the Midas touch..?

Hi there everyone...today i've come over all Midas...and had a huge desire to emboss everything in gold!
As you can see i'm still bonkers about puzzle cards...and in fact i'm getting complaints from people who get regular non~puzzle cards now, too!!  This one is for my Mum who's Birthday is next week...

i find it very difficult to photograph gold embossing and make it look sparkly and as it does in real life...hopefully the close~up gives you a slightly better idea..?  if any of you have any tips out there for photographing shiny surfaces, i'd love to hear them...so please share them in the comments form!  Thanks :)

i've coloured the whole background in a couple of shades of Brilliance ink and then stamped the lovely heart shaped balloons several times in Teal Versafine.  if  you look closely you'll see that i've stamped it both ways up, and on the left of my puzzle i've made a border using just the tails.  {The stamp is from the Little Feet sheet by Paperbag Studios and is so useful...i love it!}

i then overstamped most of the images and embossed in gold, not inking my stamp between impressions so that some places take the embossing more than others.  i added a Happy Birthday stamp, also embossed and swiped my embossing pad all around the edges to give them a touch of the Midas too.  

all i have to do now is break it apart and pop it in an envelope...oh...and think of a present to go with it ;0)

30 minute Thursdays...a fabulous star decoration...

Another Thursday quick project today...how to use what we learned on Monday's Bubbly Scrumptious Blog posting...not to make a starbook...but to adapt it to make a rather fabulous star shaped decoration! These are great for parties, children could even do them...and they'd be super for Christmas fairs if you want to use a little bit of stash to raise a whole load of cash! :0)

Firstly, cut yourself 21 strips of double sided pp, to the sizes listed below. This is really quick if you use your paper trimmer.

Secondly, use a wet glue to stick the sections together...one strip of each size, glued as shown below with a little glue on either end.

When your sections are all glued together, stack them by glueing one on top of another adding the glue as shown below:

Now add some ribbon with some strong tape and glue the first section to the last section, opening the star out to form the shape.

Your star should now look like this!

Add a flowery embellishment to the middle of the star with a generous amount of glue...this will help to stabilise the points if you've used thinnish pp...but it looks lovely even if you don't need it!

Finally, hang your decoration up...this one is going to go to my sister and her hubby to decorate the nursery they are preparing for their much anticipated baby...

Warning:

You may well be asked to make lots of these...people do seem to be disproportionately impressed with the skill required to achieve these babies...but i won't tell if you don't!! ;0)

making the most of 30 minute Thursdays...

sometimes i even take my own advice...lol...and this week when i needed a Birthday card i looked to my 30 minute Thursdays and made an easel card with a lace flower on it! thats 2 prompts for the price of 1 in my book ;0)

i'm happy to say jaki seemed to love it...and i hope you continue to have a stupendous Birthday week, hon xxxxx

use it or lose it...

...its true in Yoga...if you don't use your body to its full potential...you quickly lose that potential...and its now true in the craftroom...if i've not used it...i'm chucking it/passing it on/or popping it on ebay! these quick card makes were an example of this process in action...i had had this 6X6 K&Co paper pad sitting around forever...and so i decided to use it up in a mass card making session!



the card on the right here uses Hels' sketch again...and the rest are just bosh, bosh, bosh cards! but now i have a draw full of ready to go cards rather than unloved paper and embellies...much happier with that!




i bet you've got a few papers and bits and bobs sitting around that could do with using up, eh? lol and it does feel good to have some cards ready...before crisis time! ;)

a little bit of cyber cropping...

i've not been up to much scrapping for the longest while now...so i thought i'd have a go at a couple of the classes in this weekend's Christmas scrappy cyber crop over on UKS....

this first class was by Angie:


...who could resist this super cute photo????



...or the chance of a political pun?

...not to mention the chance to use my new Martha Stewart border punch...it looks so pretty triple embossed :0)

This second class was by Linda...



