Sunday morning and new challenges

Morning all,

HAPPY EASTER - Hope you all remembered to set your clocks one hour forward last night!!

A new Sunday challenge started a few weeks ago over on the Hobby Cutz blog and today it is my turn to present the third challenge. My challenge brief was to present a CAS (Clean And Simple) sketch, take a look below

And here is my card for this challenge, naturally, I've used a Hobby Cutz laser cut die. However, you don't have to use a Hobbycutz die in order to enter but there are additional prizes available to those who do. As you can see, I have turned my sketch upside down and gone slightly quirky!! ........  I'm also entering this for the "ANYTHING GOES" challenge over on the Pan Pastels challenge blog.

Materials used:

• 15cm square, 300 gsm white scallop edged card and matching sized envelope
• Distress Ink in seedless preserve sponged round the outer edged of my card and then flicked with water which was then allowed to "develop" for a few seconds before blotting with paper towel.
• 14cm square panel run through my Tim Holtz embossing folder and then very lightly sponged with Distress Ink weathered wood on the very edges, just to give a line of definition between the card and the embossed layer.
• My Hobby Cutz die cut (S0042) was coloured with treasure gold in onyxite, applied with a cosmetic sponge, then very lightly brushed with liquid gold leaf in classic gold and set aside to dry. There's just the merest hint of gold on the fence and, sadly, my photography has not shown this to it's best - sorry readers!
• Paper Artsy image stamped using Versafine onyx black ink on to white card and cut out before sponging Distress Inks: seedless preserves, shabby shutters and pumice stone on the image
• Paper Artsy sentiment stamped on to white card using Versafine onyx black ink and cut out before sponging with Distress Ink in seedless preserve (I used the sponge I had used for the card edging without adding further ink). It was then matted on to black card.

It may sound complex but there is still plenty of plain white space and has only three elements to it thus qualifying it as Clean And Simple - hope you like it.

On a bit of a crafting roll yesterday with my one card two challenges ..... and I managed a piece for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge too - the theme was "ANYTHING BUT A CARD" so I went with a tag and, whilst I'm sure lots of other entries will also feature tags ...... you can never have too many tags now .... can you? However (and don't you hate it when this happens?) on reading a post by the Galloping Granny I hastened back to re-read the rules and it says .... Anything but a card, ATC or tag so I guess I can't enter it after all - but, I'm always going to need a tag or 50 anyway so it's not like it's wasted!

Materials used:

• Go Kreate die tag - I cut one in white card and one in Kraft card and then adhered them together.
• On the white card side I stamped my Kaisercraft image of bubble wrap using versamark ink before sponging pan pastels in Hansa Yellow and Permanent Red
• I stamped the Recollections Santa hat on to white card using Versafine onyx black ink
• Alcohol inks used to colour the image
• Stardust stickles used to highlight the "fur" areas of the hat.
• Once the hat was adhered to my tag I stamped the Hero Arts sentiment, directly on to the tag using Versafine onyx black ink

Hope you like it and I hope my fellow 52CCT-ers will forgive my error too!

Happy Easter Sunday to one and all

Morning - HAPPY EASTER SATURDAY

Morning all,

Saturday once again and it's challenge-fest for me! Just as well since it's -2°c outside!!

This morning sees the launch of a new challenge over on the Simply Less Is More blog and their chosen challenge this week? "SCALLOPS" - neat idea, and some lovely examples from the Design Team of Chrissie, Jen and Guest Designer Lizy.

And over at the Seize the Birthday challenge blog there is currently a sketch challenge with the added twist that your birthday card should be "MASCULINE" .... so I set to thinking that just maybe I could combine the two

Materials used:

• 300 gsm C6 Kraft card blank and matching sized envelope
• Panel of black card edged with a Fiskars scallop edged punch
• White card panel stamped with my Inkyliscious striped image in Memento London fog and then overstamped with an unknown (it's unmounted grey rubber long since separated from any packaging!) motorcycle image inked using Versafine onyx black ink
• Kaisercraft birthday sentiment stamped directly on to the card blank using Versafine onyx black ink

Oh, and here's the sketch I needed to follow for the Seize the Birthday challenge ...

