Grizzly Bear/Dog

Gosh nearly forgot the Christmas Card Club. Where has the past two weeks gone. Down the drains I hear myself saying!!! Big Bertha has been back again this week pumping like mad.  Anyway it is Rachel's turn to choose the theme which is Turkeys/Camels/ Sheep but I am using the prerogative we gave ourselves this year of using anything goes if we couldn't come up with a card using the theme.
I did get as far as finding a turkey digi in my files but as this image was already coloured up from my challenge when I asked for polar bears/teddy bears and time is of the essence I have made into this card. The jury is still out as to whether it is a grizzly bear or a dog (which is why I had discarded it. the first time round ).The  image is a digi by QKR Stampede and going on their site didn't really tell me anything either.
I coloured with my promarkers and edged round with a gold gel pen. The papers were some odds out on my desk so just used those and the sentiment is a Tonic die cut layered up twice for stability.

Entering into the following challenge:
Scraps of Life by Scrappy Mo # September Rudolph challenge.

Internet is still playing up so trying to get ahead of myself and get some posts scheduled so that I don't get stuck again.  Wish me luck.

Here I Am!

Internet is back up and running but still playing up so is not going to last very long. Typing as fast as I can.!!
Well update on the drains which turned out to be a mega job. The little tanker got sent out to clear the blockage and pumped 400 litres of water through/or attempted to  down the pipes to no avail and gave it up as a bad job. Finally the big tanker arrived (or as The Doc has nick named it Big Bertha) and took 4 hours to clear the pipes. In doing so they found the water hydrant out on the main road was faulty so that had to be dug up and replaced. They also found the syphons regulating the stream running through the village were blocked as well and need to be regulated. All in all a big messy job.
Still monitoring my laptop for unwanted guests.
So onto the new challenge for the Butterfly challenge which started today.
#108 Spin The  Butterfly Wheel with the Letter S. 

Here are my first two cards to give you some inspiration. 

Using Scarlet/ Sequins/ Butterfly.
The digital  image is Oriental Poppy by Just Inklined. Coloured using my Marvy Le Plume water colour pens and picking the colour up scribbled on  an acrylic block and then blending  with a water pen.  Once dry I have edged with a gold gel pen.  The wooden butterfly  and sequins are from my stash.  The sentiment is by Xcut and has been die cut 3 times and glued together for extra thickness.

Entering into the following challenges:

Angies Digital Stamps Challenge#24 Anything goes with no twist.

Crafts Galore #55 Anything goes.

Crafty Girls Creations #50 Anything goes.

Dig Stamp 4 Joy #152 Anything goes + Flower frenzy.

 Next card Using Sea Green/ Spots/ Butterfly.

This card uses another Tilda Image called Berry Tilda. Coloured using my Graph'it and Promarker pens. Edged with a gold gel pen. The design paper is a freebie from Making Cards Aug 2014 called 'Patchwork Pals'. Green paper is also a freebie from Apple blossom Card Making collection 2018 which I have run through a Crafts -Too embossing folder called 'Spots'. The spotty ribbon is from my stash along with the butterflies . Sentiment is not showing up very clearly but it says Just For You and is again an Xcut die that I cut out twice and glued together for added thickness. 

Hope to see you playing along.

Entering this card into the following challenges:
Through The Craft Room Door # Anything goes.
Penny's Paper Crafty #399 Anything goes.
Crafty Creations #375 Anything goes.
Addicted To Stamps #311 Anything goes.
Southern Girls # Spots and Dots.

Gremlins at work.

I have no internet connection at the moment and my iPad has gremlins at work.
I am currently lying down in a dark room.
Normal services will be resumed ASAP.

All Seven

Time for more inspiration with the butterfly challenge which still has another week to run.
#107 Spin The Butterfly Wheel with  the Letter A.

My  1st card uses Azure /Add Buttons/Butterfly.

I have been itching to have a go at this background technique using Wax paper with an embossing folder. Gina K has an excellent tutorial on You Tube called Wax Paper Embossed Background which I followed but changed things up a bit to make it my own.  So first off I chose a couple of EF's from my stash (oops didn't realise I had so many) and ran some designs off onto the wax paper. After transfering the designs onto white paper I experimented with various inks and colours. I found the darker colours worked best.  On this card I have used a Spellbinders EF Just called 'Floral' SES-007 but to my mind it is really more  Floral Swirls and inked with SU's 'Island Indigo'. Adhered to a piece of black card stock slightly bigger than the card. The die cut leaf swirl is by Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourish B1175. Butterfly is again by Cheery Lynn Designs and is part of their Tiny things with Wings set B266. The corners are from Sizzix 654470 Architectural Accents set. Finally the flower stamp is Imagination Crafts Flower stamp set which I stamped some just using the SU ink pad and the others with London Fog and then again in the Su colour. Fussy cut them out and arranged in a cascading design. The top two have buttons that had been cut from some old clothing and were on my desk. The sentiment is by Dovecraft and I cut 3 times and then glued together before adhering to the bottom of the card.

