Thursday 22 December 2011

Fizzy Moon - Christmas Cards

Here are some of the cards I made using my prize from Papercraft Inspirations. For being the 'Letter they love most' I received what appears to be a complete set of Fizzy Moon "Festive Fun"  backing papers, paper packs pyrimage and decoupage sets and embellishments.  Absolutely fantastic  stuff and the lilttle bear images are so cute.





These cards are part of the Christmas selection and should be arriving on doormats sometime soon :-)


Once again Happy Christmas to all my visitors and I wish you a very prosperous New Year!

Thanks for stopping by and reading  my blog. Your time and comments are appreciated.
Axx

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Christmas Cards

This years Christmas represent a collaboration between myself and my OH. His photos of snowy/wintery scenes, taken over the last few winters, are all shots of our local area and some from the garden. We are usually under several tons of snow at this time of year, but we've not had as much as a flake fall as yet, so we had to fall back on the earlier photos. Don't worry, the snow will be here...any day now. The photos represent what we see in winter whilst walking the dog through the fields and woods near our home. I needed to find a cardbase/frame for each photo to compliment the shot and that  added a christmassy feel too.
I matted the photos onto white and then gold card stock. I used some green and red pre-folded Anitas cards sent to me by my sister Eileen and the ribbon (Three Kings), sentiments (sorry no label) and embellishments are a gift from my sister Julie who went to the recent crafts and hobby fair at the NEC. I wish I could have gone this year, but there's alway next time.  I told you my family support my hobby! And they understand that I can't get stash-stuff so easily.

Friday 2 December 2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


This is Christmas Wreath I've made for my door using ivy from the garden, some glitter covered decorations and finished off with some red ribbons. The base is a plain wicker ring. This is for the challenge at the  The Crafty Bloggers Network . OK it's not paper or a card but it is 3D!

As the main door is on the north side of the house and doesn't get a lot of sun, anything that brightens up the area is welcome. The red and gold baubles look great against the dark leaves of the ivy and the ribbon, set off-centre, completes the wreath. I'm very pleased with this.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your time and comments are appreciated.

Angela x



Wednesday 30 November 2011

All About Me Sketch - Page 2 - New Shoes!

This is a scrapbook page I put together for the 'All about me' group I belong to and it features yours truly aged three. The sketch idea came from Gill at 'Scrappin' Creations' and I have tried to be as faithful to the layout as possible with just a few deviations.

The black and white photo was taken at a photographer's studio (which was all the rage back then) and I'm sure as I unearth more images of myself,  we will see those floor tiles and maybe that table turn up in later presentations. And get a load of those shoes! They don't make them like that any more and 'Thank Crunchie for that', I hear you say! I don't think 'FASHION' had been invented yet, and if it was, the news hadn't reach us at the time. LOL

The photo, which is a print of an emailed photo, is a bit grainy and dictated the colour scheme. Brighter colours seems too harsh up against the black and white.  All of the elements came from my stash. Blue background, ribbon, diamante and heart are from various kits and I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and the frame for the photo. The 30x30 page is from a paper-pack from my local craft shop in Germany.

She's such a cutie, don't you think?

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. Your time and comments are appreciated.


Angela xx







Monday 21 November 2011

It's Decoupage Jim, but not as we know it!

Like the title of today's post says, it's Decoupage, but maybe not how you are used to seeing it!

Here are a couple of cards I've made for my son's birthday. A huge Star Wars and Comic book fan, the theme for this year's birthday was obvious.

The Captain America card was made using a 'free' image from one of the many sites on the web. I usually work with six layers and try to build up each layer to create a '3D' ish effect. Each layer is popped up with sticky fixers (I always feel like I'm in blue Peter when I say 'sticky fixers') This effect was enhanced with the red cardstock, torn and distressed with StazOn black ink to make Captin America appear to burst through the card. Later I added a black and white frame to really push the image out. Using the strong primary colours that are familiar in comic books, I hope I recreated the right feel for this card.

 The Millenium Falcon was, again, made with another free image.  The six layers were easier with this image as the cutting lines where more defined.  Again the layers are built up with sticky fixers and the final image mounted onto black cardstock.  The 'stars' are some dots of Diamond Stickles and I created the starship's exhaust with some Color Box chalk ink in light blue.



