Smooth Sailing with the Lollipop Ladies

Left it to the last day to make a card and had an idea in my head - it looked easy enough, so after lunch I started to make it.  Four frustrating hours later I had made it, the bin was full of bits thrown away and I had run out of time to improve the prototype (my first successful attempt).

The Lollipop Ladies had a challenge this fortnight using Push Pops and and added challenge of adding movement to your item.

There is a prize to be won if we get more than seven entries - so why not put the thinking cap on and have a go!

I went to the Splitcoaststampers. I found the tutorial for the card with the mechanical iris and followed the instructions......and looked at the video.......and read the comments after the video ..........and went back to the instructions ......... and fiddled and fiddled until I got something resembling the eye mechanism.

I used SU card, papers and stamps and very quickly tried to put together the outside of the card - mine is not very good and getting the circles to match the eye was fraught with danger!

Then I wasn't sure about the closure - if I closed it too much the lever didn't work. So I ended up half closing it.  Not sure why we had to cut the half circle out of the corner - wouldn't in the next one. 

Anyway - have a go - your's will be much better than mine!

Blog Hop Comment Winner for CWD

Hi all

Just a quick post to let you know who my choice of winner is for the Crafting with Dragonflies Wedding themed Blog Hop.

To find out other details about winner for this challenge and hop, please go to the CWD blog. My winner is

SARAH who said Sweet and SASSY little card! 

Sarah, please contact me asap for your prize, which is the Kenny K digi that was used on my card on the Wedding Blog Hop post, and was supplied free by Kenny K for both the hop and as a prize.

Thank you Kenny K

Firstly, I will brag a little:

Won a mention at Inkspirational,  and was totally stoked as a result; then go selected in the top 5 for the month! Doubly stoked!! So thank you to the folks at Inkspirational and here is my badge!

I won this for the card to be found here on my blog.

Secondly, it was for a card made for Lollipop Ladies and this challenge (seeing stars) is still running for the next few hours - it needs 7 entries for the prize to be awarded, and is based on the inspirational photo below: be quick and get an entry in!!

How shall I alter this?

Hilde at Crafting with Dragonflies has issued a new challenge - Number #8 can you believe it - and it is to 

ALTER SOMETHING

There are many things that crafters have altered over the years but it is often a box or a bag. It is the joy of taking something that would have been thrown out and making it into something useful that makes us do it. 

I have decided to alter a box I have been saving for a while - a Lancom perfume box - and make a more masculine version of it to hold a (male) friend's birthday present.

Not only pretty but quite strong too

It is a sleeve and a box drawer, lined in a soft gold

Quite big too

I decided to use some silver insulating tape purchased at the hardware store last month. 

I covered the sleeve - with some difficulty - and thought about doing the same to the drawer and reneged on the idea. Instead, I added some silver card to the two ends with the Lancom name, and left the rest red.

I had access to a Kenny K digi called Super Genius, so I printed it off on XPress blending card,  and coloured it up with my Copics! I fussy cut it out and mounted it onto some silver foil which had been embossed with stars, and this is in turn mounted onto some red holograph card, and stuck on the front of the box.

I called my Genius Dr Joe, and used the computer to generate a sentiment to attach. 

I found a lovely silver ball button in my Mum's button box, and glued this to the front of the drawer.

The card it used to put on to the front and the back of the drawer has this pattern along one edge - and under the flash of the camera it shows up quite lovely; the back is just a plain silver card. 

Taken outside in fading light with the flash

Taken outside in fading light without the flash!

I will enter this in the following challenges:

Paperminutes: Presents - mine is a box to hold presents; hope this is OK?

Cards for Men: while this is a card on a box, it is for a male!And it is Metallic!

Crazy Challenge: Anything Goes

Unstampabelles has a new challenge!

The Belles this month have a new and different challenge for you - to create a paper dress!

Now, this is not as easy as it sounds because UNSTAMP-a-Belles is exactly that - NO STAMPS - so you have to create a paper dress somehow without stamping anything.  It is being sponsored by the Sticker Store this month, so I decided to do mine using a sticker.

You know those peel-off outline stickers that come in many colours but I prefer black for these? I have some in a drawer and they have been sitting there for a while - I use some occasionally and pick up a few here and a few there when shopping because they might come in handy........and this one did! The only identification on this one is the number 138.

