Late night crop

Decided to do a little digiscrapping as was so frustrated with the other things tonight ... and decided on the pictures I took of princess M and her best friend when she visited for tea earlier in the week.  They were soooooo sweet together.

Doing this as a link because there are three pages to the mini book - think I might have to look at printing this off another way - so I can finish this off properly and make it into a little special something for Maya's memory box - but that can wait for another day. 

Link to the scrapbook

I need to sleep but unfortunately watching Enemy of the State and the lovely Will Smith.  I just adore this film and have had a real film night.  First I watched Jumper - which was interesting but not brill, then Juno which was great.  Finally I'm completely absorbed in Enemy of the State... might be a while before I sleep - maybe some more digiscrapping - but no more blogs!

Crafty catchup and general whinge!

So firstly a really big whinge!  I really need to finish some cards over the weekend and just need to wait until I had the printer back working.  So I spend £30 on ink and the beeping thing isn't working. 

Secondly I have written this post once already and the beeping thing didn't save.  So so so so frustrating.

So now whinge over for the second time and here is the crafty update ...

Commissions are all going a little mad (mainly the reason for the printer frustration!) which is great.  Here are 2 of the latest ones, both for new customers ...

... 21st card for a girl with lilac theme ...

So used some of that lovely CoreDinations card and some other lilac cardstock to create the layers and used the marvellous Martha Stewart punch.  Then added a ribbon wrap and affixed this to the lilac pearlescent card blank.  Then stamped the Debbi Moore image onto the scalloped panel (little eBay purchase) and then coloured with promarkers (yes the love affair continues).  Then added the ribbon tag and the button.  I then added the gem stones and the glittery numbers (they've been used quite a lot recently haven't they!) and the recipients name.

Second commission is a grandma card for a friend... (her grandma not her being the grandma just to clarify!)

So I used the cutesy floral paper paper I got from a magazine.  I added half a doily and cut it in half and then matted it up.  Then added the stripey panel which I punched on both sides to make a paper ribbon.  Then added the grosgrain ribbon and a thinner organza ribbon to add the texture.  Then inked the scalloped panel with the pale pink from the Stampin Up range.  Then added the butterflies from the Bliss Stampin Up range.  Then stamped it again on vellum with rich razzleberry and glued it down the spine to give the image of it flying.  Then stamped the sentiment in the same ink.  Added the little gems for the antennae and the little detail on the corner of the panel.  Then added the roses, the little Making Memories tag (which I inked) and the cutsey threads.  Inked the edge of the white card with the pink and then mounted it all up.  Really pretty card - fingers crossed she liked it.

Anways on other crafty news the chances are that I will be doing something for me for the next few weeks as joining an online class I am very excited about.  It's so rare to do something for me.  I'm usually doing cards - which I love, or scraps of M and V - which I also love, but I suppose that I am neglecting me so here's to the latest love - journalling!

So I'll keep you posted on this and will hopefully return soon enough with a less whingey post next time.

Take care all and happy crafting!

Evening all - weekend catch up underway!

Have had a lovely weekend with a couple of crafty sessions completed - so have a few things to upload.  Hope that this post finds those who read it well and happy!

Commissions galore once again and so made 4 anniversary cards (not pictured) and then also 2 21st birthday cards that I am particularly proud of.

These are for a friend at work for her sister, and sisters friend.  They are both grungy and emo/punk esque girls and so my usual girly girl style was not going to be right.  So I had to trawl through the CraftArtist etc for some inspiration and then ended up with some really cute digistamps to use instead!

So the first... I have just entered this into the TiddlyInks challenge too!

Digistamp is from TiddlyInks and coloured with the purple hair to match the recipient (if this is the colour of her hair this week!?!).  Also the checkerboard paper is from Tiddlyinks too.  So layered up a white 5x5 card with a textured dark grey cardstock I bought from Carole's Crafts, and used some of my Coredinations card in purple.  Tore it the make the central panel.  Wrapped a dark grey satin ribbon round both ends of the purple panel and tied a knot in it.  Then added the torn purple label for the glitterations number stickers.  For the digistamp I sized it and framed it with one of the frames from Digicrea (I think - it was one of my freebie kits of many I have stored).  Coloured using promarkers (yes the obsession continues) and then added the black and silver gems around the card.  Oh also mounted the digistamp image and frame on the coredinations card and some vellum I ran through the paper crimper - can't really see that but I think it adds a little extra to the card.  Really pleased with this.

