Another year wiser…

I know, I know….my blogging seems a little remiss these days, but I hope your bear with me through this busy time.  We have school trips, dance shows, football tournaments and long summer nights all mixed in with a bunch of appointments and a busy work day….
Shall I get the violin out now? |

I did manage an evening of crafting in last night  though and have made a birthday card for a colleague’s wife.

Rubbish picture, I know, but I love these little owls from Stampin’ Up! They are so ‘in’ at the moment (or should I say ‘on-trend’….no, I really shouldn’t) so there’s lots of ideas of  how to use them on the interweb.  The punch is £15.50 and well worth it, I think you’ll find!

This is an A5 card which I’ve matted with woodgrain paper.  I’ve cut an aperture in the front (for the owls little home) and framed it using my nesties. 

I’ve cut the cute, little owls from designer paper from Stampin’ Up! and stuck them to the front of the aperture.  It’s a little bit hard to see but I’ve added a heart gem in between the owls too!

I’ve finished it off with computer generated greetings and added a Happy Birthday to the inside.

Another simple, but fancy looking card, don’t you think?  I hope she likes it .

I’m entering this card in the following challenges:

CES Challenges {Anything but square}

Make it Monday {Linky Party}
The Crafty Pad {Bold and Bright} – You can’t get much brighter than Melon Mambo .

Hope you come back soon….

BFN
Linda
x

Summer’s here…for today at least!

And can’t you tell!!  A bit of sun and there’s bikes to be ridden, walks to be had and ice creams to be bought from the irritatingly late ice cream van!  *sigh*. 

All this of course adds up to another late night card.  I have lots on me list but I wanted to get a card made for my fave challenge, Less is More.  This week Chrissie and Mandi have a sketch for us:

 

 

And here’s my card for the week.

Using Vintage Vogue from Stampin’ Up!, I’ve stamped flowers in Daffodil Delight and Concord Crush, cut them out and layered them up.  I’ve stamped a flowery border in Concord Crush top and bottom on a strip of Whisper White and then I’ve attached the flowers using a brads to mimic the sketch.

It’s quite a simple card, but still very effective.  Love these two colours together and I’m loving the vintage look too!

So I’d love to know what you think….

Thanks for reading
BFN
Linda
x

I have a SuperStar in the family!!

No official photos yet, but I might be able to sort an autograph out soon!!  We’ve had a very exciting weekend with a very glitzy show at the Palace Theatre in Mansfield.  Annie had her first dancing performance and she was brilliant.  Her performance almost made me cry with pride!

 

This is her just about to leave for last night’s performance with as much make-up as I’d let her wear….she is such a girly girl!

I was chaperone today to six little starlets….on the hottest day of the year….in a backstage with no windows or aircon!  But they were all fantastic!

But with dress rehearsals, performances and chaperoning….I’ve had no time to craft this weekend! *sigh*

BUT….

There’s still time to order from Stampin’ Up!  We’re half way through the mini catalogue time, remember!!  So if there issomething you’d like please let me know by Wednesday, 29th June.

Back tomorrow with a card….hopefully!

BFN
Linda
X

CAS-ual Friday’s Colour Block

What a dope!  With the little crafty time I have this weekend, I’ve just made a card for CAS-ual Friday’s Color Block challenge.  And here it is:

Only problem is that this is last week’s challenge!! *sigh*

Any hoo….I’m going to try my luck with entering this in the Fab n Funky challenge – Summer Loving.  It has a beachy feel to it I think!

So with this lovely Sail Away stamp from Stampin’ Up, what better colour to use then Marine Mist.  I’ve used the DSP Pattern Stack and card in Marine Mist coupled with Early Espresso and Whisper White.  And of course, I’ve embossed the Marina Mist using SU’s Elegant Wallpaper  embossing folder.

The image I’ve stamped in basic black and water coloured the sails in Marine Mist again.

Well I think the card looks fab….feel daft for making it for an old challenge so I’m glad it fits with “Summer Loving”. 

