The first of several awards to pass on.

Hello everyone,

It's time to finally start passing on some of the lovely awards I have received. Somehow I have never managed to find time to pass them on. So, let's start with this award. It was given to me by the lovely Cheryl and I'm supposed to pass it on to 5 other blogs. So, I will grab the cuppa and have a bit of a think.

I will pass it on to:

1. Tracy

2. Cathy

3. Gisela

4. Sam

5. Julie

They all have lovely blogs, that definitely are worth having a look at. Hope you will all find it easier to pass it on to 5 blogs than I did.

Love,

Jo.

Back from holiday again!

Hello everyone,

Just got back from holiday in Somerset with the family late yesterday afternoon. Trying to catch up with everthing I missed over the last week and there has been a lot.

First I noticed that Debbie has a lovely giveaway going at

The Crafty Pad that is just too good to miss. She is giving away one of her lovely stamps daily for a week. Today is day 4, so I have already missed 3 great chances! Today she is giving away her Belinda Garden stamp.

The next thing I noticed was that I have been missing some major problems with Mr Linky at our new challenge blog C.R.A.F.T. Challenge. Otherwise the challenge blog seems to be doing well. So, it's time for me to get my skates on to come up with a DT entry for the next challenge that starts on Thursday again. It has been partially done, but you'll have to wait till Thursday for it to be revealed.

I also found I have been given another lovely award. This time it was the lovely Cathy who gave me this lovely award. Thank you very much! It does as usual have some rules attached to it.

The rules are that I thank the person for the award and pass it on to at least 7 people who deserve it and then list 10 honest things about myself.

The difficult bit will be to come up with 7 more people to pass it on to. I still have to come up with some people to pass some other awards on to as well as I have not really had much time to think these over yet.

As for the 10 honest things about myself, here it goes:

1. I am addicted to crafting, even managed to bring some crafty things with me on holiday.

2. I have 4 lovely kids, 3 boys and 1 girl.

3. I am married to a lovely man and have been for the last 10 years.

4. I am quite a busy person with lots of housework to do as well as a job.

5. I have just been on holiday to Somerset with the family for 1 week.

6. I have not done a lot of work today yet, although I have managed to do some of the laundry.

7. Today I have helped my daughter with her DT entry for C.R.A.F.T. Challenge for this week, although I have not yet had a chance to work on mine much yet. Oops!

8. I will soon need to get something sorted for tea as the family will return after swimming lessons at 6.30pm.

9. Tomorrow the kids will go back to school, hubby back to work and I will need to do some housework as well as getting some cards done.

10. I'll be back at work again on Tuesday, not something I'm looking forward to as it is likely to be very busy again indeed.

So, that is the 10 things sorted. Now I will need to think about who to pass it on to as well as getting my DT card sorted. Also need to get some birthday cards organised soon as well.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone, I'm going to try to get my DT card done now before the troups are back.

DT entry for Challenge 2 at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge Blog.

Here is my entry as DT member at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog for week 2. The challenge was to involve moving components, so anything that slides or swings, or moves really. You can find the challenge at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/ .

Just before I noticed the challenge layout for week 2, I had created these invites for my middle son's 10th birthday party. He wants a party in a swimming pool, just like his sister did a month or so ago.

The photo below shows most of the possible views of the card as a little sneak preview.

And here is also a view of his birthday card, which also fills the criteria for the challenge.

For the invites I used paper 8 of pack 2 of the freebies from Funky Fairies at http://funkyfairyinspirations.blogspot.com/ for the background paper on the front and on the inside of the card. These were printed out as 2 versions on 1 A4, to cover an A5 card.

For the birthday card I used two large yellow pieces of card (larger than A4, smaller than A3) and some step by step 3D images I found on the internet as well as the Bart Simpson Background paper. The Spongebob background paper is my own creation using the main image of the 3D image. This 3D sheet was also flipped to act as the back of the spinner.




The base card of the invites themselves consisted of 2 white A5 cards, folded in the middle and then decorated further.




On the front of the card I used an image I found on the internet of Goofey in a ring on his back. The same image was also cut out and put on another piece of background paper that I designed myself, measuring 6.6 cm to form the spinner. The same paper also had the invite details printed on for the reverse of the spinner. You can find the background papers I designed underneath the next photo of the card.

The backgound paper I designed for the spinner of the invites.

The background I designed for the birthday card inside.

