Go Confidently....

.....in the direction of your Dreams.

On Wednesday night I went to a school/college production of the old 50's Musical "Curtains", and saw a piece of theatre that would not be sneezed at on Broadway - I've been there and seen a couple of shows so I do know what they are like.  The kids were spectacular and the singing was excellent for most of the leads, with the dancing pretty snappy too. All the entrances and exits were good and on cue and it ran very smoothly. Better yet, I could hear every word spoken or sung - clear and enunciated beautifully, even with a fake America accent or too.

Didn't hurt that my grand-daughter Hettie was one of the leads either. Last night tonight (Saturday night)- and then bump out before leaving the theatre.  Guess she will be home very late! Well done kiddo.

God, she looks so grown up!

My card is for her..........and for GINGERLOFT's next challenge - RED. WHITE and BLUE!

I guess if you live in the USA you could do this one for the 4th July celebrations, but I don't, so I didn't.

The digi is called Beach, and has a lovely dreamy look, so I didn't colour it up too brightly - I used my Prisma's and Zest to colour it, and a Sixzzix frame die to put it in.  Layered up some papers from my stash, and used a sentiment from VERVE to finish it off. There is a doily there as well and some bling.

I will enter this in the following challenges:
Five Simple things: Anything Goes for Inspire me Fridays
Left of Centre: use a sentiment on the front
QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Aarrrh me Hearties!

I do love pirates.  I will now be very silly with lots of pirate jokes. Did you hear about the pirate who..................oh, sorry, forgot what I was doing! Lollipop Ladies are having a new challenge and this one is to take inspiration from the lollipops photo listing below:)

With the twist of water! 

Bye the way - If you see a person not wearing a three-cornered hat, not wearing an eye patch, with out a wooden leg and no parrot on his shoulder, what is he likely to be? A pirate in disguise!

 However, my pirate is definitely wearing a 3 cornered hat - with the skull and crossbones on it - so he has to be a pirate! He is one of Mo's Pencil digi's - isn't he cute! Arrrrrrr!

This is his cabin girl! Notice she has red fingernails and toenails - that's how we know she is a girl! The pigtails might be a give-away as well! She's carrying lots of treasures in her treasure chest!

Another digi image from Mo's Pencil - they are both coloured with Copic pens

I used a step card for my pirate inspiration card - did you hear about the pirate that walked into a bar and ordered a jug of grog? Bartenders says "Why you wearin' that eye-patch, Capin?" "Cause I can't afford an I-pad!" was the reply! Sorry

I created the step card following the instructions from Splitcoaststampers - they have lots of tutorials for things on their website - and I was using SU Marine Mist card. I had to photograph it at night as I was so late finishing it - but I enjoyed making it!

What do Jewish Pirates say?  Ahoy vey!!

I also used my Provo craft die called Ahoy Matey to out out the flag and the ship, and the WATER! Again I used SU card to do this. This is what it all looked like when I finished.

I purchased this little Arr stamp in Melbourne at Paperific but I have no idea from where or whom.

The steps sideways showing the ship, mate and waves (water!)

Looking down at the card - the boy and the ARR are on dimentionals and the flag is glued in behind him.

The whole card folds flat for posting - can you see the wave behind the girl - on the ship?!

What did the pirate say when he crashing his ship into the iceberg?

Shiver me timbers!

I'll stop now.

I will enter this in the following challenges:
Brown Sugar#48: boys and men - yep, covered!
QKR Stampede:  anything goes
SisterAct Challenge: anything goes
ART: anything goes
My Heart Pieces: use a digi - love the pun in the name of this blog!

Shabby Chic Vintage

Challenge #5 Crafting with Dragonflies

This week our challenge is to go a bit vintage, with lots of lace and layers. 

Again we have TWO great 

sponsor's for this Challenge:

$12 gift certificate at the shop

5 digi's of your choice

Thanks a heap people for having the faith in us to sponsor this challenge blog.  If you have found us through Feline Playful and followed the links to this blog-  a big welcome! 

My card for the DT this fortnight uses an image from A Day for Daisies called Bonnet/Basket.  Isn't she the cutest? I have coloured her up with my Copics on X Press Blending card after printing off the digi from my computer. Once coloured I added lots and lots of Stickles on the flowers to make them really sparkle. 

I know I bang on about this card but here is the reason why. I purchased some card in Melbourne earlier this year that I thought was XPress Blending card but it obviously isn't. When I hold the two pieces of card together - XPress and the card I bought in Melbourne -  I can tell from the colour and thickness,  but I did not have any good card with me when I got a bag of 10 A4 sheets which I was assured by the shop owner it was XPress Blending. You can see from the photo below how I know it wasn't as good blending card!