Now I might be away for the weekend as my daughter is in her first dancing Show this weekend.  She has a busy weekend….starting with a Technical Dress Rehearsal at 9:30 tomorrow…..fingers crossed!!

Thanks for reading
BFN
Linda

Here comes the Sun–hopefully!

Back to late night blogging and semi-gloomy pics again! *sigh*

Although I have taken a tip from Susan Goetter on how to brighten pics up (without the much loved Picasa).  Check out her tutorial here.

So here’s today’s card:

It’s a bright and cheery Cheers card using my Cheers to You stamp set from Stampin’ Up! 

I’ve tried my hand at a bit of resist stamping to create m own background for the card.   To do this, I’ve stamped cocktails all over some Daffodil Delight card using Versamark, and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I’ve then inked it with Cherry Cobbler ink to give it a sunny and hot look and finally polished it off to bring out the embossing.

I’ve stamped the cocktails using a mask (and my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig – how did we manage before that cool invention!!)  I’ve stamped the two front cocktails first, then masked it by stamping them again on a post-it note and cutting them out.  I’ve then stamped the tall cocktail over the masks using my Stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect positioning. I’ve coloured them in with gel pens to give them the glassy look and added the sentiment across the corner. 

Now, no card is complete without a bit of ribbon, but in this case I didn’t have the correct colour.  So…I’ve cheated.  I’ve coloured Whisper White ribbon using my my Daffodil Delight marker to get an exact match!  Cool, aye!

Now I’m entering this into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly {Here comes the Sun}

Creative Craft Challenges {Make your own backing papers}

Everybody Art Challenge {Anything Goes}

I just hope I’m not jinxing this good weather that is suppose to be on its way for the weekend!  Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading.
BFN
Linda
x

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m combining a couple of challenges

LIM: A True Monogram?

Well, my card for the Less is More challenge this week, failed to hit the mark .  It isn’t considered a monogram.  I think I can see why….but I’m confused by comments on other similar cards with words which are considered monograms.

monogram ( ) n. A design composed of one or more letters, typically the initials of a name, used as an identifying mark. 

Right! No words! 

This time I’ve taken my lead from Chrissie and gone for a wedding theme.

I’ve used Stampin’ Ups Concord Crush as my highlight colour and my lovely embossing folders to add dimension to the card.  I’ve used Elegant Wallpaper and Polka DOts from Stampin’ Up and my trusty cuttlebug swirls.  I’ve made a simple wedding cake card and added the initials of my friend and her fella on top.  I’m actually helping Kelly with her invitations…but I’d better not blog about that just yet.

So…hopefully this is a monogram.  I’m still loving the challenges, Chrissie and Mandi – even when I get it wrong! LOL!

BFN
Linda
x

Woohooo! I’ve been ShowCASed

It’s my week for awards!!  But I’m soo happy to receive this one!  My card has been ShowCASed over on Less is More.  Big thanks to Lady and Diva LIM, Mandi and Chrissie!  I’ve been working on another monogram card for their latest challenge….so watch this space!

Our Father’s Day Gift

With all that was going off on the weekend I never got a chance to show off the gifts we made for dad, grandad and grandpa.  I know it’s a bit late but still….

It’s the good ol’ pint of socks trick .

We took it a bit further and engraved the glasses.  After dad unwrapped his we took some more pics.

Charlie’s name is on there too! 

Needless to say Dad, Grandad and Grandpa loved the glasses….oh and the socks!  We also gave them something to put in the glasses too!

This is my last post for Father’s Day this year and I’m entering it in Craft Us Crazy – my last entry in their Father’s Day/Masculine theme this week.

So…a late share but I hope you like it.

BFN
Linda
x

Wooohooo! My First Challenge award!

Just had to shout about it….

I’m a Cupcake Cutie for my Father’s Day Cards.  Yay!!!

Ok…self congratulations over .

Monogram And Something New

OMG!  What a weekend!! I’ve been dying to get my craft stuff out but with football, dancing, parties (for the kids and er…one at the pub), christenings and Father’s Day coupled with visiting family…I’ve had absolutely no time! But it’s been fab!

