Music to my Ears

Morning all.  Who's up for a new challenge at Cardz4guyz? There's lots of scope with this week's subject of 'Music'. 

I've got tonnes of potential stamps for this one.  The hardest part was deciding on which one.  In the end I went with this brilliant Jukebox from Dr Digi purely because I'd bought it and never coloured it.  I don't know why 'cause it was so much fun to colour.  Plus, I had the perfect background papers to use.  They were a freebie from a long forgotten magazine but they screamed out to be used with this stamp.  Here's the result.

And I have to say it's a relief, after a few weeks of mojo malfunction, to be pleased with the result.

The Design Team have created such a diverse group of cards for this subject you just have to pop over and check them out.  And whilst you are there you can join in the fun.

Thanks for reading. 

Love Dawn x

Going off the edge

Morning all.  Time for a new challenge over at Back to Basics and Beyond.  This week we are pushing you right off the edge. There is a fab tutorial from Jennifer McGuire on You Tube and you can access it here.  The idea is to use a larger stamp around the edge of your card - and if you use Jennifer's technique you can create two cards at the same time.

I don't really have a lot of large stamps but I think I need some as I loved doing this technique.  My plan was to use a cherry blossom stamp but it was an odd shape and didn't really work so I chose the lily from the same set (I think it's Papermania).  I just coloured it in and used a die cut sentiment.  I could have used one of the sentiments from the stamp set but they are small and I was afraid it would get lost.

What do you think?

One thing I will say for Back to Basics and Beyond.  It is still managing to teach an old dog new tricks.  I think I need to invest in some more stamps as I can't really do this with Digis.  Well, I suppose you could but it would take a coat of thinking over first.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

For a Guy

I should have this week's Make My Monday Challenge down pat.  After all, Cardz4guyz was my first design team spot. Plus I needed a male tennis card for a 16th birthday.  Simples.  I didn't even have to think about it.  I could kill two birds with one stone.  A Guy card - for the challenge - plus I'd get the 16th card out of the way.  Yeah, right.  Do you know how many male tennis digis there are available?  Needless to say, searching for the image became the most trying part of this make.  Female tennis players there are a plenty.  Male ones, hardly any.  In the end I found this fabulous image on Craftsuprint.  It's designed by Gordon Fraser and I have a lot of his images - although they are all printable ones rather than digis.  My printer isn't really up to the job anymore so I don't really use them, which is a pity.  I'm glad some of his images are now available as digistamps.  I think he's a brilliant fun artist.  Here's the end result.

I kept it really simple and I'm chuffed to bits with the result.  

Please pop over and join in the fun.  Any Guy card would do and it would give you the opportunity to stock up.  You know that you've never made enough cards for the males in your life.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Sun, Sea and Sand

Morning all.  Although the rain returned last night (right in the middle of cricket training) we are looking for your Sun, Sea and Sand cards over at Cardz4galz this week.  

For my card I decided to dig out a long forgotten stamp from Joanna Sheen.  I have a feeling that I won it but I can't remember where from.  To be fair, my original idea was to go clean and simple with it but the ink smudged as I was colouring it.  So, modifications where made and this is the result.

I water coloured the sea and sand background and the frame die is one I bought from The Works.  I'm growing to like it more, even if it wasn't exactly as I had intended it.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

As Derek Drives off into the Sunset

Morning all.  We have a very male theme for you today over at Cardz4guyz.  We are looking for your 'Transport' cards. Now you could argue that girls like vehicles too.  My first proper date with the OH was to see the touring car races at Donnington Park (his dad was mortified that he'd taken me to a race meeting but I loved it).  However, you don't really see many girly vehicle cards do you?

Anyway, this was ideal for me as I needed a retirement card for a colleague.  After persuading him again and again that he really didn't want to go, Derek finally put his foot down and stuck his notice in.  The office really isn't going to be the same without him.  Derek loves his motor bike so there really was only one option for a card as far as I was concerned.  I found a suitable image over at Dr Digi and coloured it in.  I created a sunset background using an embossing folder and this is how it turned out.

I'm going to miss his insights into the Superbike Racing on a Monday Morning.  And his endless trips to make tea and coffee.  And about a million other things too.

Enjoy your retirement Derek.  You've definitely earned it.

Derek, the Legend!

Anyway, I've digressed a little bit.  Please pop over and join in the fun.  We do like to see what you come up with.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Wedding Day Wishes

It's the 15th of the month so we are due a new theme over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge and, as we are fully into the season for it, we'd like to see your Wedding Day cards.

I will admit to being frustrated by this.  I'd seen some really pretty ribbon in Home Bargains and bought it with this theme in mind.  I was so determined to use it I managed to do three cards for the subject.  You are only getting to see one.  The other two went straight in the bin!  I didn't even bother to take them apart to use the bits.  They didn't turn out at all well.  The third one I'm OK with.  It's not how I envisaged it and I'm not convinced it won't make the bin yet either.  

In the end I took the ribbon apart.  It was a chain of the little wingy things.  I pulled them off the thread and used them as embellishments and I think I prefer them this way.  The background is splattered with silver and pink and has been on my desk forever.