...a good way to use up some of those mismatched letter stickers i have lurking around...and yes...i am truly cross~eyed in this photo!!! lol

if you fancy having a go at these...or any of the other classes or challenges on offer...pop over here!

oooops...i made my friend cry!

i've just been over to a crafty morning crop with some chums...and bless her cotton socks if Dorothy didn't have tears in her eyes when she opened her belated Birthday card...i'm thinking that means she liked it! ;0)

i've gone super girly for this one and used a pre~embossed card which i've jazzed up with Sakura pens for a splash of colour...a lenght of stiched ribbon for the stems...and my new die set from Marianne Creatables {i've used the ribbon flower 3 set}...if you haven't seen these gorgeous dies...check them out here! they are just gorgeous...and i will have more to show you over the coming days...

these flowers are so beautiful, you don't need much else on the page...simply thread some ribbon through the premade slits...add a brad in the middle...and curl the petals slightly around your pokey tool...then stick.

Happy Birthday Dorothy...and sorry i made you all teary~eyed...but you were smiling! :0) xxx

al!x does t!m...

...or so to speak!?#$! those of you with eagle eyes might have spotted my grungy door sign project in this month's Craft Stamper...and here are couple more projects using the same stamps and techniques:

a Birthday card for the man of the house...and a little box with secrets in...obviously i can't share those...or the secret wouldn't be...well...secret, would it??

the stamps are all by T!m the fabulous...as are the dies...the paint dabber...and even the rock candy distress paint!

...and just in case T!m, or anyone else, hadn't noticed this was a tribute...on the box i've used one of his bookplates, with one of his tickets...and coated it in his delicious Glossy Accents!!

Hope you like what i've done...now get back in your own craftroom...and PLAY! :0)

ruth's bird~day easel card...

first you see him flat...

then you see him standing up and displaying his proud message...


i haven't made one of these easel type cards before...but i'll definitely be making more...they are so much fun and so impressive to look at :0)

happy belated bird~day ruth!!!
xxxx

i'm also entering this card in the Bee Crafty new challenge blog...check it out here!

*wig*~gle it...

i'm back again with a really terrible pun...and really fun LO!! I simply adore these photos of my sister and my little cousin wearing afro wigs at a Fancy Dress Party...by the end of the day...i'm fairly sure that there wasn't any one in the pub who hadn't tried it on! lol


funny thing is...i did this LO about a fortnight ago and its been in my pile of things to *deal with/correct/redo/abandon*...but when i re~looked at it...i like it just as it is! its a bit OTT and a bit bonkers...but i'd say the photos are too...so i'm rolling with it :0)

his Nibs thinks the papers are awful and overpowering...i'd love to hear what you think?


hope you're having a happy, crafty weekend...keep *wig~gling* xxx

ps...i'm trying to play with my blog to get it looking *nicer*...please bear with me...i'm not a natural at all this technical stuff!!

the Birthday blues...

a Birthday card for a much loved Aunt...in shades of blue and green...all stamps by Sir Tim of Holtz, ditto the Distress inks...and even the Distress Stickles...but even he can't lay claim to the clear embossing powder ;0)

this is a simple and super fun effect to create...the original piece of cardstock was a soft blue...and onto this i stamped and embossed in clear: the text, the butterflies and several areas of foliage/flowers...heat set this...then set to work with your Distress inks, completely covering the cardstock in shades of blue and green to create areas of interest and to make the clear images pop out! then stamp the foliage stamp again several times in the same shades of blue and green...and blend with foam...add a border of Distress stickles the whole way around...and dots of Crystal Stickles to some of the flower heads...attach to card...add ribbon...

and there you have it...a case of the Birthday blues {and greens}...but not the kind we don't like, right? ;0)

gorgeous glass beads...

i couldn't resist these gorgeous beads when i saw them in a gift shop recently...aren't they yummy...and so i bought a handful to make my friend a Birthday bracelet...

i kept it really simple as she has a proper classy vintage look going on...and teamed the decorated beads with some plain glass ones i had in my stash...His Nibs helped me with the silver bits...**thankyou gorgous**...et voila!

