Bah! Humbug! Challenge 16 - Snowflakes

Almost had a panic attack this morning when I logged on to see my Bah! Humbug! Challenge post not showing - silly me had saved it to draft rather than a scheduled post.  More haste ... less speed I guess!
This will be our last challenge for April and we decided to go easy on you this week and set a simple challenge.

SNOWFLAKES

Everyone has some kind of snowflakes in their stash be it a punch or diecut, a stamp or embossing folder, some pretty papers or simple snowflake embellishments.  
My choice was to us a sheet of holographic foiled Kanban card from a QVC kit to make a little trio of 5" x 5" cards.  

This gorgeous cardstock already has the 'Wow-Factor' and needs very little added to it, so I have done no more than cut panels to mat onto black cardstock and then added a few simple touches 
- just a dash or two of ribbon 

- a greeting embellishment and an embossed strip 

- a diecut and some adhesive gems.  

Nothing could be easier and these cards all help in my quest to catch up with Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenges which I have badly neglected over the last few weeks.  I think I'm only a week behind now. Whoo Hoo!

Next week sees the start of a new month, which our regular visitors to Bah! Humbug! know means we have our monthly prize on offer but I have to announce that May also begins our very first featured Guest Designer Spot which we are all really looking forward to.    
Meanwhile, pop by and check out what snowflake stash Ann and Irene have been dabbling with this week - you won't be disappointed and you may even be tempted to join in.

Happy Birthday Waltzing Mouse

Over at Waltzing Mouse, there is a party in progress this weekend as Claire celebrates the 1st birthday of her stamp company. 
She has worked really hard during difficult economic times building her business and must be commended on the fact that, despite her success, she still manages to give her customers the personal service which is not available from many larger online companies and has never compromised on the quality of her stamps.
As part of the celebrations, she has set a sketch challenge and is offering one lucky person the opportunity to win all 8 of her new stamp collections due to be released on Saturday.  An awesome prize and one which I simply had to have a go at if only to promote her products.
The sentiment I chose is from her 'Blessed' collection and was stamped onto patterned paper and heat embossed with silver embossing powder before cutting with Nellie Snellen circle multi-die.  

Further decorative circles were cut from the patterned paper and silver mirri card, before being layered and decorated with paper roses.   

I arranged a white feather in a circle, to soften the overall look, beneath the sentiment circle which was adhered with silicon gel, before placing 2 strips of decorative gems between diagonal scored lines as a final touch.  

Inside was decorated using the remainder of the pretty paper matted onto silver mirri card and decorated with a line of adhesive gems in the corner.
I hope that Claire and Waltzing Mouse Stamps will enjoy increasing success in the months and years to come and am positive that her customers will always appreciate her efforts to keep costs down, (in spite of her accountant's efforts),  whilst still maintaining the high quality of her stamps.  It only remains for me to wish WMS a very Happy Birthday and may you enjoy many more xxx

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 15 - Pretty In Pink

For our Bah! Humbug! Challenge 15 we decided to set a Colour Theme and are looking for your creations using

SHADES of PINK

Pink Ink ... Pink Ribbons ... Pink Glitter ... Pink Papers ... you can use any colour you like as long as it's PINK!
I have been a little short on time again this week, so was forced to make the easiest, peesiest card you can imagine.  
The background paper is from the Smirk Christmas Range and it was cut slightly smaller than DL size and matted onto silver mirri before applying a strip of pink organza ribbon to the bottom and adhering to the card face.  

I used oval nestabilities to cut layers from various papers and mirri card to display the peel off greeting which was then mounted at an angle on foam pads.

The great thing about this particular paper is that it is already glittered so not only was there no mess to clear up, but there was no drying time either which is very handy when you're looking to make a quickie card.

Inside I used a matching panel of paper matted onto silver mirri card and then stamped the message with black ink.  Job done in about 10 minutes!

My daughter and I will be heading off to Inverness at lunchtime today as she is competing in a Trio's Ten Pin Bowling Tournament this weekend.  This competition is important for 2010 ranking points.  Hopefully she will play well enough to move a little closer towards achieving a place in the Top 10 which would subsequently entitle her to compete for a place in the U16's Scottish Squad.  I know that some of you are very aware of how much this means to her personally and will be cheering her on.   Thank you for your support - it really means a lot to us both.
Behave yourselves while I'm away and enjoy a wonderful weekend ... wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Mother Love

I recently showed you some birthday lunch invitations made for a friend whose mother was celebrating her 90th birthday and the only instruction was that I must use green.  Last week I was asked to make a card and, once again, the simple brief was to make sure I used green.