Other challenges I MIGHT have a go at, if I've time are:

52Christmas Card Throwdown's challenge is "ANYTHING BUT A CARD" but a tag, ATC, gift box anything else Christmas-y will be just fine!

The challenge on the Addicted to CAS blog (which still has 6 days to run) is "SPRING"

And this week's challenge over at Pink Gem is to "MAKE IT CUTE"

I don't suppose for one minute that I shall have the chance to enter each of the above challenges but ..... who knows? After all, I already managed two this morning!

There will be a new challenge launched at 08:00 tomorrow over on the Hobbycutz challenge blog - you don't HAVE to use a Hobbycutz die in order to enter but there are additional prizes available to those who do. These challenges are set fortnightly - why not check them out some time soon?


Happy Saturday - have a great weekend

Happy Good Friday

Morning,

Interesting day yesterday ....... had a lazy start then phoned a pal and chatted for an hour (oops!). Yesterday afternoon I headed out with another pal/neighbour and we went here - she's on half term and we try and head out sometime during the holidays. We had a bit of a scenic tour first, via some eco houses and tracked down a Chinese restaurant which looks worth a try AND it happens to be right by the Bristol IKEA!!! We nipped back to hers for a cuppa and suddenly, the afternoon was gone! We were joined by my hubby ..... for another cup! and then he decided it was too late to start work on the planned meal which, he reckoned, required three hours preparation so it turned in to something completely different but still very nice.

Started work yesterday on a card which was meant to be a Design Team project but I HAD to use this particular image (in my head anyway) and then I couldn't make it work with the DT brief so started again on the challenge card and left this one as I much preferred it - so cute! See what you think ....

There's a little "smudge" on this photo but, trust me, it's NOT on the actual card!!!!

Materials used:

• 12½cm square white, 250 gsm card and matching sized envelope
• 12cm square blue paper
• 11½cm square blue/white patterned paper
• 11cm square white card panel
• Penny Black image and Sparkle 'n Sprinkle sentiment stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Alcohol markers used to colour image
• Blue/white check ribbon, pleated and stitched on to bottom of the card, to "ground" my image

So, this one goes in my collection as a "just for fun" card!!!

And now for the Friday Funny which, this week, comes from Marsha in the U.S. - she's in the draw!! It's topical because EASTER is this weekend, and more awwwwwwwwwwww than funny but ........ can you pick out the real Easter chick from this line up?

Happy Friday and have a very HAPPY EASTER weekend

Hi and here we are work desk Wednesday once more!

Hi everyone and welcome to What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday .... not that there's very much on my desk exactly but ..... I'm happy to share - if you think my collection of paper scraps is growing then you should see the two CRATES of the blooming stuff!

And this should really be a Friday Funny but it's just too appropriate to wait ..... thanks to my neighbour, Debbie, for this one! ENJOY - I know I did!

Must dash - got aunt and uncle visiting imminently and no sign of the vacuum being able to do its rounds without help!

Happy Wednesday - it'll soon be the weekend and a whole day earlier this weekend too - don't forget that the clocks change this weekend too!

Afternoon - cold out, isn't it?

Afternoon,

Just back from walking round to the village for coffee with a pal, Lilian, and it's jolly cold out there - my ears are numb!! It's times like this that I wore hats!

Anyhoo, before I went out this morning I decided to crack on and make my card for the Rudolph Day challenge on Craft Mad and Loving It. Debs set the challenge to use Santa or his clothing as the theme for this month. It also fits the Auntys Rudolph Day challenge where the recipe is to make a Christmas card using: patterned paper, a Christmas image, ribbon and glitter!

Materials used:

• 300 gsm white, deckle edged C6 card and matching sized envelope
• Red card panels - 14 x 10cm and 9 x 5½cm
• Patterned paper panel - 13½ x 9½cm
• Black card panel - 9½ x 6cm
• White card panel - 8½ x 5cm
• Recollections Santa Hat and Hero Arts sentiments stamped on to the white card panel using Versafine onyx black ink
• Alcohol markers used to colour image
• Twill ribbon tied in an off centre knot
• Stardust stickles added where the "fur" should be - to give loadsa twinkle!!!

