It's 'Once Upon A Time' at CD Sunday

It's Carol's turn to choose the challenge theme at CD Sunday and she gave us the title 'Once Upon A Time' to think about!!!

  Last time Sue asked us not to use an image which was challenging. We got some fab entries and she'll have a difficult time choosing her Top Three I'm sure!

The results are in now for the 'Let's Go Lilac' challenge chosen by Jocelyn. Don't forget to pop over to the CD Sunday blog and see if you're a winner. There's always a wee prize on offer so worth entering our challenges. Who doesn't like surprise packages dropping in their mail box.....I know I do!!

On to my inspiration for you this fortnight. I chose an image from Ooh La La's 'Nursery Times' CD.

 

The background paper, image, greeting and ribbon strip are all from this CD. The layout was in the quick cards section of the CD. I cut it out and then placed it at an angle on the background paper. The greeting linked the image to the ribbon strip again at an angle. I found this jolly wooden clown in my stash and added it to the bottom.

 

Sadly no young grandchildren to send it to as all mine are growing up very very fast.....so well past the Nursery age. I'll put it in my stock for the shop as I know many Brits over here have young grandbabies!! So someone may need it.

 

I hope you have fun joining in our challenge. Don't forget to pop over to visit the rest of the team and give them some love.....especially our very talented newbies.

 

Have fun and take care!

Sentiments

Whew!!! we are still having a heat wave here in Cyprus. It feels more like August than June.....crazy weather patterns. I'm not complaining mind as most of you know I don't do cold!!! So suits me really.

The UK I think is still reeling from the referendum results and have voted to leave the European Union, It's  divided many families but like true Brits we must all stick together and see it through. Someone wisely said today that Democracy won over Finances. The Brits decided enough was enough and were fed up with being told what to do by Brussels so they used their democratic vote and decided to leave. Enough said on the matter now as this is a craft blog after all and happiness must reign!! I vote Happiness!!

Our challenge this fortnight at Crafting with Dragonflies is to use those Sentiments that you have tucked away for the right occasion. This is my inspiration for you.

 

I used some delicate green textured card that I had in my stash for the background. Then a strip of apricot patterned paper was placed down the centre. This was some freebie paper that I got with a Craft Magazine. I then placed some kraft card down the centre of this. Two sentiments were then placed at an angle top and bottom of the strip. They read:

 

'Life is so

AMAZING

because

YOU ARE

in it!'

 

and

 

'When you

SMILE

the whole

WORLD

smiles!'

 

The word strip in between says 'Love You!'

 

The sentiments I think are from a Debbie Moore Shabby Chic CD ( let me know if I'm wrong and I'll give credit to the correct author) I then finished off with a flower that has been in my stash for eons and two dimensional butterflies were added.

 

I hope I've inspired you to take part in the challenge and I look forward to reading all those sentiments. Pop over to the challenge blog ( link in side bar0 and take a look at other inspiring sentiments from my teamies!1 You won't be disappointed.

 

Have a fun week and stay safe!

 

'Sun Sea and Sand'

Good Morning crafters it's time for another challenge at Ooh La La. We had some wonderful entries last time for 'One for the Boys'. Jennifer has now chosen her Top Three. So don't forget to pop over to see if you're a winner! (link in sidebar)

It's Pauline's turn to choose and with thoughts of Summer she has gone for 'Sun, Sea and Sand'. This is my inspiration for you.

The CD I have used is the Paula Oakley Collection from the Ooh La La range. The topper can be found in the quick card section and there is some fab matching background paper for this image too. This was a simple card to create and I haven't added a sentiment yet I am waiting to decide who and for what occasion it will be for.

 Don't those deckchairs just make you think of lazy Summer days at the seaside! The art work on this CD is awesome and a CD definitely worth investing in.

If you haven't already purchased it you can find it at the following link ooh-la-la-creations. There are some freebie images also at this site.

Have a fun week crafting and I look forward to visiting you soon!