The main background papers are predominantly green ... the ribbon is definitely green ... but I added just a hint of pink flowers for an accent colour.
The base card is 8" x 8" and the lovely double-sided background paper is from a K.& Co. collection.  The smaller panel is embossed using a swirls cuttlebug folder and the pretty paper flowers are from Prima.  Adhesive pearls were added to the centres and also to the embossed swirls.   K.& Co. alphabet stickers mounted onto nestability ovals create the simple greeting and gold mirri card is used for matting all the layers.

The remaining patterned paper matted onto more gold mirri card was used to decorate inside and the sentiment is a rub on transfer.
There are several challenges for which this card qualifies and they are listed below.
The Pixie Cottage #15 - Mother's Day/Special Lady
A Spoonful of Sugar #100 - Happy Birthday
A Crafter's Companion #8 - 3D Project
Creative Card Crew #48 - Happy Birthday

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 14 - Santa Paws

I don't know about you but Friday's have seemed to come around even more quickly during the school holidays ... hopefully all will be back to normal next week when the school's resume and we get back into our regular routine.
Anyway, Friday's here and that signals a new Bah! Humbug! Challenge.  Hard to believe we are at number 14 already!  This week we are looking for some serious "Awwwwwwwww-Factor" in your projects because the theme is ... 'Santa Paws'.
Everyone knows that Cute'n'Cuddly Christmas Critters are a winner with most people for their Christmas cards, whether for sending or receiving and whether they are on shop-bought or hand-crafted cards.  
I found 2 cute puppy and kitten Anita's wooden stamps in a drawer, (a bargain buy last year at 50p each), and although not Christmas themed, were easy to adapt to what I wanted.  Aren't their expressions adorable?

They were stamped onto smooth white card and coloured with Promarkers, (yes ... I still need a lot more practice), before being cut around the outline with decoupage scissors.
The background papers I chose are from Papermania's Merry and Bright Collection and are matted onto thin brown and lime green card.  Some 'antlers' were created from one of the background paper snowflakes and I attached them to my cute characters with PVA glue before adding some sparkly gems.  

I have been absolutely desperate to use this awesome pawprint ribbon, since snapping it up in York after Irene decided she didn't want it - (well ... until I bought it that is LOL!) - and after laying it across another strip of lime card, I attached it to the front panel of the easel card before arranging those cute characters to peek over the top.  

The brown felt alphabet letters placed on punched circles add a touch of fuzzy texture and this is continued on the panel cut with Nellie Snellen multi-dies which is mounted on pink funky foam for added depth and stability.

I had hoped to make another card for this week's challenge but unfortunately didn't get a chance.  Not to worry ... you'll just have to get out your cutest, cuddliest, most adorable furry friends, ink up their paws and join us over at Bah! Humbug! instead.
I'd love for you to pop over and PAWS for a peek at what Ann and Irene have been doing with their furry friends too and we would all appreciate the opportunity to come and see your PAW-fect projects so don't forget to leave us a link.

Thank You

My daughter and I will be leaving for Sunderland later this morning as she is competing in a ten pin bowling tournament this weekend, so I'd best get myself off to bed soon.  
While we're there we'll be popping in to spend some time with my fellow 'Bah! Humbugger!' Irene and I hope she'll show me some of the goodies she bought recently at the NEC - I have a bib packed in my bag ready to catch the drool drips LOL!   Too much information I know!
I had made this card as my entry for Charisma Cardz Challenge #14 so wanted to post it in case I forgot and missed the deadline.  Their challenge this week is to make a 'Thank You' - quite appropriate actually as I'd like to say thank to Carlyann for the help in claiming my super prize in last week's challenge.  Looking forward to receiving that through the letterbox soon.

I broke out my Kanban 'Spring Silhouette' set with matching papers for the funky tree and Waltzing Mouse 'Blessed By You' collection provided the lovely sentiment.  
They were inked up with Brilliance Dew Drop Pearlescent - Cosmic Copper ink pad which has a wonderful shimmer when dry - as do all these little juicy gems in the set I purchased from QVC.  Unfortunately, this doesn't show on the photo so you'll just have to trust me.

