A Bit Scrappy

 Morning all.  Time for me to choose the new challenge over at Make My Monday and I want you to 'use your scraps'.  I'm on a bit of a stash busting mission at the moment and I am trying desperately to get rid of some of the bits and pieces littering my craft room.  Honestly, if I just binned all the little bits I've got lying around it wouldn't look liked I'd touched it but I can't bring myself to do it. 

For my card I took one of my many offcuts of white card (yes I have a drawer full) and sponged a cloud background.  I created a white frame slightly smaller and added it to the front.  I then picked 4 bits of pink backing paper from my 'pink scraps' folder and used a new die from The Works to cut little balloons.

It was a bit fiddly, especially adding the strings - also cut from a scrap. I also cut some bits of confetti and added those as well. I'm getting to like it more than I did originally. It wasn't what I was originally going to do but when I bought the die I was struck by how easy it would be to cut from scraps.

The design team have come up with some lovely ways to use up their scraps so I do urge you to go and have a look.  I also have more pink scraps, and yellow scraps and blue scraps - you get the idea (I have a folder for each colour).  Any inspiration you can give me as to what to do with them will be gratefully received.  

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

A Mouse with a Martini - Oh My!

 Morning all.  Today we have a fun new challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge.  We have arrived at the letter M and Meg has given us the option of 'anything beginning with M'.  Off I popped to my stash of printed digi images for something to fit.  And, Bingo, I hit the jackpot.  A mouse in a martini glass.  This was one of the very first digital images I every got (sadly, Phindy's Place is no more). I found some happy birthday backing paper and coloured the image to compliment it. I even added a little spectrum noir sparkle pen to glitz it up a bit.

I added some blue gems and a little birthday banner and I love it.  OK, let's see what you have that begins with M.  Pop over to see what the design team has for you.  You really won't be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

I love you more than coffee

 I love you more than coffee.  Not a sentiment I expect my husband to ever say to me.  I know he loves me but coffee is his one vice. He doesn't smoke or drink alcohol.  If it wasn't for coffee he'd be really cheap to run.

Anyway, I've gotten way ahead of myself.  Today is time for a new challenge over at Cardz4galz.  This week's challenge is everyone's favourite 'A One Layer Card'. Not my usual style and I find them really difficult to do.  However, I had recently seen a stunning card using a white embossed image on a kraft card blank. So off I went to find an image that would work.  I decided on one of my favourite Altenew sets Coffee with a Splash.  I  heat embossed a cup of coffee and the sentiment in white and painted in the image with distress ink (I think it was vintage photo - sorry, I've been to bed since making this and I can't remember). I then added a few coffee stains with the same ink and went way out of my comfort zone by adding splatters.

I know it doesn't really look very girly but I would love my husband to send me a card with that sentiment. I would really feel very special then.

Please pop over to join in the fun. I'd love to see what you come up with.  

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Red Dragon

 Years ago I read a book called 'Red Dragon'.  It was the first outing of Hannibal Lecter as a character and, brilliant as it was, I couldn't face reading 'Silence of the Lambs' after.  Anyway, there is none of that  scary stuff here.  Just this week's challenge at Cardz4guyz. As it happens I chose this challenge.  I would love to see either 'Dragons or Dinosaurs' on your projects please.  Definitely a Guy challenge this one.  

I chose a very old - and very favourite - wood mounted stamp with a beautiful dragon on it.  In fact, it was on one of the first cards I made when I joined the Guyz Design Team.  This time I heat embossed it with a powder called 'Chinese Red'.  No idea who makes it but it has tiny hints of gold in it.  I then blended the background with antique linen distress ink and around the edge with fired brick.  I was going to just leave it as it was - a panel in the middle of a slimline card.  It looked a bit unfinished so I fussy cut it out and mounted it on a panel.  I covered my card blank with another piece of backing paper and I am much happier with the result.

What do you think? 

Ok, now it's time to see your dragons or dinosaurs please. If you don't I won't have anything to comment on.  