Hope you like it!

Happy Tuesday - stay warm!

Morning and welcome to Rudolph Day

Morning all,

A quick fly by post from me today as I'm out for coffee this morning, meeting up with a friend - no doubt I'll be back later and look forward to reading your comments, as always.

It's Rudolph Day and there are several challenges launched today - I'm a little early for them to have been posted yet but will be hoping to share tomorrow!!!

Hubby was out last night, which left me free to craft whilst watching a DVD, last night's choice? One of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader - quite enjoyed it too - and the crafting was an added bonus .......

Materials used:

• 12½cm square white, 250gsm card and matching sized envelope
• 11½cm square black card panel
• 11cm square white card panel
• Number images by Inkylicious and Close to the Heart stamped over the white card panel using Versafine onyx ink
• Sparkle 'n Sprinkle sentiment stamped on to white card using Versafine onyx black ink and cut out, matted on to black card and adhered to my number panel

Next I moved on to a technique spotted in a recent issue of Craft Stamper ...

Materials used:

• 12½cm square white, 250 gsm card and matching sized envelope
• 12cm square black card panel
• 11½cm square white card panel
• Pro Marker in lime used to scribble a random oval
• Faber Castell pitt pen ("F" line thickness) used to scribble a border
• Imagine That sentiment stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Funstamps image stamped on to the base card, a piece of orange card and a piece of stamped striped card using Versafine onyx black ink and paper pieced.

Thanks to Brenda I can enter this card in to the "PAPER PIECING" challenge over at the Fashionable Stamping Challenge blog.

Have a fab day

Second post of the day from me ....

Back again with my second post of the day because I have a challenge entry to share with you. If you missed my earlier post and have the time (and inclination) then check it out here.

My make is for the weekly challenge over at Pan Pastels where you don't HAVE to use pan pastels but you DO get the chance to win some of their awesome gorgeousness!! I HAVE been lucky enough to acquire some and have used two of them on this project - check it out

Materials used:

• Tim Holtz large tag
• Dimension images (crackle and brick) stamped using versamark ink
• Pan Pastels: Hansa Yellow and Permanent Red
• Kaisercraft "Arty" image stamped using Adirondack red pepper ink
• Stampotique image stamped on to white card using Memento tuxedo black ink, cut out and coloured with alcohol markers
• Studio 490 sentiment stamped on to tag using Versafine onyx black ink
• Wide green fibrous ribbon pleated and adhered to base of tag

And there you have it - my take on the inspiration photo ..... I took the colours only. Can't remember the photo? Here it is again as a reminder

Weather's still not up to much so reckon that I shall use it as the perfect excuse to stay in and craft ..... what SHALL I move on to next?

Happy Sunday peeps

Hi there, how's your Sunday?

Dull and grey here too!!! Mind you, I am NOT complaining as I KNOW it could be worse and we could have lots of snow and, for that, I'm grateful. If you have snow then please take care out there

Saturday's normally being challenge days I set to work with a passion to get some challenge cards done. This one wasn't dry enough to share yesterday but here's my "RIBBON AND BOW" challenge card over at 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown, reckon I'm well on my way for Christmas 2013!! What with that and it being Rudolph Day tomorrow I should be well set by November! The image I've used I've had for a while but haven't inked often - thought it was high time it came out of the drawer ..... needless to say she was used several times for this card as I used her on the envelope, insert and even the back of the card.

Materials used:

• 300 gsm white, deckle edged C6 card and matching sized envelope
• 14 x 10cm black card
• 13½ x 9½cm DCWV patterned paper panel
• 12½ x 6½cm silver mirri card panel
• 12 x 6cm white card panel
• Penny Black image and Hero Arts sentiment stamped on the white card panel using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Alcohol markers used to colour image
• Red grosgrain ribbon tied in to a bow beneath the image and sentiment
• Frosted lace stickles to highlight the "fur" areas on the image

There's a new challenge, due today, over at the Pan Pastels blog - where using Pan Pastels is not compulsory to enter ... but you CAN win some! This week's challenge? It's a photo inspiration ....

