Getting stitched up over at Take The Pixie challenge!

There is a new Take the Pixie challenge with the theme of...

Stitching!

And here is my make using uber cute Walter's Jammies from the Winter Collection...

Look at those HUGE eyes!  He's gonna get everything on his list, don't cha think?!!  I matched him up with papers from the My Minds Eye Out of the Blue pad (from Quixotic Paperie here).  It's not a very Chrismassy card apart from the snowflake, but I like it!  I love this image - so versatile! I'm going to make a birthday version with a big star behind him and change 'xmas' to 'pressie' in the inside.

You can't really see it, but the snowflake is die cut from Doodlebug white glitter cardstock - it helps to make it look more Christmassy!!  And these Pixie Dust Studio digis are such a pleasure to colour in too!  Here's a close up...

I hope you can join us this week - I know a lot of you love your stitching and you don't need to use PDS images!  You can see more lovely DT inspiration over at the Take the Pixie blog!


I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Penny's Paper-Crafty challenge - Merry Christmas
• Crafts and Me - Christmas
• My Mum's Craft Shop - a cute and funky Christmas
• ABC Christmas challenge - anything goes
• Divas by Design - Merry Christmas
• Winter Wonderland - let it snow (my snowflake!)
• Paper Sundaes - anything Christmas
• Forever Friends monthly challenge - it's all Christmas

What a Scruffy little elf!

It's been a loooooong week - thank goodness (and I really mean it this week!) it's Saturday!  And this weekend we are going to get ready for Xmas - the tree is going to go up!!  Anyhoo, I'm here to show off some gorgeous Quixotic Paperie goodies with a funky Christmas card using another one of those wonderful elves from the Make It Crafty Elf Collection...

I used Bazzill Basics Smoothie Kraft cardstock with Echo Park papers and stickers from the Everybody Loves Christmas kit collection.  You can't see it very well (but it looks fab in real life!) but I my Sew Easy Tool with the Cross Piercer Head.  For embellishing I used that gorgeous Memory Box Frosty Border die again.  It's out of stock as I write this, but don't worry Elaine is getting more stock in!  Just email her here and she'll put one by for you (she's nice like that!). 


Okay, well I'm off - enjoy the rest of your weekend!


I am entering this card into the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - Christmas faves
• Totally Papercrafts - Christmas
• Make It Colourful - colour white (on his hat)

Guest spot over at Tiffany Doodles!

Phew, made it to Saturday!  Time for a nice long rest this weekend - no plans, just take it as it comes (which I hope involves lots of crafting!).  One of my current aims is to just do more creating and play with more brands so I was very chuffed with the ever wonderful and lovely Jessica of Can You Pixel This? (I'm so jealous I didn't think of that name for my blog!) asked me to do a guest spot for Tiffany Doodles, goodies I haven't used before!  You can see my guest spot here, but here is my make for them in all it's glory, lol!!

I used the very sweet Turtle Friend Digital Stamp set and didn't use any design papers - really!  Instead I used kraft cardstock for the base and then distressed some white wash Core'dinations with some stitching and lots of foam pads for texture and depth. I also used my Copics Aircan for the water.

I have a few other guest spots coming up during November so I hope you can back and see my makes for them.  In the meantime, Tiffany Doodles has a November sale - Buy 4 Stamps and get 33% off your order!

Okay, that's it for me - off for some resting!  Have a great weekend everyone!


I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Paper Sundaes - use a digi
• Sir Stampalot - blue and green
• Paper Makeup Digi Makeover - create your own background

Being thankful over at Flutter By Wednesday!

It's a new challenge over at Flutter By Wednesday and we are challenging you to the theme of...

Thankful / Gratitude

So, you can think of Fall and Thanks Giving or just being grateful or thanking someone!  I opted to make a card for a dear friend who is going through a bit of a rubbish time and hope to lift her spirits up...

I used the new Nuts About You by Whimsie Doodles - I love this cute newbie and the sweet sentiment comes with it too!  You can see the rest of the DT on the main challenge blog here!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - anything goes
• Sweet Stampin - anything goes
• Craft Your Passion - bingo (button - free - sentiment)

Make it Monday sponsored by Craft Emma's Store!

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a good one!  It's Monday so it's time for a new Make It Monday linky party and we want to be inspired by your creativity!  For my make this week, I used a new fave by Saturated Canary digi set called Camping Sleep Over...

 

 

I kept it all pretty simple, using lots of distressing and ripping to create interest and chalk to create the shadows under the images that are stuck on with foam pads, which you can see better in this piccie here...

The sentiments are from My Favorite Things and the cardstock is Core'dinations whitewash - love this stuff!

This week we are sponsored by the lovely Emma over at Crafty Emma's Store and this week the prize is a £10 voucher to spend in her yummy store!

So onto my pick of last week's entrants - I have chosen this sweet fresh make by Wendy of Flowergirl Cards...

Created by Wendy of Flowergirl Cards

I love that Penny Black stamp and how Wendy has added the gems in the tree and the subtle distressing - just beautiful!  Thank you for sharing with us Wendy!