Onto the second ...

So the brief was that this one of the lovely 21 year olds has a Rottweiler.  Now this is not my favourite breed it has to be said but when I spotted this digistamp on Bugaboo Stamps I just had to get it (along with some other things I've not yet had a chance to print off and make into anything - so watch this space!).  So I used the same checkerboard as in the first card from TiddlyInks but shrunk it and tiled it in CraftArtist.  Then layered the dark grey card onto red, added the velum and the checkerboard paper which I tore.  I then spritzed it with silver mica and ink spray so it's all grungy.  Added the red ribbon and some gems and the glitterations numbers.  Then the digistamp I put into a black box on Craft Artist and then mounted on the red card.  Final touches was to red ink the edge of the white card and added three little strips of the glitterations on the top right hand side.

Really pleased with these cards - fingers crossed my friend will be too!

Onto the other crafty makes of the weekend.  Well fathers day will be taking over the whole weekend next week alongside both my fathers birthday and my father in laws birthday ... so had to do a raft of masculine cards next!

I haven't photographed any of the ones going to relatives I'm afraid but with 2 male birthday cards and 2 fathers day cards from me and hubby I got quite masculine.  I also aided princess M in making hubbies card - he was sent to play pc games which I am sure he was more than happy about!  But what I then did was make 3 more Dad cards - only 1 specifically for fathers day - to take into work with me just in case someone wants one.

1: some travel stamps I got in the sale at Hobbycraft - not brilliantly stamped but lovely stamps.  The texture of the brown card is hard to see on the picture but the backing paper is also a leaf type print too.  Added the brads for the more masculine touch to bling!

2: Beer stamp I used on a commission a week or so back in action here with the sentiment "3 cheers for the best dad ever", mounted on the fathers day card that came in a magazine.

3: Little Claires peel offs used on a card I made hubby last year - the tool kit was left on the sheet so decided to use this on a piece of cream pearlescent - it makes the promarkers look good - then cut out the image and mounted it on blue card which I put through the crimper.  Then inked a panel of the cream with brown around the edge, added the peel off To A Speacial Dad.  The pale blue card I then added a small amount of dry embossing with a couple of lines before mounting the panels and image.  Then added a small brown button and the tied piece of string - I can't cope without some kind of ribbon adding even on boy cards!

I then had to even it up - having been sooooooo masculine themed - and made this quick little card ...

For this I used a couple of scalloped panels - I have recently bought on eBay  - the bottom is a shiny card in pale mixed colours, and I thought it went quite nicely with the flowers I had left over from my last class with Helen.  I then used my Stampin Up pumpkin ink to stamp up this DoCrafts Pampered Pets stamp on the white panel.  Then layered it up a little offset on a brightish lemon card.  There - the girliness is back!

Now finally it all went a little mad this afternoon - maybe it was the wine I drank with lunch? - and I suddenly had an urge to be festive!  Yes - despite being told by my hubby dearest that I wasn't allowed to start Xmas cards until after June 21st - I ignored him and have started on Christmas!!!!

I took the plunge and ordered the Pepper's Christmas set from Papermania and couldn't wait to start using it so had secretly done some stamping a week ago and been colouring in a little at a time - so I really wanted to start making up the cards ... and here are my first ones.  I've not just stuck to the kit though - as usual - and added some other papers etc I had in my Christmas stash box already - so there is a real mix here.  I know I'll be bored of Christmas cards soon enough - but it is exciting to do festive cards when you first start them and because I am most definitely not a batch card maker in my heart - each one is a little bit different and I try not to make too many in the same fashion.  Once I've finished with the stamped images I've already done I think I'll do some decoupage ones - I love mixing it up!  And then maybe some less cutsey ones can come out of my imagination too - I've some lovely Christmas stash and I really enjoy playing with new things - so even though they aren't exactly new - they are new for this year!!!

