House of Cards Challenge

The first week of each month in the House of cards Challenge is CUTE AND FUN and this month they've given us a colour challenge by way of a photograph of poppies so my card has been made using various poppy shades.  I must say that their photograph is quite vibrant with more orangey (not sure this is a word!) colours now I look at it again but I've used various reds, and greens which I hope will be acceptable. The image and papers all came from Funky Hand CDs and the border made using a Tonic punch with the 3D flowers being made with a punch from Stampin' Up and also some of the 'waste' from the border with a few odd die cut leaves which happened to be lying around.  It's another grey and damp day here but I did see in the paper this morning that the first snow has landed in Co. Durham so I hope that doesn't mean we are in for an unpleasant winter this year.

Huge Words

Id been admiring cards on the blog of my friend Jill where she has used Woodware 'huge' stamps with various words and at the weekend she had pointed me in the way of a supplier offering free postage so I just had to indulge!! The package arrived yesterday which I thought was excellent service given that it was Bank Holiday weekend. I'd decided that the birthday one would probably get the most use but on reflection I might have chosen one with less letters, particularly after I spent ages cutting out separate letters from printed papers to paper piece this card.  Papers were all printed from Funky Hand Colour Me Happy collection and what is really good about theirs is that you can take papers onto the workspace and reduce them so that four fit onto an A4 page (they also just fit the stamp then  which is handy). I also printed some larger pieces of paper for the layers on the card and as the sentiment really is 'huge' it didn't need much else for this six inch square card.  I wish I'd have more use for something like 'golf' or other four-letter word (polite ones obviously) but I just know I'll be using this birthday one in lots of ways  rather than leaving it lurking in a drawer so thanks Jill.

Bright Card for a Dull Day

This is a card made using bits and pieces left over from other projects.  The papers were printed from Funky Hand CDs; the stamp was from Stampin' Up  Apothecary Art set, cut out with a SU Sizzix die and the message was made on the computer and punched out.

Birthday Card

From time to time I get unusual requests for cards and this was certainly a new one for me.  It is for a young lady who is reluctant to leave her 'teens' behind hence the sentiment - she wants to be TWENTEEN rather than twenty!!  The stamp is from Papermania. coloured with pencils, backing paper is from Funky Hand and a Crafts Too embossing folder has been used.  The sentiment was of course produced on the computer and cut out using Spellbinder dies.  I hope it fits the bill - handbags and shoes -  should do it!!

Anything Goes

The challenge this month at Funky Hand is Anything Goes so the only requirement is to use at least one Funky Hand paper or image. For this card I've used a backing paper, digital stamp image and sentiment from their Steamfunk download, together with a scrap of card embossed using a Cuttlebug clocks and cogs  folder, some bakers' twine and a watch charm.  Once I'd decided what to do this was a relatively quick card to put together. It is worth popping along to their blog to see what the design team members have been making with Funky Hand products this month.

At Last!

Apologies for my lack of blogging and visiting blogs but I seem to have had one of those weeks when I've been on the go all the time but not achieved very much - hope I don't get too many like that.  I've only just come around to making a card for the Make My Monday challenge which is the final week of the colour wheel theme - using split complimentaries.

Again I found these colours a bit challenging to use together but that's what it is all about really so here is my effort using papers and an image from Funky Hand.  I've done some paper piecing with the image, added ribbon and some flowers in the right colours and that's it - fairly quick to make once I'd decided what to do and could be a cheerful retirement card maybe.  Looking forward now to see what their Design Team have for us during August.

Edited - I've just re-read the MMM post and see they are having a well deserved break through August

Make My Monday challenge

Hopefully I will be able to complete this post successfully - I've had server problems today and then just as things seemed to be OK I then lost my internet connection.  Here goes anyway.  The challenge at Make My Monday is to use the secondary colours and nothing else (apart from background to image and stamping for sentiment etc).

I'm not sure these colours were any easier to use together than the primaries last week but here's my take on it.  Backing paper was printed from Funky Hand Dreams Come  True - Autumn Style with some purple faux stitching drawn around the edge; the flowers were stamped and punched using Stampin' Up Mixed Bunch set; the leaves were stamped from Chocolate Baroque Sunflowers stamp set and the sentiment was also SU using their punches; the green layer was embossed, scored and has a diecut edge with purple gems.

