Weekly Dare for Ink-Stains

Okey-Dokey, I've just posted my first card in a weekly challenge over on a great Canadian site: Ink-Stains. It's a great card making community - very friendly ladies over there.

The challenge was: to make a card using a stamp of anything that can be found in the forest. This could be....a bird, bear, moose, insects, fairies, pretty much open really!

I have a neat dragonfly stamp so I thought I would use that.

Stamps are from Hastings Rubber Stamps and Hero's Leaves quartros, Bazzil cardstock, unknown pp, coke ring tab, metal brads, versamark ink, and the foil from a tin of Quik Milk flavouring.

A RAK

I'm doing my first ever RAK today - someone on the SE forum has a Birthday. I won't names names just yet as I am hoping I will have time to run it over to her this afternoon.

I seem to be using a lot of serviettes at the moment. Would not have said it is a signature, but for the moment, it's allowing me to produce cards quickly.

A couple of scrapping buddies came to my house last night for our weekly get together. With so many ideas buzzing around my head at teh moment, I thought I would have been on a roll. Instead, I found myself working on another card - Mr 5's friend (the C-man) has his birthday today. I'm trying to work in a Spiderman theme. Hopefully it'll work!

I also signed up for a card swap - I need to make 5 baby cards. Remind me again quickly of my plan NOT to overcommit!

DCM Challenge

I've been taking in the good folks over at DCM for a while now. Some of my cards have seemed to have met their challenge for the week so I've linked them back here. However, this is the FIRST time I have actually produced a card based on their challenge.

This week we're joining forces with the wonderful team of Scrapbookers over
on the Everyone is Speshal blog. We're daring each other and you to make a
Really Romantic Scrapbook Layout - but on a card!

Scrapbookers are challenged to downsize your usual a 12x12 LO onto a teenyweeny one - maximum of 6x6, which can be sent safely through the mail.

Cardmakers - you're used to working on a small
space, and you know all about the ribbons, brads and other bits and bobs - but
can you take on board all the other little touches that are used on a scrapbook
page - the titles, the journalling, the photographs etc?

My card is a 4x4 layout - the first time I've worked on something so small! It was quite fun - only just enough room to do what I wanted! I chose to do a photo-less lo as I felt the title and the journalling explained all.

Anyway, I know someone that was definitely challenged by this one - and she did a great job. Go on over and take a look at all the lovely cards the DCM girls do. Then why don't YOU have a go too?

Some boy cards

Keryn brought her boys over this morning - her eldest is a very crafty boy and my eldest has been itching to get his hands on my gear. So a couple of mornings now, we've set it up so they can have a play. They actually played more than they created this morning but that's OK. They get on really well! We had another friend and her boy along too - total 5 boys, 3 mums! It funny listening to them yahooing down the back where the cubby house has been installed! That is while we mums were in the dining room doing our own creations!

My two monsters have a birthday party to go to over the road on Friday - Their eldest boy was 8 on Monday, their youngest turns 4 on Friday. Think it will be lots of fun - they love to get together when they can.

So, as a *responsible* mum, I thought we should be turning up with some cards. Here they are. Thanks Keryn for bringing your sizzix toy too - I like!!

BTW: why am I having problems when trying to "BlogThis!" via Picasso - it is driving me MAD!!! I think I'v got it all done then check on here to find a lovely little red x - GRRR!!

I have been making a lot of cards the last couple of weeks it seems. I'm wanting to get on with a few scrapbook pages I have in mind. Thank goodness I've started a notebook with the ideas - not just the themes, but whenever possible the sketch or ideas of what I's like to use on the page too. NOT that that means I'll actually get any of the visions completed in the same way as I've noted! Still, trying to capture the inspriation when it hits... has to be a good thing, eh. (Cripes!! why am I centred aligned now??? I keep trying to align left.......uhhhhggghhh!)

I need to get something sorted for my NoCrap CJ. That was the first journal that I signed up for - I've just managed to get the SE one done first LOL! The theme for the NoCrap one is "What makes you tick?" Sort of know what I'm wanting to say, so that's all good. But had no idea how to express it visually. Had an AWESOME idea this morning. Need some more supplies though.............................. :) Well, a little bit of cardstock...

More cards

Hee hee... I got them done! I'm feeling very good tonight!!

The first card is for Dad - again thanks to a serviette from Keryn's collection. I had to (well, I wanted to - my mod podge jar that is MIA is less than a 1/4 full anyways..!) get some more mp from Spotlight today. I sooooooooo have issues with that store - but I will be kind and spare anyone reading those dramatic (painful / boring!) details...

Anyway, I am truly happy with how this turned out. The end result is quite different to what I thought I was going to do with it. Wven better - I got some ribbon in there!

This card is one for a Miss about to be 6 all the way in Belgium. I used my brand new sparkly MP here, cut out the angel and the stars - the bottom one has been raised with foam tape a little. Donna, I no longer have sparkle envy!!

