No Birds Allowed!

Hey!

So another weekend draws to a close but it's been a good one with fab weather (though not this morning!) Last week was so stressful and busy I was really grateful to just kick back and chill out the last couple of days!

Of course, I did manage to find some time to play in my crafty corner today and create a complete bombshell of a mess! I'd only tidied it the day before whilst sorting out some goodies for my crafty niece (I'm hoping she'll take after her Aunty Aimes! She's only 11 but already got the card making bug!)

So today I set myself a challenge - to make a card containing no birds and no green card/paper! (Which reminds me; have you checked out the sneak peek of Papertrey Ink's release this month? Such a gorgeous bird set that I'm finding increasingly hard to resist LOL!)

It's a challenge to take myself out of my creative comfort zone - you don't know how close I came to caving in and indulging myself in Papertrey's Ripe Avocado but I stayed strong and I'm glad I did because this is what I came up with:

It's based on this sketch from Our Creative Corner
My brayer was glad to be back in use again - it's been abandoned recently. I know the scene has trees which are closely connected to birds but I think I still passed my little challenge (The green ink doesn't count btw!)

Personally, I think it's gone a bit OTT with loadsa different things going off but you can't take off what you've done so it's stayin' put!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Hobby Art Tree Scene
Ink: Versamagic Chalk Ink: Jumbo Java & Hint of Pesto. Adirondack Dye Ink: Latte & Ginger. Whispers Ink: Sunshine. SU! Ink: Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Pie. Marvy Blending Blox: Shades of Blue.
Card/Paper: Basic Grey Bittersweet Collection
Accessories: Brayer, Sponge, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Stitching Transfer (Creative Cafe), Button (Basic Grey), String (Ikea), Paper Piercer, White Gel Pen

I also managed to make a card for my niece to wish her tons of good luck for her SATs starting tomorrow (Eeek!), along with some cool Hannah Montana stickers & stationary of course! I was in such a hurry to give it to her I forgot to take a pic 'D'oh!' Oh well if I do get a pic I'll post it soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it and the comments you leave too!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

Wow!

Hey again!

Just a quick note to give Steph the HUGEST HUG ever! Steph has nominated me for a blog award - yay!! Thanks so much Steph, it's truly appreciated! If you haven't already, you should definitely check out Steph's blog, loadsa fab creations combined with equally fab blog candy ;o)
So now I have to pass this on, I'll try to pass it on to people who haven't received it yet so if you've already got it I'd more than likely have passed it on to you myself (does this make sense?!?)

So in no particular order (well actually it's alphabetical LOL!) I'm passing on this award to:

1. Alex

2. Alison

3. Debbi

4. Emma


Thanks for stopping by!

Aimes
x

P.S I know I haven't nominated many - you all seem to already have the award! If you're thinking "Hey, why didn't she pick me?!" then leave me a comment and I'd be more than happy to pop by and visit and even nominate if your blog is lovely (which I'm sure it will be!)

Three Challenges in One!

Hey!

Well the Bank Holiday is nearly over :o( we had some fab weather; so fab that I couldn't justify spending too much time in my crafty corner so I've been out and about walking around the beautiful Peak District. I always feel a tinge of guilt that I have this breathtaking scenery right on my front doorstep and never seem to appreciate it enough!

So today the weather is more typical of a Bank Holiday, dull and slightly rainy LOL! Oh well, it gives me the perfect excuse to bury myself away in my crafty corner and get creative. My mojo has been lacking recently, I'm not sure why but I'm really struggling to come up with ideas! Fortunately for me though, the amazingly awe-inspiring Kate helped kick the mojo into gear with her Inspirations and Themes challenge over on the ILWS forum. I found it very easy to get inspiration from this pic:
The colours are sooooooo me and that pattern is divine! I decided to take the colours as my inspiration starting point, (I've not got any leafy/flowery stamps - a gap in my crafting stash that I 'must' fill soon!)

Next for the layout: I came across this sketch on Taylored Expressions and loved it! I knew then exactly which stamp I could christen with this sketch - yup another stamp I HAD to have but haven't used yet!

Finally over on A Passion For Paptertrey, I checked out the new challenge which was to use recycled bits n bobs on a card (as well as at least one PTI product of course!)

So with the whole card practically designed for me, that left me with the sole job of piecing it together. Here's what I came up with!I hope you like it! I know I know it's yet another bird themed stamp but I'm just loving the bird theme at the mo, I'm sure I'll change onto something else real soon! (Apologies for the dull pics, the weather just isn't complimenting my photography today LOL!)
The recycled elements involve most of the card - all of the paper/card are from cut-offs apart from the grey which I found while rooting through my paper/card file. In fact it's so recycled that the scalloped piece of card covers lots of joins as the pieces of card I had to play with weren't quite long enough! Even the ribbon was from some choccies - the choccies, needless to say, are now long gone!I don't own a scalloped edge border punch (Yet!), so I had to trim a piece of card and then, using one edge of a rectangular scalloped nestie, run it through my cuttlebug. I'm kinda impressed at the result, though I still think I need to purchase a border punch as I love scalloped edges!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Penny Black - Birds on a Wire, PTI - Around & About Sentiments
Ink: Versamagic Chalk Ink - Jumbo Java
Card: Card Designer Cropping Block - Grey, PTI - Ripe Avocado Bitty Dot Basics, Dark Chocolate
Accessories: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Ribbon (From Choccies), Basic Grey Buttons, Tim Holtz Brads

On a final note, if you haven't already clicked the link to the super talented Kate, why not may I ask?!? If you do you're in for a treat as she has some D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S Blog Candy to tempt you with! I'm not kidding, I don't normally enter blog candy giveaways as I stuggle enough to store what I have but even I couldn't resist the temptation on this giveaway LOL!

Go on, you know you want to LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it!
Catch ya later!

Aimes
x