If you follow the link to the challenge blog  you will see what the Design Team members have made using these colours.

Simply Stampin' Week 65

The challenge this week on Simply Stampin' is another colour combination and the only one I had was the bashful blue so I've substituted another SU green and soft suede - the white was easy of course.

Backing paper is from Funky Hand and is a piece left over from a recent project and luckily it seems to be a good colour to go with the challenge ones.   I used some scraps to stamp and punch a bird on a branch and some little flowers, cut a Top Note in soft suede and used a Nestability die to cut a bashful blue layer which was embossed using a Crafts Too folder.  The bird and leaves were popped onto a white oval.  The sentiment was built up from various stamped and punched shapes (all SU) and I just had to use a piece of the gorgeous pleated ribbon and a few pearls.

If you follow the link it will take you to the blog to see what the Design Team have made this week.

Funky Hand June Challenge

The Funky Hand challenge this month is to use the sketch provided to make something incorporating their products.  I always find sketches a useful sourceof ideas when inspiration disappears as it does for all of us from time to time.  This time I've used an image, sentiment and papers from their Wishes and Kisses range to make this anniversary card.  It's worth keeping an eye on their blog because members of the design team regularly post projects throughout the month.

Retro Flowers

I'm still managing to make something with some of my left-overs and this time it is mainly papers which were printed for a challenge at Funky Hand a couple of months ago and I only used part of the sheets.  I dug out a scrap of white card (loads of that in a box) and stamped and embossed a flower from Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque) Retro Vases and Flowers sheet. The wavy border was the 'waste' from a die cut  border, fancy tag was cut from a scrap of card and the sentiment punched from a page printed from the computer. On one of my previous tidy-up sessions I did actually punch or die cut various flowers, butterflies etc from the smaller scraps and save them in little boxes as I thought they would take up less space than heaps of card pieces.  This wasn't necessarily such a great idea because on the occasions when I think I need a flower or butterfly and turn to my little boxes there is often nothing in the right colours - this was the case here so I die cut these butterflies from the last scraps of these particular papers.

Forgotten Friday challenge

I've used up more of the pieces of left over Funky Hand papers  for this card and it will also qualify for Judith's Forgotten Friday challenge because the stamps used are from a Nit Wits set which came free with a magazine a few months ago and although I really liked them at the time they'd not even been out of the packet until now. They were coloured using Coloursoft pencils and cut out with Nestabilities - the flower and cotton reel were cut with scissors and a bit of faux stitching has been added in places for added interest.

The weather has gone suddenly from shivering to sweltering and takes a bit of getting used to but I hope it is nice where you are and that you enjoy the weekend.

Polkadots and Flowers

The challenge this month on Funky Hand is to produce something with POLKADOTS AND FLOWERS - not difficult with the great selection of papers available on the Papercraft Factory CDs.  The main difficulty was deciding which ones to use and I finally settled on these colourful flowers with matching polkadots from Happy Happy Birthday - the tiny flowers were punched from some of the textured plains in the same set and the cute cat image appears on Colour Me Happy.  Making this card has left me with surplus pieces of the papers and I'm aiming to try and use some of them up on another project before storing the final remnants in the bulging 'bits boxes'!!  The FH design team regularly post ideas for the challenge throughout the month so it is worth keeping an eye on them for more inspiration.

Funky Hand Challenge - Sentiment

Good morning and yes you are on the right blog - I've changed my template again.  I liked my recent change particularly the black background with white text which I found easier to read and thought it showed up the pictures nicely.  However there have been very mixed reactions from my readers - a bit like Marmite they seemed to either love it or hate it!!  I'd like to have a really pretty background but not entirely sure I could set it up successfully so have been sticking to the Blogger standard offerings so far. At least it isn't raining on my screen now although the day looks very grey outside at the moment; well it is Bank Holiday weekend after all.

Over at Funky Hand blog this month they are asking for the sentiment to be the main focus of the card.  My sentiment is stamped with one of Stampin' Up's birthday stamps onto white card and it has been framed with a Spellbinders die.  The paper used for the background is from Funky Hand Craft the Year Away collection and other papers from the same set have been used with a Nellie Snellen punch for the little embossed flowers.  The leaves are a Marianne die cut.