I resisted adding any sentiments to the front of the cards simply because I didn't want to spoil the look.  I won't give his age away, but  just say ' Happy Birthday'  for today Ian.  Hope you like your cards.


Thanks again for stopping by and reading my blog. Your time and comments are appreciated.

Angela x













Tuesday 8 November 2011

Can you believe it?

 I can't!

I just got news today that my 'Blue Wedding' card is to appear in the next issue of Making Cards magazine!!! It's out on the 8th December and I can't wait to get my copy.  I had submitted the card in the summer and was pleased to hear that Making Cards wanted to hold on to it for a 'future' issue.  I had no idea that it would be this soon. 
Seriously motivated now.  'scuse me while I go make some more cards

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. Your time and comments are appreciated.

Angela


Wednesday 2 November 2011

Just had to share this!

Hi All,

like the title says, I just had to share the news that this card and the accompanying letter was selected for the 'The letter we love most' in issue 93 of Papercraft Inspirations magazine. This is a first for me and such a boost. Seeing my card published was so great. To say I'm thrilled would be a HUGE understatement!

The chosen letter receives a really decent prize but this never entered my head.. This is a big 'THANK YOU' to Papercraft Inspirations magazine. You've made this particular crafter very happy.


Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. Your time and comments are really appreciated.

Angela

P.S. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I stop grinning :-)



Wednesday 26 October 2011

Autumn Birthday

I am entering this card for the following challenges in October.

Daring Cardmakers   

Get Funky!

Kathy's Waffle Sketch File

The background paper is this month's freebie from Anice at Get Funky !.
The paper was cut to cover an A6 size card base. The ribbon effect was created using layered strips of paper from a DCWV papers stack in brown and cream textured card. Using my Cricut, I cut 3 x 2'' and 3 x 1" ovals from orange cardstock to make the pumpkins.
The ovals were distressed with Ranger Distress and Versacolor inks and then layered to make the pumkin shape.The leaves were cut with a Sizzix die. The card was finished off with three green gems and the sentiment stamped in Versacolor ink and clear embossed. Unfortunately the Happy Birthday embossing doesn't show up too well in this photo.

 Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave me your comment. I love hearing from you.

Angela

Materials used:
Ranger Distress Ink in Pumice Stone
Versacolor Ink in  Brown 54
DCWV Latte matstack textured paper
Sizzix -Tim Holtz- Regal Crest cutting die.
Card base and gems from my stash
Hero Arts - Birthday Sentiments



Tuesday 18 October 2011

All about me - Page 1

So here it is: first page of my 'All about ME' album.

Camera Shy

This page has been created for a project with S'CGBM and the title is All about me.

I am more used to creating pages of other people's photos so I found it difficult to put 'me' as the focus of the scrapbook page. So to break the spell I cut strips of coloured papers and made an oval frame for the photo, making me the main feature. Oh dear, can't get used to this much attention!

I don't have many old photos and this is the first one the surfaced in the hunt for scrapbook worthy material. A school photo, taken in about 1964 or 65 shows me in my hand-knit jumper, hair not as tidy as it should be and not looking at the camera. I hated having my photo taken. Even now I not that keen.

Looking at the photo I am reminded that I liked school. A lot! I think I was a bit of a swot.  The poor Sisters of Mercy nuns in the convent school tried desperately to make a 'young lady' out of me and  failed spectacularly.

Now I need to get my album cover sorted and I have a few ideas I want to try out first, but the good thing is I've started the'All about ME' process

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave me  your comments.


Axx






Monday 17 October 2011

Family Snap - Eileen

Another great photo, this time of my sister Eileen's family on holiday on the Isle of Wight. Again loving the fact that everyone is there and looking great.

I used some Stampin'Up DP for the blue background and made a 'frame' for the photo with a larger square of scratch paper as a mask and Range Distress Inks in Tumbled Glass. A  piece of a cosmetic sponge (it works well for me) was used to apply the ink, pulling the ink away from the mask, creating the streaked effect. Then I stamped A Hero Arts  'Love' stamp with Ranger Broken China distress ink and then a black fine-line pen completed the frame. The Who, Where and When were added using the same fine-liner pen. From another larger copy of the photo I made mini polaroid frames using white card stock and added them to the coloured paper buntings.