I had some lovely unusual brown mirri card in my stash, which was perfect for matting both the image and the matching backing paper, as well as punching the small circles for the wooden flower embellishments to sit on.   A length of brown organza ribbon was wrapped and knotted across the panel before adhering it to the main card.  I used my score board to de-boss a few lines around the image and emboss the mirri card for detail and the final extravagance was some Kanban self-adhesive gems.
Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend and I'll see you when we get back from our trip. 

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 13

We all need Tags and Labels for our suitcases or when we are giving gifts, but they really can be a lovely addition to our papercraft too.
There are all kinds of helpful tools available which can help make nice, neat, tidy tag shapes ... from stencils and die cuts, to punches and peel offs.

I had none of these in the size I wanted, so had no choice but to hand cut all the little tags before adding the letters which spell Christmas, which is why they aren't uniform in size.  

I punched holes through the tags with my crop-o-dile, which has been gathering dust on the shelf from lack of use, before attaching them to the gold embossed tree with teeny tiny brads.
On the cream textured base card I had adhered 2 narrow strips of vintage red paper to gold mirri card and then placed them at the top and bottom of the card. 

Foam pads were used to attach the tagged-up tree slightly off centre and a simple gold peel off finished it all off.

So the question is ... "How Do You Use Yours?"
Pop over to Bah! Humbug! and see what my buddies Ann and Irene have been doing with their tags and labels.  OH ... and while you're there, have a look to see who won our April Prize Draw!

Paper and Ribbon Roses

Cupcake Craft Challenges are saying to 'Make Your Own Flowers' this week - GULP - so thought I'd be brave and have a go to see if I could create something suitable to decorate a sidestep birthday card rather than resorting to bought ones.

There are literally thousands of wonderful tutorials to follow out there, just type 'Making Paper/Ribbon Roses into your search engine or click the link I have provided.
My first attempt was to create a Ribbon Rose by loosely twisting and glueing pale pink ribbon around a punched circle, before using silicon gel to attach it to a larger circle of black card which had been cut into rough sections and rolled over at the edges to simulate outer petals.

 While this was drying, I set to work making a trio of Paper Roses from spirals of scrap card which had been embossed with swiss dots and these were embellished further with a narrow black ribbon bow.

I need a bit more practice I think but not bad for a first effort!
The dramatic pink and black paper is from a 12" x 12" pad of Anna Marie Designer paper which I purchased some time last year.
Crafty Cardmakers are having a 'Challenging Challenge' and encouraging us to try a new technique or do something we've been pondering attempting but not quite got around to.  
Both of these techniques for making roses are a first for me and now I've done them once I have no fear about doing them again.  Hopefully, the end results will improve with practice.
Finally, The Pink Elephant Challenge 61 - Nature also allows me to submit this card as we all know that roses are one of nature's many miracles.

"Bunny Friends"

That's the title of the Penny Black stamp I used to create these cards and I have to say that it ranks among my top 10 favourite PB cuties ... after the hedgies of course!
It is quite a large wooden stamp featuring 5 cute bunnies in flowerpots so, after stamping on linen effect card and colouring with Promarkers, I decided to chop it up to see if it was feasible to make 2 cards from 1 image.
The Papermania Spring Time pad was still sitting on the desk from earlier, so I matched cardstock to the colours of the paper I'd chosen and punched 2 scalloped circles. 

Then I doodled with green fineliner on one and pierced holes around the other for some detail before cutting out 2 of the bunnies and paper-piecing the flowerpots from a scrap of textured card.  This fits in quite nicely with One Stop Craft Challenge 74 which is Paper Piecing.
The Happy Easter sentiment was the freebie from Quick Cards Made Easy, (also still lying on the desk), and it was inked up with Brilliance Dew Drop Pearl Olive before matting it onto offcuts of card and adding some tiny flower gems.
For the 2nd card, I cut a square of lilac gingham card slightly smaller than the  purple cardstock and then cropped the corners before matting them together and adding some faux stitching with a white gel pen.