A Spring Thank You

We are still on a Spring theme at Make My Monday but this week they would like to see either a card for Mothers day or a Thank You so I've opted for the latter and gone for Spring colours using papers from Funky Hand Craft the Year Away CD (the March collection) and I think I'm just about in time for their challenge as well where their theme is Flying High.  The stamp is from Papermania and the butterflies were cut and embossed using a Sizzlets die from Stampin Up.

Blues

I've managed to make a card to cover two challenges again - this is getting to be a habit!!  The Funky Hand challenge for this month is 'January Blues' and I've used papers from the Jovial Man collection on the Colour Me Happy CD.  What I particularly like about these CDs is that you can take the papers onto the workspace and change the size and scale which I reckon works well.. The other challenge is Forgotten Friday on Judith's blog and the forgotten elements are the floral image which is a stamp from Chocolate Baroque Fantasy Meadow and one from the set which I'd so far not used, also the die cut tag in blue is from a Sizzix die which I really NEEDED back in November from Stampin Up and to my shame this is the first time it had been taken out of the packet!!  The birthday greeting is also a SU stamp and is on punched shapes from SU.

Funky Hand Challenge - Thank You

The challenge this month at Funky Hand is a project to say 'Thank You' - quite appropriate for this time of year when we have people we need to thank.  The only rule is that you must use a Funky Hand product and if you have nothing from them there is a brilliant freebie which you can find on their sidebar to download.  I've used various papers from Craft The Year Away in the Marching On range with the background printed full size and some other patterns reduced in size for the layers.  The stamp used is from Papermania and has been stamped onto card printed from the same collection cut out with a Nestability label die. The flowers were punched with X-cut punches and leaves with a Stampin Up bird punch.

Funky Hand Monthly challenge

The challenge on Funky Hand this month is a double - they want a Christmas project made using traditional colours (red/green) and a non-seasonal project using their seasonal papers.  I've chosen to make a pillow box and a birthday card using papers from Twelve Crafters Crafting.  The box was printed onto card using a template from their programme and the Santa label was made up using images from the digi section and cut out using a sizzix die.  The card used a star background paper and a textured plain one from the same CD - stars were cut using a Sizzix die with sentiment and numbers added to make a quick and simple birthday card.

Three Challenges

I've had to do something this week which I very rarely do and that is to cover three challenges with one card - I really prefer to do separate cards for each challenge.  Needs must but it actually took quite a bit of thought to co-ordinate my ideas to to do this which surprised me somewhat.  I'd just realised that this week was galloping away from me at an alarming rate so I'll try to do better next week!
The challenges covered are Forgotten Friday, Funky Hand and Make My Monday - fortunately the last two are both autumn themed and Forgotten Friday needed me to use something from my stash which had been neglected or forgotten.

Forgotten Friday - the neglected item is the Nestability die set with the spikey circles which I've hardly ever used although I really needed it at the time.

Funky Hand - their monthly theme is autumn and I've used papers from the Craft The Year Away CD and the  bird is also on the same disc - he has been paper pieced with a jewel for an eye.  I chose papers from the Orange October collection (seemed appropriate!!).

Make My Monday - again an autumn theme for the month and this week they were looking for orange and black.  I suppose the obvious thing would have been Halloween but as I don't have anything much for that and don't really 'do' Halloween I just used the colours.  A Spellbinder die cut border across the centre, a computer sentiment some matching card candy and there it is - one card covering three challenges.

Funky Hand Monthly Challenge

The folks at Funky Hand are looking for something with a birthday theme this month which figures because a Happy Happy Birthday CD has recently been launched.  I used papers from the Sunshine Birthday collection to make this card, simply adding a Top Note die cut from Sizzix, a scaled down piece of the backing paper cut using a Nestability die, a stamped and punched greeting (Stampin Up) and some flowers using a Marianne die and an X-cut punch.  Just for luck I added a butterfly using a Sizzix embosslits folder (also SU). A bright and cheery result.

A Scheduled Post - I Hope!

I've just switched to the new interface on Blogger and thought I'd try out the scheduled post option to see how it goes.  This card was made using a Polkadoodles stamp from the Wonderland set coloured with Promarkers. Background papers are from Funky Hand and the sentiment was a free digi download but I'm afraid I can't recall who designed it.  I think I will probably stick with this new interface although it is quite an adventure searching for the various functions - I reckon the success of this scheduled post might be the deciding factor.