Lexi’s Creations 98 Anything But a Card

Our challenge at Lexi’s Creations this time around is Anything but a card, and we are sponsored by Fairy Dust Crafts with 5 digital designs.

I had a few ideas in mind for this challenge, but I have been so busy these last few weeks that my brain wouldn’t get past the idea stage. Then I was lucky enough to get a gift from a friend of a Debbie Moore Bookazine. That’s a magazine with a cdrom attached……. where do they come up with these names! Anyhow one of the projects in the magazine was a Jewellery Wrap.

I used some DCWV from their Luxury Stacks in both the 12” for the main wrap part and their 8” for the boxes inside. I glued two different sheets of the Luxury card back to back onto a sheet of 300 gsm card, as I figured it needed some strength. I think if I had been using simply paper that would have been a good idea, but as the DCWV is already quite thick it made it buckle slightly with all the glue, and I think it would have had enough strength just glued to itself.

This is what it looked like half way through making it.

For the little boxes I glued the DCWV to some toning soft gold card, as having glued and scored the main wrap I had already realised that I didn’t need an extra sheet of thick card sandwiched between the two layers.

This is it closed, with it’s lid on, and you can see what I mean about the buckling in the main card. If I make one again I would definitely either use paper over card, or miss out the central layer of card. It’s not skew whiff by the way, that’s my photography or I didn’t have the lid on straight when I took the photo.

Funnily enough I was discussing with a friend earlier yesterday how many peel offs we both have accumulated over the years and how we really only use word ones nowadays, but there were some holographic and glittery peel offs in my mountainous stash that were perfect to give the corners of the wrap and the boxes some definition.

I am entering this into the following:-

Artistic Inspirations - #57 Anything Goes

Challenges 4 Everybody - #28 Anything Goes

Craft Room Challenge - Something New (the technique/idea)

Created With Love - #55 Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges2 - Not a Square ( I realise the little boxes are square but the whole thing is not).

Kraftyhands Challenge - Anything Goes

Tammy’s Scrappin’ Corner - #78 Anything Goes

The House That Stamps Built - DCC828 No Squares Allowed ( I realise the little boxes are square but the whole thing is not)

Unstampabelles - #27 Using Scraps and/or old Stash…. had the DCWV papers and peel offs since Adam was a lad!

Use It Tuesday - #62 Trends (peel offs, who doesn’t have stacks of peel offs because you just have to have them, and then never use them!)

New Design Team - Lothian Crafts

I was lucky enough to be chosen to be on Lothian Crafts’ new Design Team. It’s a special celebration as Lothian Crafts Online is 7 years old this month. To celebrate they are offering 15% off all orders over £50, and as their prices are already some of the best around that’s a good deal! If you are lucky enough to win the monthly challenge you could also win £10 to spend in the shop too!

To be in with a chance of winning that tenner you need to enter the monthly challenge, which this month is a nice easy one, Anything Goes. You must use dies on your project though.

For my card I used some of the dies that Lothian Crafts sell, along with a couple of others and a LOTV stamp. The stamp is called Snow Family and I coloured it with my prismacolor pencils and OMS.

The papers are from Joy Crafts and the dies I used were the Marianne dies, Anja’s Squares which I used to cut the scalloped edged mat and the scallop loopy edge. I also used Marianne Christmas Tree (the back one) and the tree from the Marianne Collectables Christmas set. The other dies are from Joy Crafts from their Christmas range.

I am entering this into the following:-

Addicted to Stamps - #63 Anything Goes

Christmas Card Challenges - #40 Something New (my Joy paper pad and dies)

Delightful Challenges - Make the Cut

Fashionista - #19 Christmas

Glitter n Sparkle - #48 Anything Goes

Happy Campers - #21 Use a Stamp

Lacy Sunshine - #16 Dies and/or Punches

Pumpkin Spice - #35 Anything Goes

Sister Act Card Challenge - #22 Anything Goes

The Glory of Christmas - #15 Anything Goes

Dream Valley 64 For a Child

Over at Dream Valley this time we are sponsored by Meljen’s Designs and our theme is For a Child.

I decided to go with some cd crafting as I had a lovely Polka Doodles CD called Cherryblossom Lane with lots of love rabbit images on it, and also because half my craft supplies had to be packed away for some work to be done in my credroom.

I made up the bottom layer and the topper layer myself in my graphics programme, and then printed them off separately.

I inked around the edges with some pigment ink and also glittered around the edges of both layers and also highlighted some areas on the image with glitter too. The scroll diecut is from Crafts Too and I trimmed it up the middle so I could adjust slightly how it sat on the edge of the card. The pink gem flower is from my stash.

I am entering this into the following:-

A Creative Need - Lazy Days Of Summer

C Is For Challenge - Animals

Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C200 Animals

Digitally Sweet - #50 Summertime Colours

Dutch Dare - #231 Animal Antics

One Stop Craft Challenge - Spots and Dots

My Creative Moments - August : Childhood

Send a Smile 4 Kids - Animal Cards 4 Kids

Simply Create Too - #44 For a Child

The Crazy Challenge - #152 Animals

CCM 98 Fun In The Sun

Our challenge to you today at Crafty Cardmakers is to inspire us with your creations depicting fun in the sun. This doesn’t have to be a beach theme, although that’s what I have gone with.