of course, being the sort she is...all co~ordinated and everything...i figured i'd better make a pair of toning earrings to go with it...


and then of course you're not done...you still need a Birthday card, right? so...sticking to my scraps only rule for cards this year...i rooted around and found this yummy pp leftover...with just enough for me to cut and layer some of the flowers...i added a spot of glossy accents and some tiny gold beads to the flower centres...a little bit of ribbon...stamped and embossed a message and then cut the layers out using Nesties...

phew...Birthdays are hard work for the crafter, eh? ;0) the good news is...i think she like them!

Birthday beading...

Remember the pink and orange necklace i made a few weeks ago? well...i was so chuffed with it...and i so loved making it...that i decided to make a few more for some friends that have Birthdays this month.

This lime green and pine one was for Gemma, who has that hippy vibe going on...

and this purple and black bead one was for Jaki...who has a bit of a glam/funky thing going on:

unfortunately, due to a dodgy clasp i didn't manage to photograph Jaki in hers {and i have to order new clasps!!!}...but i think Gemma was happy with hers...lol

now...i have a couple more to finish...so i'm off for now...but i'll be back...and there just may be more beads!!

happy, sunny, crafty day to everyone passing through! xx

Happy Birthday Craft Stamper!

Did you know that Craft Stamper celebrates ten years in print with the June 2010 issue!!
Its a bumper issue, on sale around the 7th of May...make sure you pick up a copy before they sell out...

Here is the quick card i made to celebrate the event...why not have a look~see here at the other designers creations!

ok, thats all from me today...his Nibs and i are still feeling quite poorly...so i'll go and have a little lie down i think before its Dorothy ~time! ;0)

birthday goodness...

despite the fact that he has been super poorly this last couple of weeks...*his nibs* has truly surpassed himself with this lovely birthday card:

"i've done it in the *style of you*, darling...you know...it was fine...and then i just stuck on random glitter and bling...because it was there!!!" pml *how dare he!!!* ;0)

this little beauty tho...he has definitely done in the *style of himself*...its smoky quartz and silver beads and is just so delicate and beautiful...i love it :0x **thankyou, gorgeous!**

and now from the sublime...to the downright ridiculous...here is this week's entry into the Stampotique colour challenge...deets here...i'm calling it *get a head*...

rightey ho...i'm off to play with that mucky brayer...and then celebrate my Birthday...with an afternoon nap!! lol

happy day one and all

;0)

Warning: this post contains a scary teenage photo!!

hi all,

this is the third of my LO's for Scrapdolly's 52 in 10 project...and the most scary so far...the prompt was to look back at an earlier time in your life and, with hindsight, think about the advice you might give your former self...assuming of course that your former self would have listened...which at 16 i most certainly would have not!! lol


i have cut out the flowers from some pp by Making Memories...added a Tim Holtz text stamp and another Tim floral corner stamp to create the subtle foliage along the bottom...the title is a couple of rubons and i've added acrylic flowers and 2 packets of gems to tone the flowers with my colour scheme...the journalling is underneath the photo...which you can lift with a tab of ribbon on the right hand side...but this time it is for my eyes only. ;0)


now, i did warn you about the scary teenager in this post...and i'm afraid to say it is me!!! lol just in case you can't get a good enough laugh from the photo above...here is an enlargement!!
*hides shamefully in a corner until the people have gone away*
;0)
whilst i'm on the subject of teenagers...i thought i'd share this bunting i designed for a 14th Birthday parts...its bluebirds holding a little banner that says *luck and fate* and the stamps are by Bombshell Stamps...love them! i'm thinking of hanging this up in my guestroom for a while so i can enjoy it a little longer!

here is the party invitation i designed to go with the bunting...i think its super cute...and i'm sure i would have loved it at that age...would you??

so there you have it, today's offerings...now i'm off for a nap...and i hope to catch up with style school this afternoon!

happy crafting,

alixx