Slightly Steampunk

Hi everyone!

It's been tough going for the past week or so, with the heat!  I don't know how people who live in hot countries cope every year!!  Thank God the last couple of nights have been a teensy bit cooler and I've been able to sleep a bit.  That's 2 years in a row that we've actually had a bit of a summer, even if they were only short ones! lol!

We have a new challenge up today on Seems A Little Sketchy and we have a fab sponsor in Teri at Delicious Doodles!

Teri is offering 4 digi's as a prize to our lucky winner!

The sketch for you for this fortnight is...

A nice simple one for you, but it's amazing what some people can do with just a few elements!

Here's what I did..

The fab image 'Steampunk Mermaid' was provided by our sponsor Delicious Doodles and I coloured her with the following copics: Skin;E21,13,00,0000,R20. Hair;E49,39,R39,YR24,23. Tail etc.;E37,35,33,29,27,25,23,09,08,07,04. Rock;BV04,W5. Eyes;YG23. Sky;BV0000,RV10,blender. Sea;YR02,RV11
I wasn't entirely happy with my colouring on this one but considering it is the first thing I've coloured in well over 3 months I suppose I can tolerate it!

I used my new wavy die from volume one of the Doohickey Club Magazine to cut waves out of a sheet of copper - a proper metal copper sheet!  I've had this for years but was afraid to use it.  I added some different metal eyelets along the edge and in the corner with my crop-a-dile.  I cut out 3 little strips of the copper and ran it through my paper crimper which worked a treat on it as it is so thin!

For the inside, I used the waste from cutting the wave for the front and I also cut a Memory Box Majestic Anchor from the copper sheet, attaching it with glossy accents and an eyelet.
The sentiment is by Whimsy Stamps from the Film Strip Sentiments set.

I do hope you can join us at some point in the next two weeks over at Seems A Little Sketchy, go check out what the rest of the DT have done for more inspiration!

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

A Step In The Dark; Anything goes/Use some metal
Bearly Mine Challenges; Lets go digital
Delicious Doodles Challenges; Anything goes with DD image
Eureka Stamps; Swimming
Left Of Centre Challenges; Black & White plus one - Copper
QKR Stampede; Swimming
The Sisterhood Of Crafters; Die Cuts

Thanks for looking!
 

Anniversary Overload!

Hi everyone!

Uh-oh!  It seems my blogging skills have gone a little rusty since I've had my hiatus, I thought I had this post scheduled but I must've hit save instead of publish and the flipping thing has been sitting in draft all this time!  It should've posted last weekend!  Sorry about that Elaine!

There are two challenges running at the moment on Eclectic Ellapu,
The Pink teams challenge is...

Reis, meaning country, travel, holiday etc.

And the Purple teams challenge is...

Anything goes!

Although I am on the pink team, I decided that for this week I would help out the Purple team (also because I didn't have anything made for the pink challenge!!)

So here is my card that I made for my parents who celebrated their Ruby Wedding Anniversary last month!

I hadn't made anything for so long when I went to make this one that I couldn't face having to colour an image so I went pretty basic.
The wording is computer generated using the font "Cardinal".  I cut out a Spellbinders Fleur De Lis square in red card and then cut the wording to fit it.  The ribbon, buckle, pearls and diamantés are from my stash.

I used my scoreboard to make a pattern on the base which made lining up the square centre-piece so easy!  I used the same techniques on the inside.

We went out for a meal for their anniversary with all the family in a lovely restaurant in Newcastle.  We also had a gorgeous cake made for the occasion which went down a treat!

So make sure to check out the challenges over at Eclectic Ellapu - These challenges will be running for their full 3 weeks but we'll be over-lapping on the 1st August with new ones as we are starting monthly challenges from then!

I would like to enter the card above in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create; Anything goes/Use a sentiment
Crafty Ribbon Challenge; Anything goes with ribbon
Delightful Challenges; Add ribbon
Fussy & Fancy Challenges; Words
The Sisterhood Of Crafters; Die cuts
ABC Challenges; P is for Pearls


I was having a look through my files and I realised I hadn't blogged the last card I had on EE!