Have a super Sunday

Morning and welcome to the weekend, again!

Morning all

Regular readers know that Saturdays are mostly challenge days for me (in amidst the hum drum existence that involves laundry and housework ....... did I ever mention how much I hate housework?!?!? I use the challenges to take my mind off it and stay sane (arguably, it's not working then!!!)

There's a new challenge over on the Simply Less Is More blog - check it out! This week's theme is: "USE BEADS" .... now this was a tough one - CAS but with BEADS! YIKES! Ended up going a bit grungy but using bright colours ....... this fab image saw ink for the first time since purchasing recently at Snazzy's in Swindon!

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 300 gsm scallop edged card and matching sized envelope
• White card panel coloured by swiping distress inks in squeezed lemonade and peacock feathers
• Kaisercraft "Graffiti" image stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Basics gloss gel medium swiped over sections of the coloured panel using a plastic spatula (from Dunelm Mill)
• Small diameter clear glass beads trickled over the gloss medium and set aside to dry - boy, those pesky beads get EVERYWHERE, don't they?!?!?!??!
• Silver mirri card for matting

Hope you like it and think it still meets CAS requirements - I'm hoping it will still classify as "standard" mailing rate too! I've left the sentiment off, for the time being, as I could see this card suiting several occasions so keeping my options open!!!

And here's a side view close up of the mini glass beads

Other challenges I like to enter this weekend are:

Addicted to CAS have launched their new challenge today too, I didn't get to enter their last challenge but will try for this one! Their one word inspiration this fortnight is: "SPRING"

And the challenge over on the Pink Gem challenge blog is: "ON THE MOVE"

52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown's new challenge is to make a Christmas card using "RIBBONS AND BOWS"

So, that little lot should keep me busy today and ,,,,,, Don't forget you still have a week to enter the "EASTER" challenge over on the Hobbycutz blog too and please remember that you don't HAVE to use Hobbycutz products in order to enter but there are additional prizes up for grabs if you do!

Happy Saturday

Friday again - got plans for the weekend?

Woo Hoo, another weekend looms large and this brings us one week closer to Easter too!

Yesterday saw me at the physio again - why DO people pay to have pain inflicted upon them?!?!!? I'm quite sure, however, that I shall be feeling the benefits as the day wears on!!! Thanks Pete! I'm not sure of the long term benefits of this treatment for my particular problem and it may well prove to us both that a steroid injection is the way forwards! Hmmmmmmmmmmm, let's hope NOT

Managed to make a quick get well card yesterday for a pal due in to hospital imminently. I used a nice cheery yellow and a sludgy green, a favourite of hers, hope she'll like it as well as making a GREAT recovery.

It's such a simple technique but I am loving the effect and the way it dries so chalky - later I may even combine a water spritz with this technique and see how that works out! Watch this space

Materials used:

• 12½cm square white, 250 gsm card and matching sized envelope
• Distress Inks (shabby shutters and squeezed lemonade) swiped across the bottom of the card
• Imagine That sentiment stamped using Versafine black onyx ink
• Costco wooden mounted spotty image stamped twice using Memento rosebud ink

  

And now for the Friday Funny, courtesy of our friends, Liz and Graeme, so it's their fault there's a photo of a snake in this post!!! I've put a few extra line spaces in so you can all be ready for it - I'm a little phobic myself!                        

 

Jack Daniels Fishing Story

I went fishing one morning but after a short time I ran out of prawns ........

 

Then I saw a redbelly black snake with a frog in his mouth.. Frogs are good barra bait.

 

 

Knowing the snake couldn't bite me with the frog in his mouth I grabbed him right behind the head, took the frog, and put it in my bait bucket.

Now the problem was how to release the snake without getting bitten.

