A challenge I tried to get away with :)

If you've popped across from Gallery Idol - please click HERE - Thanks!
If you've not voted yet, why not? Click on my sidebar for a link to my card. If you likey then please, please votey! :D

Hey!

Two posts, two days...you can tell it's the summer holidays LOL! Don't worry I won't keep this up!

I'm back today with a card for our fun new challenge on A Passion for Papertrey!

The challenge is called, 'The Sky's The Limit' and we want to see you be inspired by things you'd find in the sky. Once you think about it, there's so many things you could incorporate into your design (clouds, butterflies, planes, stars etc...)

Admitedly I went with a bit of an out-of-the-box approach to this challenge. I'm not even sure if I'll get away with it so I better quickly think up of something good.....hmmm......well......

1. Bling! Yes the bling will represent the stars you can find in the night sky.
2. Vellum! Yup - I reckon I could suggest the vellum represents clouds.
3. Blue! I can totally blag this one - the blues represent the different shades of the sky from day through to the night (I mean even two colours of the cardsock are named after the skies!)

Well, do you think I've gotten away with it?! :)

If I have then you can too! Come join in the fun with us this fortnight - we'd love to see what you can come up with!

OK gotta dash as I have a few errands to run today (and some household chores *sigh*) if you do get a chance to vote on Gallery Idol you know I'd really appreciate it (and if you cast your vote for #9 then you may just make my heart skip a beat *wink*)

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Celebrate Your Day!}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Bling (Hero Arts)/White Gel Pen (Ranger)/Detail White Embossing Powder (Stampendous)

Fabric....Aimes style!

Hey!

Happy, happy Monday everyone! Super duper happy today for me because:

1. It's the first Monday lie-in of the summer holidays - bliss!
   
2. It's time to kick of Round 3 of Gallery Idol 2011!

Y'know all weekend I've tried to get my ahead around the fact that I'm still in this competition - it all still feels like a dream to me! But thanks to you lovely, lovely people I'm still here and ready for the next round which just so happens to be the Semi-Final of the competition! This is where things heat up a little - and in my case they heated up literally if you read on...

The design brief was to create a card which incorporates fabric...

....yup....

....non-seamstress me......and.....

....fabric...*shudder*

Did you hear me scream from my place when I read that? LOL!

As most of you will know, my kinda material is paper and that's about it! I can push it to ribbon but anything else just scares me (and don't even get me started on my love/hate relationship with my sewing machine - Machiney!)

But a challenge is a challenge and with a place in the Final of Gallery Idol up for grabs I just had to think of something! So I rooted through my supplies and dug out some sheets of organza material that I'd purchased super cheap years ago (seriously - years ago!) and started to play.

Here's my end result:

I promise you that I actually made that flower without a single stitch! No sewing required at all! Even better - I attached that flower onto a clip so you can remove it from the card and place it on anything or anyone for extra prettiness :)

Now that's my kinda fun with fabric :)

Wanna make your own? I've gotta confess that I'm slightly addicted myself; you will be too after following these simple steps:

Step One
Get your supplies!

• Few small sheets of organza material
• die cutting machine and circular dies of 3 different sizes (don't worry if you don't have them you can just hand cut them!)

And in addition to this:

• Small candle and matches
  
• Heatproof surface (for step 3!)
  
• Tweezers (to prevent burnt fingers!)
  

Step Two
Cut out a couple of sizes of each circle



Step Three
Here's where any kids will definitely need an adult's supervision!
Light a candle on a heatproof surface, and with tweezers gently hold the edges of each circle of organza about 10cm above the flame.

Yup - Gallery Idol 2011 - the competition is *seriously* heating up!

You'll notice the edges curl and seal; the more random your edges, the more realistic your flower will look (trust me - I skipped this step on my first attempt and my flower looked pretty lame) Move each piece around so all edges are affected. There is a knack to this and it's easy to get the gist of - trust me; if I can do this, anyone can!

Step Four
Here's what you should now have:


Now simply layer the circles on top of each other and place a brad through the centre to secure - the nature of organza means you can just simply push the brad through all layers in one go! You may choose to omit layers or even add some more - it's totally up to you. Just position the layers until you're happy!

Step Five
Add desired centre. I went for an arrangement of bling with a poppy-style centre but you could use pearls or buttons - the world's your oyster!