As I started to layer up the inks on the dress I began to get a yellowing colour showing through and then it bled really badly.  I was pretty annoyed. I knew I had some smaller pieces of card, and ended up printing the image again onto ordinary A4 computer paper, laying the good piece of card over this image and using sticky tape to hold it in place and feeding the sheet back through the computer to print over the image again and thus onto the better smaller card piece. Hope that makes sense!

I then recoloured with the same pens, and the inks stayed where they should and there was no yellowing! I dottted around the outline of the image with a blue pen and also smooched some Memento Sky Blue ink around the sky and some green ink around the base to take the real whiteness out of the card. 

I put the image through the Big Shot and partially die cut out the Nestablility label and finished off with the scissors around the flowers where they hang over the edge of the frame. I fussy cut a mount to suit as well as the frame as I had used the biggest size for the image! I distressed the mount. 

It is all layered up with lace, and velvet ribbon from my stash over a sheet of Prima Firefly 6 x 6 pad, and I had stamped this with a Kaiser stamp I got at Paperific last month! I did in fact stamp this twice - the first time I was very crocked, so I used the first sheet to cut out some flowers, and moulded and mounted these with a pearl split pin. I should have scrunched them but didn't think of it at the time - duh! I am actually having a bit of a mojo problem and it is taking me a long time to make anything.  I know what I want to make but just don't seem to have the get-up-and-go to do it and end up in a muddled rush! I think that dreaded disease "old age" is creeping up a bit too close - might have to get my kicking boots on!

I distressed the larger sheet, and torn it and put card under the tears so it looks like it is torn wallpaper......I added a bling swirl too.

The whole thing is on a sheet of card folded - Aubergine I think is the colour. (We call them egg plants here). 

It is is very dull, rainy day today so the shimmer is not really going well here but I assure you it looks good IRL!

So, there you have it - Shabby Chic vintage  - my way! No sentiment on it as I didn't know what would suit and thought it would be useful to have one that is just blank at the moment! It could be birthday, congrats or a thank you card! Even a Get Well!

I will enter this in the following challenges:
Deep Ocean Challenge: Welcome Summer
Inky Chicks: Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays: Anything Goes
Through the Craftroom Door: Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown: Glitz and Glimmer

Tie a Yellow Ribbon around an........

Now that song will be in your head for days - I know its going round and round in mine!

Gingerloft's newest challenge

 is to 

"Tie a Yellow Ribbon"......

around any part of your project and enter it into the challenge - you will find the blog HERE!

As always, there are free digi's for the winner from Gingerloft!

My contribution to the Design Team's collection of inspiration is this!

I used the digi from Gingerloft called Time for Beauty, and coloured her up with Copics - I realise now I look at the image that the dress (pink) needed to be a deeper pink to distinguish it from the neck - so will go back and redo that bit when I get a moment! I have added drops of pink Perfect Pearls to the roses and Stickles to the butterflies to make them sparkle. 

Even this butterfly button! Found it in the stash so used it here with a bit of twine. There is a piece of teal card under the image and then a piece of SU Pink Passion (old stock) which has been embossed with some swirls. 

The yellow ribbon is from the stash. Pretty isn't it!

The background paper is yes, Primas Flyfly (love this 6 x 6 pad!), trimmed to fit a commercial blank pearl card. 

I will enter this in the following challenge:

Challenges 4 Everybody: anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time: Use a Digi (from Stitchy Bear's store and Tami sells from here)
Craft Lovin Blog: Anything Goes

Musk Lollies and Dots at Lollipop Ladies

Gin over at the Lollipop Ladies has challenged us to look at small musk lollies in a different light! These small little things don't really inspire me - I find the taste totally different to the story the picture tells! I much prefer the old-fashioned musk sticks.  I think it's the rose-water smell that doesn't do it for me............plus they look like tablets!

However, my preferences aside, the photo is meant for inspiration and who cannot be inspired by PINK! The added twist this fortnight is DOTS - and to me this just means small circles!

So PINK and DOTS - lots of cards etc out there in blogland showing those two attributes lately! Sure hope we get a good number of entries for Annabelle Stamps fantastic prize - I do love Annabelle Stamps!

Here is my take on the challenge:

The card is all SU card - Pink Pirouette and Primrose Petals except the papers which are from a freebie from a magazine - Australian Papercraft - Sweet Wishes and are PINK and DOTTY! (except I chose one that wasn't just to be a bit different). 

I put the SU - PP card through a TH embossing folder (circles) and sanded off the top level to show the pink below. I then embossed the smallest doily from SU Delicate Doilies  three times onto three separate sheets of paper with SU White EP. I used the SU punch Postage Stamp to cut out nine squares.  I lined these up onto the top of the embossed card and stuck them down. I took a small piece of Pink Pirouette and stamped one of the sentiments from SU Oh Hello stamp set with Versamark and embossed with the white EP. I then smudged around with the sponge some Primrose Petals ink, and rubbed this over a white flower from  my stash as well, and used dimentionals to place this on the topper. 

