Travel - CraftyHands DT

Good morning all!

It's time for another new challenge at CraftyHands today, and it's another theme I'm really fond of (it's certainly been a week for them!), Travel.

The starting point for my card was easy, as I'dfound a couple of decks of playing cards in a local charity shop some time ago, the backs of which had lovely vintage balloon images on. I absolutely had to buy them, with crafting in mind, naturally, especially as the packs were as yet unopened, and therefore in pristine condition! I've been wanting to use them on something for ages, but hadn't gotten around to it yet, so I was very glad for the excuse to do so now.
I decided on one of the two designs for my card topper.
I then dug around in my stash for some travel themed papers, and found some that I thought complemented the image in a pack from Crafty Bitz.
I still wasn't 100% happy though, so I did a little extra stamping on them with some of the Bon Voyage stamps from Docrafts, and also cut the sentiment from the accompanying paper pack.
I used Kraft card as a mat, and finally added two small buttons as simple embellishments to finish it off.

And there it is. One travel themed card.

(Just for a laugh, I thought I'd do a search for the cards online, and it looks like I missed a trick... Turns out they are a vintage set, and I could probably have made quite a bit more than the 50p I paid for them had I tried to sell them... This link is for an earlier ebay auction for a used set. I wonder how much they would have gone for before I opened it all up! lol)

Anyways, enough babble from me. It's time for you to go take a peek at the other DT creations, and then come and join in the fun. You know you want to! And of course, as always there is a prize...

Hope you all have a great day!

Sammy-x

Anything Goes - CraftyHands DT

Good morning peoples!

I'm back to let you all know about another Anything Goes challenge, this time over at CraftyHands.

And yes, Anything goes, still seems to translate to "LOTV" where I'm concerned! lol.

Here's what I made:

I used the stamp Emma Presents and paired her with some of the new Timeless Victorian papers (love, love, LOVE that pad!). The sentiment is also from LOTV.
I also used a Cheery Lynn frame die and of course the LaLaLand banner die, as well as a charm, brad and pearls from my stash.
The ivory card I used is in fact pearlised, which doesn't show on this photo, but looks sooooo lovely in person. I'm almost out of that colour, and the place I got it from has closed, so here's hoping I can find it elsewhere!

So, after you've checked out what the other gals have been making, I hope you come and join in! There's another awesome prize on offer!

I am so jealous! I LOVE the Gorjuss Girls range!

See you all soon, and have a most wonderful day!

Sammy-x

Shabby chic - CraftyHands DT

Good morning everyone.

Time for another challenge over at CraftyHands, and this fortnight it's one of my favourites... Shabby Chic.

I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to have a play with one of my new LOTV paper pads (yes, as a matter of fact I do have all 6 of the new ones! Oops! lol), and also my newest addition to my LOTV stamp collection.

Naturally I had to add some lace and pearls, flowers (from WOC) and seam binding (from The Ribbon Girl)! I can't quite remember where the heart charm came from, as I went on a bit of a spree a while back and ordered a heap from several different places, and they all ended up in the same box!
There is actually a tag behind the image panel with a sentiment that reads "Remember that something incredibly wonderful is always possible", which was a Kaisercraft stamp. But like a numpty I forgot to take a picture of it, and I no longer have it to photograph! D'oh!

Now, my fellow teamies have got some gorgeous treats in store for you all, so I suggest you go take a peek and leave them some love. And if you fancy joining in, there's this lovely prize up for grabs:

Hope to see your entries soon!

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

LOTV Ideas to Inspire - Bingo (Ribbon, pearls, flowers and ribbon, lace, charms)
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Shabby Chic
I <3 Promarkers - Anything Goes (Image coloured with Promarkers as always)
Deep Ocean Challenge - For a Friend  (card is on it's way to a friend who needs a pick-me-up as I write this!)

Wishing you a craft-tastic day!

Sammy-x

Buttons & Bows - CraftyHands DT

And a very good morning to you all!

Some of you may have noticed Blogger co-operated somewhat for me yesterday (and who said complaining will get you nowhere? lol), and I've started playing catch-up. It's a slow process though, so please bear with me...

Today, there is a new challenge over at CraftyHands, and the theme is Buttons & Bows.

Now, some of you may recall my contemplating what to do with my LOTV sentiment and background stamps. I've lots of the A6 folders for the image stamps, but the A5s were feeling left out! Well, after weeks of searching, I finally managed to locate me some A5 ringbinders in Rymans!

