A Less is More Quickie

Hello all,

I've just a quickie for your this evening, a card for this week's Less is More Challenge.

The challenge is to "combine 3 previous challenges" to make your card.  Having a quick scoot through the list, my card fits with ...


Week 2 - Flower
Week 16 - Butterfly (on the DP)
Week 19 - In the Frame
Week 49 - Predominantly Purple
Week 55 - Punches or Die Cuts
Week 56 - Don't Scrap It

I've used a scrap of DP, Stampin Up's Apothecary Stamp and Dies, Versamagic Purple Hydrangea Ink and a touch of Tattered Rose DI to colour flowers.

I'll be away in Glasgow the next couple of days to see George Michael in concert and to do a bit of retail therapy, so I'll catch up with you all when I get back.

Thanks for popping in - see you later.

Suze xx

Happy Monday

Happy Monday crafters,

I bring you some happy and exciting (well, for me it's exciting) news today.  I have been invited to join the DT over at Crafty Cardmakers.  I'm so excited, my first time on a DT and being a fortnightly challenge I won't get overly stressed about meeting my deadlines (well, that's the theory anyway!)

The challenge for this fortnight is:

Challenge 75 - Stitching and Lace

Our Challenge this fortnight, hosted by Lin, is Stitching and Lace. 
I would like to see some stitching, either hand, machine or faux on your project as WELL as some lace, real not faux.

We are sponsored again by 

As a family business we're a friendly, helpful, bunch at Hobby Art.  All our stamps are designed by us and manufactured in Britain.
Look at the gallery on my blog - jennymayes.com - for lots of card ideas using the Hobby Art range.
We're pleased to sponsor the Crafty Cardmakers Challenge and look forward to seeing the entries.   Good luck everyone.  Jenny and all. X

with this fabulous prize

So onto my "first DT piece" - I've been wanting to make myself a needle case for ages - so that's what I've gone for. (Note your work does not have to be a card - you can create anything handmade so long as it meets the challenge criteria ("Cardmakers" is just a name!).

I made a 'sandwich' with batik fabric, wadding and black lining fabric, stitched around leaving a gap to turn inside out then hand sewed up the opening. Sewed on some silver lace with invisible thread and added a thimble button. Dress form is a TH movers & shapers die, cut in silver lame and stuck on with bond-a-web.

Added a couple of layers of black felt to the inside and stitched up the middle to secure.

Hope you can join in with our sewing and lace challenge, you'll find lots of inspiration over on the Crafty Cardmakers blog.

Thanks for dropping in today, 

Happy crafting
Suze xx

A Card and a Twinchie

Hi all,

Can you see my shining halo?  I spent three days this week sorting out my craft room - it had to be done - it was beginning to suffocate me, now it's a pleasure to work in again.  Hence, I've done no crafting and very little blogging this past week so apologies if I've not come to visit you - I will play catch up this week.

Onto this week's Less is More Challenge - Chrissie and Mandi have given us an easy peasy theme - "OVAL".

Here's my card ....

Oval is embossed with Papermania Victorian Fleur, Sizzix/Hero Arts stamps and matching dies, Dew Drop Pearlescent Ivy and Perfect Plumeria inks, some pink stickles and sentiment is Stampavie.

and whilst I was at it I made a twinchie for Show us your Twinchies - the theme this fortnight is "ADD A STAMPED IMAGE"

Same as before but this time I added a little SU Embosslit butterfly, popped up the flower centre, inked the edges with Victorian Velvet and added a touch of GA.

Okay, that's me for today, it's been a glorious day here in NE Scotland, hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

Thanks for stopping by.

Suze xx

A quick sketch

Lordy, lordy, what am I doing crafting at eleven o'clock at night when I should be getting ready for beddy-byes!

Well, sorry Darnell but I'm blaming you. I saw Darnell had posted an entry for the Addicted to Stamps Challenge which closes tomorrow and I just couldn't resist having a last minute go.  It's a sketch - something which I don't do very often ...


So of course it had to be a real quickie, I just used some stuff I had lying about on my desk and floor!