I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Saturated Canary - stitching
• Pretty Little Ribbons - anything goes
• Fab 'n' funky - beat up, torn, distressed
• Totally Papercraft Fridays - layer upon layer
  

Make It Monday sponsored by Squidgi Digi!

It's Monday which means a new linky party is open over at Make It Monday!  As usual, it's anything goes, we just want you to share your creativity - we love your inspiration!  I used this super Cat Pumpkin by Squidgy Digi...

 

 I told you it was super - a very clever digi to have a cut out cat from the pumpkin!  I hand sketched the web with pencil, used my paper piercer to poke in the holes and stitched the web using a back stitch - voila!

This week we are sponsored by super talented Beth (our super talented Lisa J's daughter!) who is the master mind artist of Squidgy Digi!

Beth is generously offering 4 images of winners choice!

So lastly but never least, my pick of last week's entrants is this super Halloween set by Anne of Card Challenges...

Created by Anne of Card Challenges

I love the use of the DPs and the sweet image - just a gorgeous little set!  Thx for sharing with us Anne - I always love visiting you!

I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Moving Along With The Times - spooky
• Really Reasonable Ribbon - Halloween
• Crafty Calendar - Halloween
  

Paper/cardstock: Bazzill cardstock, My Minds Eye Hattie paper pad

Stamps: Cat Pumpkin by Squidgy Digi, By LoRi Designs sentiment

Mediums: Copics
Accents: American Crafts rub on border

Tools: paper piercer

Quixotic Paperie 2nd birthday celebrations - Make It Crafty spotlight and masking tutorial

Hi all!  Apologies again to you all for not being around much for the past two weeks - mega busy at work plus doing my course - don't you hate it when real life gets in the way of crafting and blogging?!  Anyway, I'm here today for two reasons: to give you a chance to win lots of prizes AND a masking tutorial that a few of you have asked for!

So, firstly, how can you win prizes?!  Today is a joint celebration!  As you may be aware, this is the month that Quixotic Paperie turned TWO! What you may not know is that it is also the month in which Australian company Make it Crafty is turning ONE!

Quixotic Paperie have been stocking the fantastic Make it Crafty range of products (Rubber Stamps - Lasercut Chipboard - Make it Colour Blending Card) since April 2011, and are one of the first places you can find them outside of Australia! We are thrilled to be celebrating with Make it Crafty today.

To celebrate we thought that rather than a blog hop we would set a CHALLENGE using Make it Crafty products!!  To get inspired, hop on over to the Make it Colourful challenge blog where you will see the amazing creations our fabulous DT’s have created for this event! PLUS find out all the details on how you can play along!

OF COURSE THERE ARE PRIZES!!

There are FIVE challenge categories and there will be FIVE GRAND WINNERS! 

PLUS, PLUS, PLUS

There will be random winners throughout the whole month. The numbers have been pre-selected and as soon as an entry is added that matches that number they WIN! Winners will be announced soon after entry on the sidebar of Make it Colourful.

PLUS there’s MORE!! 

Quixotic Paperie have a little something for you too!! Make sure you pop on over to HERE to enter your name for a chance at MORE Make it Crafty Goodies!!

PLUS THERE’S MORE!!!

Zoe, the owner of Make it Crafty has a super duper HUGE Candy give away – choc-a-block FULL of Make it Crafty goodies!! AND I have heard a whisper that she is planning on having random giveaways on her blog throughout the month of July! All you need to do is leave her some love as she’ll randomly be choosing people who have commented on her posts throughout the last year!!

PLUS THERE’S EVEN MORE!!! (I gotta sit down here from the excitement of it all!)

You’ll also receive a set of steak knives when you... hahaa ONLY Joking BUT... for THREE DAYS ONLY you’ll be able to get 40% off Make it Crafty Digi Stamps when you enter the coupon code: CELEBRATE (Ends June 28^th)

So I do hope you will celebrate with us this month and get into the Make it Crafty spirit of FUN!!

Okay, so onto my make and tutorial!  First here is my card...

 

Ohhhh, I just so wish I was in the Caribbean right now!  I wanna dance like this Make It Crafty Hula Girl in front of a bunch of Make It Crafty Palm Trees!  I kept it pretty simple, using Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock to give it a natural feel and my every trusty Sew-Easy Stitch Piercer Tool and Straight Head with cream floss.  I found that material in my stash - I have no idea where I got it from!!


So onto my masking tutorial!  There are loads of them out there on this but this is how I do it....

You can see from picture 1 the tools I use.  So first, create your mask, picture 2.  Stamp the image you want in the forefront onto your cardstock and then stamp it a second time onto thin paper (if it is too thick, it will create a 'halo' effect around the image).  I've seen others stamp onto a Post It note, using the glue end, but I just use pieces of scrap paper. 
 

Let the ink dry and then cut out as close as possible to the line, picture 3.  You can see in picture 4 that I use serrated scissors which gives me complete control (especially as I am clumsy!).

Spray repositional glue on the back of the mask (picture 5) and then place it over the top of the image on your cardstock, picture 6.  I coloured some red pen on my mask to help show the mask but it didn't work out very well, lol!!