So, I grabbed my bottle of Jack Daniels and poured a little whiskey in its mouth. His eyes rolled back, he went limp.

I released him into the lake without incident and carried on fishing using the frog.

A little later, I felt a nudge on my foot.

It was that blooming snake back, and he was carrying two more frogs.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Have a fab weekend peeps

Thursday morning and all's well!

Wotcher peeps,

AWOL much of yesterday during the day as we were indulging in a very pleasant few hours with friends over a leisurely lunch - what a splendid way to spend a Wednesday. Apart from the calorific content we really SHOULD do it more often!

Having declared myself to be a closet headbanger in a post yesterday ..... I set to work making a card that "rocked"!!! Despite the fact this card doesn't represent an ACTUAL song, it DOES conjure up (in my head, certainly) rock music in general and so - I shall also be entering this for the CAS challenge with the one word theme of "SONG" over at CASology ....

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 300 gsm, scallop edged card and matching sized envelope
• Offcut of white card matted on to black card
• Distress Inks: faded jeans and dusty concorde swiped up and down the white offcut
• Inkadinkado guitar image stamped over the coloured panel using Versafine onyx black ink
• On the base card I sponged both distress inks through a TCW stencil (mini harlequin) in a sort of random fashion!
• Inkadinkado sentiment stamped on to base card using Versafine onyx black ink

Hope you think this card "rocks"!!! A few readers expressed a belief that I might be a shy retiring wallflower and were a little surprised when I said my last concert had been Iron Maiden so ....... here are a couple of pix taken at the Iron Maiden gig  ....

Captain Bruce Dickinson (with the hat!!!)



EDDY!



So, I reckon this post defo matches the background ..... don't you?

Happy Thursday - have a good one ..... only one more sleep till the weekend now! To those of you with snow - I hope the sun shines and melts the lot!

Hump day or What's On Your Work Desk WEDNESDAY?????

Wotcher peeps,

Having solved the flashing blog background problem yesterday and spent the day with a fab purple polka dot backdrop to my blog I set out to see if I could "FUNK UP" up my blog ....... those who know me may know that I was a closet headbanger in my mis-spent youth and indeed, the last concert I attended (with pal, Lauren) was Iron Maiden!!! It therefore seemed perfect when I spotted the triffik purple rock star blog backdrop!! Like it folks?

Actually, I spent much of yesterday away from home as it was car service and MOT day, which meant a lovely cooked English breakfast in a cafe in Bradford on Avon, followed by a walk around the town before moving on to Frome. Now, both of us have been to Frome before but not for many years so, imagine our surprise when we found it to be a really neat place to rummage for an hour! I came home with several presents for friends too - re-SULT!

Our neighbours have just acquired a puppy too, an adorable little ball of white fluff named "Alfie", he's just about old enough to be having his first round of shots too - ahhhhhhh. What is Alfie? He's a bichon frise and looks soooooo cute - looking forward to seeing more of him over the summer!

On to the crafting and a new challenge has been launched over on CASology - this week's theme? SONG - hmmmm, may have to THINK about that one!

In the meantime, I HAVE managed a little crafting and, inspired by a card received from my good friend, WYNNETH, I experimented with her technique and a recent stamp acquisition (no, it's NOT my JOFY's on this occasion) and Distress Inks using the DTP method .....

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 300 gsm, scallop edged card and matching sized envelope
• Distress Inks: picked raspberry and squeezed lemonade used DTP
• Kaisercraft (arty) image and Hero Arts sentiment both stamped using Versafine onyx black ink

And there you have it - couldn't really be much simpler, much more CAS or more fabulous, eh? Why not check out her blog too, she's well talented! It's such a simple technique that I don't know why I haven't tried it before especially when it looks so great too - thanks matey.

So, is it HUMP DAY or WHAT'S ON YOUR WORK DESK WEDNESDAY in your World? Well, since it's What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday in my World .... here's what's on my desk today!

You can see the drawer with all my D.I.'s in remains wide open - which may give you a clue that I'm not done with Wynneth's technique yet either!!!!!