I carefully and with some difficulty peeled it off and laid it across a piece of champagne sparkly card. I then had to equally carefully cut around the edge without cutting the black sticker or leaving card on the outside - for me, a difficulty!  I coloured the little flower on the dress carefully with my copic pens. Once I had the dress I decided to add a hat!

With these two items in hand, I then had to design a card to suit! I had some red sparkly card out to do the dress with but had decided that the sticker might not stick to it too well, but when I lay the dress onto the red it worked very well - so die cut a heart using my SU die.

Now a sentiment - I went through my box of sticker/rub-on sentiments and found this one!

Thought it would work. Lay the whole onto a piece of co'ordinations grey card which had been embossed with a hearts embossing folder and lightly sanded. Mounted the whole on black card and then onto a grey bazzil card base. Decided it was sparkly enough and left it at that point.

You can see the sparkle better here!

Hope you like it!

I will enter this in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes
One Stop Craft Challenge: Keep it Simple
Glitter n Sparkle:  Add some red, yep done that!



I also need to mention this
                                                              

for this card - you can find details here.

                                                              

Bright Sunshine Yellow for Gingerloft!

Yes, that's right - the latest Gingerloft Challenge wants to see some bright sunshine yellow from you all! After all, it's summer somewhere!

My card is using the digi from Tami called Bamboo Frame, and can be found at her digi shop. I coloured it with a mixture of Copics and Prisma Pencils, and really like the intensity of it as a result.

I am not sure if it is meant to be this way or turned around so the stalk goes downward, but this is the way it is! I cut out the image and affixed it to a SU label cut from SU Daffodil Delight card and then embossed with a TH folder. I swiped some TH Distress Ink - Antique Photo - around the edges of this.

Some seam binding (yellowish) and a metal charm with the sentiment - from the stash - was added.

I mounted some yellow dotted paper (SU) with some SU Taken with Teal card and put this behind the label, after also swiping some ink around the edges of the paper.

All this was mounted onto some patterned paper (sorry, no idea where from) and them onto a piece of SU Very Vanilla folded to make the card blank.

This is a card that can be used for either of the genders, and for many multiple reasons. It all depends on what is written inside. A pretty digi and I am please with the mixing of two elements - alcohol ink and Prisma pencils with some Gamasol.

I will enter this in the following challenges:

A Little Bit Crafty:  Summer Sun

Ladybug Crafts: anything Floral

Cards Galore Challenge: A Bingo card - my card fits several times but I will go with flowers, die-cuts, ribbons! 

Seeing the Stars at Lollipop Ladies!

The latest challenge at the Lollipop Ladies is

 Number #73 - Stars and Sparkle

Here is the inspiration photo - look at all those primary colours!

Sparkle is easy to find and so are stars - what are you waiting for!

I have created a card by first playing and creating quite a mess! I decided to have a bit of a play with the bottles of Time Holtz Distress ink that you use to swipe and splat and generally paint card and stuff with, and with the bottles that have that little dropper like the medicine bottles used to have, and where the ink is all thick, syrupy and juicy! I have a mixture of colours and types that have somehow multiplied in the dark in the bottom of the cupboard! Might have to get a spray to stop that!

Firstly I splatted, then I dropped and then I dragged a stick through and then I found it took over 24 hours to dry!I did this on a sheet of white shiny SU card. I stamped the sentiment using a MFT stamp and TH Distress Ink Salty Ocean. 

I scrounged through my box of stars and found two that suited - the light blue one has a bit of sparkle on it, and the dark blue one is shiny and sparkly. I added some bling randomly (that is sooooo hard for me to do) and then add one more - so now I have an even number, against the rules - but in a different colour! The whole lot is mounted onto SU Pacific Blue card, and white bazzil folded into a card shape.

I have decided you could repeat this in red, or green or yellow if you wanted.........but I am done.

Your turn to make a card and enter it - remember

Guest DT spots are able to be won each fortnight

and our sponsor this fortnight is: Mad for Markers*

(thanks to Sammi).

A choice of 3 of her M4M digi stamps.

* Prize will only be offered if 7 or more entries partake in the challenge.

