Perfectly Rustics - Trees

Hello There,

Not long until Christmas now!  I cannot believe it.  Our little man of 3 is getting quite excited this year, which makes Christmas just that little more special.

I don't now about you but I have been pumping at Christmas cards this month and was most pleased when I popped them in the post or handed them out last week! Sense of achievement right there.  The current challenge over at Perfectly Rustics is Trees, which most of my Christmas cards seem to have on them this year.  Here is a sample of two of my cards:



I am really happy with both of them, but I especially like the black and gold number.  So easy to make, but very effective.  The challenge is open for a month this time to account for holidays so get creating and entering at Perfectly Rustics.

Thanks for stopping by and may the crafting force be with you.

Perfectly Rustics - Embossing

Hello There,

Another challenge over at Perfectly Rustics and this fortnight it is embossing, wet, dry or both.  I made a card for my mothers birthday using an embossing folder and versa mark ink then heat setting embossing powder.  I coloured it in with a chalk pen. I was really happy with the end result and more importantly my mother liked the card and she can be a tough crowd!  Here is my card:

I look forward to seeing your embossed creations at Perfectly Rustics.

 

Thanks for stopping by and may the crafting force be with you!

Stuck on U Sketches

Hello There,

I had the opportunity to complete a scrapbook page this morning so I sought out a layout challenge for some inspiration and found it at Stuck on U Sketches.   Here is the layout design:

 

And here is my page:

 

 

 

I had so much fun with this page, cracking out a few of my many rolls of washi tape and stamping on vellum.

 

Thanks for stopping by and may the crafting force be with you!

 

 

Perfectly Rustics - Stitching Challenge

Hello There,

I love cracking out the sewing machine to add some stitching to a project, especially a scrapbook page.  Sometimes I think it is not worth the effort, but once you do it, it is totally worth the effort.  This fortnight over at Perfectly Rustics it is all about the stitching.  I have done a scrapbook page using some photos of my little man when he was a baby, here it is:



I did draw the semi circle on in pencil before sewing it, I really like what the sewing has added to this page.  So dust of those sewing machines people and try some stitching on a card or page, once you try it you will be hooked.

Thanks for stopping by and may the crafting force be with you.

Just Add Ink - Add Clear Block Stamping

Hello There,

I have not partaken in any challenges for quite some time now, so I thought I would give the current Just Add Ink challenge - add clear block stamping ago.  I was playing with this technique last week and took it as a sign that the Just Add Ink team set it as a challenge that I should make a card using this technique.  I wanted to make a birthday card for a good friend of mine.  Here is the card:

I used clear blocks to create the background for the flowers as well as the backing piece for the flowers and the outline that you can see on the card.  So many ways to use clear blocks and inks in stamping.  The colours I used are pistachio pudding and blackberry bliss as well as wild wasabi and pear pizazz.

Thanks for stopping by and may the crafting force be with you!

Perfectly Rustics - Holiday Challenge

Hello there,

With Christmas fast approaching I thought I would take the opportunity to get in and make some Christmas cards for the current challenge over at Perfectly Rustics, which is Holidays, so it can include Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving and whatever other holiday you are planning for, who knows you could be super organised and up to making Easter projects!  I made a trio of white on white Christmas cards.  I am really happy with the cards and they are quite different to the normal cards I would make.  Here they are:



So break out those holiday stamps and get creating and enter your creation in the Perfectly Rustics Challenge.

 

Happy crafting and may the crafting force be with you!

Owen's Third Birthday

Hello There,

We recently celebrated our little man's third birthday, hard to believe.  He decided he wanted a Gruffalo party with a "big cake", which is what he said when I asked him who he would like to come to his birthday party.  After much searching on Pinterest I found lots of inspiration for the cake, food and gift bags here are some photos from the party.

 

Colin managed to get a picture of Owen's face when he first clapped eyes on the finished cake!

The all important "Big Cake"  I was quite pleased with the end result and Owen was very happy with it.  Plus it tasted really good!

 



 

Owen giving his Gruffalo, that he got for his birthday a cuddle.

 

The party bags.

 

Assortment of Gruffalo inspired food, including Gruffalo Crumble (chocolate crackles with orange M&M's for eyes), scrambled snake (popcorn), Purple Prickle Juice (blackcurrant juice) Terrible Tusks (cheese puffs), Toadstools (marshmallow with a strawberry), Owl ice cream (cup cakes make in ice cream cones), Roasted Fox (Sweet Potato Wedges), Log Pile House (chocolate finger biscuits) and Poisonous Warts (grapes).  I made signs for all the food.

 

Owl Ice Creams - Owen helped me decorate some, which is why a few of them have multiple beaks.

 

Poisonous Warts!

 

The table with all the food!

 

Owen in his circus tent which was one of his presents.

 

Owen running through the balloons that we put over in the doorway, the kids had great fun running through them.  He is also wearing a t-shirt he got for his birthday.

 

The cake with the candles on it.

The big moment when everyone sang and Owen blew out the candles.  After everyone had finished singing he turned to and said "Thank you my friends" which was very sweet and funny at the same time.