I may or may not have bought myself a few of them... ;-)

So, I ordered some of the A5 clear sleeves from LOTV, and in the meantime set to decorating myself a binder. I chose one of the brilliant statement stamps to use on the front, and teamed it up with some LOTV paper from the Antebellum pad, matted on pink card.

Some pink ric rac and a gingham ribbon bow, black pearls (minus Jack Sparrow, I'm sorry to say) and a plethora of pink and black buttons and hey presto... One purty binder for my A5 stamp sets!

Naturally, I decorated the spine and back too.

And the stamps look so happy in their new home! I put a sheet of white paper in with each of the stamp sets, to make it easier to flick through and read them.

(I may well have a play with the inside cover some time too... There's not enough colour there if you ask me! lol.)

The rest of the CraftyHands team have prepared some delicious goodies for your perusal, so I strongly suggest you go take a look! And if you fancy joining in, there's a fabulous paper pad & ribbons up for grabs for the winner!

Because let's face it... We all loooove paper, no?


Oh and on another note... anyone else going to the Harrogate fair tomorrow?  I can't wait!! :-D

Have a fantabulous day one and all.

Sammy-x

Music - CraftyHands DT

Good morning bloggers!

Thanks for all your comments regarding the uselessness of Blogger. While I'm not happy many of you are having similar issues, it at least does suggest the problem is on their end!

But enough of that. I have something much more fun... You may remember I made a card with a gorgeous MilkCoffee digi only a couple of weeks ago, and I mentioned that I wanted to re-do it in blue for my mother?

Mother, if you happen to be reading this, please look away now, lol.

Well, the theme over at CraftyHands this fortnight is Music, and it seemed like as good a time as any to get it made in plenty of time for mother's day. (Which here in the UK is the end of March)

So this card bears similarities to the previous one, though I've changed quite a lot too...

The paper I used this time is from a DCWV paper pad that my mum got me for Christmas. She really loved this music paper, so it seemed like a good idea to include it here. The crocheted ribbon was also something she got me. I used aged silver Frantage on the corner and sprinkled around the image, which I thought worked well with the blues and browns. The scalloped circle is actually a royal blue colour, but for some reason looks black in this picture... Same goes for some of the roses.

My favourite is the large light blue rose though... I added Tiara Stickles to the edges of the petals, and it looks so very lovely in person!

Mum plays both the cello and the violin, and I attached a cello charm to her birthday card last year, so it seemed appropriate to go for the violin this time :-)

Well, I hope you have been inspired to make a music themed project of your own, which you can enter at CraftyHands - after checking out the rest of the DT's creations, of course! - in order to stand a chance of winning this fab and very useful prize:

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

As you like it - Favourite texture  well, I'm really one for distressing... I just love the effect you get after going to town with a distressing tool. Though it doesn't work with all types of card, it really does with vintage and shabby chic looks, which is great, as they often involve things like lace and Frantage too, which are other huge favourites! :-)

Crafty Catz - anything goes
Divas by design - Make it sparkle
Crafting when we can - Lots of Bling



Have a most fantastic day all!

Sammy-x

Heat/Dry embossing - CraftyHands DT

Aaaaand good morning to all! And happy Valentines day. As you read this, I am probably on my way to my son's school armed with home made cupcakes to sell during break time!

To start with, there's still a couple of days to join in with my candy, or to make a card for my little challenge. We have 5 gorgeous entries so far, but it would be awesome to see a couple more!

Now, on to today's business, which just happens to be the new CraftyHands challenge. The theme? Heat or dry embossing.

Now, folks that have been paying close attention to my blog, will probably have noticed a distinct lack of embossed cards here to date. There's a very simple reason for that... I've not really made any! lol. (maybe a grand total of two since I started this crafting malarkey!) After getting my die-cutting machine a few months ago, I have been mainly trying to build up a selection of dies, and don't really have much in the way of embossing folders yet. In fact, I have exactly 2!

So, I am new to this. But I managed to (with the help of Google) figure out what sandwich I needed, and away I went. And because it is valentines day, my card ended up looking somewhat like this:

I used a fab stamp and sentiment that came free with a mag about a year ago (not used before today) and had some fun playing with different types of card candi to fill in the circles on the stamp.

And now it's your turn! Go check out what the rest of the CraftyHands team have cooked up for you, and then join us with an embossed creation of your own! You could very well win this fab set of punches!
I for one adore the X-cut punches... They're so much easier to use than others!

See you there!

Sammy-x

Shades of the same colour - CraftyHands DT

Hi all!

It's time for a new challenge over at CraftyHands, and the theme is "Shades of the same colour".

I bet you all know exactly what you're going to see next... Did you think LOTV in shades of brown? You'd be right, lol.

