oriental tag

I decided to combine the challenges from Saturday's workout (gesso background) and Created by hand (red/pink) as well as have a play with some stamps from Inka that I haven't really had much chance to play with yet.
The birdcage is on acetate, and the embellishment is a button filled with glossy accents and beads.

all stamps by Inka

crochet scarf

I recently won some rather fabulius blog candy on Marie Greene's fabulous blog.
I decided to make her a little handmade something as a thank you, and she has recently decided to learn to crochet, so I thought I would crochet something to inspire her and show her it's not all naff toilet roll covers, lol.

One of the quickest and most impressive things I know how to make (without a pattern) is a solomon's knot scarf. This is a very lightweight scarf, so more decorative than warming, which due to the nature of the stitch can be worn in a multitude of ways, including as a very fetching lacy wrap.

Anyway, it will be posted out very soon, although, I've taken rather a liking to it and am tempted to keep it (I am actually wearing it right now, and even my husband just admired it), and the only way I could stop myself doing that was to make this blog post and announce it to the world. if I don't send it now I will look like a complete cow! lol

by the way fabulius was a typo, but I liked it as a word so I left it in, lol

I love moo!

The challenge at make a moo or two is vintage love, so I made this. The background is all stamped.
all images and stamps are by Inka
There is actually a slit in the heart that the moo is slotted into, and then glued in place.

and one more sketch

I've had a play with one more sketch challenge using the same images and papers to complete all the baby boy cards that I needed. This one is the sketch from the Ismaki challenge

same stamps, same papers, different sketch.

I need another baby boy card, everyone I know seems to be having baby boys,in fact, I've still got another to do. I decided to try out another sketch challenge. This time it was the sketch at Papertake Weekly. I am also determined to enter each of the challenges in my list at least once!!

This one didn't quite turn out as I imagined, in my head it was all shabby chic gorgeousness, but it didn't quite work, but it will be fine for what I need it for. I have used my sewing machine for the stitching.

forever friends oriental

I came accross this forever friends challenge blog today and had an overwhelming urge to take part.BUT... I only own one forever friends stamp, so it was a challenge...could I make it fit the theme?

and the theme was?

Oriental.

hmmmm okay, maybe if you really use your imagination, those flowers could be cherry blossoms, go on.... work with me here.

Any way, I hope this is okay, please don't boo me off stage (sorry too much Guitar hero, I think)

sketch card 1-2-3

I needed a baby boy card, so I decided to have a play with a sketch, I found a lovely one on sketch saturday, and decided to use it with the free craft stamper pram stamp that I doctored some time ago

This was going to be a nice clean modern card, but some how that got lost along the way and I ended up vintaging it up a bit, ah well!

I am also entering this for the Secret Crafter challenge to use 1 Image, 2 papers and 3 embellishments! (I'm counting the buttons and ignoring the ribbon, lol)

TGIF books (and matchbook tutorial)

I'm really honoured to be the guest host at TGIF this week, where the theme is books, also one of my favourite themes as I love to use book pages in my work.
I made a matchbook notebook like this for my second piece in this months stamping contrasts article in craft stamper magazine, but as it was my second piece I didn't really get much space to explain how I did it, so I thought I would include full instructions here if anyone is interested.






materials: card, paper, trimmer, scorer, stapler, adhesive



trim a strip from the card (size isn't really important, it depends how big you want your notebook to be)



score 3 small strips of equal size.



fold up as shown


bend down the cover so that it overlaps the fold a little, not all the way as you need to allow room for stapling.


and fold


cut paper smaller than the cover for pages


open out and lay pages so they lie against the first score line, on the right side of the card (i.e. the side that will show on the outside of the book)


staple in place


the staples should be close to the bottom of the page (gives more room for the cover.) do not worry about stapling neatly, you will not see the staples


turn over and apply adhesive to back of first scored bit


fold up so the adhesive sticks this bit down.


you can now close the notebook and decorate at will


(all stamps on TGIF piece by non-sequitur)

2x4 valentine with lace

I'm covering 4 challenges. I love Kelly's 2x4s and was really pleased that they are the theme at theme thursday, so I had to try them. I have turned mine landscape to go on a card. I also love the lace theme at Wednesday Stamper, so I added a bit of lace to this piece. There are also heart challenges at Created by hand and secret crafter


All images and stamps are by Inka

TMTA queen for the day

Two posts in one day, that's really good for me at the moment!
I love the theme at TMTA this week and I thought that it was about time that Erica got another airing. The background of this is an idea that I had as I was trying to get to sleep last night. I love using corrugated cardboard in my crafting, but sometimes I don't want brown, so I wondered if I could recreate the effect of torn corrugated cardboard with coloured cards and a paper ribbler. It's not quite how I saw it in my head, but it's a start!
I also wanted to distress the edges, but I don't have one of those fancy distressers (although I want one) but I've found that if I run it along the bit where my scissor blades meet I can get a similar effect.

All stamps are by Inka

a cowl : an experiment in knitting

I really fanced the idea of making myself a cowl, the idea is just so obvious, a loop of knitting that you wear as a scarf with no dangly ends. I looked at a few patterns but then decided that I would just have a go and make one up, as I went along. It's knitted on a circular needle, so there are no seams at the end. I wore it today and I loved it, and no one even gave me an odd look!

birthday card

This is the card I made for Penny's birthday and I've been looking for an "excuse" to blog it. I'm going to enter it for stamp something's "birthday something" challenge, because while it doesn't say birthday or anything on it, it WAS actually a birthday card, so I'm sure that that will count.....

The image and stamps are by Inka, the background is done with a Tim holtz mask.

Woof

My original inspiration for this was to make a stripy background using adirondack dabbers,and crackle paint, so I thought I'd make something for Tag you're it's stripy challenge. I also fancied TGIF's dog challenge so I used this image from Inka. As the child and dog are wearing newspaper hats I thought I would use newspaper as an embellishment, and this is the theme at Lots To Do Challenges.

artygirlz also have anything but a card as a theme so I thought I could enter this tag. I hve also just entered this for Mixed Media Monday's challenge which is friendship as this quote to me is what friendship is all about.

crazy amigos/ craft stamper

The theme at Crazy amigos is to work with your favourite materials. I love stamping onto fabric, and in this months craft stamper magazine I have two pieces in the stamping contrast section. One of which is a shopping bag I have stamped onto. This is not the bag that is in the mag, but is along the same lines (I don't want to spoil the mag for you, because by all accounts, this one is really worth getting a copy of)

stamps are by stampington and Anita's

created by hand: flourishes

The theme at Created by hand is flourishes, so I thought I would enter this card that I made for Nellie's birthday. All stamps and the collage image are by Inka. I have coloured the flourish leaves with a white gel pen, used a stencil for the background and added a flower that I crocheted

theme thursday : something new

The theme at theme thursday is something new, so I thought I'd enter this card for my niece, this is a new card shape I have been playing with. An A6 piece of card folded lengthways, but overlapping the focal piece, the card then opens out flat for posting, thus protecting the overhanging piece. I have also used a new bunny stamp, which was part of a secret santa gift from Galina, and some new rub-ons from Jo (look carefully)

The made by Joanne stamp on the envelope was designed for me by Galina as well for part of my secret santa, how cool is that?