Step Six (Optional)
Adhere flower to small clip (I'd recommend a hot glue gun for this to ensure that your flower stays secure!)

Ta-dah!

Here's a close up:

To attach the clip to the card I simply punched two holes to thread the clip through. The front layer adhered to the card base on raised foam-pads so the inside of your card stays nice perfect :)

I also went ahead and stamped a flower on my card front and dusted with shimmer chalk. It's a little finishing touch that means once the clip is removed, the card still looks somewhat complete!

And of course - I've had my mascot, Pigster, cheering me along from my desk throughout this whole competition so it's only fair that Pigster got a chance to shine too, right?!

*grin*

Finally just a few design pointers that you might not see from my pics:

1. The front panel of my card is matted on a layer of vellum. This continues the floaty/transparency theme of the organza flower. It's also a super idea to use vellum for layering onto coloured card-bases for perfect colour-coordinated layers.
   
2. The leaves are stamped twice each side of the flower to add more depth when dusted with chalks.
   
3. The sentiment and gems are placed to reflect the design of the flower and leaves (with the sentiment reflecting the position of the flower and the gems reflecting the position as the leaves)
   

Phew! I think that's everything!

So do you likey? If you do then be sure to vote for it! This is the semi-final and the only way I can get into the final is with your votes! Be sure to check out the rest of the other amazing entries too and make your vote count because you only get one! (you can click on the link in my side bar for a direct hop across to my entry *wink*)

Thank you so, so, so much for all your support and encouragement! I'll be needing all of it if I'm to move through to the final. But still, if I don't I have had an awesome time in this competition and feel blessed to have had such fabulous support!

Thank YOU!
♥

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Celebrate}
Stamps: Sentiment from Frame-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)/Leaves from Turning a New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)/Flower from Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey ink)/Grey (Craft Supply)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Nestabilities (Spellbinders)/Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Organza (craft supply)/Gems (Hero Arts)/Brad (We R Memory Keepers)/Shimmer Chalks (Dovecraft)/Hair clip (my own!)

Gatecrashing....blog stylee!

Hey!

Happy Friday!!!! My first official day off for the long sweet summer holidays - yay!!! And my day couldn't have started much better with the fabulous news that I've made the Top 10 of Gallery Idol!!!!! OMG! WOWZERS! PINCH ME!!! And the thing is that I couldn't have ever made it that far without YOU! Honestly, words can't express how thankful I am for your support - I want to come and give you all the biggest hugs EVER! ♥

Ok, ok that's enough of hitting the caps lock key for me. I'm actually popping by today to share a kinda fun blog thingy with ya. I'm actually being a blog gatecrasher! Yup, I've got full control of another blog - well, I s'pose it doesn't count as gatecrashing if you've been invited but I like to feel like a rebel sometimes y'know *wink* Jill Foster has trusted me with her blog - Inspired By - for a day whilst she has a blast at CHA.

Jill had the super fun idea of me being inspired by one her creations - it's usually the other way around if your familiar with Inspired By. I had a toughie picking just one card of hers but here's my card I made for the post:

(Hey, Diva! I cracked open those fab new Verve stamps! Gave 'em a good smell too :D)

This card seems pretty appropriate today with that sentiment! :)

Be sure to pop across and check out which card of Jill's I was inspired by (as well as checking out all of her other fabulous creations!)

I'm also going to enter this card into the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Fanatical about Botanical. I never thought I'd be a fan of botanical but as it turns out, if it's got a clean or graphic design to it I love it :D

Right, I've really gotta try and get my brain around the next round of Gallery Idol - have you seen that it's to use fabric? You know me and my lack of seamstress skills don't ya? I'm gonna need all the help I can get!

Have a super duper weekend! For those of you attending the PTI Stamp-a-faire have a blast for me and get seriously inked up - so wish I could be there!

Catch ya later






Card Deets
{Enjoy Today}
Stamps: Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White,Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Spring Rain Bitty Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Promarkers (Letraset)/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Pearls (Hero Arts)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Tag Sale #3 Die, Cream and Jute Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Love is in the air....

Hey!

Happy Monday! This Monday is particularly happy for me for a couple of reasons:

1. It's my last working Monday before we break up for the long summer holidays - yay!
2. It's another start of a fun/nerve-wrecking round of Gallery Idol 2011!