Below you can see a view of the inside of the card. I have made quite some of this type of card over recent weeks or even months as I find they are quite effective. The window in for the invites was cut out using a large scalloped nestibilty in my Big Shot and the spinning image was assembled using a piece of blue cotton in between the 2 images back to back. They were stuck together using silicone glue to really keep the thread in place. It was then stuck to the back of the inside card with double sided sticky tape. The valley fold was made 4.25cm each side of the centre of the card to allow the card to fit in its envelope when the card is folded (otherwise the image sticks out).

Unfortunately the Big Shot is not quite big enough to cope with the size card for the birthday card I made. This therefore needed to be cut out by hand.

A little 'It's a Party' sticker were put on the inside of the card.

On the reverse of the Goofey image the spinner showed the details for the party.

Another view of the inside of the card is shown here:

And another view of all the invites.

Next are some further views of the birthday card for my son who was 10 on the 17th of May. He loves Spongebob Squarepants, but especially Bart Simpson.

For his card I used an image of Bart Simpson put onto a piece of oval card cut out with Nestibilities. It is very similar to the other swivel and spinning cards I have on my blog.

Here are some pictures of the card.

A view from the front.

A view of both back and front of the card.

The inside of the card.

The inside of the card showing the spinner.

A view from above.

A close up of the spinner.

Last but not least a close up of the front swivel image.


Hope you enjoyed looking at these cards and looking forward to seeing you join us in our challenges at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/.

Card for first C.R.A.F.T. Challenge. Moving home card.

Here is a real fun card for the first C.R.A.F.T. Challenge at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/. There was a choice of 2 cards and the wedding card below was chosen instead. Guess I could always try and enter this one as non DT.

At least I think it is a fun card and I had loads of fun thinking it out and making it. I had already noticed some 3D images on the net to do with moving house and thought they would be ideal for this card I made for my sister, who has recently moved house.

For the background of the front of the card I used google maps to find where she used to live and where she is now living. I managed to find the house she used to live in as well as a picture of the type of house she has moved to.

I thought it would be quite fun to make a penny slider type of card, using the map and the planned route from old to new house as the front of the card with the 3D image on top of the penny slider system. I'm pleased it turned out exactly like I had pictured it in my mind.

On the photo above you can see the moving people half way up the penny slider route. And below at the top.

A close up of the the 3D image.

For the inside of the card, I used the other image on the 3D sheet, as you usually need to do a little decorating, even if you are moving into a newly built home. I also flipped this image, to be able to make it into a spinner for the middle of the card.

The background for this I made myself, using both images in succession. Feel free to use the background if you have any use for it. But of course do not sell it as your own creation.

And here are some images of the inside of the card.

A close up of the spinner is seen below.

And from a slightly different angle.

And viewing it from the top.

I hope you enjoyed looking at this card and hopefully it has given you some ideas for your own creations. I really loved making this card and seeing it take shape as I went from one stage to the next. I'm really pleased it is so much like I imagined it would be and I hope my sister will love the card as much as I loved making it.

Thank you for looking. All comments are welcome and very much appreciated. Looking forward to seeing all your creations when you join us at the challenge!

First C.R.A.F.T. Challenge DT entry.

Time to unveil my DT entry for the new C.R.A.F.T. Challenge. It is starting today Thursday the 21st of May and can be found at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/. Feel free to join us there. The first Challenge is entitled New and you can enter anything that is new (baby, home, job, marriage). Here is my first entry. Hope you like it.








This card has been made for a girl at work, who is getting married later this summer. It is a combination of a swivel window and a spinning card. You will find some further views of the card below.









A close up of the swivel window.

A view also showing the back of the card.

The inside of the card. For this card, I have used images from Norma's 3D designs, she has some gorgeous designs available for free. You can find these at http://normas-3d-designs.awardspace.co.uk/.

A close up of the spinner.

More views of the inside.

And a view from above.

And a last view.

Thank you for looking, hope you like my card. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. And don't forget to join us!

The time for the first challenge at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog is here!

Hello everyone,

It's time for the first challenge at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/ today.

We all hope you will pop in and join us there. Looking forward to seeing all your creations and will try to drop in and leave comments on your blog. I am however away on holiday over the coming week, so please don't take it personal if I don't manage to pop in. I'm afraid I won't have any access to the internet while away.

Good luck everyone, looking forward to seeing you all!

The Next Level, another new challenge blog.

