Last Day of January

I'm happy with the amount of crafting I did this month. I answered five challenges, participated in a blog hop and even completed 21 scrapbook pages!

I intended to do some scrapbooking today but when I realised it was the very end of the month, I decided to assemble kits so I could make as many pages as possible next weekend at my monthly craft and crop weekend. I got 14 kits together before I ran out of 12x12 baggies and I had enough time to tidy everything up before hubby and kids got home.

Before I made the kits, I wanted to package up a gift for my daughter's friend's birthday which is next weekend when I'm not here. Here it is:

It was made with a piece of 12x12 double-sided cardstock and some scraps of an identical sheet. It's scored into nine 4x4 squares on one side, then flipped and diagonal lines are scored on the four corner squares. It was folded up so it all started to gather together. I looked at how it needed to stay on two sides to accommodate the present inside, then fixed the corners with eyelets put in with a Crop-a-Dile. Ribbon was fed through and buttons tied on to make a handle. The other two sides were crushed down and re-folded and then stuck flat. I punched some flowers and some 4-inch border strips to decorate the outside.

That's it really!

That's my final project for January. I can't wait to see what the challenges are for February and participate some more!

My first Bombshell Hop!

Hello!! I'm hopping with Bombshell for their Hump Day Hop!

The brief this time was to alter something with Bombshell Stamps. I don't think mine is "Altered" per se but just "Decorated." The debate rages among my closest crafting friends. *wink*

Without further ado, here is my effort!

All my friends who play bingo together at the local social club have got decorated clipboards on which to hold their tickets. I buy them very cheaply at a craft shop and then paint them etc... but Minky, my most prolific bingo-playing friend buys two sets of books! So a standard bingo board just won't do. I had to get a regular clipboard from the office supply section of my local supermarket!

I found this pink one and there was only one thing for it-- Bombshells and StazOn!!! I used the Lady Luck set for this and I think I got a bit carried away. I started stamping and I just couldn't stop!

The top corners and top middle were both made with the same stamp. If you rotate corner stamps and combine them in different ways you get some gorgeous patterns. I may use this lovely corner to make a patterned background at some point. :) I smell a tutorial coming on!

Speaking of tutorials there's plenty of tutorials over on the Bombshell Forum. Come join us!

Back to the hop... please do visit the other lovely ladies and leave them a comment!!


Angela
Sy
Alyssa
Katie
Kas
Kathi
Keely
Gabby
Steph
Kelli
Miss Magoo

Couldn't stop...

I went a bit template-mad when I was answering the JUGS challenge this week, and I have made more little cute projects all with an Oriental theme, using DCWV Far East Cardstock, a button punch, some white cotton DK yarn, and some Hero Arts stamps.





The first two little sets are takeaway boxes made with the boxes font from my last post, this time a + [plus] character. It's the perfect size for some sweets! The little accompaniments are a little folder and a little card I whacked together ad-hoc. Score here, snip there, stick it all and fold it and there ya go. The closures are made with yarn and cardstock punched with a button punch.



The third one is one of the freebie templates from My Time Made Easy, a site I will definitely be re-visiting. I have seen quite a few entries for this challenge made with her templates and they are just gorgeous- from purses to houses, they will make a gift so much more special!

This one is Cutesy Cover. I had to hold it up because I was very lazy when scoring it and my lines weren't very straight at all. Oops!! I will know for next time to take a bit more care. :) The little card to the right of it is again an ad-hoc, whacked together item. It's a card with a hidden tab closure.

I really enjoyed this. I just need to clean up the mess and get to bed now. Nothing like a good day's crafting!! Thanks to Just Us Girls for the challenge. I hope it's okay to submit twice!

JUGS17! Pillow-box with unusual source...

Would you believe that this box is actually a capital R?

That's right. I have a cutting machine called a Craft Robo, and I have a true-type font called Boxes. Guess what it cuts? :) Yep, boxes. It also cuts tags and gift bags. This font is sold for a donation. You can find it here. There's a PDF "cheat sheet" so you know what letter or symbol cuts what box, tag or bag.

The capital R cuts a pillow box with a heart aperture. I chose to line the aperture with a texturised cardstock frame and embellish with Prima E flowers and some little stamens I found at the "pound shop." That's British for Dollar Store. :)

Welcome Crobot 2.0!!

