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

Stamps : 'Folk Art Flurries' WPlus9, 'Signature Christmas' PTI