Seeing Stars!

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Stars". I'm a big fan of the Retro Grunge pad, and this star paper is one of my favorite designs from that stack.  It makes a great cover for this pocket journal, don'tcha think? :).

I finished it off with some stamped detail in the central recessed panel and an Idea-ology tassel chain.  This is all ready now to become a stocking filler for someone! :)

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Just the ticket!

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "tickets". I really love the vintage photos that feature in Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper stack, so used some of them on this card.

I also tried the versamark shabby resist technique on two of the panels.  I stamped the ornate border with clear versamark ink and dried it with my heat gun.  I then applied distress ink over the top of it, and it gave a white resisit where the image had been stamped.  More subtle than regular stamp-emboss resist techniques, but very effective!  Really great to be able to use the ticket paper in two different scales on the same card too, I love how it looks.  Plus I got busy with the sewing machine, I think I threw everything at this card! lol


Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Women Only!

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Women only". I've made this card using a female design from a female designer - Wendy Vecchi!  I've got a dodgy knee right now, so this is just a short post, hopefully back to normal soon!


Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Recycling with Relish!

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Recycle/Upcycle". I'm making a lot of my gifts this holiday season, so I've been scavenging for boxes I can recycle as gift packaging.  This one started out as the box that my mobile phone came in, you can see it in the pic below!


I've been making caramelised onion marmalade and corn and pepper relish, and this box is perfectly sized to hold 3 of the jars.  I wish I had more than just this one!  I used a sheet of Tim Holtz's seasonal cardstock to cover the outer sleeve and then made a kraft tag to go with it using the Santa and holly from the Holiday Wishes stamp set.  Throw in a few baubles, some holly leaves and a bit of gingham and string and we're all done! :)


Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

ATG - I'm stuck on you!

You know how sometimes, when something just works exactly like it should, you can only sit and marvel at it?  I'm like that with ATG guns, they're like the adhesive applicator that I've waited all my life for, lol  I've a bit of a "thing" about adhesive, it's like everything I make has to be able to bear the weight of a grown person hanging from the bottom of a plane or something - not rational, but I like a strong bond, what can I tell you? 

I've had one of their yellow ATGs for a while, using the 12mm tape in it, and it's always the thing I reach for first when I need a good strong bond on something, plus no waiting for glue to dry!   Prior to that, I'd spent a fortune on disposable tape applicators, which often didn't even stick that well!

Sometimes the 12mm can be a bit too wide for smaller elements I'm using on a card or project, so I've had it in mind for a while to get hold of one of the 6mm (1/4 inch) applicators.  Scotch are doing a promotion on them at the moment, just £9.99 for an pink applicator and two rolls of 6mm acid-free tape which is half price, and an absolute bargain (and I know how much most of you like pink too, lol)!  Personally, I'm not a scrapbooker, so acid-free isn't an issue for me, but I know many of you out there need acid-free adhesive to ensure the preservation of your valuable photos.  Even better, they're donating $1.20 for each kit sold to the Susan G Komen cancer charity, so what are you waiting for? :)  You can find their offer here.

A House for Dexter

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "a house". After just catching up on the last season of "Dexter" it must have still been fresh in my mind, cos I can't imagine anyone living in this house unless they were a serial-killing-blood-splatter analyst like Dexter Morgan!

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

"I'm a rainbow today, all the colours of the world!"

"I am red today, hopping mad like a playground ball".  Anyone remember that song by Kira Willey?  It was used in some ad or other, I forget which, but you can hear it here if you're interested - cute song!

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "One colour ... any colour" and to be honest I had a little trouble with it!  I started on it a couple of times and both times I didn't like what I'd done and scrapped them.  "3rd time lucky" they say (or "3rd time's the charm", if you're over the pond) and I am finally happy with this red card!  When I was making it I had a fairground fortune teller's tent in mind, so I hope that comes across a little :)

Last week's cutlery competition - I got no right answers!  Several people guessed Ikea, but I had asked for the person's name, which was Carl-Gustaf Jahnsson.  I feel a bit bad, perhaps it was harder than I thought!  I thought his name would be easily found on the Ikea web site, but maybe my cutlery wasn't easy to pick out on their site, based on my photo, so apologies for that!  I'll have another contest next week and I promise it will be easier!!

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Stripey Lunch Goodness and a Prize Contest!

I had a few friends over for lunch earlier this week, and in an uncharacteristic moment of poshness, I decided to make placecards and co-ordinating napkin rings.  I know, I know, very Martha Stewart, lol  Knowing that this weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Stripes" I decided to tie them to the theme and kill two birds with one stone, as it were.

I have a little contest for you too!  All you have to do is tell me the name of the person who designed my cutlery (hint - it's a Swedish person, wink wink).  Leave a comment here telling me that you've entered and then email me the answer (you can use the Contact Me button at the top of the page).  I will randomly pick a winner from the answers and will send them some crafty goodies!  Note - answers entered as comments will not be published and won't be entered in the draw, you must email me so that I can mail you back to get your address if you win!  The winner will be revealed next Monday at 5.00am UK time - good luck everyone! :)

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Wings Ain't What They Used to Be!

Don't you just hate it when the one-eyed flying cyclops hearts you've been keeping in an old bird cage finally chew their way out?  I know I do!  That's why, when I saw that this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Things With Wings" I decided to work through my frustration by making a piece about it!  :)  I know lots of you out there have the same problem, so believe me when I say I feel your pain! lol

This actually took me quite a few days to make, simply because I'm the world's slowest cutter-out!  All of the detail in the wings seemed to take forever to do, but it was worth it in the end :)

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Wendy Boat Comes In!

I've cheated a bit with the title of this post, it doesn't really refer to Wendy Vecchi at all, but to a song my mother used to sing to me when I was a baby.  It's sung in the dialect and accent of the part of England where I live, any of you who are from far flung shores might want to check it out, you probably won't understand a word! LOL

The theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Wendy Vecchi Style".  I figured that this was the opportunity for me to get a bit crafty with the sewing machine! :)  Just a couple of lines of stitching, but now that I've done it you may see more in the future, lol

Dontcha love the splat effect you get by dabbing a Distress Stain onto card, it looks so dramatic!  I used stains in aged mahogany, scattered straw and worn lipstick on this piece.  I have to say, the more I use them, the more I love 'em! :)  I spritzed the white background card with water and then applied the stains on top of that, it makes them blend together so hazily, I love the effect.

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)