 The large heart was punched out with an  Efco punch and the smaller ones are from a new die I got from Verve Stamps. The filigree stamped images are from a  left-over piece of foam that I cut for another project  using  a Sizzix flower die. Inked up with Broken China ink, I just 'stamped' the image where I wanted.

Another nice page ready for the family album, methinks.


Thanks for taking the time to stop by and don't forget to leave me a comment.

Angela xx




Tuesday 11 October 2011

Family Wedding - Karen

My sister Karen and her family at my niece's wedding in Febraury this year. Another great photo with everyone there and looking smart.

I didn't want to stick to a monochromatic theme for this page so I choose a fairly bright green damask background to make the photo the focus.The green and black colour combination seem to work well.  I also didn't want to distract from the photo with too many embellishments.
Less is more.

The photo was matted on to charcol gray paper to give it a frame. The paper and embellishments were pulled together from two different Simply Perfect scrapbooking kits and the piece of green polkadot ribbon is from my stash. The little heart.lock and key are from Rayher.

Thanks again for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.


Angela x


Sunday 9 October 2011

Holiday Snap - Julie

This is a great holiday photo of my sister's family taken this year on the Isle of Wight. Everyone looking great and in the background the clear blue sky and sunshine. A grand day out in Ventnor!

The background sheets for the photo came from a travel themed scrapbook pack from Simply Perfect (adt). I distessed the pages by adding a few tears and creases and some Ranger Distress Ink in Pumice Stone rubbed over the pages to give a feeling of wear. The flowers were cut using Cricut 'George and Basics' cartridge and Put together with some green 'branches' cut using Sizzix  flourish dies. The embellishments came from the same scrapbook pack and work well with the layout.


Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like this new page. Don't forget to leave me a comment, I enjoy hearing from you.


Angela




Wednesday 28 September 2011

Get Funky ! - Happy Happy Birthday

Hello and greetings from Bayern,

 I haven't been posting lately as we have been enjoying a 'Goldener Oktober (yes I know, it's still September) here in southern Germany and I couldn't justify staying indoors in such great weather. My craft room is in the keller and nice and cool it is too, but we know that soon the temp will change and we will be shovelling snow soon enough! So we enjoy the sun for as long as we can.

Today's post is for the current Get Funky! challenge over at the Funky Hand website. Anice from Funky Hand provides a freebie backing paper to use with each challenge for participants who do not have Funky Hand papers. At least one Funky Hand product must be used in order for your entry to be valid. For previous submissions I have been using my CD 'The Funky One' but I thought I make a change and use the free paper for this challenge instead.

I loved the the paper as soon as I printed my copy. The colours are vibrant and the sunny colour combination made it easy to select a background as most of my cardstock stash matched the paper. I tried to compliment the backing-paper rather than hide it behind too many embellishments. The cupcake is from a piece of wrapping paper I bought (at,of all places; John Lewis') on a trip to the UK. I actually walked off  a very long queue around christmas time to to get this paper and a couple others. That's the crafting obession at its best (or worst).  You see wrapping paper, I see endless possibilities for cupcakes on cards and scrapbook pages :-)

The green ribbon, gems and pink paper are also from my stash and I die-cut the pink paper with a Tim Holtz Alterations edging die to add a bit of detail.


Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave me a comment.

Angela




Thursday 15 September 2011

This is a card I made for my lovely mother-in-law's birthday Jenny is an Alzheimers sufferer and she has problems remembering things but has never forgotten her favourite colours - Pinks and Lilacs. Colour plays an important part in stimulating the brain, so I made this card with as many of Jenny's favourite colours as possible. The edges of a white card-base was inked with Lilac ink to which I matted Happy Birthday double-sided background. paper. The next two layers are of Lilac cardstock with the reverse side of the birthday paper matted together. This side of the paper has Happy Birthday printed in various fonts and colours, with a bit of glitter to add some bling! The heart topper I bought at a local craft store and I used it as a guide to cut out the shape from the purple gingham paper. I finished the card with a purple bow and the word Mam die cut from Funny Foam using the Tim Holtz die Country Market. I am hoping that the bright colours and different textures make this the ideal card for Jenny. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave your comment. Angela

Saturday 20 August 2011

Get Funky Challenge - At the Seaside!