Entering this card into the following challenges:
Daisy Chain Challenges #23 Birthday.
A Bit More Time To Craft #76 Anything goes.
Daring Card Makers # Who's the (Em) Boss.
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #335 Use your snippets (black card and I snipped the buttons off a shirt)
Ally's Angels #13 Anything goes.
House Of Cards #Birthday theme or colours.
Love To Scrap #113 Anything goes.



2nd card uses all seven elements of the challenge.
Apricot/Azure/Amethyst/Add Layers/ Add Buttons/ Add Ribbon +Butterfly.

I spent a whole day yesterday  trying to get decent photos and finally gave up with the ones I took this morning. Lighting is terrible whichever room I use.  Anyways for this card I have water colored  an image using a stamp by Docrafts Paper Mania called 'Botanicals' using my Marvy LePlume II markers  by picking the colour up from an acrylic block with a water brush pen.  Once dry I edged with a silver gel pen.  Orange spotty paper is by Acid Drops and Whatnots. Striped paper a freebie from Making Cards Magazine Jul 2015. The butterflies are two decorated wooden buttons. Amethyst ribbon was from my stash. The sentiment  is by Crafters Companion.

Entering this card into the following challenges:
Artistic Inspirations #207 Anything goes.
Through The Craft Room Door # Anything goes.
Crafty Gals Corner #174 3+layers
Crafty Creations #374 Anything goes.
Creative Inspirations # Anything goes.
Creative Fingers #152 Anything goes.
Crafters Castle #9 Anything goes.
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned  Paper Challenge #  Anything goes.
Create And Inspire #77 Anything goes.
Love To Craft #26 Anything goes.

Bronson

It seems to be one thing after another right now. I'm still being plagued by Hackers trying to get into my accounts and keeping one step ahead of them is proving a nightmare. Blogging should be a fun hobby but I dread logging in right now and doing anything on my computer. I'm watching for alerts coming in by email and on my mobile and constantly looking over my shoulder.
We have blocked drains again. It always seems to be The Doc who has to ring the council to come and sort it out every 18 mths or so though this time it is only 9 months!  The blockage is always out on the main road and there are at least 20 houses between us and the main drain. Anyway the call was made  to them yesterday and there is supposed to be a response time of within 8 hrs. It is now 23 hrs and no sign of them hence the reason why I am so late for my own Christmas Card Club post.
It was my turn to choose the theme and I went for Polar orTeddy bears on our cards.

My first card is a Joy Fold Card (I do like making these ) using a Polar Bear design that was a freebie sheet of images from Making Cards Dec 2015 called Traditional Christmas.

I have used Navy blue card stock for the base cards and white leather look card for the layers. The ribbon and pearls were from my stash. The snowflakes are from a set I won on Scrappy Mo's Rudolph Day challenge  and is their first outing.  They are by Memory box and cut like a dream. Thanks Mo.

 I like to make a tag pocket as an addition to the Joy fold design and use ribbon for my closure.
Below is a close up of the tag I made from the freebie design paper.

Entering this card into the following challenges:

International Art & Soul #42 Nature.

Try Stampin'-Or-Not On Tuesday #378  Fun fold cards.

CCC Digi Creaions #96 Use Pearls/Gems.

Moving Along With The Times #76 Wild animals.

Crafty Catz #429 Anything goes + pearls.

Fussy and Fancy #220 different shaped or folded cards.

Crafty Calendar # Unusual folds.

My next three cards are not what I had intended making. I was looking for a digi file to check for a particular Bear digi I knew I had but when I opened it I think it is actually a dog and not the Grizzly I thought it was so even though I have coloured it up I will save for another time.  Whilst looking for the said digi I came across a Poly Craft file of digis I had purchased way back in 2011 when I first started colouring. They were 100 discontinued digis for £9.99 so I bought them thinking I would practice on them first then promptly forgot where I had stored them!! On opening up the file lo and behold I found these images of Bronson (who is most definitely a Bear) and Beaker (which I have coloured up as a Robin).

 This one is called  Bronson and Beaker Skate 677736.

 I have coloured them all with my Graph'it pens and stuck to a 4 colour  palette which I think works well. Tartan paper is from  First Edition paper pad 'Jingle All the Way. ' Plain red is from a ' Glitz' paper pack Joyeux Noel. Sentiment is a die cut by Presscut. PCD12

 Next one is called Bronson and Beaker Branch 76354. I have used papers from the same 2 paper packs. The die cut sentiment this time is by  Tonic called Modern Merry Christmas.

Last card is called Bronson and Beaker  Gifts Galore 736472 using backing papers from the same two packs as above. The  die cut sentiment is by Tonic called Wave Merry Christmas.

I'm off now to check first for any  Hacking Alerts and then to see what all my team mates have made of my choice of theme.
Entering into the following challenges:
C.R.A.F.T. Challenges #482 Christmas.
Cute Card Thursday #547 Dies and punches.
Colour Crazy Challenge #37 Anything goes.

