Brideshead Revisited - Library Challenge Reminder

The current challenge at The Library  is 'Brideshead Revisited' and you can take inspiration from the cover or the title or the story.

I took inspiration from the cover and the way that the scarf comes out and has writing on it. 

I had this dog as a free Lettering Delights electronic cutting file - it was originally a folding card but I modified it and cut it as an aperture in a card base. I enlarged the scarf and designed the letters to fit into it. 

I'd really love to see a few more entries into the challenge at The Library. Please do come over and join in. 

I'd like to enter:

Give a Crafter a Cookie  photo 

Aud Sentiments cute 

 Alphabet Challenge  dots 

Cut it Up dogs 

Allsorts happy birthday 

Flamingoes on Acetate

Here's a card I made using my new MFT flamingo stamps and I can tell you that, for me, this wasn't a 'quick and easy' card. 

Firstly, I designed and cut an aperture card base on the Silhouette- the design was inspired by the sketch at Inkspire Me  . The one you see here is not the first one I cut because after it was cut out I realised I'd cut the semi-circle so close to the edge there was little room for glue! But I decided to soldier on. 

I tried several different pens for the water and settled on a darker Promarker. But when I was fiddling around trying to attach it to the card base, I discovered I hadn't given it enough drying time and there was blue ink everywhere! 

Back to the Silhouette. I modified and re-cut the card base and put it all together. The sun (Hero Arts)  is stamped on a second piece of acetate - after making sure the 'water' was now dry, I had no intention of risking ruining it by stamping on it! 

As well as Inkspire Me, I'd like to enter:

Little Red Wagon  animals on the water 

Inspire Create sunshine 

Cupcake Inspirations 

Inkspirational Challenges - Lake Photo

Our new challenge at Inkspiration is to be inspired by the photo below:

I decided to focus on the swing, using a Stampin Up stamp. I stamped it onto a background I'd made previously when playing around with paints/inks and added pink glitter drops to make blossom.  I hope you'll pop over to Inkspirational and see what the rest of the DT have made and enter your own project.
I'd like to enter:
The Crafty Addicts spring is in the air
Crafty Friends  b is for blossom 

Not My Favorite Things

'My Favorite Things' are one of my favourite (note subtle spelling change) stamp companies:they have great designs and fabulous marketing - a talented design team, an active blog and video channel and even Vicki Papaioannou! So often I get seduced into buying from their monthly releases.

But here I resisted. I was very taken with their new 'martini time' products - cocktail glass shapes with words in them, so I thought I'd try to achieve a similar effect myself.

So here's my attempt - I used the outline of a cocktail glass shape I got from the Silhouette store, and (in Silhouette Studio) welded in the word 'party'. I then cut it out from dark pink glitter card on the Silhouette cutting machine. The background is an old Hero Arts stamp, repeat stamped. The sentiment is Papermania . The flamingo cocktail decoration is a cutting file and I added Nuvo glitter drops as bubbles.

Actually, I didn't resist the MFT release entirely. I did get something. I'll show you it later....

I'd like to enter:
Unicorn Challenge  monochrome
Double D bling it up
Addicted to Stamps make your mark 
Craftaholics R Us anything goes

Hat Stuff

Here's another layout (the third) I made using the 'counterfeit  kit' I put together, playing along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge . I used a sketch from Rochelle Spears and also took up her challenge to use floral paper.
 

City Crafter- Honey, I'm Home!

I chose this week's challenge at City Crafter - Honey, I'm Home! - use bees, honey, hives etc.

Here I used bear, honey and bee stamps by Reverse Confetti and added a sentiment and some stencilling.

Please do come over to the challenge blog and see the wonderful creations made by the rest of the DT, and then enter your own bee-related project.




I'd like to enter:
Just Us Girls  stencils
Crafty Cardmakers  no patterned paper
Crafty Friends  animals

Two Butterfly Cards

I'm joining in with the Twofer Challenge  again, and this month you have to create two cards using a butterfly stamp. I used a butterfly stamp by Avery Elle. I know butterfly stamps are popular but I do usually find it quite hard to come up with ideas for using them, so I'm quite pleased I managed to do so this time.

For my first card I stamped and embossed it on kraft, coloured it with alcohol markers and cut it out.  I stamped splatters using purple ink and a Paper Artsy stamp. The sentiment is Clearly Besotted. I added shimmer pen to the butterfly and Nuvo drops.

I'd also like to enter:
Shopping Our Stash butterfly
My Time to Craft  stamped on kraft
Crafty Calendar wings
Stamping Sensations close to nature

I know butterflies aren't usually used for Christmas cards as (in the northern hemisphere) we don't get butterflies at that time of year. But, to be honest, we don't usually get snow either! Or Santa Claus!

I stamped the butterfly on blue cardstock, adding stars to the wings, embossed and cut out.  I added frantage to the white base, plus snowflakes punched from silver card, some clear gems and the sentiment (Little Claire). The base (I know it looks black in the photo) is actually a pearlescent navy blue.
I'd also like to enter:
Merry Monday  stars on the wings
Make My Monday  embossing
Craftaholics R Us blue
Christmas Cards all year round 

The Library Challenge - Brideshead Revisited.

The new Library Challenge  is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. I recently listened to the audiobook of this, I did quite enjoy it even though I found the characters ( and, I suspect,  would have found the author) pretty awful.

My first card is a wedding card - it meets the challenge in two ways - first , the car on the cover, and secondly, the title - there's a bride's head on my card! (haha)

The car and couple are Stampin Up, the sentiment and banner are Avery Elle and I used a stencil for the road.

I'd like to enter:
Watercooler Wednesday  occasions
QKR Stampede anything goes
Creatalicious add sentiment

In the book, one of the main characters has a gimmick to help him stand out at Oxford - he carries around a teddy bear called Aloysius! 

For my new baby card. I used a free e-cutting file by Bird plus stamped sentiments. 

I'd love it if you popped over to The Library and entered the challenge. 

I'd like to enter:
As you like it  for baby cards, I choose pink right now as I know of two baby girls on their way!
Alphabet Challenge d for dots 
Allsorts in the pink 

Chalkboard and Feathers Shaker

Recently, some colleagues gave me a big pack of chalkboard effect scrapbooking paper as a birthday present, so I had to use it to make them a thank-you card.

Everything was designed and cut on the Silhouette Cameo ( I coloured the feathers and background card with coral spray ink. The feathers were a cutting file from the Silhouette store. I bravely stitched a border around the patterned paper.

I'd like to enter:
That's Crafty  stitching
Creative Craft Cottage  punches
Words 2 Craft by  my colleagues are teachers so it fits doubly
Crafty Creations  anything goes
Try it on Tuesday  die cuts 

Using my Counterfeit Scrapbooking Kit

I'm joining in the fun at Counterfeit Kit Challenge , where the idea is to create and use your own kit, inspired by a commercially produced scrapbooking kit. So it's a good idea for using up the stash you already have. 

Here are the inspiration kit (my one is above, and if you go to the challenge blog you can see the inspiration papers etc better) 

From Mind the Scrap 

I made two layouts. featuring two of my (3) favourite boys:

Here's my grandson with his labrador puppy. I cut the labrador (from Silhouette store)  and the title (created by me)  'live, laugh, lab ' on the Silhouette. 

I'd like to enter these challenges:

Stick it Down sketch 

Scrap Our Stash 

Here's my son standing in front of a Picasso - unexpected as we hadn't planned to visit the Tate that day and it was a very quick visit at the end of the day. I found and downloaded a computer font based on Picasso's handwriting and I used that to create the title and cut it on the Silhouette. 

I'd like to enter:

Let's Get Sketchy