This one's called Wheely. He's from a crochet book called Crobots. He was very easy to make, basic Amigurumi with some felt, embroidery floss, bugle beads and seed beads.

Say hi Wheely!

I haven't been posting lately because I haven't been doing much lately. I was hoping to do the JUGS challenge but I kept putting it off and it's a bit late now. But I'll be off to check the new challenge that went up on Saturday.

I got the Sizzix Texture Boutique machine this week and some embossing folders. I'm so glad I can now add texture to my projects. :)

Stay tuned.

Guess who's got candy???

Gabby does, of course!! :)



Not a difficult challenge so go on and do it!!

This blog candy thing seems to be a great thing to do. I'm going to have to sort out some for my blog too. :)

I've done a bit of crochet today but that's it as far as crafting goes and I'm not ready to photograph it yet, so not much to post about other than the candy for today :) Now go get some!!!

A is for ATC!

I made some ATC's for a swap on Bombshell Stamps. One of them was an answer to the JUGS challenge this week to use stitching on a card. I made a stitched border on this one. The stamp is from Bombshell Stamps- Island Girl I think it is. It's one of the Hawaiian sets. :) They have three! I kept it pretty simple. Just a main layer stitched onto a second layer and then glued onto the base layer to keep the ends secure and allow the back to be written on.

The colouring is done with brush markers. :)

"A" fortnight comes to an end...

My A-Z year is at the end of its first fortnight. We have done Archery (on the Wii), listened to Abba, Anastacia, Aqua and Ass Ponys, we have watched Arthur and the Invisibles and Anastasia, we have eaten Asparagus and Apricots, and my own personal crafting A is yet to be done, but I intend to do ATCs. I guess tonight's the night, eh? :)

A couple of challenges met.

I'm taking part in challenges this year so far. It's only been a week, I know, but I've done two challenges!

This first one is Bombshell's January Sketch Challenge. The sketch is for a 6x6 card with a border of 1-inch squares and a central image panel.

For this card, I swiped some stripes of dye ink onto an overhed projector film and mixed them up a little with a brayer into a gradient. I inked the paper with the brayer and cut it up into 1-inch squares. I coloured some newspaper with yellow dye ink and tore it into tiny strips, sometimes gluing a little onto the square before stamping, sometimes after, and sometimes tearing a single word out that went with the image I stamped on the square. I grouped sets of three squares together to stamp with a corner stamp and then separated them again to make the corners. I used the Lady Luck set of Bombshell Stamps. They're great!

The second challenge I've done was the Just Us Girls Challenge number 14. It was a sketch too. I hope I got it near enough to the sketch. I had to switch off my computer to let it cool down so I couldn't check it for a match. :)

I used Bombshell Angel and I can't remember which set the lovely wings are from, perhaps Hearts on Fire. Also Bombshell. Patterned paper and stickers are from Papermania. The flower is Bazzill Chipboard covered with black glitter. The wings have Ice Stickles on them.

Two down, and two to go at least. I will be doing the January Valentine challenge on Bombshell and also I must make 4 ATCs for a swap (and one for Wendy, I haven't forgotten!!).

I'm eagerly awaiting the Just Us Girls challenge 15. It must be coming up on the 9th. Hooray! :)

A-Z Year... Journal Started!

I've decided to join in on the A-Z Year this year. I will be making a fairly simple-looking art journal to chronicle what we did. I didn't want to make things too complicated or I wouldn't be likely to finish it.

I found a 7Gypsies journal in my craft drawers and thought it was perfect for this. I started to decorate it.

The front cover is a piece of SU white cardstock with Bombshell Stamps Tattoo Font letters randomly stamped across it in five different colours of dye ink. The title was hand-written and stamped and inked, laid on the top.

Like I said, nothing too complicated. I stuck some trim down the side. It's navy but it doesn't even show up in the photo.


This is the beginning of my first page- my A page. I just wrote what we've been listening to, eating, doing, watching etc. in little blocks and gently inked over them with dye ink on a cotton pad.

My A-Z categories are:

listen to:
watch:
eat:
do:
and Craft.

I will craft with a product or technique beginning with the fortnight's letter. A is for ATCs and Angelina fibres!

Watch this space for more on the A-Z year, crochet, and more!

Vanity of Vanities...

...all is vanity. I caught Crobot 1.2 looking in the mirror whilst in repose against my coffee mug. There's an infatuation that may turn out to be a keeper...