 

 

Owen had a great day and enjoyed his Gruffalo Party, I meanwhile took two days to recover from it, must be something to do with being pregnant!

Perfectly Rustics - Colour Challenge

Hi There,

I have been a bit slack with keeping my blog up to date, I have been busy preparing for the arrival of Bub number two (due in January), which has meant cleaning out the spare room, which really was just the junk room.  The amount of stuff that we accumulate is disgusting really.  But we have had a good clean out and gotten quite a number of bags of rubbish out of the house which is a good feeling.  We are making the room ready for Owen to move in to.  Colin will be painting it on the weekend, but someone has already moved in, because he wanted to sleep in the queen size bed.  Anyway enough of that, here is my creation for the current challenge over at Perfectly Rustics, which is a colour challenge, here are the colours:

 

I created a scrapbooking page with Owen, when he was only a few weeks old and my father.



Please head over to Perfectly Rustics and enter the challenge, I would love to see your creations.

Happy Crafting and may the crafting force be with you.

Perfectly Rustics - Punch Art

Hello There,

The current challenge over at Perfectly Rustics is Punch Art.  I have been a late convert to the art that is punch, but it is such fun creating things out of some punches.  Owen thinks it is just great when I create something, especially when I put it on a stick and he can use it as a puppet.  Being a Peppa Pig fan Owen and I set out to make a Peppa punch out.  I, of course turned to Pintrest for inspiration and found these awesome instructions at Kelly Kents blog.  Here are my Peppa and George creations:

 

Owen has such fun with these and runs around with them, he was also able to help make them, which was even better.  So break out those punches and get creative and head over to Perfectly Rustics to enter the current challenge.

 

Perfectly Rustics Challenge 28 - Bow or Ruffle

Hello There,

Yes I am still here, I have just been unwell for what seems like a long time.  Hopefully I am on the mend and I don't pick anything else up. 

Over at Perfectly Rustics we are up to our 28th challenge and this time it is bows and ruffles.  I decided to add a ruffle to a scrapbook page using a photo of Owen.  Who says boy pages can't include ribbon.  I am really happy with the way the page turned out.  I love the feeling you get when you create a project that you are really happy with and you can't stop looking at it.  Anyway enough of the chat, here is my page.

 

So get your ribbons and paper out and create a bow or a ribbon to add to your project and enter it in the challenge at Perfectly Rustics.

Perfectly Rustics - 1 Year Anniversary!

Hello There,

It is hard to believe that the Perfectly Rustics Challenge Blog has been going for a year now!  My how time does fly, which is the theme for this fortnight's challenge, incorporate a clock or time in your project.  I used this theme to create a scrapbook page of a photo of myself when I was about the same age that my son is now.  Here is the page:

 

I look forward to seeing your creations over at Perfectly Rustics and a big welcome to our new Design Team Member Cathie Borowski!

 

Happy Crafting and may the crafting force be with you.

 

3rd Birthday Card

Hello There,

With a 3rd Birthday Card to make for a little girl, I searched out some challenges to provide some inspiration.  I have used a sketch from Just Add Ink and colour combination from Color Throwdown.

Here is the sketch:

 

And here is the colour combination:

 

 

And here is my card:

 

 

 

The inside of the card:

 



I am really happy with the way that this card turned out, I love the double bow and the three little hits of bling.

 

Happy Crafting and may the crafting force be with you!

 

 

Perfectly Rustics Challenge 25 - Starbursts

Hello There,

Challenge time over at Perfectly Rustics again and this time is it starbursts.  I used the Stampin' Up! starburst framelits, which I just love to create this double page layout.  I also used a punch art Care Bear, this time it is Grumpy Bear, which is my son's favourite teddy.

Here is my layout:

 

Happy Crafting and may the crafting force be with you!

 

 

Two challenges for the Price of One!

Hello There!

I decided to utilise two challenges to complete one scrapbooking page, the layout design comes from Sketch n Scrap and the colour combination comes from Just Add Ink.

Here is the layout design:

 

And the colours are:

 

 

I went with summer starfruit, gumball green and midnight muse, three of my favourite colours. 

 

Here is my page:

 

 

 

I totally love the way that this page has turned out.

 

Happy crafting and may the crafting force be with you!

 

 

 

Care Bear Fun!

Hello There!

I am loving punch art at the moment and have slowly been building up my collection of punches so that I can make all sorts of wonderful things.  I have recently made a Peppa and George pig, much to the delight of Owen, my nearly 3 year old son.  This time I have made a Care Bear for a very special friend who is celebrating her birthday this week and just happens to love Care Bears, so when I saw this gorgeous little punch art bears, I knew that I had to make one for her.  I made Cheer Bear.  Here is the card:

 

I created the background with an embossing folder, sponging and some bleaching on the clouds.

 



I used silver ink for the greeting and added some silver sequins for a little more bling.

This is the inside of the card.  I just happened to have some washi tape that matched perfectly with the card.

 

I am really happy with the way that this card has turned out.

 

Happy crafting and may the crafting force be with you!