Scrap Whispers challenge #70 - card for all occasions

This is the last Scrap Whispers challenge before the new game starts on August the 5th! I tell you, this one got me. To start with I thought it would be easy. It's a card, right? I can make cards, no problem. But for ALL occasions? That's a poser.

So it has to be suitable for a woman (easy!) a man (not so easy - no flowers, frills, pink, lace or mushy sentiments), a boy (as for men but also nothing "adult") or a girl (preferably pink, frills, lace and cute {sigh}), or a baby (oh man, more lace and frills). Then there are all the holidays to think about: Easter (yellow & flowers), Christmas (red and green), Valentines (red) etc. And then the other occasions: birthdays, thank you, get well, sympathy, wedding/engagement.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't think of ANYTHING that was suitable for a baby AND Valentine's Day, a wedding AND Christmas AND sympathy. Nope. Something had to go, and I chose Christmas. I think my card would just about get away with any of the others...

Thank goodness I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

This is made from free papers from a magazine from last year. The circles and scallops are QuicKutz dies cut with my Cuttlebug, and the owl stamp is Catslife Press. The ribbon is from my stash.

Easel cards

Despite DH being away in Singapore on a training course this week, and me thinking I would have a lovely time to myself crafting and watching what I want on TV, that hasn't happened! Does it ever? Hehee. I made a suggestion at church on Sunday, and somehow ended up taking on a few big jobs. Learning it all and getting it done took me until Wednesday tea-time - not what I had planned for my time. But it's all for a good cause and next week onwards won't take as long.

So after all that bum-numbing computer work I took today "off" for some fun. In between putting the laundry out on the line and bringing it in a few times when a shower came over, I managed to make my two current favourite cards. I absolutely love the Basic Grey Indian Summer paper collection, but I think that on their 12"x12" papers the designs are too big. On the 6"x6" papers everything is scaled down which I prefer.

I just discovered that the envelopes for the two packs of 50 square card blanks I've got are 4mm too high for the "small letter" size. 4mm. So I have to pay an extra 75 cents to post these cards internationally........ Yeah. I thought that too. I must remember to chop a little off the cards I make and fold the envelopes down, OR use these blanks only for hand-delivered cards. Today's are for hand-delivery, and being easel cards they "use up" the cards one and a half times faster.

The Basic Grey challenge this fortnight is to use stitching (real or faux). Mine is very faux! I pricked holes and joined them up with a sepia pen - I think it looks pretty authentic from a distance. The Indian Summer papers are spot on for Colour Create's challenge of hot pink, warm orange and saffron, and Charisma Cardz just wants "something with a tail" this week. Finally Friday Sketchers has this pretty sketch for us, which I rotated:

And my creations.

Other items used:

• chipboard birds by Twiddleybitz
• coloured with Smooch Inks (molasses, luscious lime and kiwi)
• bird stamp by Tim Holtz
• sentiment stamp by Hero Arts
• inks: Versamark sepia and Dewdrop water-based orange and yellow
• ribbon from dollar store
• brads from stash

Scrap Whispers challenge #69

Welcome back to the Scrap Whispers challenges!

We've had a break from challenges during the Big Reveal from the last game, because our teams have all worked so hard producing their innovative creations. As usual, everyone has done us proud - well done to all who played! You can see the teams' LOs on the blog site.

Now we're back in full force for the new season - which starts, of course, on August 1st. Sign-ups are taking place right now, so if you want to play along, just drop Georgina an e-mail at GH26@sky.com

So while we're organising the teams, here is this week's challenge - MONOCHROME. I hope my LO inspires you to try this one.

It is based on a sketch from Inspired Blueprints, and uses Graphic 45 Renaissance papers and scraps, as well as the wooden flower, chipboard lettering and journalling stamp from Kaiser craft, and the bugs from Castro Crafts.

DH's birthday

He had a lovely day - lazy, ending with a truly delish meal at the Silver Spoon restaurant where he got a wonky candle stuck in his chocolate and honeycomb brownie with-chocolate-sauce-and-macadamia-nut-ice-cream. Mmmm.

He got loads of cards from friends and family, as well as this one from me:

This was my first attempt at an easel card, and I really love it. The sketch, stamp and sentiment are from Lili of the Valley, the papers are Basic Grey whose current challenge is gingham, and it's all coloured with Copic markers and inked with Artnic's Evergreen. The ribbon is from my scrap box and the punch is Carla Crafts.

He also got this card:

It's House Mouse's Monika of course, jumping over the world with Kaiser craft paper behind. I missed the boat completely on this challenge - well the posting of it, not the creating of it, but hey never mind. It's cute, right?