A BRAND NEW CHALLENGE IS BORN
The Next Level is the exciting new concept of Dawn (All Pink Girl) and Ann (Madgesty - Love to Create) probably better known as blog name Madge. Our aim in designing this new informative style of blog is not only to produce really creative Weekly Challenges that are not tied to any specific brand, but also to explore new avenues, ideas and techniques with a completely fresh approach.The Next Level will not only be a fun and informative place to hang out for card crafters and scrapbookers of all levels, but it is hoped that it will also become a valuable source of information, hints and tips, tutorials, downloads and much more. We want to cover the craft of traditional card making but also add in a touch of digital, not too much to scare anyone away, but enough to explore the magical world out there at your fingertips for anyone wanting to venture.We would very much like you all to be part of this new venture and over the next two week countdown to launch day, we need your support in getting us off to a flying start. Here's how we would like you to help:-1. Please register as a Follower of The Next Level and also leave us a comment below with a link to your own blog if you have one.

Done.

2. On your own blog, please spread the word about The Next Level and link people back to our blog with the lure of the fantastic blog candy that will be being awarded on Launch day. Doing this in conjunction with registering as a Follower of the blog will automatically enter you for the big Prize Draw.

Well, that has been done now as well. You can find them at http://thenextlevelchallenge.blogspot.com/.

They are also looking for 4 guest DT members and have some fabulous blog candy on offer. Do have a look.

C.R.A.F.T. First Challenge getting close.

Hi there everyone,

I have been busy this weekend working on my DT entries for the new C.R.A.F.T. challenge blog at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/, which is due to start its first challenge coming Thursday. Go and take a look, the first challenge prize is absolutely fabulous. Tracy has really done us proud there. Definitely worth getting involved and look in on Thursday. Hope you will all take part as it really is worth doing so.

Remember, the main thing is to have fun, the challenge prize is just a sweetener, a bit more this first time I believe.

I have really enjoyed getting my entries ready for this challenge, you'll have to wait till Thursday though before you can have a look.

See you at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge on Thursday?!

Get Well card for Challenge

Good afternoon everyone!

I have just finished a Get Well card I'm going to use in the latest Funky Fairies Challenge.

Here is a quick view of the card. To make it a little different from usual I put it in a octagonal shape. Hope you like it.

For this card I used a 'Just Teddy with flower' from The Crafty Pad (http://thecraftypad.blogspot.com/) stamp, coloured with some pastels and cut out. Then layered it onto yellow oval shaped card (using oval nestibility in Big Shot), layered onto scalloped pink, then purple card (nestibilities again).

This was then mounted onto an octagon of paper 28 of free paper pack 4 of Funky Fairies (http://funkyfairyinspirations.blogspot.com/), layered onto paper 25 of free pack dmaddon1 of Funky Fairies.

There are two further views of this card below.

Thank you for looking, I hope you like it.

Love,

Jo.

'Funky Hand Design Gang' Call

Hi everyone,



Didn't quite have enough time last night to put this on, so putting it on quickly today. I noticed this call for a member of the 'Funky Hand Design Gang' late last night, just before bed. Only just had time to reply to the call before turning in to bed.

The call is finishing today I believe and the new member(s) will be anounced end this week. Would be great to make this one as well if I could. Their CD's are sent to work with, giving you sneaky previews of what is to come. Brilliant!

Just made the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge Blog DT last week, and if I would make this one as well, well that would be beyond belief really, wouldn't it?

Well I'm keeping my fingers crossed and may the best person for the job get it.

If you are interested you can find the 'Funky Hand Design Gang' Call at http://funkyhand.blogspot.com/2009/05/wanted-new-design-team-member.html

and obviously, don't forget the new C.R.A.F.T. challenge blog at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/. We hope lots of you will join us there. Can't wait!

Love,

Jo.

Two more awards!

Just noticed I had been given 2 more awards, was unaware of it till just a few minutes ago, when I looked at the blog of someone I was following and noticed she had passed them on to me as well. Thank you Debs, much appreciated!

The trouble now is to find some more people to pass the awards on to. Will have to think of that later.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Celebration time!

It's celebration time!

I noticed one of my fellow DT members at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog had the fantastic idea of giving out some blog candy to celebrate having been chosen as a DT member.

As I am no good at drawing, I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my step by step 3D sheets with you. These have been made from images I have previously found on the internet and made in my own 3D images for personal use in cards.

Just to celebrate becoming a DT member, I thought I would gather some of the images together in one blog entry and you can find them below.

You may use them for your personal use, please don't copy and sell them on. Hope you enjoy them.

This is one I made for this year's Valentines card.

This is the second one for this year's Valentines card.

This is one I made last week for a birthday card of a football lover.

And this one I did today as my daughter wanted a

3D image for someone who is a keen gymnast.

The same one on a different background.

I hope you enjoy the step by steps and please join us at the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog where the challenges will start on Thursday the 21st of May 2009. You can find us at http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com/ .

Have a great and enjoyable Sunday everyone.

Love,

Jo.