The next step is to stamp your second image that you want behind the first image, picture 7.  Keep the mask in place if you want to stamp more overlapping images.  Picture 8 shows the mask still in place...

 ...and picture 9 shows it with the mask removed - voila!  I keep my masks as you can re-use them repeatedly.

Thanks if you're still with me!  I hope you found that useful - as usual, any questions or have any tips you'd like to share, please leave a comment to this post!  Bye for now!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

• Wags 'n Whiskers - summertime creations
• Moving Along With The Times - CAS (I think this counts?!!)
• Totally Stampalicious - something old (the material!), something new (the stamps!)

Friday Sketch - my submission

Whew! Just getting this done in the nick of time! Was going to do this earlier in the week, but of course got caught up with other things, including making (for the first time) an envelope for my mum's card as it was way too fat for any of my stock ones! I made it and very pleased with myself as I didn't even use a template! I'm also quite pleased with my very first Xmas card of the season. I used Amy Rysavy's Friday Sketch.

If you haven't come across her yet, she designs for CC Designs (in the UK you can buy from Bunny Zoe's Crafts and Dies to Die For). I've never done one of her sketch's before but had to have a go as she's one of my fav designers and card creators. Anyway, here's my card...

It's not exact to Amy's sketch, but I just can't cope when things aren't symmetrical enough! I got the tension wrong on my mini sewing machine (yes, still loving it!), but I decided I quite liked the rough effect of the stitching so I didn't correct it. You can't see it in the photo, but I also used a Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen on the image and writing on the tag. I love that pen - just adds a touch of subtle shine. I'm considering using a glaze pen or Diamond Glaze all over the ornaments but not sure if that would suit the style of the card.

I bought the K&Co Mat Pad and Tag Pad last year but didn't use them - they were too beautiful to be wasted by this novice! But what with all the beautiful paper designs that keep being released I was determined to use it up before I bought a new xmas collection - and I have! I have a whole production line going now and will have about 30 cards made up. Not bad for September! They are are all in a half finished state and hope to finish them this weekend.

Enough said, list of supplies below.

Papers/cardstock: various Bazzill and Core'dinations cardstock, K&Co Brenda Walton's Peppermint Twist Mat Pad and Tag Pad

Stamps: none for a change!

Mediums: Versafine Onyx Black, Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen,

Accents: ribbon from stash

Tools: sewing machine, Fiskars Upper Crest border punch

Happy Birthday Mum Take Two!!

I'm going to keep this one short after all my waffling yesterday! As I said then, I just wasn't happy with the card I made for my mum's birthday (yesterday's post here). After some cogitating I came up with this version instead...

And here it is front on...

I much prefer this! I think the balance is better and I prefer the less fussy flower arrangement. Now just to create an insert to go with it. And to find someone to give the other card to!

Papers/cardstock: various Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: K&Co Amy Butler Lotus Floral stamp set, sentiment from Hero Arts Great Flourishes Messages
Mediums: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark Dazzle in Frost, for the butterfly VersaMagic in Purple Hydrangea, Perfect Plumeria and Eggplant
Accents: ribbon and flowers from stash, button from BasicGrey Wisteria
Tools: sewing machine, Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, Spellbinders Label Four

I think I'm in love...

I actually went ahead and practiced using my mini sewing machine and guess what? I loved it so much I went ahead and made a card! What do you think?



I don't normally do vintage - or perhaps it's shabby chic?! - I can never get it right, but I think I did ok with this. I can't believe how easy it was to do the stitching - I scared myself silly even thinking about trying it! If you look carefully, the stitches aren't very straight in some places - those were the times I stopped concentrating on keeping the needle centred. Well I intend in using this technique a lot from now on so I'll get lots of practice!

Big thanks to Carly who left me a lovely comment on my previous entry - it was this that encouraged me to have a go today (and not leave it for another year!). You should go and have look at her creations - they are beautiful. I love the way she uses stitching and manages to keep a clean, fresh feel. Look at one of her fabulous examples here.

Mine aren't a patch on hers, but at least I can get inspiration from her when my creative juices dry up!

Papers/cardstock: K&Co Hopscotch mat pad, Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: Hampton Art Our Baby clear stamp set
Mediums: edged with brown ink
Accents: Karen Marie Klip die cut letters, velvet ribbon
Tools: sewing machine, Woodware Fingerguard trimmer with scallop blade

Sewing made easy

My mother bought me a sewing machine (Janone Mini for only £49 bought from John Lewis) a year ago for my birthday (yes, it IS my birthday around the corner!) and I only got it out of its box two days ago.


I have no idea how to sew so it's just been sitting there in its unopened box making me feel guilty every time I go into my craft room! I've now managed to get it set up thanks to a tutorial on Gina K's blog. She took away the whole mystery of using a sewing machine so a huge thanks to Gina!

If you haven't seen Gina K's blog yet, you should get over there now! She has some great tutorials and - if you're new to crafting like me - makes cardmaking seem all so easy!

So for my next challenge, I am going to make a card using stitching. I have set up the machine and ready to do some testing first!