Happy Wednesday

Mellow Monday ... and the sun is shining!

Morning,

The sun may be shining but it's still not very warm here and, as my window cleaner is on his way round he may well appreciate a hot beverage when he reaches us, so, can't stop long - need to get that kettle on!!

Regular readers of this blog may recall me mentioning the issue I've been having with my blog background changing colour?! The page was loading as I expected but, the second I attempted any form of navigation, the background went pale green!! WEIRD or WHAT?!?!??! This has been going on for about a month and starting to do my head in ..... I tried changing the background using a blogger template - nothing different. I tried externally sourcing a background (www.shabbyblogs.com) found a fab background with purple polka dots and bunting - same thing happened - so that was plainly NOT the way to go. I admitted defeat and spoke to the I.T. department (aka THE HUSBAND), we talked about the fact that we are still using I.E. VIII and whether that could be the reason - hmmmmm, it set me to thinking about what had actually changed .... a new version of photobucket (I use photobucket for my slideshows) - didn't really want to remove those widgets as that's the way people can see my 100 previous makes without having to cycle back through the last few pages of posts. What else had changed? BINGO - like a little lightbulb going off in my head - I remembered adding my "NEW POLL" widget. Since not that many people had posted on the poll I just KNEW I could live without it and, if it didn't fix the problem I also knew I could re-install it pretty easily too.

HUZZAH and let joy be unconfined!!! Having removed the offending widget I anxiously refreshed my bloggy and waited ...... scrolling up and down - still purple ....... moving about between my pages - still purple! YAY!!! Forget the Wizard of Oz it's the Great and Powerful I.T. department - thanks hubby!!! Now you can get to see it, I hope you all like my new blog background.

All this mucking about with technology has plainly left me in need of crafting because, after a week of faffing about and not getting very far with my blog background, I spent much of the weekend crafting, to take my mind off of the DULL green background (so very UN me!). This morning's breakthrough led me to my table of craftiness ..... presumably to celebrate - just because .....

Materials used:

• 300 gsm white, deckle edged C6 card and matching sized envelope
• 9½ x 13½cm white card panel
• Close to the Heart number image stamped (once in full and once in part) using Memento Bahama Blue ink
• Hero Arts sentiment stamped (twice) using Memento rosebud ink
• Pink and blue card to mat

This same colour scheme and design has been carried through to the insert and envelope too. I'm a bit addicted to these bright colours right now so, be prepared for more of them over the coming week!

Happy Monday to you all - I hope you have sunshine in some form or another where you are too!

Second post Sunday!! OMG(oodness!) I'm on a roll!

Second post from me and I am DEFINITELY on a creative roll this weekend - welcome back to my mojo!!

Since they forecast SNOW for us today I thought I would make the most of the excuse to stay in and craft .....

I found a new challenge this morning ...... Sunday Sketch and Stamp. How did I find this? Well, a fellow crafter that I know from Craftbubble has the honour of presenting her sketch for this challenge ... as a follower I picked it up from her blog - gr8 sketch Catherine! I just KNEW I had to have a go and I also knew that my new JOFY's would be deployed again too. Given the green on the leaves I find myself wondering if I could use it to enter the pan pastels "A TOUCH OF GREEN" challenge too.

Materials used:

• 15cm square, 300 gsm white, scallop edged card and matching sized envelope (which will, as usual, be decorated to co-ordinate with my card)
• 14 x 7½cm and 11 x 3½cm panels of black card
• 13½ x 7 cm and 10½ x 3cm panels of white card
• JOFY images from collection 09 stamped on larger white panel using Versafine onyx black ink and single image (from the same set) on to the narrow panel
• Dylusions inks and gloss gel medium mixed on a blending sheet and then images "painted"
• Sparkle 'n Sprinkle sentiment stamped directly on to card blank using Versafine onyx black ink
• Narrow white satin ribbon coloured with a yellow alcohol marker and tied in an off centre knot

And a close up which shows the "touch of green" a little better perhaps

And there you have it ..... my entry for the challenge over at Sunday Sketch and Stamp - want to see Catherine's sketch? Here it is then:-

Have a great Sunday and .... Happy St Patricks Day

Sunday morning and a new challenge for you all

Morning all,

First order of business will be to say welcome to new follower, Julia, thanks for stopping by - hope you'll pop back from time to time too.