Thanks for reading

Love Dawn x

Shape it off

 Morning all.  We have a brand new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly today.  We would like to see your 'shaped' cards.  I was really impressed by all the entries on my challenge (at least 3 patterned papers) last month and I'm sure you will all rock this one too.  Shaped cards are always challenging for me.  I'm strictly a square or rectangle girl.  I rarely even do fun folds so where was I going to start with this one.  I started with my cricut.  If I needed a shape I wasn't confidant cutting it without help.  I found a circle card in the shape of a football and cut that as my base.  I also had a Football Circles digi stamp from LOTV already printed out.  I coloured the 'Goal' circle in rich deep colours...and totally messed it up.  In order to save it I cut out the word and stuck it to a circle in the middle of my base.

And that should have been it.  I couldn't leave it though.  It just wasn't finished.  I just kept looking at it and wanting something else.  I eventually added the two footballs from the other circles.  I don't completely love it but it looks more finished now.

I obviously need help with shaped cards so please enter and show me your inspiration.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Meh...ry Christmas

 Christmas in September.  No, I'm not really feeling it.  I'm envious of all those well organised crafters that start their Christmas cards on Easter Monday.  I am always rushing about at the last minute.  One year I was still waiting for glue to dry on Christmas eve so I could deliver my cards before the Crib Service.  This is where challenges like today's Make My Monday Theme come in handy.  'Christmas in September' is what we want.  And, whether I'm feeling it or not, I had to come up with something.

A couple of years ago a scouting friend was moving house and decided that all the crafting stuff she'd collected to create with was coming my way.  Thanks Angie, love you lots.  Amongst all the stuff was a stack of Christmas stamps in CD cases.  I think they were call Cee Dees or See Dees stamps. Surely I could find some inspiration amongst all those (there are about ten cases).  I plumped for a lovely image of Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus.  Then I got distracted colouring some poinsettias.  Oh well, the best laid plans and all that.

I just coloured them in red and used traditional green for the background.  I dobbed some gems over my centres and mounted it on a red card base. I added a sentiment strip and cut out a couple of spares to hide the rough end.

OK, let's see what you come up with.  I obviously need some help and motivation.  I'm off to see Mary and Joseph now - well, I'd stamped them out so I suppose I should do something with them.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

 

Lovely Ladybird

 Morning all.  We have come to the letter L over at The Alphabet Challenge and we would like to see your Ladybirds (ladybugs) please.  I have several images with Ladybirds on them.  Mainly from Bugaboo and 2 Cute Ink.  After much deliberation I decided to go for one that I can't find in the 2 Cute Ink Shop. Typical isn't it.  Do not despair however, Heidi has several very cute ladybirds available. 

Once I'd decided on the image the rest was pretty simple.  Lots of dots and circles in red white and black. I did add a little sunshine and a couple of clouds to create more of a scene for my image.  Not sure it's quite me but it did turn out more or less how I'd imagined it.  

Ok, over to you.  Let's see those ladybirds.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

 

Buttons and Bows (Just the sort of stuff I don't really use much)

 Morning all. A challenging challenge for me this morning.  We would like your 'buttons and bows' over at Cardz4galz.  Buttons and bows - not something you will see me use often.  That is not to say that I haven't got tonnes of both.  Of course I have!  I just haven't got a clue what to do with them.  So, having rooted around in my craft room (I am trying to use stuff I've got lying about) I came across a fancy circle that's been in my bits box for ages. I'd cut a further circle in it to make it look like a bib and that's as far as I got.  Whoopee, I could now get rid of it - along with some of my millions of buttons and bows.

I picked a scrap of pretty pink paper and flung it all together. I used some tiny white flowers to finish off the corners as my buttons were really tiny and looked lost.  I left them to feature on the bib with a pink bow and a sentiment panel.  I'm really pleased to have used mostly scraps on this card.  Now, what do I do with all the rest of this stuff.

Please pop over to the blog and give me some inspiration.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Monochrome madness for boyz

 Morning all.  We have a fresh new challenge for you this morning over at Cardz4guyz.  We did monochrome for the galz a few weeks ago and now it's time to do the same for the guyz.  I have to say, monochrome is so much easier for guy card.  I chose blue for a colour scheme and cars for a theme.  Simples!

Mum needed a card for a friend who's a driving instructer and this fit the bill perfectly.  I'm not sure how he'll feel about being called an old wreck but mum liked it.  The stamps are an old set by Kanban. I've had them for years but never really got much use out of them.  I may do some more like this.  It was very quick and simple to do.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.  

Love Dawn x