Yup! I'm still totally blown away with the news that I made it through Round One and straight into Round Two! Honestly, thank you so much for those of you who have supported me - through commenting here on my blog, through Facebook, through sending me emails, and even through sending me texts - THANK YOU! Ooops and I forgot just one more category - those of you who voted for me of course! *wink*

Well I guess I'm feeling very emotional, you could even say that love is in the air for you lovely peeps...cue a card:

My love poured out in the form of a pun-based card for Round 2 of Gallery Idol :)

The brief was to be creative with die cuts - now I've no idea if this is out-of-the-box-creative-enough but I know it uses dies in a non-conventional way and it made me and my guy smile; Love is literally in the air! *grin*

I used a negative die cut cloud as a stencil to sponge those cute clouds on to my blue cardstock, and the negative of a heart-shaped die to frame those buttons. Ooh and I finished the card off by blingin' up a sweet little die cut heart to compliment my overall theme. Are you all died-out yet?! LOL!

Ready for the grovelling part? I thought so - so I won't go there don't worry. As you probably know I'm already on cloud 9 making it this far. However, I will try my best in directing your way to checking out all of the entries for Round 2 and voting for your favourite (voting ends on Thurs!) and if it just so happened that this entry was your favourite, then I'd really appreciate your vote *wink*

Gotta dash as I'm out tonight for a celebratory end of academic year dinner - hooray for summer!

Thanks once again so much for stopping by and for your support - you've no idea how much it means to me!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Love is in the air}
Stamps: None!
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Spring Rain (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Concentric Hearts Die (Provocraft)/Fresh Snow Vintage Buttons, Cloud Die, Heart from Tiny Tags Die, White Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Red Alphabet stickers (Cosmo Cricket)/Alphabet transfers (Doodlebug Design Inc)

Don't delay and vote - TODAY!

Hey!

Happy Monday! Monday here marks D-Day - the day of the next round of Gallery Idol 2011 (eek! I still cannot believe that I am there! Pinch me!)


So this round's challenge was to use handmade Embellishments. I admit I did freak a little when I saw that...anyone who knows me knows that I have a love/hate relationship with Machiney (my sewing machine) and that fabric isn't my best medium to work with.

But as I was spending the day at work trying to come up with an idea, it struck me - it didn't have to involve Machiney or fabric at all (no hard feelings, Machiney - but this is too bigger deal for you to have a temper tantrum over! LOL!) I just had to think of something I could happily work with to create into an embellishment. I was sat at a table at work which had a tub of pencil crayons on it and it hit me. EUREKA! Yup - pencil crayons look so pretty altogether; a complete kaleidoscope of colours. Surely I could make an embellishment outta them.

So I got busy and administered minor surgery on my own stash of pencil crayons to come up with this as my entry:

Now I've no idea if this is good enough for Gallery Idol 2011 but I do know that I'm happy with it. Not only hitting the on trend style of rainbows, but also giving the sentiment a truly literal interpretation (yup, you literally colour my world with pencil crayons LOL!) To add a bit more 'oomph!' to my card I de-bossed it with the linen impression plate to give it a canvas look - again tying in with the arty/pencil crayon theme.

Voting for the next round is open NOW! The top 15 creations out of the 20 move through to the next round. So here comes the shameless, begging, grovelling and plugging part...ha! Not really, don't worry - I'm not too comfortable doing that! But honestly, I urge you to check out the other 19 awesome creations and vote for your favourite; if this card just so happened to be your favourite, then obviously vote for it *wink*. You've got until Thursday 12pm EST to cast your vote so don't delay and vote today! BTW you only get one vote per round so make it count!

In fact, I'm about to pop over there myself and take a good nosy for a mojo boost :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your continued sweet words of support ♥

Catch ya later







Card Deets
{You Color my World}
Stamps: Sentiment - Tiny Treats: Valentine (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Clear Gems (Hero Arts)/Fine line black pen (Letraset)/Pencil Crayons (Craft Supply)

What a hoot!

Oh.

My.

Word.

I am seriously in shock over the news of making the Top 20 of Gallery Idol! Honestly - I'm totally speechless and gob-smacked! Thank you so, so, so much from the bottom of my heart for all the sweetest words of support - you've no idea how special those words are and how much I'm clinging on to them for the next round.