I can't believe this Miss is actually almost 6! I first met her and her mum in Antwerp when my Mr 5 was literally 5 or 6 weeks old! Her and another friend who were to become good friends during our time over there. It was scary just thinking about how fast time had flown when they were all turning 5 over the last year. These were our first born babes! Mr 5 was just 18 months when we returned to NZ so he doesn't remember them - unless looking at the photos in the albums. I think the names are more like characters in a familiar book now!

These two ladies, and the 2 kids (and dads!) - as well as an additional two families became like family to me while I was over there. It seems very strange to know that people who were part of your every day fabric are literally on the other side of the world, sleeping while I do day time stuff, working while I'm dreaming...! Most of the little group have gone on to have No's 2 and even 3 in the intervening years. Little people we may never actually get to know, yet still have a connection with.

I owe a huge debt of friendship to these girlies. My very sanity and survival in a place so far from home often came down to you - miss you as always! (.............................I do - it's just I'm a hopeless letter writer...!!!)

The whole friendship thing has me thinking at the moment. I've signed up for my first ever circle journal through SE and am having to put together my two pages for it. I'm a little worried that my standard is different to the others - they are seriously very talented ladies!! However, I'm looking forward to challenging myself - and best of all, learning lots. About scrapbooking, but I'm guessing - a lot about the ladies involved - and me...! Yikes!

Oh - by the way - all you friends back here in NZ may be called upon soon..........think I'm gonna need some pics of you lot too........... :)

Ok, thoughts are heading into the silly area. must be my night-nights time.

Birthday flowers

A little something I have done for my sister's birthday next month. I've used serviettes obtained from Keryn's great stash. I'm quite pleased with the fact that I have used all three tulips - I usually will use just the one. However, I picked up that bright pink ribbon with the lime stitching and I thought it went so well with the colours in the serviette that I could use the stripes as well. Super pleased with this.

I was MEANT to be doing my Dad's card.... couldn't find my Modge Podge! Grrrrr - I have so many "safe places" that I never find things again! So, while I AM trying to get into that organisational mode, I seem to shoot myself in the foot a little now and again!

Being organised is one of my "Resolutions" this year. Truth is, it's usually a resolution EVERY year for me - I never quite get the hang of the concept. This year is a bit different - I'm still thinking about what it means to me. I found a definition on The Free Dictionary as: Methodical and efficient in arrangement or function. Yep, that sounds like what I need.

I am managing bit by bit (yes, it's baby-steps for me at the moment) to organise some things, but in the bigger picture I still manage to clutter and lose things. That old phrase "A place for everything and everything in its place" is really true.

So after a bit of time spent (unfruitfully!) looking for my modge podge, I was getting very frustrated. Nowhere near my HAPPY word for a while. Something reminded me that this was the very thing that I was striving to fix within myself this year - I don't want to be getting grumpy at the little things. So I took a big deep breath, realised that I wasn't going to suddenly get organised in order to complete the cards I WANTED to get done, and wondered what else I could do this evening, in the same vein, that would focus me back on getting something done. Then I remembered that my sister's birthday was also coming up. Et voila!

Adding a tick beside the list of cards I need to do - yep, makes me HAPPY!

Oh, yeah - I also managed to send away two of my SE swaps today - both on time. AND, I managed to tick off all but two tasks on my daily To Do list. Not too bad for she who is completely DISorganised! Baby steps are helping :)

Sparkly glitter

This card has been made for another friend turning 4 this week. I've used a now favourite technique - jac paper and glitter. It was a technique that Keryn showed us last year and has become a firm favourite to use for our little friends' cards.

Mr5 often helps me with these ones - choosing the appropriate stickers and sprinkling the glitter all over. The first time he made one of these cards with me, he couldn't believe how much glitter he got to use. His eyes were so big as I said for him to keep tipping more and more glitter! At school and kindy I guess they only use the amount they need and sprinkle more carefully. After tipping out LOTS and giggling the whole time about how much was coming out, he was amazed that I simply tipped the rest not stuck back into the bottle.

Ever since then, he's been a VERY keen helper with these glitter cards!

OK, here's my first pic being added...

I have been very quiet on the craft front over christmas. However, I have a friend whose daugher will be 4 very soon. So I got to use a few new bits and bobs (Pebbles chalk and stencils) that I acquired over the silly season and had some fun. Hope you like! It is still a very simple card - I tend to prefer to keep them that way for the younger set. It also contains my first ever example of doodling.

Mr 5 is also joining the crafty ranks. After coming with me to find the fabric for a "Vet Vest" yesterday he also wanted to get a stamp, stickers and some paper. Plus a few other things.... I said no the others, but he got a skater stamp (I'll be able to use that!) and some monster stickers. he also joined the creatives club and has me downloading some projects for him. Oh Boy!

Right, need to go make a pie for picnic tea.

Kelly