Mmm, it is bright and cheery but maybe a bit too plain and simple - maybe the die cuts should have been stamped over for a bit of added interest. Anyway, my sewing group are having a 'MacMillan' coffee morning at the end of the month so this will be one for the box.

I used 6x6 card base, Stampin Up flower die cuts (thanks Aileen), lightly inked with DI, Bo Bunny flowers, SU brads and border punch is SU too.

Okay, thanks for coming to visit.

Nighty night!

Suze xx

We are family ...

Hi Bloggers,

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

I've a card for you today, made for the CASology challenge



Again, I've been stumped with this week's CASology Challenge, however, I started to tidy up my craft room yesterday (it's going to take a while!) and came across my "Back in the Saddle" stamps from WaltzingMouse.

This was my first attempt but for me it was just too messy to be CAS

The card base is embossed with TH woodgrain EF and the sentiment and cowboy were stamped with VersaMagic Night Sky and clear embossed.















This was my second attempt, and for me, much more 'clean and simple'

Sentiment stamped in Bundled Sage and clear embossed, cowboy stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia, mounted onto some DP.


Now, I'll give you all a laugh, my first idea was to do something using fingerprint faces of my own family but I thought it looked too naff to put on a card.  They actually do look like us.



Okay that's it for today, 

Thanks for coming to visit.

Suze xx

Sew Deco

Hi all,

This morning I was at my sewing group and today was "show and tell"!  We've recently decided, as a group, to do a little project every couple of months - we pick a word out of a hat and we all have to do a small art/journal quilt, based on this theme.

Our word this time was "DECO". To make things easy for myself I decided to reproduce a Deco ATC I made back in January.  Mmm, trickier than I thought - the difficult bit was resizing it - I had to put all my mathematical skills to the test and being a perfectionist Virgo I had to get it all EXACT! - fortunately though I did get my Maths 'O' Level 30 years ago and remembered just enough to figure it out.

Here's the (picture heavy) step-by-step ...

precise measuring!

the "red carpet"

lots of silver lame

the glamorous lady

      

It was all done with Bondaweb and straight stitching.  I used pelmet vilene as a base and the finished size is 12" x 18".

The deco lady was copied and resized from some wrapping paper and printed onto inkjet cotton fabric.

Finally, I blinged it up with tiny glass beads.  These were glued on individually, I was like Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion by the time I'd finished.

showing the bling

more bling

     

Finished!

I'd like to enter her into two challenge:
Anything But a Card (a new challenge) - "Anything Goes, and
Let's Craft and Create - "Anything but a Card"

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post, see you all again soon.

Suze xx

Gingerbread Girl

Hello bloggers, 

I woke up last night and couldn't get back to sleep - guess what I started thinking about - "Brown & Pink" - this week's colour challenge over at Less is More.

Now, I like 'kraft and pink' - but 'brown & pink', I'm not really a brown person! So I lay awake for ages - thinking - and eventually it popped into my head - a gingerbread man! Well actually, I've gone for a lady - here she is ...

Brown felt cut with Sizzix Gingerbread Man die, pink glittery card, white glittery ribbon, border punch is EK Success and sentiment is Tim Holtz, stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid.

I'm also entering her into the Addicted to Stamps Challenge, which this week is "CAS Challenge #2". Why not pop over and give them your support - I'm sure you'll recognise some friendly 'faces'!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, thanks for popping in.

Suze xx

Hanging onto Summer

Hi everyone,

Well can you believe we are now into September. The shops are already full of cozy jumpers and boots which is just as well because the temperature here in the UK has certainly become cooler over the last few days.  You never know though, there's a slim chance we might get an indian summer yet!

Hanging onto the thought of summer I have a postcard for you today - it's for Challenge #73 over at Crafty Cardmakers - 6" x 4" Postcard with a Seaside theme ...

This challenge really had me stumped (which is why this is a last minute entry) but last night I decided to just have a play and here's the result ...

Background is watercolour pencils and distress inks, girl stamp is Dina Wakley, shell stamp is Hero Arts, then some doodling on top. (Think I need a bit more practice with my art journalling style!)

Okay dokes, that's it for now.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Suze xx