The image is of course one of the mini masterpieces, and the papers are Prima and a piece cut from a calendar that came with a craft mag last year! Flowers of course from WOC, and ribbons and pearls from my stash.

I do love the monochrome theme, and one of these days I might even go with a different colour... maybe! lol.

Now, if you hop on over to the CraftyHands blog, you can check out the rest of the teamie's creations, and then enter something of your own. You may even win this prize:

Hope to see you there!

Hugs,

Sammy-x

Put a tag on it - CraftyHands DT

Good morning bloggers!

It's another Friday, and once again time for a new challenge at CraftyHands! The theme this fortnight is Put a tag on it, which is easy peasy, no? Just to clarify, we're looking for a tag on your creation. Not just a tag in itself!

I took the opportunity to have a play with a recent LOTV purchase, and a First Edition paper pad I'd not had a lot of chance to play with yet. These papers ( the Spring Feast pad) are so very delicious, expect to see a lot more of them!

Anyways, here it is:

The tags were also in the paper pad. The flowers are The Hobby House (roses) and WOC (everything else). I didn't have pearls in the colour I wanted (I'm pretty sure that particular shade doesn't exist, lol), so I used the same Promarker that I used for the main green parts in the image to colour them in. Throw in a bit of lace, some liquid pearls, Stickles and a heart embellishment, et voilà.

This is one of those cards that has kinda snuck up on me. When I first finished it, I really didn't like it. No idea why, I just didn't. It was late, so I went to bed and left it on my desk. The following day I kept glancing over at it, thinking I ought to decide whether to photograph it, or start again. It grew on me. Now, it is actually one of my favourite makes this month! It just goes to show... sometimes first impressions aren't everything, lol. The Apple cider / Soft peach colour combo seems to have gotten under my skin, and I'm constantly having to stop myself using those same colours on everything!

Oh well, enough from me anyways, it's your turn! How would you like to have a chance to win this scrummy paper pad?

I know I'd love it! But I shall simply have to live vicariously through one of you instead! What are you waiting for? Go see what the rest of the DT have cooked up for you, then join in the fun with a creation of your own!

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

LOTV Ideas to inspire - Anything goes
Sassy Studio Designs - Shabby chic or vintage
Crafty girls - Anything goes
Paper Crafting journey - vintage/distressed/shabby chic
Penny's paper-crafty - Embellishments
Sparkles monthly challenge - Show us your new stash (stamp and papers, amongst other things!)

Be excellent to one and other!

Sammy-x

CraftyHands DT - Anything goes!

Goooood morning Blogland!

I'm really, really excited to be able to share my DT project for CraftyHands with you today.

The theme is Anything Goes, so you all have no excuse for not joining in! For my project, I decided to take the "anything goes" literally, and do something very much not card-like... I decorated a wooden box! It's my first attempt at such, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It was a great opportunity to break out the Chalk paints I bought a couple of months ago, and have a play with those, so that's exactly what I did. As the paints I have are off-white and pink, that rather dictated the colour of the project! Anyways, here we go:

I decided to go with a shabby chic feel, as that went well with the colours, and of course used a Lili of the Valley image (coloured with Promarkers). I used a selection of dies from Spellbinders, La-La Land and Memory Box, Two different types of lace (one from Hobbycraft, the other from a local Habby's...). There's also seam binding and charms from the Ribbon Girl, and the flowers are mostly WOC, except for the pink felt ones, which I got from The Works. Oh, and let's not forget the cheese cloth! (picked that up at the LOTV shop!)

Naturally, there's a whole heap of Stickles and liquid pearls too (my first project with liquid pearls... Now I understand what the fuss is about!).

In this last image, you get a slightly better look at some of the details... As you can see if you enlarge the image, I first painted the box in the off-white, and then roughly went over it with pink. The majority of the box became pink, but there are some areas (like the top right corner) where some of the white still comes through. I also sanded the edges, in some places right back to the wood, though this isn't really visible, as I then went and covered it all in lace, lol.

So there you have my project. A shabby chic keepsake box. And now I strongly urge you to go see what the rest of the team have come up with, as they have put together some incredible creations!
And then come join in the fun, you have no excuse not to, and you'll have the chance to win this lovely prize:

See you there!

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

LOTV Ideas to Inspire - anything but a card
Heck of a challenge - New  (the lace on the lid, the liquid pearls, the felt flowers and the Memory box dies are all new stash!)
Altered Eclectics - Anything goes
C.R.A.F.T challenge - anything goes
Crafty Creations - anything goes



Sammy-x

Season's Greetings - CraftyHands DT

Gooooood morning peoples!