I will enter this in the following challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #: Monocromatic

Inkspirational Challenge #31:  Anything Goes

The Male Room Challenge#1: Anything Goes

CASED cards and other things!

Hi there

I have had a bit of a break from my DT duties with two of my team blogs for the Northern summer holidays, so I have been able to have a play.

I am a terrible buyer of card making magazines and buy lots! (My husband thinks I buy too many craft things full stop lol!) These mags get read over a coffee and then placed on the floor of the craft room under one of my tables/desks. Over the last few months this pile has grown to rather enormous proportions.  Normally they sit there for a few weeks and then I get time to re-read them, cut them up and discard those sections I don't want and paste the inspirational stuff (for me -we all have our own tastes) and the potential challenges along with templates or instructions on how to for a technique or idea..........into a scrapbook.  I now have four of these and do find it a great way to get my mojo flowing when I need an idea.

But, as said the pile has grown large. So, I tackled it over the weekend and reduced it to a much smaller pile of torn and cut up paper, which is yet to be pasted in. However, I did extract from this smaller pile a few (OK, about 10) photo's of cards or ideas that I would like to try straight away, and yesterday afternoon I made five cards! Most of these are straight CASEd cards - the original producer of this card may recognise their genius, and I thank them for their inspiration. However, I have not named these as I don't have the names of the creators any more - its all cut up and thrown away!

A bit edgy - I coloured a small white tag with my highlighter; sentiment is from a new SU set called Really Good Greetings and they are! Paper is Cosmo Cricket -DeLovely; tag is commercial; ink is SU Mambo Melon. Button is Basic Gray Lauderdale Stitched Brads. 

This one just sang to me - isn't it pretty! And the bonus is that you use up some of those paper flowers you have, Susan!  I got to use the Perfect Pearls dots too but not that well.  My sentiment is hand done. The original one was all white on the pale blue background but I added the touch of pink. I got some Whitewash Co'Ordination card in pale blue and drew a heart onto it using one of my SU Heart dies. Then it was a matter of laying the flowers on to fit the shape, and then added some SU pearls. The tie is a piece of cord off  a tag on a new piece of furniture. All this is layered onto a card blank.

Another slightly more edgy one - this time I gaily went to the stamp collection (MFT) to get the old typewriter stamp and then realised it was too big for what I wanted to do, so I thought I would get a digi, but then just went to the images on Google and go a manual typewriter - reduced it in size and printed it off onto some card and fussy cut it out. Another commercial tag, a small peg from stash as is the heart slide; some washi tape; a piece of ledger paper from the stash aged with TH Antique Linen ink and die cut with a Die-namics die to get the holes along the top! I used an SU edge punch for the border and the sentiment came from a MFT set called My Type. 

On a roll, I thought, and so had a go at one that was even more edgier. Didn't work for me though - mailnly because I am an idiot. A piece of card from the stash (unknown) folded into a card. Wasi tape holds the image - firstly I used a mask to sponge on ink into the rectangle onto SU Whisper White; the stamped with Memento Black onto the re with a stamp that is a freebie from Artistic Stamper. Now, you may notice that the male figure looks a little blocky - I thought oh well, that's a bit disappointing as the female one is so crisp, and went on with the rest of the card.  There are rub-ons for the sentiment and a small punched heart. It wasn't until several hours later whilst tidying up that I discovered that I had the male stamp around the wrong way on the stamp block! Duh! apart from silly behaviour, this card was very quick! 

Then I made this one - it is an original, not CASEd. 

I used one of the free digi's Hilde is giving away on her challenge blog Crafting with Dragonflies where I am on the DT. The sentiment is from SU's new one Pursuit of Happiness. 

Sunflowers coloured up with Copics and the SU Marine Mist blue card is embossed with the clouds. I have used a punch for the sentiment and mounted it and the blue on some SU Daffodil Delight.  The card is a commercial blank. There is some Atya Spiker pen on the flowers too but it is a bit difficult to see it in the late afternoon light. Can you see the small ladybird? 

I will enter this one in the following challenges:

365 Cards: two colours/tones - mine are yellow and blue

Card Mania: Summer blooms

Make it Monday: Anything goes

Outlawz: must have sentiment/Summer flowers

Wedding Blog Hop

We're going on a Blog Hop, We're going to have some fun, It's a beautiful day...........etc (apologies to Michael Rosen)  It's all about WEDDINGS!