This is my youngest, Annie (on the left) with my youngest niece, Emilia.  They are such good friends and love it when we get together.  Both are 4 years old and are gonna be a right handful when they’re older…..watch this space!

 

So even though I have only just managed to make my card for the Less is More challenge, it was still the first thing I quickly checked on Saturday.  It’s actually take from then until lunch time today, while flicking through the latest Ideal Home magazine to get inspiration!! Monograms!! No idea!!  Anyways….I rushed home and have made this tonight, taken a pic while it’s still light enough….hopefully!!  What do you think?

I think this one is self-explanatory…I’ve used Stampin Up’ colours of  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Tempting Turquoiseon a crumb cake house.  I’ve crinkled the roof and the curtains using my Paper crimper (available from Stampin’ Up)  and 3d’d the whole image onto a 15cm square card blank.

I like it….but I think it might need matting.  I’d be interested to know what you all think .

I’m also entering this in The Crafty Pad Challenge: Something New.

So now I’m off to peruse the other entries while thinking of my next idea.  Tomorrow I’ll share pics of my mad (but fun) weekend.  Hope you can come back then .

BFN
Linda
X

Simple Father’s Day Card

Now this is a really quick card for dad….and it’s nice and simple and of course no bling!

I’ve used the star stamp from the Fun and Fast Notes set from Stampin’ Up.  I’ve stamped it on to Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso, cut them out and arranged them around a simple greeting that I’ve punched and layered using the label punch – again from Stampin’ Up!  I also decorated the inside…but, alas forgot to photograph it again!!

So…a suitable man’s card?  I think so, but we’ll see.  We have our cards for sell and  so far beer is a crowd pleaser.  The Cheers to You stamps set was a good investment – it’s so versatile and an absolute bargain for £14.95. Check out the cards I’ve made with this set here.

I’m entering this card into the following challenges:

Craft Us Crazy {Masculine/ Father’s Day}

One Stop Craft Challenge {Father’s Day}

BFN
Linda
X

Vintage Vogue Birthday

Morning all!  I’m in the pink today.  Remember the colleague that needed cards for his wife?  I made the card for his boys to give to mum and this is the one for him to give.  Requirements were “something in pink, and ‘with love to me wife’”.  So here it is:

Now I’ve cased this card from the very talented Julie Kettlewell’s beautiful Silver Wedding card.  I’ve stamped Vintage Vogue flowers in Melon Mambo and Blushing Bride and layered them together.  I’ve arranged the flowers on a matted A5 card with a little bit of foliage die cut  in Old Olive.

I’ve added dimension to the flowers by shaping them with my bone folder before constructing them. 

I’ve also 3d’d them to the front of the card to give them more dimension.

Now I did decorate the inside of this card as well….but alas forgot to take the photo *sigh*.

He seemed to like it….I hope his wife does too!

I’m going to enter this in the following challenges:

Simon Says {Bingo - Flowers, Brads, Sentiment}

BFN
Linda
X

Nostalgic Father’s Day

Well this morning I’m deviating from my usual Stampin’ Up products! *shock*.  But I couldn’t do Father’s Day without using some of my old favourites.  So today I have cards made using my lovely LOTV Boys. 

Cute, don’t you think? 
Now, hopefully you can see that these are one layer cards and framed.  Yep!  Couldn’t resist it….I’m entering these in the Less is More Challenge In the Frame. 
But I’d also like to point out how much the challenges set by Lady and Diva LIM (Chrissie and Mandi) have helped my card making!
These cards actually combine the concepts from a couple of Less is More challenges to produce a very pleasing result.


Firstly, I’ve stamped the images in Soft Suede and used a water brush to pull the colour into the image.  This gives it a vintage look (Week 18 – Monochrome).









Secondly, I’ve considered the placement of the images and used the corner squares according to which way the boy is facing (Week 17 – Pick a Square).  OK, so the sentiment  is outside the square but that was allowed..right?
 .








And third and finally, I’ve doodled a frame around the edge of the cards for the latest challenge In the Frame.  It just finishes the card off, I think.




