Miss December 2010

Ah my dear friends, do I have a treat for you this evening! 

First, by way of a short introduction, do you remember Miss Blackpool 1945?

And can you recall the amount of effort Maude put into looking so good?

Well, I'm pleased to announce that it all paid off because Maude Doodlebuns has been selected to star as 'Miss December 2010' in the latest Pirelli (Spare Tyre) Calendar!  How's about that for an old girl, eh?  And I was delighted when Maude sent me a copy of her starring moment:

Image: Just Inklined, 'Maude Merry Christmas'

Paper: Cosmo Cricket

Doesn't she look grand in her winter outfit?  Look at those beautiful ... features.  She is a vision in red, isn't she?  Bet Santa can't wait to fill her stockings!  (Oooo-err Missus!)

I just couldn't wait to play with this hilarious image.  As you can see above, I've developed something of a soft spot for Maude, she being such a glamour-puss and all, just like me! So I was delighted when Jak and the team released this bit of gorgeousness. 

There are some smashing new images over at Just Inklined, both Christmassy and otherwise, so why not check out the blog for some fabulous inspiration from my Teamies.

Right, bed time - late again!  It was my Dad's big birthday today (I'm not saying how old he is but he's got a year to go before he's 71!) so we've eaten late and I'm still stuffed so I don't know how much sleep I'll get, but my Kindle beckons in the meantime.

Happy crafting.

xx

Ooops! But Please Read!

Today was supposed to be my 'Oldies But Goodies' post for Karen's Doodles, but I had a bit of an accident with a hot cup of tea when I was trying to craft at silly o'clock this morning and poor Princess Kitty got the lot!  So you'll have to pop back later in the week to see what she should have looked like!

So as not to disappoint those of you who are looking for my Karen's Doodles post today, here's a rather special card - it's not an 'Oldies But Goodies' but, once you've heard the story, I hope you'll agree that it's definitely a 'Goodie'.

Here's the card:

Image: Karen's Doodles, 'Superboy'

Papers: October Afternoon

Coloured with my Copics (of course) and with a little shading with my Prismas, this little guy is destined for another very special boy.

And here's the story:

Earlier this year, my incredible sister-in-law, Claudia, was instrumental in setting up a new charitable foundation, 'Children of War Foundation'.  The Foundation is dedicated to identifying and treating children that have sustained devastating injuries as a direct consequence of war, regional conflict and/or displacement. I urge you to visit their website and/or their Facebook page, to learn about the wonderful work the Foundation is already doing and aims to continue into the future.

This handsome young man is Hashim, the first of their young patients.  Hashim was caught in a terrible car bomb blast in Iraq early in 2010.  He suffered an horrific head injury and was in a coma for 55 days, staying in hospital for 70 days in total.  Thanks to the Children of War Foundation, Hashim is now undergoing treatment at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.  He is a happy, uncomplaining and totally cute young boy and he loves superheroes!

This card is for Hashim, to wish him well for his next surgery, which is scheduled for early November.  He is, indeed, a Superboy.  Please hop over to the Children of War Foundation website to find out more about this fantastic organisation and, if at all possible, donate a little (or big!) something towards their work. 

Okay, end of story, and just a quick reminder of the card:

See you later this week, with Princess Kitty.

 Happy crafting.
xx

Guest Designer for Crafty Cardmakers

Happy Monday everyone - hope your week has got off to a good start and that you're not suffering too much from Monday morning blues.  Obviously, I'm full of beans because I'm having a day off, although I have to say that I'm enjoying going to work again these days. 

So, today I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to be a Guest Designer for the 'Spotlight On ...' feature over at the Crafty Cardmakers challenge blog.  This week's spotlight is falling on digital stamping - right up my street, as you will know!  So, without further ado, here's what I came up with:

Images: (from left to right) Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Cheshire Cat', 'Hatter', 'The Dormouse' and 'Alice in Pencil'

Papers: Graphic 45, 'Halloween in Wonderland'

I adore the whole collection of 'Wonderland' images over at Mo's Digital Pencil, and, to be honest, I could have carried on merging forever, but my printer is limited to A4 paper!  However, I have another idea up my sleeve for future reference - my printer at work prints A3!