If you haven't got a cuppa by now, perhaps you should go and get one - lots to read and see!

If you came here from Tania's amazing creation and have completed the rest of the hop for the wonderful team at  Crafting with Dragonflies, you are in the right place! If you have come here because you are a follower of mine or you just lucked in, and you want to do the hop, just turn right around and go back to Crafting with Dragonflies and begin the Hop. It is well worth the effort because there are some fabulous prizes available, one on each of the seven team blogs and one on the main blog. 

Our theme is WEDDINGS and we have a little game running. It's a guessing game and involves a small rhyme about weddings that you will have heard of or already know.  You will get a clue for each word on the team's individual blogs - one blog , one word - and when put together they make up the rhyme.

My card for this challenge is a WEDDING card (surprise) and the image I have used on this is a Kenny K image called Wedding Garter. This image is a digi and KK have given this to us to give away, so some lovely person who leaves me some love on this blog by making a comment will get the image sent to them. How good is that!

  (Remember you need to be a follower of Crafting with Dragonflies to be eligible for prizes - and if you want to, you can be a follower of my blog as well but it is not contingent on winning).

I guess you have heard a lot about weddings on your hop so far - all those traditions and their possible origins. My little lady here is wearing a garter, and it has blue on it. This is supposed to be one of the oldest traditions of the lot, and comes from the superstition that a piece of the clothing worn by the bride would bring good luck to someone.  So, one tale is that people tended to pile into the bedchamber of the new couple and try to rip off the said garment in an attempt to get a piece of luck and happiness - nice!

In the 14th Century the wedding couple were accompanied to the bridal chamber, escorted in, undressed and as part of the deal, consummation was watched for and checked (especially if the girl was a virgin) by some of the guests - lovely! 

Another explanation for the toss of the garter is that wedding guests (men) would during this time play a game of tossing the stockings of the bride as they were removed.  The man who threw the stocking closest to the nose of the groom was the next to marry apparently! Later on, it developed that throwing them the smaller garter to fight over alleviated the bride (and groom) being left bruised and/or embarrassed and probably also explains why in some places it is the groom who removes it first! Protector of the innocent bride, he will throw this toward the eligible men to distract them while his new bride would throw her bouquet at the eligible women for the same reason. Possibly this would also allow them to slam the door of the bridal chamber while the crowd was distracted! It all sounds a bit barbaric to me! 

Silver was used as currency in the past, and a silver coin is a sign of wealth (luck) - if the bride was given some silver it was indeed very lucky for her if she was poor! Some women now have a silver coin - usually a sixpence - either in a purse in their dress, or sewn into the lining or worn around the neck or in the bouquet or in their shoe! Sometimes the groom gets to have the coin in the shoe instead - lucky man. I think this little girl has the silver sixpence in her garter!

My own wedding was a little out of the norm - it was in a church, but the reception was just a party at home for two hours, and there was definitely no garter throwing! I did have a bouquet - a small spray of Singaporean orchids - but I didn't have the frou-frou wedding dress.  I had a nice silk shift in a beautiful pale coffee colour.  I cannot believe how slim I was or how dark!  I am certain all the old biddies in the area were counting on their fingers to see if a small packet was delivered six or seven months later but I liked the dress, it suited me and while it didn't cost sixpence it was cheap! Our whole wedding was catered for by ourselves and my Mum made the cake. I got it decorated very plainly with just white icing and we laid a spray of orchids across it. We had two witnesses (friends who signed the certificate) and went to dinner with family later before sailing off for a two week honeymoon on our small yacht - such bliss! Oh well, each to their own. 

Now, your turn!

Somewhere in my blog is a word to add to the rhyme. Add it to the others.

Go to the comments section and leave some love - you might win the KK image!

When you have done that return to Crafting with Dragonflies

blog and leave a comment there as well.  

Did you work out the rhyme? Good - email me with it, putting WEDDING BLOG HOP in the subject line. My email address is on the main blog.  Please DO NOT put the rhyme in the comments section. 

Oh, and well done if you got this far!