At last, a craft post

When I was back in the UK visiting my little niece and nephew (having forgotten my camera - what kind of a scrap-booker am I?) I was told that niece is very much into Hello Kitty. I was surprised - she's 7 next week and she went through the Miffy stage at 2. I thought she'd be past it, but apparently it's High Fashion at school.

No problem. I'm sure I've seen a neat little Hello Kitty cutting file somewhere. Now where was it...? {cut to several hours later, having searched all over hard drive, didn't find it but did find several other things instead and got distracted...}

Ooh ooh, I didn't show you the Father's Day card I made for FIL. Let's do that first while I find that cutting file. I made this one from a pile of clearance bits I got from Hobby Craft, the lettering stamps that Georgina gave me (mwah!) and Papermania Hampstead papers. Please forgive the carpet background, but it was created on the carpet, and I'm sure some carpet fluff was incorporated into it, so the carpet deserves some credit. I'm remembering from looking at this photo just how badly my back was aching after this.

OK I got it! www.quillingpatch.com has a surprisingly fun bunch of free cutting files, so credit where credit's due. Just put in some scraps of card-stock, a few hours of head-scratching and intense concentration, a good light, tweezers and gummy fingers, add Stickles (phew) and you get..... this.

I'm chuffed. But that's really not important. The point is, do you think a 7-year-old would like it?

The Big Reveal week

over at Scrap Whispers is on! And first up is Team 1, which is MY TEAM and of course is the best! Go and have a look?

At last I can show you one of my favourite LOs, although it was SO hard to get the camera to show the copper. The papers are SEI with a Cuttlebug die and Thickers lettering, and enough Stickles to sink a ship:

Such rich colours, aren't they? To see the creations that the rest of my fabulous team came up with, click here. There is a prize for the winning team and I can't wait to see who'll win!

I'll let you know when the sign-ups for the new game start. This season we have a brand new message board at Proboards. If you want to get involved in the fun, send Georgina an e-mail at gh26@sky.com to get signed up. The commitment level is minimal: just one LO during your chosen week. If you also want to win some fantastic prizes, there is a weekly challenge opportunity which the DT has been working hard at organising. Come and join us!

What's in a name?

I just accepted a package for my DH. The conversation with the non-Caucasian delivery guy went something like this:

Guy: Hi (holding out a package)
Me: Oh good, thanks! (taking it)
Guy: Is this for you?
Me: (checking the parcel, it says Mr.) It's for my husband.
Guy: (getting out his gadgety thing) What is your name?
Me: Rosey, shall I spell that for you?
Guy: no that's OK. Your surname?
Me: The same as my husband's (big smile, holding out the parcel so he could see the label)
Guy: Sign here please? (holding out the gadget)

I look. Rozzy. And the surname has been "corrected". Grr.

Me: Does it matter that the name is wrong?
Guy: No, it's only to prove it's been delivered
Me: (long look at him - is he kidding? Nope. I write) m-i-n-n-i-e m-o-u-s-e
Guy: Thanks, have a good day
Me: You too

Back in the land of Oz

DH picked me up from the airport at 1am this morning (is it really still THIS morning?) on time only because all my flights had been delayed. This was just as well, because his new Mazda SatNav sent him to the Domestic airport instead of the International one - a good 15km difference. He was not happy. Well of course he was happy to see me, but the righteously indignant discussing of the SatNav's blatant wrongness took up most of the journey home. Another bug to report methinks.

Compared with the glorious unaccustomed English sunshine I've enjoyed over the past month, it's COLD. It went down to about 5C last night. I was very glad of the electric blanket and my fleecy dressing gown - YES I'm getting old! But the sun and these vivid blue skies, so different from the pale softness of English skies, were warming outside. We're past the shortest day so the hours of daylight will be increasing again. We'll start noticing it properly soon.

DH is off the rest of this week. Bless his heart, almost as I walked in through the door last night, he handed me a leaflet advertising a scrap-booking shop's stall at our local shopping centre, ending today. I told him I had so much from my birthday spending spree that I hadn't even touched yet, but he still took me there and carried the baskets while I popped packets and papers in. He had an animated conversation about the merits of magnetic tape for displaying LOs on canvas with the stall-holder. Crafters and engineers think along very similar lines. I got back with a couple of bags of Kaisercraft pretties and rather a lot of adhesive. I think that's because I haven't got used to how cheap adhesive is here compared with in Singapore. I seem to get a bit excited every time I see it! (Well you can never have too much adhesive, can you?)

I'll be back in my craft room on Monday. I can't wait!