First of all, don't forget to enter my candy here.

Next, don't forget to check out the new challenge over at CraftyHands! Our last challenge was a popular one, and I'm certain this next one will be too... Because the theme is Season's Greetings.
Sound familiar? If you're anything like me, you're currently furiously making Christmas cards (I actually finished my own a couple of weeks ago, but I want to have some more to sell at the fair tomorrow!), so why not use this challenge to help yourself add one more to the pile?

For my card, I used an image I recently won over at Beccy's Place featuring an adorable snowman family, and teamed it up with some delicious Nitwit papers and my trusty Sizzix snowflakes. The tree die came free with a magazine recently, and the sentiment was a freebie last year.

I am a little sad though, because this card spelt the end of my "go to" Christmas ribbon. It was a gorgeous one by Docrafts, and I do have it in green also, but shall miss this lovely red!

So, go have a peek at my teamies' stunning creations, and then come show us your stuff! Can't wait to see what lovely makes you'll share with us! If you do, you could win a wonderful surprise prize!

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

Beccy's Place - December challenge
Crafty Ribbons - Spots or stripes
ABC Challenges - A for Almost Christmas
The Curtain Call - Christmas Countdown
Cards galore - Christmas


Have a fantabulous day!

Sammy-x

Crafty hands DT - Sparkle and Bling

Good morning everyone, hope you're all well.

First of all, the birthday celebrations yesterday went fabulously, and I will be back later with a little more about that.

But for now, I am here with my CraftyHands DT post. There were loads of stunning entries for the last challenge, which was "vintage" and I'm hoping the current challenge will produce equally gorgeous results. We're looking for "Sparkle and Bling". Now I know you're all brilliant at that one!

Tonya at CraftyHands is providing the prize for this challenge, and look at the lovely goodies you can win!

Now, for my project I decided to try something a little different. So I started off with a blank coaster/beermat, and set out to make a wall decoration.

First of all I covered the coaster in pink and green iridescent paper, then added a LOTV mermaid image I'd coloured and fussy cut.

I then added a frame cut from rainbow miri board

And finally a cluster of flowers in the corner and a purple and green ribbon for hanging it with. Naturally, the mermaid's scales and wings needed the Stickles treatment too...

Due to the nature of this project (as in, the whole thing sparkles and glitters), it has proved impossible to photograph properly... It's actually very colourful, and not as dark as the pictures suggest.

Ok ladies and gents, now it's your turn! Go grab your glitter and dust off your gems and make us something that sparkles!

My fellow DT and I are looking forward to visiting you, so make sure you go see the beautiful makes they have prepared for you before you get stuck in.

May your day sparkle!

Sammy-x

CraftyHands DT - Challenge 2, Vintage

Good morning everyone! Don't forget to enter my candy here.

Yesterday marked the close of the first challenge over at CraftyHands, and WOW, what a great turnout! Almost 300 cards were entered, and choosing a winner out of all those fabulous creations isn't going to be easy!

And today, we start challenge number 2, and the theme is "Vintage".

This is one of my favourite themes, and naturally Tim Holtz was going to feature somewhere on my project. The project does not have to be a card, and I decided to go with a vintage altered photo frame.

I used a blank frame I'd picked up at the Harrogate fair recently, and started off by giving it a coat of black paint. I then covered it in Tim Holtz Ideaology paper (yes, cutting into it did physically hurt... But it was worth it in the end!) and added a little black ink to the edges to make it blend nicely. I then added the flowers - gorgeous ones from Little Birdie I also found in Harrogate - and a few die-cuts to the frame.
The card I used is actually the back of the Ideaology salvage stickers pack! The colour was just perfect. I then stamped a Little Darlings sentiment onto cream cardstock, inked the edges with vintage photo distress ink and matted it onto the same dark brown cardstock I used on the inside of the frame. I also added some stickles to the sentiment, to mirror the sparkle on the flowers. I also added some acetate behind the window, to protect the photograph (which is removable).

So there you go. One vintage photo frame. I have to admit I'm really enjoying making non-card projects too right now!
Be sure to visit the rest of the CraftyHands DT to see their stunning projects, and then join us with a vintage creation of your own!

Challenges I'd like to enter:

4 Crafty chicks - Anything but a card
Crafting by Designs - Anything goes
Altered Eclectics - Anything goes
LEJ Designs - Monochromatic
Whoopsi Daisy - Monochromatic
Crafts 4 eternity - Anything but a card
Heck of a Challenge - In the frame

Have a fab day everyone!

Sammy-x