I wish I could share the card I've made for the next round with you but you're not allowed a peek until Monday - nope, not even one sneaky peek! So lemme share a card with you that I made for one of my sweetest Bloggin' Buddies ever, Emma:

Emma is a 'hoot' and her work is fabulous. I adore the 3D items she creates too - be sure to check 'em out! It was her birthday a while back but I'm playing catch-up here on the blog (even with Royal Mail delivering the card, she's definitely got this by now LOL!)

Right, seeing as I spent all of yesterday coming up with something for the next round of Gallery Idol - I've got a lot of things to catch up on today!

Be sure to check back on Monday for the next round of Gallery Idol and be sure to join in the fun and vote. Obviously I'm gonna be secretly hoping that someone, somewhere out there will vote for me but I won't be pestering you (too much *wink*) Needless to say, I still have the same attitude I entered with: I'll be happy riding the creative wave as long as it lasts, even if it's only for a week because honestly, the talent in that Top 20 is phenomenal!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all the support - I appreciate it more than you could ever imagine! ♥

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Sentiment from Frame-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Fine and Dandy - True Blue 6x6 Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: Lemon Tart Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/White Detail Embossing Powder (Stampendous) Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

It started with a novelty paperclip...

Hey!

Happy Friday! Yay! The weekend is H.E.R.E! :D

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, many of you will be aware of Gallery Idol 2011. Whether you're entering or cheering from the sidelines it's a super fun atmosphere full of creativity! Today, the top 20 will be announced - seems like an impossible task with over 1,500 entries, many of them fabulous!

I only submitted one card but it's one I'm kinda happy with:

Can you believe I used no stamps on this *gasp!*

The whole design started with the '@' paperclip. It's true that I'm not only a hoarder of inky goodies, but of many stationary/office items too. Quirky things like novelty shaped paper clips hit my weak spot: I buy them, never use them and admire them every now and again. So it feels good to break at least one paperclip free for creation!

Good luck to everyone that's entered the competition! I think I'll have just as much fun cheering from the sidelines as entering: my mojo will be overflowing with ideas from admiring all the fabby creations. So needless to say, if I don't make it past open auditions I'll still be a happy gal :D

Oooh and before I dash - yes, I've changed my profile pic. I thought it was due an update and I've recently had some pics back from a fabby hen weekend in which we got a 1950s makeover and photoshoot - fun times!

Have a super duper weekend, y'all!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Congrats on your new job}
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Oliva Alphabet (Provocraft) Computer generated sentiment, Novelty @ Paperclip and Mini Binder Clip (from my office supply!) Gems (Hero Arts) Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers) Fine Line Black Pen (Promarkers)

A misbehaving card...

Hey!

Happy Monday! Ooh and Happy 4th of July to my American buddies - hope you're having a fab day celebrating!

I've been a bit MIA in Blogland recently. My main excuses have been celebrating my birthday way beyond its day; the chaos leading up to the end of the school year and squeezing in as much Wimbledon viewing as possible (shame Murray couldn't make it to the final but boy oh boy what final it was yesterday!)

So needless to say, I haven't really had any inky time in my inky corner. So I'm gonna cheat instead and share some recent publications of my cards you can find in CARDS magazine:


Do you recognise it? This was the card I made from ribbon scraps ages ago and it got picked up by CARDS for their May 2011 issue.

I was relieved to finally see this card in print, as at one point it looked like I wouldn't: y'see this card went on a postal diversion didn't reach its destination. Eeek! Cue a mad dash to make another identical card (hard to do when under pressure!) and send it off again. End of the story? Well in a word, nope! What returns to me with some goodies and two copies of this issue? Yup, you guessed it, the original card I'd sent! So out there, somewhere version two of this card is on an adventure...hope it's a goodie :D

And before I leave ya, here's a card you can find in the June 2011 issue of CARDS that I haven't shared with you here:

I found it hard to part with this mini-card; I think those jewelled brads were calling me to keep it *wink* No drama or shenanigans with this well-behaved card though. It's typical that the easiest of cards to make are the ones I never need make another exact replica of in a hurry, eh?!

Super big thanks to CARDS for publishing my work and for being super understanding when my cards misbehave in the post :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{It's a Celebration}
Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Antique Linen (Distress Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Library Ledger Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Grosgrain Ribbon Scraps, Jute Ribbon Twine

{Celebrate your day!}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Green Boutique Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: New Leaf Twill Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Jewelled Brads (Recollections - Michael's), Apron Laced Border Punch (Fiskars), Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)