Almost White Papercraft Challenge

Good morning blog friends. Thanks for dropping in to check on me. Well today's post is a card I have made  for my entry into Linda's Creative Harmony challenge of an almost white papercraft challenge - which you can find  Here.I decided I would do something to get me out of my comfort zone and I certainly think my card has done that! I have never made a shabby chic card before. Yes I know, I can hear the shrieks of horror all the way to Oxfordshire! So this has given me a few firsts - first shabby chic card, first time I have taken a sewing machine to my card,  (or to be more precise - taken my card to a sewing machine) first time I have made such a busy card and finally the first time I have distressed a card except with ink. This was really a weird sensation for me and all the time I was using my distressing tool ( yes I've had the tool for a long time!) I was feeling guilty for descrating this lovely cardstock. I kept expecting my mum to pop up behind me and tell me off for being destructive! Lol! But on seeing the picture maybe it could have done with a bit more distressing!

A sneak peek inside.

Obviously white is the main colour, (I'm pretty quick!) followed by pink and with the green of the leaves to give the third colour. Hopefully I have got them in the right proportion.

Anyway this is the outcome, for better or worse. The cardstock is Bazill Basics Diamond and so has a nice sheen to it. I distressed the edges with an Xcut distressing tool and then inked them with Color Box Chiffon White, which is in fact the palest of pale pinks. I used the sewing machine on a couple of the pieces of card. The trellis die cut at the side is Memory Box Tessatina cut down to fit the space. I used two Spellbinders Labels 18 at right angles and typed my quote and downloaded a rose image from my Greeting Card Factory Deluxe programme. The heart die is from Nellie Snellen hearts and swan dies. There are some really pretty hearts in this set but the fancier ones were too big for the space. The flowers are WOC, the leaves are from a Woodware punch, and a Zva pearl swirl. The lace and little pearly hearts are from my stash to finish off. I almost forgot, the little flower on the heart at the bottom is  Mariannnne Creatables small flower set.

It doesn't show up well  in the picture but in real life you can see the text quite easily.  It is a quote by Albert Einstein and reads " There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I'm not sure that I'm totally happy with it but  it's done now. I actually found it quite difficult to just add a little colour. I think I would have been able to do all white tone on tone much more easily.  But hey, that's what a challenge is all about isn't it?

Well I hope you all have a great day and manage to fit in a little crafting.

With love from Christine xx

I am also entereing this in the Perfect Sentiments Challenge - Anything Goes.

I am sailing

Hi folks,

I almost missed the birthday of my husband's friend so this was a very quick make of the night before.
I found a couple of toppers in my stash that I had bought a couple of years ago when the local craft shop was closing down. These things do come in very handy in an emergency don't they?

The cardstock is bronze, the dull gold cardstock has a very fine ribbed appearance and  I matted the toppers onto rust colored card. The clock embellishment was from my stash and then I just added  the little brass buttons which were from my button tin. I do find masculine cards difficult and I procrastinate forever. However I do seem to work better under pressure and this turned out better than I expected.

Well that was a very quick post again. Hope you all have a good day.

With love from Christine xx

Wedding Album

Hi everyone,

I don't have a card today. Instead I thought I would show you a double page spread from the album I made for my sister when her younger son was married.

 I really loved the backdrop of the stained glass window in this picture.

They are 12x12 pages so very difficult to photograph - they were flopping around all over the place! There is also a lot of reflection, which is not on the original album pages, but I think you can still get the idea of the layouts. Anyway my sister loved the album - and so did her son and new daughter in law.

Well that's it. Have a good day.

Love from Christine xx

Sunflower - clean and simple

Hi there blog friends!

The colours of this card looks so springlike it should have a daffodil instead of a sunflower - except that I don't have a daffodil stamp!!

The sunflower stamp is from Papermania and coloured with promarkers. The ribbon and pearls are from my stash.  I wrapped the ribbon round the punched centre strip but it is barely visible. The sentiment is from Craftwork Cards. I decided not to add too many embellishments, but to follow the freshness of the papers and keep it clean and simple.



Well this week has been very busy but hopefully things will ease off next week and I can settle down to do something a bit more challenging. But no matter how simple, it is always nice to do some crafting.

If you have anything  planned for the bank holiday I hope you enjoy them - and let's hope the weather is okay where you are. Dream on eh? Fine bank holiday weekend?  Who am I  trying to kid.  It is pouring down here in Oxfordshire.


Have a good day.

Love from Christine xx

Ten minutes - or less!

Morning folk.

Whilst I was rifling through my scraps box the other night (when I found my embossed Christmas tree) I thought I could use these pretty pieces of card - in my favourite shades!

They were bits left over from a Making Memories pad. Scraps of silver mirri to mat, a peel off dress form matted onto cardstock, the tag was in there too (must have been fiddling around at some stage), a couple of Prima flowers with a gem in the centre and the organza ribbon was taken from a birthday card I received at one time or another.

Well I think I'll put those peel offs out of sight now and get back to something worthwhile.  It does look quite pretty and delicate in real life actually, and very cheap and easy - especially since I have been very pushed for time this week!

Have a great day whatever you are doing.

With love from Christine xx

Masculine card

Hi,

A late start for me today.

Yesterday we were out all day and this morning I have been helping John scarify the lawn i.e. John does the work and I empty the wheelbarrows!! This year there is so much moss in the lawn it is an absolute disgrace. He was going to dig it all up and start again but he decided to try this first.  On the internet there are many varying opinions on scarifying  - some think it is great, others say don't do it at all. Ah well, it can't look much worse than it does now.

I had in my mind a masculine card and when I was going through my stuff I came across this Hero Arts Wordstamp - another of those I haven't used for years. I don't usually use mirri card in such quantities,  normally I would just use it as a narrow mat.  However, I tried it with some dull gold cardstock but because the dark green was very dark  I felt it needed something to lighten it. I stamped and embossed it with detailed gold embossing powder onto more of the dark green card.   Before attaching the gold mat I punched out the maple leaves. The other leaves are Spellbinders foliage and then I attached some   green and gold ribbon - with a masculine knot rather than a bow. A very simple card but  I think it looks quite classy - oops! I meant classic!

I have never entered a challenge before but I thought this might be a good one for the http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/
Well that's it for now. Hope to be back tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Lots of love from Christine xx

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Morning everybody.

Another Sarah Kay image, this time Lucy and Kitty. Purples and lilacs again , sorry, but I had no option - Charlotte is my great niece (and she really is great!) and purple is her favourite colour. She also adores cats and kittens so this image was the obvious choice. I don't think I have left anything uncoloured this time. Lol.
She will be twelve this week. She  is also my biggest supporter I think and told me I should  have my own blog! Well, she has been on holiday until yesterday and doesn't know that I do have a blog now, so she will get a surprise. I shan't actually let her know until the end of the week though - don't want her to  see her card in advance!

I made an easel card because I haven't done this style of card for a while. Although it is very dark the little purple banner says Happy Birthday. The papers are Papermania which I have had for a few years.  Punched flowers in purple and lilac with a Hobbycraft gems and Craftwork Cards candi. I wanted to keep the embellishments fairly flat so it would go in the post easily.

Charlotte likes to craft too, so next time she comes to stay I will get her to do something and put it on the blog for you to see.

Well that's it for today. Have a great day everybody.

With love from Christine xx