So I hope you like them.  I’ve made these for the office.  A few of the guys will suddenly realise that Father’s Day is Sunday and ask if we have any cards.  Not making too many though…they might be too girly, LOL!  In my quest for the perfect Man’s Card we took a straw poll to determine what men want on cards….STOP PRESS!  Apparently, it’s guns, fast cars and………….. Chuck Norris!!!


Here’s the last of my cards using this style. 
I’m also entering this in the following challenges:
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge {A Male Card}
Cupcake Craft Challenges {Boy, oh boy, oh boy}
Make It Monday {Linky Party}
Lili of the Valley {Anything Goes}

Bfn
Linda
X

Father’s Day Challenge No1

Morning all!  I’m getting good at morning blogging recently!  Some might say I’m obsessed but I just can’t get enough….it’s such a friendly community!  Just yesterday, I had a call from Sandra over on Stamping 4 Pleasure.  And now I’m looking forward to having a play with the images she used in the Less is More challenge this week.  Thanks, Sandra. You made my day .

So, to today’s card is of course for Father’s Day. 

This is a BAJA BREEZE card.  Sorry for shouting but I’m taking a risk using a blue card blank….lots of people just assume it is a dodgy photo!  LOL! 

This is a very simply card.  I’ve used co-ordinating Stampin’ Up designer paper and simply matted the front of the card.  Then in contrasting Cajun Craze, I’ve stamped some bunting using the Party This Way stamp set and strung it across the top corner of the card. 

I’ve finished it off with a computer-printed sentiment that I’ve cut out and backed using the label punch from Stampin’ Up!

I’m entering this card in a couple of challenges:

One Stop Craft Challenge {Father’s Day}

and

Papertake Weekly Challenge {Anything Goes}

Hope you like it…and remember, you can buy any Stampin’ Up products from me just by calling on 07808 471 372 or dropping me an email at craftydistraction@virginmedia.com.

BFN
Linda
X

Happy Birthday Card

Morning all!  Finally…it looks like the rain has given up and let the sun have a turn! Great!  Just in time to go back to work! *sigh*

Well, last night I made a card for a work colleague.  He needed a couple of cards for his wife’s birthday.  This is the one for his boys to give to her….the requirements?  It had to have pink, hearts and “Happy Birthday, mummy” on it….awwww!

 

It’s a similar card I made for a recent Less is More challenge.  I’ve used All in The Family to put two little boys in a Melon Mambo hot air balloon.

I’ve added a hill (Old Olive) of pink flowers and hearts as requested .  I hope they like it.

I’m entering this into the Anything Goes Challenge on Papertake Weekly this week. 

Back tomorrow – I have plans for lots of Father’s Day Cards…..fingers crossed!

BFN
Linda X

LIM: Framed Flowers

Morning all!  Just a quick post today as it’s a day full of football (again!!).  Thanks for all your comments yesterday about my photo….it really was a blue card though and not a dark picture…LOL!  I don’t think I’ll be using Baja Breeze as a card blank again.  But I thought I’d check out this Picasa everyone is raving about and I’m glad I did.
It is a grey day today so perfect opportunity!  Can you tell which one has been Picasa’d:

This is my latest entry for the in the frame challenge over on Less is More.  I masked a 5 cm band across a 15cm card blank using post-it notes and stamped flowers from Silhouette Sentiment in Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler.  I finished it off by blending Old Olive along the bottom of the frame using Cut ‘n’ Dry.  After removing the post-it notes I used the piercing mat from Stampin’ Up to frame it.
So I hope you like it….and I too can now highly recommend Picasa .
BFN
Linda
X

You’ve been framed!

Afternoon!  It’s been a beautiful sunny day in Nottingham thus far!  Isn’t it a little bit sad that instead of thinking about sitting in the garden sipping a cold drink….the first thought through my head was how much washing I could get dry today!!  What’s even sadder is it makes me soo happy getting washing dry!! LOL!

Anyways  I have managed to sneak a peek at the Less is More challenge today.  OK…I admit it!  It was the first thing I checked this morning.  