Here is my entry for the Get Funky Challenge running over the Funky Hand blog. The theme is 'At the Seaside' and the only requirement is that at least one of the Funky Hand products is used as part of the design. If you don't have any Funky Hand papers there is a Freebie to use as part of your entry. Not bad!

I made the card using light brown cardstock base and creating a shoreline and background for surfboards using backing paper from the 'Funky One' cd, Bright Blue paper selection. The torn edge of the blue paper is supposed to represent the tide :-)

The surfboards were stamped onto paper from the Orange paper selection from the same cd. The surfboards were then cut out and placed with dimensional adhesive pads to add depth. The 'Sun' was stamped directly onto the blue 'Sky' and the centre is a circle punched out from some orange cardstock. Some flip-flops and a spade were added for detail. All the stamps, including the sentiments are from Stephanie Barnard's Summer4Fun stamp set.


I hope you like today's post and don't forget to leave a comment. I look forward to reading them.

Angela

Materials used
Brown and Orange cardstock
The Funky One backing-paper cd from The Funky Hand
White 160 gsm cardstock for the printing from the cd
Staz-On Black ink
Stampin'Up 1" circle punch
Summer4Fun stamp set - Stamps of Life

Thursday 18 August 2011

Charisma Cardz Challenge - Negative Space

Hello fellow crafters and bloggers, I'm back in the challenge mood and this challenge is running over at Charisma Cardz I am inclined to put too much on a card and this challenge was an exercise in 'less is more' for me. Not too bad methinks.
Charisma Cardz have a group on Facebook which you can apply for membership. Lots of other crafters sharing ideas, chat and great fun. I made the card by embossing the white cardstock base with the large folder from the Sizzix 'Spring' set. The flower is from the same set, embossed on to white cardstock and coloured using Forest Moss, Dandelion and Cheery Pink inks and then cut out. The sentiment is from a Papermania stamp and cut using the Nestabilities scalloped ovals die.




Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment, I love hearing from you.
Angela

Materials Used
Sizzix Spring Set and Big Shot
Tim Holtz- Forest Moss distress ink
Impress - Cherry Pink
Memento - Dandelion
Nestabilities - Scalloped Oval LG
Papermania - Wedding Sentiments Clear Stamp set

Friday 12 August 2011

The Happy Couple



Again another great photo (not one of mine) that made making this page easy. I picked up the colours from the bride's bouquet, creams, pinks and greens, to help the photo stand out. The photo was matted onto green cardstock which contrasted well with the dotted green background. Some punched out hearts (pink) and butterflies (green) help to maintain the bouquet colour theme. I kept the layout simple with plenty of space leftover for journaling to be added later.

I hope you like today's post and thanks for stopping by.

Angela

Thursday 11 August 2011

Night Owl Design - Summer Cardmaking Challenge


Finally got the photos to upload for the Night Owl Designs' Cardmaking Challenge. I made this box few times with ordindary copy paper in order to see how the folds and the cutting worked. This was a good idea and saved me wasting paper. I had problems at first with the measurements because I couldn't accurately get the folds lined up, but perserverance paid off.


I choose black 300gms cardstock as this weight of paper made the box more stable and easier to work with. I initally thought of putting a belly-band of a contrasting colour around the box to hold the sides together, but settled on some red ribbon with an embellishment made from paper flowers from Rayher and a matching brad from the same company. The pink flower was rubbed over with some Royal Rose ink from Stampin'UP and the edges decorated with some 'Stickles' Star dust. I used a velcro fastner to make removing the ribbon easier.











I hope you like today's post and thanks for stopping by.

Angela






Materials used
Black Cardstock
Red satin and organza ribbon
Red and Pink flowers together with a decorative Brad -Rayher
Star Dust -Stickles
Royal Rose Ink -Stampin'UP
Crafters Companion Clevercut
Double-sided tape.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Making Cards - Nancy Watt Paisley and Florals


Here are three cards I made using some of the 16 craft papers free with Making Cards magazine. By matching the lilac floral print with some lilac cardstock, different coloured ribbon and a paper doilly, I managed to make three different cards from the same sheet. Finished off with a few of the coordinating embellishments and sentiments that come with the paper, not a bad haul from one A4 piece of paper I'd say!
Next I intend to have a go at the remaining papers which have school and travel themes.

Hope you like todays post and thanks for stopping by.