Unstampabelles.....Pockets of loveliness!!

Good Morning from avery hot Cyprus....we're having a heatwave!!! And with heatwaves come fires!!! We had a very bad one yesterday in Arkaka which is a beautiful area near Polis.....for those who have visited here before. It was very bad and Cyprus couldn't cope so Israel was asked to help with additional fire planes and helicopters. We live a long way from Arkaka but could still see and smell the smoke....scary stuff. Thank fully noone was hurt but lots of beautiful countryside sadly spoilt.

The challenge this month at Unstampabelles. is Pocket Letters or Money Wallets. The twist is to add a crown. We are half way through the month and we've had some intriguing entries so far. For more information please click on the link in the sidebar.

 I have made a Money Wallet to inspire you.

I found some great card in my stash....very old so not sure where it was from sorry. It is covered in crowns so ideal for the Twist!! I made a simple fold over pouch wallet. I added a belly band in red card and a gold peel off to represent a mirrored crown. A Happy Birthday greeting was added with additional corner peel offs. I hope I've inspired you to have a go. There's a great prize on offer as usual from our lovely Susan.

 

A great die from Intricutz.

 

Grab a cuppa visit the challenge blog at Unstampabelles for more inspiration..........don't forgot only rule is NO STAMPS please!!

CD Sunday ' No images or photo'

What a great challenge Sue has set for you this time. It means you have to get creative with those CDs. Many crafters think that using a CD inhibits your creativity but not so. Especially as you'll see when you find out what the Design Team have created.

We have some new designers joining our team too. So a huge welcome to Margaret, Meg, Pamela and Pauline. We are so lucky to have you all on board and I look forward to working with you all. Please pop over to their blogs and give them some love!!

Last time Jocelyn wanted to see Lilac in your creations AND Lilac we got. Yes we were awash with Lilac!! There were some fab creation and Jocelyn is now trying to decide who our Top Three will be. Talking about winners all you who were lucky enough to win a fab prize in our Birthday challenge should be playing with their new goodies by now. I hope you're enjoying them. Isn't it lovely to receive a parcel of craft stuff in the post instead of bills!!

Here is my inspiration for you.

The CD I used for the background was by Joanne Sheen 'Eastern Treasures'.

 I die cut a large heart from the centre to create an aperture. Then added die cut flowers around the edge. This was the tricky bit. The flowers have to overlap the aperture and are adhered only to the edge. The second layer of flowers then overlap the first row. Then smaller die cut hearts were layered and placed centrally with the flowers just sticking to the edge of the heart to hold it in place. Think the photo may be clearer that my explanation !!!

I added some purple sparkly card to the back of the inside to show through. I placed flat backed pearls in the centre of the flowers. Finally a strip of ribbon lace was added plus the greeting and flat backed pearls and then a bow with a ribbon flower to the heart.

There's no image or photo with this one but still a busy card which requires creativity AND patience!

I hope I've inspired you. Please pop over to see the rest of the creations by the team and our new designers.....you won't be disappointed I promise you. You may just get some new ideas for using those CDs!! (Link in the sidebar.)

Have a fun week!!

Crafting with Dragonflies.

Time for our next challenge with the Dragonflies. This time .....guess what....we are looking for Dragonflies on your card  or you could use Butterflies. But I'll let  you into a secret ....our lovely Hilde just loves Dragonflies!! We would also like this to be the main feature on your card....so no going adding it as a last minute thought....lol as if!! xx

This is my card for you. It's one of my box cards, that I seem to be making a lot of these days. They are very popular with my friends.

I die cut the dragonflies using a free die I got with a magazine. How lucky was that!

I die cut the dragonflies twice using blue card underneath to create a shadow effect. You can just see the blue and white card inside. This was the card I used to make the box card. It was white on the reverse. So I mat and layered it with silver card that I ran through the embossing machine to give it some texture. The flowers and swirls are also die cut. I then added blue gems to the centres and on the dragonflies.