I took a small strip off each of the three sheets and hand cut some small triangles and made some bunting.  I put a line of glue onto my silicon sheet, and laid a piece of twine into it and rolled in around a bit to soak it into the glue.  I then lay the triangles onto the string, left them for a moment and then pulled up the whole lot from the sheet.  I arranged them across the squares as bunting at a celebration and attached some with some split pins. So, it's PINK and its DOTTY and it has small circles!

I will enter this in the following:

Crafty Catz: want us to go pink, think I have done that!

Creative Corner: girly, girly (yep!)

Lady Anne's Challenge: Anything Goes

Southern Girls: use a die cut or punch - my squares are punched out!

The Dragonflies are into Boxes this week!

Hi everyone!  Here's my take on the newest challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies!

I used an image (Teacher) from QKR and coloured it up with my Prisma and other wax pencils and Zest  medium! I added lots of Stickles too!

My box was created to hold some supplies for our eldest grandaughter, who is about to go out on her second Prac session for teacher training! It is intended to be just a bit of fun and a boost for her as she starts this new adventure. It contains some sweets and a packet of pastel coloured Jell pens - for marking of course!! I always found the kids love to get comments in pretty colours rather than is red ink!

Now, don't get scared..............if you check out our blogs you will see we all have either a tutorial or a link to a tutorial on how to make a box! (See mine below) Have a go - there are many, many different boxes to be made and they are all capable of being decorated.  You can make a box and use any theme you like - not just get to decorate one but to MAKE it! In fact, you must make it to be in the running.  So, get going!!!

We have two great sponsors again this fortnight:

QKR

and Sassy Studio's 

They are both offering digi's to the winners - so why not have a go at winning this!!

Tutorial - warning: lots of photos!

The design of my box comes from Lauren Meader of Creative Card Candy.  I have altered it slightly.

I took a sheet of card 21.3 x 18 cm. I put fold lines in at 2.4 cm around each side. On the long side I added a second fold at 2.4 from the first fold line. I cut out the corners as per photo.

I put red sticky strip adhesive (SU) on the tabs and folded up the two narrow ends, gluing the tabs to the inside of the long side (see photo for help here).  You are left with the long sides sticking up twice the height of the short sides.

Put red strip on the top inside of the long sides, and fold down over the tabs to create a box shape.

Now get a sheet of patterned paper (fairly sturdy) or create your own pattern on card. Cut this to 22.7 x 20.3 cm. Select which side is to be seen, and put it under  - score at 1.2 cm around all sides and at 10.1 cm and 12.7 cm from the short side to create the spine of the cover. I used sticky strip on the short sides but them swapped to SU Snail for the long sides - it worked just as well. 

Fold in the sides and mitre the corners for a neat look.  These folds are flat to the paper. You can start to see the pattern on want on the outside of the box now.

Take a strip of ribbon and measuring the middle of the sheet, stick the ribbon down so that it overlaps both edges of the short sides and can be tied into a bow later (mine was a bit too short). I probably would also stick the ribbon right to the edge of the cover as well in hindsight.

Take another piece of (contrast) card measuring 19.7 x 17.4 - just slightly smaller than the cover. Mine is the new paper set from SU that goes with their new This and That journal. Line up the spine folds and put in the creases so they match the cover (mine were at 8.2 cm and 11.00 cm from the short edge). I used sticky strip all round this and used the crease lines on the spine to first line up and glue into place one side, and then the other - see photo below.

Now take the box you made, and put sticky strips on the base of it. Line up the back edge of the box with the spine crease and carefully place the box onto the inside cover, so that the box will easily close and the "lid" fits well.

Tie your bow and Voila! You have a box! It looks a bit like a book  - with the box being the pages. You can now decorate it to your choice.

I used the image from QKR and printed it off onto XPress blending card, thinking I would colour this with my Copics.  Changed my mind and used the pencils and blending fluid. I ran the world 'Supplies' off from the computer to the printer and attached it to the centre of the desk.

I added a tag (from TYPO) by printing this off the computer onto computer paper; laying the tag over the image; using sticky tape (TIP: can be dangerous as it is hard to remove - you need a removeable tape for this but I had run out - should have stuck the tape to me three or four times before using it to remove the stickyness!); put paper back into printer - in my case upside down and head first - and reprint it.  Theory is it shoud reprint over the card/tag you have stuck down, but my tag is a bit thick and it moved slightly - had to be trimmed a bit. I put my message there as well using a text box and coloured it prior to printing! I cropped the image to suit the tag also and then coloured it up the same way. 