Angela

Saturday 6 August 2011

My New Stamp Storage

This is an old 'Type-setter's Drawer' that was used to hold the 'type' for setting the print for newspapers back in the day before eveything went digital. We have had this for such a long time and it used to house my collection of elephants until some of the herd got too big for the slots. The drawer surfaced recently during one of my clear-outs and I had an idea how I could put it to good use again. The drawer sections are just big enough to store my (small) collection of wood-mounted stamps but has plenty of slots left over for future purchases. Big thanks to the current husband (34 years in training) for using half-time at the footy to set this up for me. Major Kudos earned.
Thanks for stopping by.

Angela

Tuesday 2 August 2011

My new stash items!

Hi all you crafty people.
I haven't posted for a while mainly because I've been finishing a large order of the Order of Service booklets for my nephew's wedding and also attending said wedding in Ireland.  A great opportunity for a family reunion and a fantastic time was had by all. It is a bit of an anti-climax to be back at home and getting on with the normal stuff, but I have some fab photos, which I hope are a good source for some scrapbook pages, and my new stash to help me get back into the swing of things.

The stash, I am calling this my July Haul, is in five parts.
My pocket-money paid for some new Hero Arts wood mounted stamps and a set of clear 'With Sympathy' stamps. I also bought a Marianne Designs cutting and embossing die, which I am keen to try out. The die looks fragile so I am not expecting it to cope with the heavier papers, but we'll see.  I'll let you know how I get on.
Next in line are the selection of paper-crafting magazines I picked up up while I was in Ireland.  I use to subscribe to a couple of the magazines, but the shipping charges made this very expensive. Also, although I was paying full subscription rates, some of the  'sign-up' promotions only apply to UK residents.  No fair!
Anyway Crafts Beautiful, Quick Cards and Making Cards are amongst the choice this time. The bonus is that Quick Cards and Crafts Beautiful have freebie stamps with this months issues. Both stamps sets are Cup Cake related, which helps me to follow the current trend in paper crafting products. Bargain!
Next up are the papers I got at Daintree Paper, Camden Street, Dublin. I am a big fan of the shop and I make a point of visiting each time I get to Dublin. I love the selection of handmade, eco friendly papers they have on offer. The staff are great and very helpful.

Then we have the most impressive addition to my stash so far...well ...for this trip. My absolute diamond of a sister-in-law, Sheila,  presented  me with some fab stuff she brought with her from the US. Sizzix, Kay&Co, and a couple of names new to me 'Life's little Occasions' and 'Studio 112'.  A premium stack from DCWV called 'All dressed up' has some  really glam 12x12  papers, ideal for girlie cards and Colorbök Glitter Punchout Pad with 354 paper embellishments. All garnered from the special deals run by US stores Michaels and Jo-ann's, which I would consider commiting a serious crime in order to get access to! I have seen references to these stores on other blogs and was amazed at how cheap the craftting kit is in the US.
Last but not least are some brads and Stamps from Papermania and Docrafts and some boutique brads from Doodlebug Design bought at a new shop I discovered in a local shopping centre.

I only use products and kit that I find to be good qualtiy, reliable and give the best results for the money. I am hampered by the fact I have to order in quite a lot of what I see in the mags and on the blogs, so I have to think hard before I spend. But this July Haul has got to be the best since I started papercrafting.
To say 'I'm a happy bunny' would be an understatement. I can't wait to try all this new stuff and see what I can create with the stamps and dies and embossing folders.  Just a small matter of heaps of washing to be dealt with first :(
Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my good fortune with you.

Sunday 17 July 2011

Card Challenge: Stempeleinmaleins 18

The sketch looks like this and the theme is Sommerzeit (Summer Time).


One of the challenges I am taking part in this month is being run over at   Stempeleinmaleins

The card was inspired by a photo taken by my husband of the smiling Buddah we have sitting in a terracotta tub enjoying life and grinning at the world.  The green and red of the geraniums and the dark colours of the hostas seem to push this little Buddha out from his surroundings. Cropped into three 5x5cm squares, the photo was matted onto white cardstock. The green panel was stamped  with several versions of the word 'happy' using stamps from a selection of the packs from the Stamps of Life. The sentiment banner was created using my PC and the Butterfly and Flowers are punched out from 30x30 page from a Folia paperpack with Efco punches.
So as the card says 'Don't worry be HAPPY' and don't forget to leave your comment.