This is a close-up of the complete scene.  I merged the four images in Paint.net (free image software that you can download here) but something was missing.  So I drew a table and 'wonky' cake and scanned them into my PC, then brought the resulting image into the merged image, just to complete the scene.  I ended up paper-piecing the table cloth and I'm really pleased with the result.

Here are close-ups of the individual digis, starting with 'Cheshire Cat':

Here's 'Hatter'...

...'The Dormouse'...

... and, finally, 'Alice in Pencil'

It really isn't difficult to merge images to produce a scene like this and there are various tutorials, for all the most popular image software, all over the internet.  If you've never tried it before, give it a go.  It takes a little time but the end results are great (as I hope you'll agree). 

The Graphic 45 papers were just perfect for this project (obviously, as the name suggests!!!) and I kept the layout simple so as not to overpower the final image.

I added Sakura glaze to all the cups, etc., and a little glitter to the icing on both cakes, just for fun really. 

So, why not hop over to the Crafty Cardmakers challenge blog and see what the design team have come up with.  Then it's over to you to join in the fun and show your creative streak.

A big 'Thank You' to Lin and all the girls over at Crafty Cardmakers for inviting me to take part - this has been a hugely enjoyable project for me and I hope you've enjoyed the end result.

Happy crafting.

xx

'Wreathed' in Smiles!

Tonight's quick post is my entry for this week's Scrap-Creations challenge - their theme is 'Christmas' and, with perfect timing, of course, I had just made a few Christmas cards towards my stash.  So I thought you might like to see this one - another fairly traditional image but made modern, I think:

Image: Just Inklined, 'Christmas Wreath Pinecones''

Paper: Graphic 45

I'm ridiculously pleased with this card - I just love the rich purples and I'm delighted with the bow!  Aaaah, small things.  But it works so well together and, strangely, I hadn't really anything in mind when I set out to colour this one.  It just sometimes works that way, doesn't it - a happy accident, almost.

I'm up late tonight, making the most of not being at work tomorrow!  I've been making little house gift boxes (see my previous post) today again as I need quite a few for small gifts for work.  As they will only contain sweeties or biscuits, just a token gesture, I thought it would make it all a little more personal and interesting if I made the boxes.  I'll post them when they're all done. 




Right, I'm off to have a light supper whilst watching telly, before popping to bed with my Kindle. I feel very rebellious being up past 10.30 on a 'school night'!!!!

Happy crafting.
xx

Home Made for Christmas

I don't know about you, but I love making my own packaging for Christmas.  A nicely made and decorated bag or box can make even the smallest present look impressive.  So I've started today with this adorable little house box:

Template:  Lauren Meader, 'My Timeless Templates' for Papertrey Ink - 'Home Made'

Paper:  Scenic Route

Here's the 'back' of the house - aren't those little dormer windows cute?

The windows are quickly hand-drawn, somewhat wonky (on purpose, honest) windows - the house looks lovely with perfect stamped or measured windows and door but I wanted something a little more casual and quirky.   I've just drawn them on kraft and coloured them with white gel pen. No rulers, no measuring, just wonky!

Here's the 'front' with the top removed.....

and the back!  This would be wonderful filled with biscuits or cake - the sort of gift you might give to neighbours to share with their family.  The box isn't large (only about 6 inches wide/high) but it would make such a pretty little gift.  I shall be making more of these before Christmas - they're so easy, thanks to Lauren's hard work, and I just love the finished product.  I might even make some 'proper' doors and windows!

I used some Snow Writer and glamour dust for a bit of wintery sparkle, just here and there so as not to overwhelm everything.  I may be could have added a little more to the dormers and the peak but, hey, it's okay as it is.

 

And don't you love that roof?  It comes as a digi stamped set with the template - how cool is that?  I've added some extra dimension by shading around the shingles with a warm grey copic. 

This is going to be my entry for this week's Sweet Stampin Challenge, where the theme this week is 'Anything but a card'.- I hope the roof will qualify as the (digi) stamped something.  

Back tomorrow with another Christmas offering - a card this time, though.  And on Monday, I've something special to show you, so don't forget to check back.

Happy crafting.
xx