We are sponsored by Saturated Canary with a prize of two of their gorgeous digis and also by Sir Stampalot with three cute Molly Bloom stamps.

I used an image from Saturated Canary called Smokin’ Hot and clearly she has been louging around in the sun long enough to get a nice rich tan.

I coloured her with promarkers. The papers are from First Edition’s New Bloom pad, and the blue shells are from some ornaments I have. The diecut is from Spellbinders and the parasol is a Marianne Die. Green card is from Crafters Companion, frantage is from the Purple Encrusted Jewels set.

I am entering this into the following challenges:-

Crafts 4 Eternity - #137 Summer Sun

Crafts Too - #2 Summer Days

Happy Campers - #20 Summer

Heck of a Challenge - Summer Holidays

I Love Promakers - #181 Summertime

Lacy Sunshine - #15 Girls, Girls, Girls

Lia Stampz - #47 Summer

Marianne Design Divas - Summer Sun

Paula Holifield Crafts - ALBC Summer Sun

Totally Papercraft - #180 Favourite Colours

ABC T for Thank You

This time we are challenging you to make something to say Thank You at ABC.

This was perfect timing for me as I have a friend who keeps sending me little treats and is well overdue for a thank you.

We are sponsored by The Paper Shelter and also by Lili of The Valley.

I have gone down a very minimalist route for this one, which I actually found very pleasing as it puts the focus on the lovely image more than on the card itself. I printed Zoe Spring which is a Paper Shelter image onto white hammered cardstock. Her skin and hair was coloured with copics, but the rest of her I coloured with my prismacolour pencils.

The matting layer and layered arches punched strip were from a large pad of Bazzil Basics cardstock and the sentiment I printed out onto the hammered card. I did this after I had coloured her in. If you are going to do this I recommend doing all the printing before colouring as I was really concerned the printer would jam or something would go wrong and all the colouring would be wasted.

Lastly I coloured a row of stitches around the edge of the top layer to bring the lime colour into the rest of the card.

This is a perfect card for the UK postal system where they charge considerably more for something that might way less but be slightly thicker than something else!

I am entering this into the following:-

Allsorts Challenge - #219 Stitching

Artistic Inspirations - #54 Die cuts/Punches

Bearly Mine - #99 Anything Goes

C is For - #3 Fresh and Bright

Crafts and Me - #189 Anything Goes

Di’s Digi Designs - Stitching

OSAAT - #176 Use a Digi

Simon Says Stamp - Make The Cut (punch)

Whimsy Stamps - #62 Clean and Simple

Whoopsi Daisy - Show Us Stitching

Dream Valley 63 Monochrome

Our challenge over at Dream Valley this time around is Monochrome. We are sponsored by Robyn's Fetish with 5 digi stamps going to our winner.

I always seem to be drawn to purple when this sort of challenge comes along so I looked around for something that wouldn’t end up purple and put my hand on the gorgeous MajaDesign Sofiera papers.

They are just lush and it was hard work cutting them up! But I am sure you all know that feeling.

My image is from Sassy Cheryl, Dancing Day, and I coloured her in with various pink shades of copics.

The leaves on my floral embellishment are from the Joy! ovals, and the doily is a Marianne one. Diecut mat is a Spellie, both cut from a gorgeous glitter paper, which again I struggled with cutting up. Some papers really are made just to be stroked and not used! Flowers are from another Marianne die.

I am entering it into the following:-

Colour Me Creative - #74 Pretty In Pink

Crafty Boots Challenge - Die Cuts

Creative Creations - #16 Monochromatic

In The Pink - #26 Birthday

One Stop Craft - #238 Pastel

Stamp and Create - August Glitter

That Craft Place - Monochrome

The Cupboard Trilogy - #14 Monochrome

The Paper Girls - #37 Glitter, Glitter, Glitter

The Pink Elephant - TPE210 Texture

ABC S for Stitching

Our challenge at ABC this time is S for Stitching, that can be real, faux, hand machine or like I have done, embroidery

We are sponsored by Tilda’s Town with voucher for their store.

I created my card by pricking the corners and the teardrop shapes onto white card with silver flakes debossed into it, and then stitched the pricked holes with variegated cotton. The vase was a stitching peel off I found when I was having a stash clearout! I stuck the peel off over some purple card and then stitched through. The roses are various stash flowers. The purple daisy paper is an embossed foil paper, again been in my stash since time immemorial …

I also made a box for this, from silver holographic patterned mirri card and acetate and added some acetate stickers, and peel offs, which I first coloured purple, around the edges.

Sorry about the poor quality pics, especially the boxed one, but acetate is very difficult to photograph.

I am entering this into the following:-

C.R.A.F.T. - #218 Monochromatic

Crafting When We Can - #49 Floral

Divas By Design - Favourite Colour Combination (Purple and Silver)

Ecclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes

Lady Anne’s Challenge - #4 Monochrome

Ladybug Crafts Ink - Birthdays

Lisa Somerville Bloggers Challenge - Birthday

My Creative Moments - July : Birthdays

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Through the Purple Haze - Using Your Favourite Colours