I obviously needed more inspiration for this theme so let's see what you've got.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Be Insprired - pretty please.

Morning all.  We have a brand new challenge over at Back to Basics and Beyond.  Unfortunately, our last challenge - for an explosive card - didn't attract many entrants.  We are hoping our Photo Inspiration Challenge will be more appealing.  Here's the photo:

Once I'd seen it my eye was drawn to the blue pattern on the sofa.  This is the element I've chosen for my inspiration.  You could be inspired by something totally different within the photograph.  

I chose the same colours and used my mosaic square die  to cut enough squares to form the diamond on my card.  I cut a fifth square just plain to mount my words.  I assembled the lot on a square of cream crepe paper and - as the sofa cushions have blue piping around the edge - I matted it onto another blue square.  I hope you can see where I was coming from with this.

Please pop over and see what inspired the other members of the DT and we'd love to see you be inspired to join.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

A Hundred Thank Yous

Just wanting to wish the Make My Monday Challenge a happy 100th Challenge this morning. And we also want to wish all our participants a huge Thank You.  So, to celebrate, we are wanting to see your Thank You cards.  Please join in the fun as we'd love to get 100 entries (or more) to celebrate.

My card is a very simple shaker card.  I cut the design on my Cricut and framed it.  What do you think.

I've discovered, amongst the cheap craft items aisle in the Range, some glittery craft sand.  It comes in various colours and it's fabulous for shaker cards.  I'm totally addicted to using it lately and I'm turning out shaker cards galore.

The ladies on the DT have created some gorgeous Thanks You cards so please nip over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

I Hate that I Love this Card

Have you ever had one of those projects that you've hated all the way, but turns out better than you ever expected?  That's exactly what this card did to me.

When I saw this subject on The Alphabet Challenge I wasn't exactly filled with desire to complete the project.  H is for 'hats and handbags'.  I'm not really an accessories girl (the occasional scarf maybe).  And my stash doesn't really runneth over with such items either.  OK, off we go a searching for a suitable digi stamp.  I was actually quite amused when I spotted Scary Gloria over at Polkadoodles and immediately bought her.  Then I immediately regretted it!  Fur!  I'm useless at colouring fur.  Oh well, nothing ventured etc, etc.  So off I went.  Let's go with some girly colours, but let's not be obvious and go for pink.  Peach with a sort of pinky/red for the accessories.  YUK!  I hated it.  This wasn't going well.  However, if I learnt anything at all from Alyce at Kit and Clowder it is to carry on until you see the end result.  Funnily enough, I didn't mind the end result.  However, having chosen the colours without a thought about where I was going with this, I now had to find some backing papers to match.  My good old other half had bought me an expensive paper pad for Christmas (mad fool, I never by the expensive stuff).  It has some gorgeous papers in.  It also had some dire papers too - in just the right colour!  Get on with it women - it's not getting any better just staring at it all.  So off I went, slinging it all together with gay abandon. 

And here it is:

I'm not sure who will get it or on what occasion but, bizarrely, I'm quite please with it.

Anyway, I've rambled on far to long today.  Pop over to the blog and have a look at the DT inspiration.  I'd love to see what you create with the theme.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Party Time

Today I am lucky enough to be joining the Design Team on the Cardz4galz Challenge.  And to make it a double celebration this will be their 100th challenge.  Yipee!  My DT adventures started out on their 'brother' site - Cardz4guyz - so I feel a little like I've completed the set by joining up.

As it's a special 100th challenge we are looking for your celebration/party cards.  I dug out another really old stamp for this one.  I can't remember the stamp company but I remember going to a craft show years ago and buying several of their stamps.  This little fella is having his own personal party.  I hope he doesn't get too tipsy in there by himself.

I did go a little predictable with girly pink but I promise that I will get better as I get used to Galz instead of Guyz.

Please pop over and join in the celebrations.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Football Crazy

Morning all.  Are you ready for a new challenge at Cardz4guyz.  We want to see your Black and White creations please.  Should be easy right?  No colouring to do.  Keep it simple.  Erm...maybe!

My first thought, when coming across this challenge, was a whole set of male themed silhouette stamps I've had forever.  I don't know who made them or even where I got them from but they've been in my box since before I can remember.  There are various sporting silhouettes, a dog, sets of tools, etc.  There's got to be something I could use.  The problem was, without colour in the background they all looked like I hadn't made an effort.  Get card. Stamp image. Job done!  In the end I picked the simplest football stamp - just one football - and stamped it onto some die cut squares.  I arranged them onto another die cut and placed a banner over them.  

It's driving me a little bit crazy that, with all that scope for a card in the stamp set, I ended up with Football.  Argh, I can't stand the sport.  I can sit through pretty much anything else and I actively engage with Cricket and American Football.  Oh well, there  are plenty of fellas out there that love it so I suppose it will come in handy at some point.

Please pop over and join in the fun.  We all love to see what you come up with and the DT girls have been very creative with this one.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x