The image is PPear by Birdie Brown but I'm afraid my copic list has long since been tidied away (lost) but it looks like the YG90's.  I haven't a clue what the papers are either!
I've added some bakers twine and googly eyes.  The sentiments are computer generated and the top one "you're a quare pair!" would be a phrase used in Ireland to say that they are a great couple, or words to that effect. Lol!
The inside has been done to match

I'll be back shortly with my post for today for Seems A Little Sketchy

Thanks for looking!
 

I'm Back!!!

 Hello!  If there's anyone still there??!!

Wow, it's been so long since I have blogged, or even crafted until this week!  There are about 3 long stories about what has been going on, the incredibly short version is that my mum had a knee replacement so I spent 2 or 3 weeks helping out there and I had some treatment on my sore shoulders, which turned out to be a disaster and is still on-going.  So skip a few other chapters and I'm back and hopefully over the next week or 2 I should be properly up and running again (or at least at a leisurely stroll pace!).
I want to add a massive thank you to Mari, Shaz and Elaine for being so lovely and understanding and letting me have some time off from DT duties, it was great to not have to worry about anything.  I have also decided to step down as the leader of PunkYouGirl, but I'm still staying on the DT and the lovely Kay has graciously taken over the reigns and is doing such a fantastic job at breathing new life into the challenge blog, I wish I had've passed it over sooner!

I meant to do a post showing pics from when I was on the set of Game of Thrones - I wanted to do that after "our" scenes were broadcast, but of course that was aired just at the start of when everything kicked off here so I never got the post done - the series has even finished now!  But I'll still do up the post at some point cos it's too cool not to show off! :P

So anyway, I'm actually here today with something I have made!
It's the midway reminder today at PunkYouGirl and our dark (as always!) theme for this challenge is...

Skeletons and Secrets!

And our new boss Kay is sponsoring us with fab prizes for both 1st and 2nd places!!  Double reasons to get entering!

So I had a good rummage in my stash and found the bits and pieces I needed to decorate a box - to hide your secrets in, see?!

 The box itself was a plain white trinket box that I got in Tesco.  I started by thinking I'd like to use ink to colour it, but after trying and failing several times to open my old pot of ink, I used my pot of black Pebeo paint (which I thought I wasn't going to be able to open either cos all the power had gone out of my hands from trying to open the ink!).  I painted stripes up the sides of the box and lid - I purposely didn't line up the stripes, cos life's just too short!  And the underneath of the box and top of the lid were fully painted black.  I then used my wee old pot of gold ink, which I did manage to get open, and painted over the whole thing with it - it gives it a lovely grubby but shimmery effect.  I then took to attaching some feet to the base with glossy accents.

 The feet and the skeleton have come from a set of Halloween decorations that I bought years ago, I think you're supposed to scatter them over the table.  The foot and lower leg bits were the perfect size to stick to the corners and still leave room for the lid to go on!  They were a bugger to get to stay on though!  I also dirtied up the box sides with some Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks.

I pulled a page out of an old book (GASP!) that I bought in  a charity shop, (Charles Dickens, Bleak House) and tore it into strips and crumpled, aged, distressed (with inks) and stuck it to the box lid.  I then aged and distressed it a bit more with a sanding block and black and gold embossing powders.  I then attached the "body" with glossy accents.  I coated some round studs in the gold and black EPs and also attached them.

I printed the sentiment (or maybe its the inventory of what's inside the box??!) from the computer using the font Cardinal Alternative, cut out the words, dirtied them up and attached them to each other with some brass jump rings.

So there you go, the perfect box to keep anything you don't want people to find!

Make sure you check out what the rest of the DT have done, I can't wait to see what you do!

I'd like to enter my altered trinket box into the following challenges:

Creative Inspirations; Distressing
Just For Fun Challenge Blog; Anything goes
Crafty Girls Challenges; Anything goes
Creative Fingers Challenge Blog; Anything goes
Creative Moments; Anything goes
A Step In The Dark; Anything goes/Use metal - jump rings & studs
Altered Eclectics; Anything goes

Thanks for looking!
 

Hoppy Easter!

Hi everyone!