  

So Merry Chri .... only joking - Happy Crafting - hope there aren't too many mad fools out there like me in the midst of holly and snowflakes!?!  Such fun!

Networked blogs - here I come

Decided to do something technical and make my blog into a networked blog although have no idea how to do this - so hoping this has worked ... here we go!

What a day!

Well I've had one of those days where nothing is quite right ... a clash of calendars this morning meant I was late for a meeting and I HATE that - never feel like I am quite on the right foot.  I did however get a helping hand first thing from a friend which meant I was only 5 minutes late.  Then managed to be in the wrong place from where my things were all day which meant having to cross the Runcorn Widnes bridge six zillion times (well only 4 really but I am a little prone to exagerration!).

Anyways what did go well for me today is the latest commission was well received - in fact a query was made if I actually knew the recipient I'd done such a good job! - I didn't might I add so maybe lady luck was with me after all!  And then received another 6 commissions (only from 2 people but amazing nonetheless!).  And finally was instructed to pick up a discarded letter rack for my card display which I promptly decided needed a little jazzing up!  So onto todays crafting ...

Well all I've done so far is given the letter rack a light sanding and a coat of blue paint.  Thinking of trying some Sheena Douglas Paint Fusion stuff on it but not sure yet - will keep you posted - but evenutally it will be my little card display for at work - a whole lot more professional than the cardboard box with the handwritten sign I am using at the moment.  Obviously it will take me a while to work out how to do this exactly but sure it'll be good when I get there.

Anyways onto the commission that I handed over today:

Brief: 18th birthday birght and blinky preferably pinks and for a girl who is partially sighted. 

Result:

So spotty paper is from my Stampin Up pack, doilies from the supermarket, ribbon from a reel from Hobbycraft actually bought by princess M with some easter money because she loved it but has made it's way into my craft stash (to be fair she uses all my stuff!), panel is one of the Top  Note Stampin Up die cuts I bought off eBay - complete rip off when you know how much it should cost really - but still love this shape - will be my first die to buy when I earn enough to buy the machine!  Image of the girl is the Debbi Moore stamp I use a lot, and the present is a Forever Friends stamp from a set bought at Crab Apple Crafts.  All coloured in promarkers.  Then added the bling with the silver tags on the presents and the star bling (cheap from The Works) and the glittery number stickers from the set I bought a week or so ago from Hobbycraft.  Then added the silver letters for the recipients name.  Fingers crossed Megan liked as much as the lady who commissioned the card.

Anyways - off to CraftArtist world to play with some ideas for some of the 6 cards I have had commissioned today - see you peeps again soon - happy crafting! 

Commissions galore!

So long time no post (apart from the whining one at lunch today as blogger wouldn't let me post on others pages!).  No what have I been up to ... well not too much craft wise I'm afraid.  I've had some more commissions which I've finished off and thats about it.  Today I received another request so at some point this week I'll be getting the stash out of the cupboard, but for tonight I did some digi designing for a major commission (more about that another time).

So here's some of the finished articles of the last week or so.

So this was a large (8x8) card for my "customers" husband, used some paper from a digi kit in black, grey and pale lime green, matted and layered on black and silver.  Then added some grosgrain spotty ribbon, and the photo of the classic car she had chosen.  Then finished off with some card candi in silver.  I spent ages thinking that the card didn't quite look finished but nothing I added looked right - in the end I went with the less is more theory and this is what she got. I did charge a little more for this and the next one to compensate for the larger card stock I bought for her especially.

So another larger (8x8) card.  This time the brief was Mum loves flowers and grey cat.  So the cat was stamped from freebie Daisy and Dandelion kit from a magazine I use quite a lot.  Then the paper was Debbie Moore paper from a CD Rom (I think) also added a panel of dark blue which I crimped (new toy!) and printed the sentiment panel from CraftArtist.  Then added a lacey border on the edge and an organza ribbon.  Then added some paper flowers with card candi silver centres.  Loved the colours on this one - thought it was quite an elegant combination.  Of course the cat was coloured in promarkers.