I had fun making this I hope you do too. You can find details on You Tube re 'How to make the box card'.

 My son has been visiting this week and is off to the UK tomorrow. So I'm off for my last minute cuddles!!! I'll be visiting you soon Take care and have a great weekend.

#58 Pocket Books/Letters or Gift Card Holders

Whoops forgot to schedule my post for this month at Unstampabelles. My excuse is that my son is here for his yearly visit an I just lost the track of the days!!! Sorry!!!

Now for an alert!!! Lots of information coming. So best make a cuppa and enjoy the ride towards something a bit different!

 This month Susan challenged us to do something different. It's a Pocket Book/Letters or Gift Card Holder and the twist is to add a CROWN.

• not just a card; 
• not just a box; 
• not just a tag; 
• not just an album; 
• not just a scrap page

So, what do we want? 

Basically anything that has a pocket into which you can put photos, tags, images, presents, gift cards.......

What are Pocket Letters and Pocket Letter Pal?
Basically it's a new way to write letters to penpals for a one time-swap or permanently. You decorate all the pockets of a trading card sleeve or similar, and send the whole page to someone who wants to swap with you. You can fill the pockets with anything you like (stickers, tea bags, a note, washi tape samples, pictures, etc.) Make sure to include a short letter or note and tuck it in one of the pockets. It's the perfect way to collect letters from penpals around the world and a convenient way to store them. They fit perfectly in a binder! 

This video on You Tube will explain it more..youtube

 I must admit I hadn't heard of them but Susan does love to challenge us and that's why I love being part of Unstampabelles. .....always something a bit different.

 

What is a Pocket Book? 

A book with pockets! Again, go to the internet and check out thevideo's on making pocket books or check out Pinterest where there are many different ones made. Decorate them to your hearts content as long as you don't use stamps!

Gift Card Holders

These can be pockets in a bag, or in a box or on a tag or purpose built!

 

Of course as always there is a prize from the lovely Susan.

 

It's a die from Intricutz Dies which cuts/emboss/stencil.

 

This is my inspiration for you. It's a small purse/pocket with a gift tag for a young Princess!!

 

 

 

This was made fro a kit I had in my stash....not sure where it came from sorry. I printed it on white card stock. The gift tag was hung on the handle of the purse/bag. I had some lovely silver thread left over from making my Christmas baubles so this was used to make the handle. I added a pink bow to finish. As you can see my Princess is wearing a crown so it's perfect for the twist.

 

I hope you enjoy being challenged to do something just a wee bit different. Check out the video link at the beginning of the post for more inspiration or pop over to Unstampabelles (link in sidebar)

 Don't forget the rule.....no stamps please....digi or otherwise. We are 'UNstampabelles! Have fun!!

 

 

#206' One for the boys' at OLL

Good Morning from a very warm Cyprus. My son arrived yesterday so we're going to have some lovely Mummy and Son time together. Yipee!!

Appropriately our challenge this time at Ooh La La is 'One for the boys!' We had some great entries for our last challenge, '4 legs not 2' and Janice has had fun choosing her Top Three. You can find out if it's you by clicking on the link to OLL in the sidebar.

Before I waffle on further I must say a huge congratulations to our lovely Lynn for her debut on Hochanda when she demonstrated the Ooh La La CDs. She was a natural....huge congrats Lynn x

Now on to my inspiration for you for the current challenge 'One for the boys'.

I used the CD 'Boys to Men' for the image and background paper. You can get the CD from here .ooh-la-la-creations.com.

 I began with an A4 piece of yellow card stock and folded it to A5. I went to the quick cards section of the CD and found this layout to inspire me. I printed it out and then began playing with background.

 I decided to split the striped background with a piece of the yellow card. I ran this through the machine using the dotty embossing folder to give it some texture. The greeting, 'Happy Birthday'  and 'Grandad', were already on the image....perfect.

That's all for today I'm off now to catch up with my cuddles!!

Have fun!!