I add stickles to both the tag image and the main image and die cut the main image, mounting it onto some contrast card and added a couple of stars. I tied the tag to the ribbon.

Initially I put some Nerds and Mentos in the box, but I later removed the Nerds and added some Jell pens in a packet, plus some of the Mentos. I am fairly sure a block of chocolate would also fit the box. You could have fun at the supermarket selecting what you think might fit and eating the failures!

Please pop into

 http://crafting-with-dragonflies.blogspot.com.au/

to see what my other Design Team members are doing!

  Barb

Hilde

Judith

Kelli

Ina

Tania

I will enter this in the following challenges:
Can you digiit: inspirational photo with yellow
Through the Craftroom Door: anything Goes
The ABC Challenge: O is for Open (the box!)
The Cheerful StampPad: something sweet - the supplies are sweet and so is my granddaughter!

Teresa Abajo and I at Paperific!

Well, this is not as good as it sounds - I booked a class on the Saturday May Paperific with Little Bits which was being taken by Teresa Abajo.  I follow her blog and I have also seen her work in several magazines and always liked it, so thought - good oh, this is for me!  I booked really early to make sure I got in too..........................so it is not Teresa and I doing something spectacular at Paperific in front of others, but Teresa showing me how to do something at Paperific!

When I got there - I was the only one for the Saturday afternoon class! One-on-one for moi! I really enjoyed it too - it was quiet and I was able to take my time and work through the four cards.  We used a 6 x 6 pad called Simple Stories - Vintage Bliss and very few other things to create the four cards and there were heaps of pages left over to take home.

Now, the thing I enjoyed most about this class was I was able to really get outside my comfort style and create something where I had never thought I would go.  I kept getting little light-bulb moments - oh, yes of course I can do that! How clever! Never thought of doing that with that!

With life then taking over, I did not take these four cards and accompanying materials out of the bag until this weekend. I was determined I would make at least four more cards using the material I had, and trying to CASe this style of working.

Here are the four card Teresa helped me make (her design):

You can see it is not my usual style. By the way, the timber paper is cut into strips and glued one over the other after distressing to give it all some dimension. The two left over strips are used on the fourth card over the doily.

This one shows the tag out of the pocket in the middle card. 

A close up of one card showing the embossed linen squares! I am so glad I know the trick for these now. Also just used a hole punch and a pen to pull through the holes to mimic the notepaper. 

A close up of the layering 

The flowers are stamped onto the small grey squares, with stems masked off so that they look as if they are printed on the squares. 

The squares, the bingo cards and some other elements have been cut out of one of the sheets of 6 x 6.  There are a lot of them left to play with! The roses are a packet of Kaiser paper roses. I ended up using them all. There was a button, a bit of line strip, some twill tape, incidental sentiment stamps, some string, a doily, a butterfly punch, scissors, glue, dimentionals and one die cut also used between the four cards. 

My cards look different but alike - if that makes sense. I had to laugh to myself when I was taking the photo's - it is obvious that I have my own take on things!  I have done a bit of fussy cutting,  and a lot of copying, and made four cards.

Pink features a little more. Who would have known! Teresa's are more in the cool colour range and mine in the warm but we used the same papers! My butterflies come from the SU die which embosses and cuts out five butterflies at once.  I used four. 

1. B Happy: Distress papers, with a bit of a contract paper behind the torn sections; fussy cut out an element and a bingo card and a letter B; die cut the butterfly; used a left-over square of linen card with a rose.

2.  Live and Love: fussy cut flowers; some lace; stamped a frame and sentiment (Annabelle stamps and TH Distress ink) and fussy cut the frame out; bingo cards and another element with a butterfly; layered fussy cut flower and butterfly and sentiment. 

3.  Pocket card: die cut a gift-card pocket; fussy cut flowers, cut out chevrons and another element; made a tag, stamped it and added the string; added two roses and a butterfly.

Stamped the tag with a flower and the sentiment. Punched out a small pink circle, attached it to the tag and punched a hole through both to take the string.

4.  Love card: started with base paper, added heart doily; a strip of paper; a chevron cut from zig-zag papers; a fussy-cut flower; two grey square elements stamped with flowers; a butterfly; and a rose

Now I am going to go through my stack of 6 x 6 pads and look at them with a different light - and make a set of cards from them using the elements from the pad rather than relying on stash or a stamped image for the focal point; and just making the papers go behind. Thanks Teresa for the lesson in seeing things differently.

Challenges I will enter:

Allsorts Challenge Blog: in the garden (Number 1)

Crafty Calendar: things with Wings (No 4 )

Hiding in my Craftroom: using scraps (No 2)

CASE study: colour challenge (No 3)