This week is a One Layer Challenge (hmmm…not my favourite) and Chrissie and Mandi have asked us to create something  In the Frame.

 So after much thought while at dancing and football (not at the same time) I’ve used my new Cheers to You stamp set.

I’ve used Baja Breeze and stamped three cocktails on the front.  I’ve coloured the cocktails in using my glaze pens.  I’ve stamped a greeting (from Party This Way!) and doodled a frame around the images. 

 

Now I was happy with this card until I saw the photo.  I think it’s a cute card but it looks a bit grey in the photo.  That is of course because it’s on baja breeze card.   So much for trying something different!  LOL!  I’ve re-made it on white.  Such a difference!

Hope you like it!  No doubt I’ll be back later in the week to try this challenge again.  Chrissie and Mandi really do keep us on our toes with the LIM Challenge.  Like I said, OLC is not my favourite so it does make us work outside our comfort zone!  I love it!

BFN
Linda
X

Oh no! Man Cards!!!

Ok…I know I said I probably wouldn’t post today but that was before the delivery from the UPS Man yesterday!!!  Yes….orders are here so I’ll be dropping them off to you over the next couple of days.
And of course I had to get something new myself…..so I went for the very versatile ‘Cheers to You’ stamp set.  And over on Craft Us Crazy they are looking for Father’s Day / Masculine  creations.  Perfect!

Now I’m hoping you can see from the picture that I’ve stamped the pint glasses, coloured them in using my inks and water brush, then cut them out and 3d’d them to the front of the card. 
Cards for men are notoriously difficult…no ribbon, no glitz, no bling! I’ve tried to add interest by giving this card a vintage look and inking the edges.  I do like the simplicity of it tho’ and I’m sure it’s as much as a man can take on a handmade card!! LOL!  What do you reckon…
I will be back with more Father’s Day cards!! One day there will be an answer to the age old question…WHAT DO MEN CARDS LOOK LIKE!!!!  In the meantime I’m also going to enter this in the following :
Delightful Challenges { Father’s Day }
Crafting For All Seasons {Father’s Day }
Delightful Inspiration { Masculine, No Flowers }
Thanks for looking, hope you come back again soon
BFN
Linda
X

Flutterby Monochrome!

Hmmm..not had much time for craft today.  That pesky day job keeps getting in the way.  But I’ve had a flit around the challenges today and decided on a mash up….two of my favourite challenges!  Flutterby Wednesday are looking for something with Polka Dots, and of course Less is More still have their Monochrome challenge – see, I knew I couldn’t leave it alone!!


So this is the Just Believe stamp set from Stampin’ Up (….again!!  I hope you’re not getting bored with it!!) I’ve run the bottom of the card blank through my Big Shot to give it some Polka Dots and added a scalloped border in Marina Mist.  I’ve stamped the image on to Whisper White in Pacific Blue and Marina Mist, cut it out and 3d’d it to the front of a card.  I’ve then finished it off with a “Happy Birthday” sentiment and of course the obligatory butterflies in matching DSP.
So if you need anymore information about any of my  cards, please feel free to drop me a note…..or check out the beautiful products in the catalogues (check out the links n my side bar).
Thanks for looking…I hope you come back soon.
BFN
Linda
X

** Special Offer for June and July Only **

Extra Freebies in June and July

What better time to host a workshop than in June or July.  Stampin’ Up are offering extra  freebies for all hostess with qualifying orders.  See below for details:

• Host a £250 workshop between 1 June–31 July 2011 and earn an EXTRA £20 in hostess rewards!
• Customer, hostess, and workshop orders qualify for this promotion.
• Workshops totaling more than £250 are not eligible for more than £20 in additional hostess rewards. 
• Hostesses can use their additional £20 in hostess rewards on any catalogue merchandise. 

All this means that if you host a workshop and the workshop order totals £250 you will be entitled to £45 worth of free merchandise instead of the usual £25!  It can’t be bad, can it!

So, if this is something you think you’d like to do just drop me an email at craftydistraction@virginmedia.com or give me a call on 07808 471 372 ….absolutely no obligation!