I hope you're well?  I'm back with another card that should've been posted a week ago!  I'm hoping that my constant need to catch up will soon be at an end as the main reason for me not being able to keep up is finally getting seen to!  I had my big injection on Tuesday, and I didn't realise until after it just how anxious I was before hand.  The procedure is a fairly common one but having never had anything like that done to me in my thirty something years on earth, I did feel nervous about it.  The needle was being guided via ultra sound scanner right into the joint of my right shoulder.  And boy oh boy but it was painful!!  I watched the screen and could see the needle going into the joint and the swirling of the liquid being injected into where it had to go.  It was not a pleasant experience!  It has been very sore and stiff/tight ever since, they said it might take a couple of weeks to start to feel right, it felt a good bit better this morning when I woke up, but as the day has gone on it is getting sorer again.  But hopefully it's on the right road now!  Then I have to go through it all again in a few weeks on the other shoulder!  At least I'll know what to expect that time.

So, the card today was for the challenge that started last Friday at the Alphabet Challenge Blog - you can call this a midway reminder!  It was my turn to choose the challenge and as we are up to E I chose...

E for Easter!

How appropriate! Lol!

Here's my card

The image is by Saturated Canary and is called Easter Dress.  I coloured her with the following Copics:  Skin;E21,13,00,0000,R20. Hair & Bunny;E44,43.Y15,13,11. Dress;R22,21,20.B06,05,04,01,00,0000.YG07,05,03.RV29,25,23.

The papers I have used are Here & Now by Echo Park.  I used a set of Spellbinders Petite Ovals in large for the image and a Stampin' Up! punch for the sentiment.  I have a really old egg shaped punch that I found in my stash so I used it too.  The sentiment is computer generated using the font AR Christy.  The ribbon and gems are from my stash.

I used a Martha Stewart punch that I was going to use for the front of the card but I thought it was a bit much so I just used it on the inside along with the same papers, egg punch shapes, ribbon and gems as the front.

Please pop over to the Alphabet Challenge Blog to check out the rest of the DT's cards for this challenge and add your entries there - cos I know you're gonna enter!!  Lol!

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Craft For The Craic; Something for Easter or Spring
Craft Your Passion; Bunnies, chicks and eggs
Crafty Catz; B is for... Bunnies, blue, bow
Dream Valley Challenges; Easter
Eureka Stamps; Happy Easter
Just For Fun Challenge Blog; Easter
Oldie But A Goodie Challenge; Easter
Papertake Weekly; Happy Easter
The Pink Elephant; Easter
Twisted Tuesday; I need your paperwork

Thanks for looking!
 

Springtime Joy!

Hello folks!

I'm a little late in posting this as it should've been done on Tuesday, I haven't had a minute to get it done so apologies to Mari and the other ladies at Creative Card Crew.
I went to Belfast on Monday to get my car serviced and went shopping with my mum while we waited.  I got some lovely fabrics and trimmings at the Spinning Wheel shop in the city centre, I can't wait til the patterns I ordered online arrive so I can maybe get started, I'm excited about starting to sew, I hope I can pull it off and not be too disappointed with my results!

But in the mean-time I am sticking to what I know best, card making!
We started a new challenge at the Creative Card Crew on Tuesday and this fortnight we are being sponsored by Marianne Designs who are giving away a gorgeous stamp and die set to one lucky winner!

 

And we are also being sponsored by the fabulous Lacy Sunshine with 3 digi's going to another lucky winner!

 

So, the challenge for this fortnight is...

Spring!

We want to see how you see spring, the colours, the wildlife or whatever!

Here's what I did

The image was provided by our sponsor, Lacy Sunshine and I coloured her with the following copics:  Skin; E21,13,00,0000,R20.  Hair; R22,21,20. Dress; YG07,05,03,YR04,02.  Wings; E0000,R20,G00,B05.  Sky; C3,2,1,B01,00,000,Blender.  Grass; E47,31,YG07,05,03,97,95.
I had just refilled my skin-colour pens and I think they are a bit over-powering in the picture, but you live and you learn!

I used some pebeo paints on the image, to make flowers in the grass.  I also used some champagne mist ink on her wings which shimmer nicely in the light, you can't see it above so I took another pic which shows it a little better.

The papers I have used are First Edition Spring Feast and I teamed it up with some contrasting green card to mount on.  The lace, net, brads and charm are from my stash.  The sentiment is computer generated using the free font Fortuna Schwein.  I didn't use any dies on this card!  Go me!

The inside matches the front with the sentiment completed in the same font as the front.

I do hope you can join us in this challenge, there is a load of amazing inspiration to look at from the rest of the DT at the Creative Card Crew!