The next one was a man who has a car like the one pictured.  I went for quite a bright paper I had got from Basic Grey from a stock of scrapbook papers and cards I found ages ago.  Added the navy ribbon and then the blue buttons.  Also bought the glittery silver numbers and some glittery silver dots from a little spree in Hobbycraft when looking for some numbers specifically for finishing "number" cards.

Sorry for the rubbish picture - The brief for this was man likes beer - so initially I thought - of course he does!  But then how difficult is it to get nice beer pictures or stamps - they are all really tacky from the usual places and I wasn't keen on the Craftartist cheers digikit.  Plus my printer has finally run out of ink so printing is off limits till ink cartirdges purchased.  So on my little trek around Hobbycraft which is not my shop of choice but the only place open when I finished work that particular day, I suddenly spotted this little beer stamp on a sheet of Forever Friends stamps.  Fantastic me thinks - although a little pricey - but then I know I'll use some of the other stamps too for other mens cards.  Also found these Little Claires peel offs I bought at a craft fair last year to make a card for hubby dearest and these made a perfect addition to the green checked panel.  Then added the string and the button to the brown panel and mounted it on the white card.  String I was especially pleased with as this came off my hubbys new jeans and I spotted this and thought - I know how to use this immediately - and so it made it into my crafty stash!

Finally - not a commission but a card for a friend.  To finish off the mainly masculine commissions it was so nice to do something pretty again!  A lovely friend of mine turned 30, and as we both are a fan of cake it was a perfect opportunity to use these molly blooms stamps.  Some stamped cake stand and coloured in in promarkers, also coloured in the stamped bunting and then cut it out to affix over the top of the panels.  Added some cute ribbon and lace in mixture of lilacs and whites and then added the lovely sparkly 30.  Finally stamped the cake on the envelope to make the card match.  Fingers crossed she got to eat plenty of cake on her birthday as I wasn't with her to make sure she did.  Happy Birthday Vikki!

So 4 more things to tell you ... I am officially promarker obsessed ... so much so I bought another 15 on my quick trip to Hobbycraft ... have had to increase the storage for them ... and here is my nifty new storage (almost full I might add!)

My Christmas kit has arrived - I took the plunge on a cute Pepper kit and it has arrived in the post - lots of delicious little cutsey images to play with - so Christmas crafting may have to start soon - have only managed a small amount of stamping and colouring (an excuse to try some of my new Promarkers of course) but not made anything up yet as that seems a little too chirstmassy!  Such fun!

Spotted some doilies in Sainsburys for very cheap price of under 1 squid - immediately purchased - can't wait to use - may well use in the next commissioned card I need to do!  Also in impatience to get my BigShot (it's getting closer though!) I have purchased a few ready cut frames and toppers from ebay - probably drastically overpriced but been on a bit of an ebay mad week this last week so never mind!  Hopefully some of these will make lovely bases for some stamped images over the Xmas period as well as for some of the other stuff I am doing. 

And finally - a new craft shop has been visited!  Finally made it to Crab Apple Crafts at Lady Heyes the home of rosemary merry... loved it and spent money there too on some cute stamps... these have yet to see action as yet but will be no doubt in use very very soon!

Have to go now - bed beckons and really ought to get some sleep soon.

Happy crafting all!  Night night!

Can't post on others pages

So blogger is really frustrating me today as I thought I'd catch up with blog hopping during my lunch only to find I can't post comments - might be the work security settings - I'm not sure - but very frustrating - so what I want to say is as follows ...
Diane's mutterings has posted some cool things recently - including her first scrapbook - well done honey!  You'll be addicted to scrapping soon enough!  Also lovely passing driving test card. Well done!

Anyway rant over - and off to view some more blogs before I clock back on at work!
 I should also have some posting to do of my own as some commissions finished, and some new purchases made - oh and nearly there on the BigShot fund too!  Woo hoo!

Happy crafting all!