From the remaining purple card and some pretty pastel green spotty paper, I used the rotary trimmer to cut 2 strips of varying widths from each, with a deckled edge blade.
After overlapping them horizontally and vertically on the gingham card I added another 2 bunnies cut from the original stamped image and finished decorating with a few buttons and a lilac satin bow.

I must say I'm quite taken with the colouring on the textured card with the Promarkers - normally I stick to smooth cardstock - but the linen effect gives an interesting result and is something I will definitely try again.

For the first time in a long time I am able to join in with this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  Their theme "Check It Out" requires the use of checked paper or ribbons along with a PB image, so both cards are suitable as entries.
Our Creative Corner are looking for us to Break Out The Buttons, so my 2nd card qualifies for this challenge and Stampin' For The Weekend are asking for Ribbons and Bows so my tiny lilac bow sneaks me in there.
Finally, The Pink Elephant Challenge 60 is Pastels so I reckon either of these cards would work.
For the benefit of those who haven't seen the Penny Black Bunny Friends stamp in it's entirety - here you go!  

Definitely worth keeping a look out for if you don't already have it - if only for the cuteness factor.

Easter Bunny

Hope you're all enjoying a Happy Easter Weekend. 
Despite the snow we had earlier this week, the sun is shining here today so at least it looks like Spring has sprung - at last!
There was absolutely nothing on the the box last night, so I pootled off to the craft room to play with a cute free bunny stamp from Quick Cards Made Easy magazine.  Isn't he sweet?

He's coloured with Promarkers, matted onto plain yellow card and then mounted with foam pads.  The eggy background paper is from Papermania Spring Time pad and the raffia butterfly just helps to add a bit of interest to the corner.
I have a fairly busy schedule this weekend so I'd better 'hop to it!' but before I go, I'll submit this card to the following challenges ...
Cute Card Thursday #106 - So Egg-citing 
Charisma Cardz #13 - Animal Magic
Tanda Stamps #140 - Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!
For Fun Challenges - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly Challenges - Open Theme

Bah! Humbug Challenge 12

Another Friday ... another Bah! Humbug! Challenge   They are coming around so quickly aren't they?
This week our theme is EMBOSSING and I can tell in advance this is going to be a popular one as there are so many different techniques to choose from.

I was desperate to play with one of the Nellie Snellen Angel Stencils I bought in York.  I wasn't sure how deep the impression would be using the cuttlebug, (especially with not having a proper embossing mat), because the metal stencils are very thin, but I improvised with a piece of funky foam and a pile of card shims.  Admittedly the result isn't quite as deep as I would've liked but it is perfectly acceptable and I didn't want to break the cuttlebug by forcing it through with too many shims. 
To get the embossed snowflakes only in the centre of the silver mirri card frame mat, which is an instantly recognisable Nellie Snellen Rectangle Multi Die,  I simply scored lines around the edge of the frame before placing it into the snowflake embossing folder as normal. Then I rubbed over the area I wanted embossed firmly with my finger on both sides - voila! 

Technical stuff huh?  I know I could've cut shims to the right size and cuttled it but I'm too impatient and this method worked ok.
The background paper is from DCWV Chrismas Stack and this was cut to size and then matted onto silver mirri card leaving a narrow border, before sticking to the front of a DL card with double-sided tape.  A few sparkly adhesive gems were added to the angels crown and then she was mounted onto the front with foam pads.
My teammates have created some wonderfully elegant embossed cards for this challenge, so pop over and take a peek - then join in yourself.
There is a super prize up for grabs as this is the first challenge of the month and we are currently looking for crafters interested in becoming future Guest Designers, so it's all happening at Bah! Humbug! 

Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenge #13 - Tone on Tone allows me to submit this card, as it is mostly comprised of shades of purple with just a touch of silver and white.

The school Easter holiday has started ... my son is home from University ... and my husband is due home on Monday, so if I'm a little scarce around the place over the next 2 weeks, forgive me but I will be spending time with the family.  Happy Easter xxx

Lorraine's Candy

Would you just look at this cutie!

Over at Lorraine's Loft this wee treasure is up for grabs and all you have to do is follow the very simple instructions she has posted. 
Obviously I would actually prefer it if you didn't do as she asks because she'll delete your name from the draw and consequently my chances of winning are greatly improved and that's gotta' be good. Well ... it would be for me at least LOL!