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!