Happy St. Patricks Day to those who celebrate it.

Over on the Hobbycutz challenge blog there's a new challenge launched. This week is our second challenge and the theme is "EASTER"

Front view of my East gift box project



Side view of my Easter gift box project

Materials used:

• Hobbycutz die cut (S0003) coated in liquid gold leaf - classic gold
• 1 piece of 12" x 12" double sided paper (from a fab collection at Costco) cut in half and folded to make the basic box above (you can see the instructions here) - keeping the other piece of 6" x 12" for the front panel and gift tags. Mine was green/patterned one side and yellow striped the other side
• Go Kreate gift tag die in two sizes cut using the Costco offcuts
• Impression Obsession sentiment stamped on to the larger tag using Versafine onyx black ink
• All Night Media Easter bunny stamped on to white card using Versafine onyx black ink, cut out and attached to the smaller tag
• Two triangles cut from the Costco panel, one slightly smaller than the box front with the yellow side up and the other slightly smaller again, for matting
• Crop-a-dile used to punch slightly larger holes in the gift tags, gift box sides and top of the double layer mat forming the front of the box
• Green eyelet threaded through the two gift tags and the matted box front panels and set
• Hobbycutz swirl attached to the box front panel using Aleene's tacky glue
• Three gemstones (two clear and one yellow) adhered to the centres of each swirl "splash"
• Narrow satin ribbon threaded through the punched holes on the side of the gift box and fastened in a bow

I've been experiencing a bit of a crafting drought but my mojo seems back with vengeance this last couple of days and I've also made a challenge ATC for my trading card buddy on the Isle of Skye. Regular readers will recall that we don't just exchange ATC's (though that is how our crafting friendship started) but we started to exchange materials too - bit more of a challenge, we felt. Anyway, I received a letter and packet from her a couple of days ago and posted yesterday the ATC made using the materials she had sent me ..... so now all that remained was for me to make a challenge ATC and to send her the duplicate materials. When I receive the ATC she's made with them I will then send her my original so she can see what I made - it's a fun thing, and only three or four times have we ever come up with pretty much the same thing! How did we meet and start trading? Back in the annals of history (or 2006 to be more precise) Craft Stamper used to organise ATC swaps and picked their favourites to showcase in their magazine. We all recorded details on the reverse of our ATC's and Pam obviously received one of mine .... she wrote to me and the rest, as they say is history!! We've been penpals and trading card swap buddies ever since! Initially, we just swapped one or two ATC's but that got old .... so I came up with the idea of the materials - Pam (being a game girl) was well up for it and so that's what we continue to do. So, here's what Pam's going to be receiving shortly ........

And the ATC I made with the duplicate materials ........ I can share this because I don't believe Pam keeps an eye on my blog.

Additional materials used:

• Distress Inks: Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers, Mown Lawn and Picked Raspberry.
• Kaisercraft mesh background images inked using Memento rich cocoa
• JOFY (by Paper Artsy) image and Hero Arts sentiment inked using Memento tuxedo black

Over on the 52 (Christmas) card throwdown there is a new challenge, it's "ANIMALS", in case you fancy having a go.

And, finally, a second entry for the "FRAME IT" challenge over on Simply Less Is More .... so, you see, I think it's safe to say that my mojo's BAAAAAAACK! but (I hear you cry) "where's all the purple?" Well neon colours are so very popular at the moment so, this weekend, a lot of super bright colours have been deployed - see below!

Materials used:

• 300 gsm white, deckle edged C6 card and matching sized envelope
• Just for Fun double sided frame stamp .... one side inked using Memento rosebud and the other using Memento lemon zest
• Inkadinkado flower image and Hero Arts sentiment stamped using Memento Bahama blue

Hope you approve of today's makes peeps  - have a great Sunday