More Tilda

It is a new challenge over on the Butterfly blog

#107 Spin The Butterfly wheel with the Letter A.

Here are my inspiration cards to show you.

First card  uses  Amethyst/Add layers/ Butterfly.

I actually made the card front several years ago at a class I went to. We didn't have time to finish all the cards so this has been sat in my unfinished box ever since. The class was to learn the Pointillism technique  and  we were using Copic  pens to do the colouring. The stamp is by Woodware. I have layered it onto several different shades of Purple/Lilac/Amethyst cardstock and then the panel has been adhered with 3D pads onto a white base card. The butterfly is made using Memory Box Pippi and Isabella dies. I found some toning card stock in my stash that matched the flower and the pearl was in my stash.

Entering above into the following challenges;
Pile It On #146 Think Big.
Crafty Gals Corner #174 3 + Layers.
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends #89 Anything goes.
Penny's Paper Crafty #397 Anything goes.

Second card  uses  Apricot /Add ribbon/ Butterfly.

This image is Tilda with flowers and is another one that I coloured outside in the recent hot spell (already a fading memory). I used my Marvy LePlume II water colour pens and blended with a water brush. The design paper is by Crafters Companion 'Vintage Floral Collection'. I have adhered the image onto apricot cardstock with 3D pads. butterflies are made using a small Tonic punch and then coloured with a Promarker to match. The ribbon flower was in my stash. Sentiment is two die cuts by Cheerylynn Designs B235 and B445.

Entering this card into the following challenges:
Dream Valley #186 Girlie.
Pixies Crafty Workshop #334 Snippets (tiny piece of cardstock used for the words)
The Crafter's Cafe #203 3of something  (three punched butterflies)

Scratch Pad

This was another weekly  card sent to our Grandson. This time I put a crossword inside for him to complete.
The stamp is from Your Next Stamp called "Scratch Pad" and as soon as I saw it knew I had to get it to make a card. I have coloured with my promarkers and edged with a gold gel pen. Simples but priceless!!

Birthday Bottles.

It was our SIL's birthday last week and this is the card I made for the occasion.  I was trying to make it look like a tiered birthday cake of bottles but in hindsight I think I should have had another bottle on the bottom row and made the cake a bit wider.  The stamp I was using for the bottle actually had a glass of wine and a bunch of grapes attached so I had to do a lot of stamping and masking.I coloured the bottles and vines with my promarkers and outlined  the leaves using a gold gel pen.  I love using this stamp set by Clear Impressions that came free in Creative Stamping magazine. It is so perfect for making male cards with. 

 The inside of the card showing the full stamp.

For Naty

It is the second week of the butterfly challenge so here is some more inspiration cards for you.
#106 Spin The Butterfly Wheel with the Letter E.

1st card uses Electric Yellow/Embossing Powder/Butterfly.

The image is by The Eastwind MAC0059 and I have coloured using my Marvy Le Plume II water colour pens and then edged with a gold gel pen. The frame is a die cut from Crafts-Too Oval Frame Ref PCD35( and is the left over from cutting the frame which will get used at a later date).  The four small butterflies are a Tonic punch. The sentiment is by Woodware and I have heat embossed using a Nuvo Embossing powder called Copper Blush.

2nd card uses all seven elements of the challenge.
Emerald/Electric Yellow/Eucalyptus/Embossing folder/ Embossing Powder/ Embellishments +
Butterfly.

The image is from Beccy's Place called Flannel Flower which I have coloured using all 3 colours on the wheel with my Graph'it markers. The yellow embossed sheet is white card stock that I coloured  using SU's stamp pad Crushed Curry and blending with a dauber before putting through my big shot using a Spellbinders embossing folder Butterfly Kisses. The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted from their Good Times set and embossed with the same powder as 1st card.  Again I used the  the ink pad with a dauber on a  scrap of white card  before using the versamark . Cut out using SU's  Extra large Modern lable. The wooden butterfly and scrap of yellow ribbon were out on my desk. I layered everything up onto blue card stock to make the base card. 

This card is rather special as I coloured up two of these images the same. My Italian friend has the other one and I said I would make my one up into a card and post on my blog for her to see it finished, so Naty this is for you.

Christmas Foliage/Trees

It is time once again for the girls in the Christmas Card Club to show our next makes. Zoe asked for Christmas Foliage/Trees. I have shied away from wreaths and christmas trees and gone with this card front that I had stored in my used christmas card box.
The card was originally 6" square but I cut  the snow drift off at the bottom, trimmed it down and mounted the sentiment back onto the top of the card. I decided to make it into an Easel card.

 The snowing design paper is a freebie from Making Cards christmas Papercraft special 2017 which I have teamed with Champagne Pearlised cardstock to make the easel shape. The wishes sentiment is part of a die cut set  and the pearl just  happened to match one of the geese perfectly.

 A quick and easy card this time. Phew!