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Bearly Mine Challenge Blog; Spring
Craft For The Craic; Easter or spring
Divas By Design; Easter or spring
Fab N Funky Challenges; Pink
Lacy Sunshine Challenge Blog; Add flowers
Moving Along With The Times; Easter or spring
Papertake Weekly; Spring has sprung
The Corrosive Challenge Blog; Show us your metal
Top Tip Tuesday; Cute

Thanks for looking!
 

Full Of The Joys Of Spring!

 Good morning peeps!

I can't believe the first episode of Game Of Thrones Series 4 was on last night and I still haven't seen it!  Well, it was on at 2am!  I'll have to check if they're doing that every week or just for the first one, I might stay up to watch it "live" next week! :)

So on to today's card which is for the new challenge at Seems A Little Sketchy and our sponsor for this fortnight is Robyn's Fetish

 And they're offering 3 digi's to our winner!

Here's the sketch for this challenge:

I rotated the sketch anti-clockwise and ended up with this...

The cute image is called Lily Lamb and was supplied by Robyn's Fetish.  I coloured her with the following Copics: C3,2,1,10,6. R21,00. Collar;YG97,95,93. Bell;Y15,13,11,E43. Ground;E49,31,G21,03,13,17,97,95. Sky;B91, blender. And I used some snow white acrylic paint here and there too.

The papers I have used are Prima; Alla-Prima.  The dies are..Spellbinder circles, Magnolia Grass and Picket Fence Doohickey's and Memory Box Summer Kites.  The ribbon and raffia are from my stash.  I printed the sentiment using the font Curlz and went over it with a glitter pen.

I followed the basics of the sketch for the inside along with paper from the same pad and an addition of a wee daisy from my stash.

So that's my card, I hope you can join us this fortnight at Seems A Little Sketchy, go and check out the rest of the DT's work for more inspiration.

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Bearly Mine Challenges; Spring
Craft For The Craic; Easter or Spring
Crafty Catz; Springtime
Delightful Challenges; Hip to be square
Stampin For The Weekend; Spring colours
The Squirrel and The Fox; All creatures great and small
Top Tip Tuesday; Cute

Thanks for looking!
 

Fore You!

 Good morning everyone!

This is an exciting day!  I've just found out that Sky Atlantic are showing the first episode of Game of Thrones series 4 tonight!!  It will be on at 2am to coincide with when it is being aired in the States.  It's a wee bit annoying that it's on in the middle of the night as I have to be away early in the morning so I won't be able to stay up to watch it, but I will record it and have it there to watch as soon as I get home tomorrow instead of having to wait until tomorrow night!!  This is the series where the scenes will be shown that were filmed on my family's land, I don't know which episode it will be in though but I will definitely recognise it as we were allowed on set! :D

So as I calm myself down I will tell you about the new challenges up today on Eclectic Ellapu - 2 challenges running side by side.  The Pink team and the Purple teams challenges are...

One For The Boys

&

Easter!

As I'm on the Pink team here's my card that I made for my Daddy's birthday

I made a twisted easel card, cos I thought it would look good as a wee golf-y flag!

I love this image from Mo's Digital Pencil as it reminds me a lot of my Daddy, he plays golf and he sticks his tongue out like that, all the time! lol!  I coloured him with the following Copics: Skin;E21,13,00,0000,R20. Clothes;E39,37,35,29. E47,44,43. YG97,95,93,91. Grass;E43,29,G17,14,YG97,95,93. Sky;C4,2,B00,000.

The papers are from Tim Holtz' Retro Grunge pad.  I punched out the triangles with a Stampin' Up punch and stamped them with the matching stamps for the edging.  The sentiment is hand-written.  I die-cut some circles and embossed them with my swiss dots folder and used the back as the front to look like golf balls.  I used a really old and crappy alphabet stamp set to stamp the letters on them after I had affixed them to the card, and made a total hash of it!  But, what's done is done!

And that's my card, make sure you go and see all the wonderful inspiration from the rest of the DT at Eclectic Ellapu and join the Pink team's challenge, I think we can do better than the purple team!! lol!
Go Pinks!!

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks; Colour a stamped image
Allsorts Challenge Blog; No flowers
Craft Your Passion Challenges; Shaped cards
Cute Card Thursday; All boy
Ladybug Crafts Challenge Blog; Birthday
Patties Creations Design Challenge; Fancy folds
Simon Says; Happy birthday

Thanks for looking!