Spring Blossom with a Sentiment

I will keep it brief this time as I am full of cold and planning to go back to bed! Our new challenge at

  The Cardmadfairy is to Add a Sentiment. I decided to add it to the image which you can find here before I printed it out.

We have been studying Japan this week at school and the children have painted blossom trees for their Mothers day cards so I thought I would continue the theme.

The larger flowers are another idea I picked up at Make It Farnborough. They are made from lots of layers of  crepe paper which I die cut and secured with a brad before scrunching up the layers and adding a little distress ink to add definition.

Entering the following:

http://ilovepromarkers.blogspot.com/ anything goes

http://littledarlingschallenges.blogspot.com/ spring is in the air

http://rubysrainbow.blogspot.com/ lace

http://www.thepixiecottage.blogspot.com/ colours and sketch

http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ think spring

http://www.craftybloggersnetwork.blogspot.com/ floral

http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com anything goes

http://onestitchatatimechallenge.blogspot.com/ use a digi

http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ always anything goes

Mother

I had a great time at the Make It show in Farnborough last weekend, there were so many talented demonstrators there showing off all the latest techniques and products, really inspiring. I had to be very strict with myself so I didn't go home with too many new things. Apart from the cost it would be hard to find homes for much more in my already crowded craft room! My head was buzzing with all the things I saw and wanted to try out, the only thing missing was my big sis Jenni who came with me the first year it was on but she couldn't make it this year. Hopefully next time we will be able to go together again.

The new challenge at THE CARDMADFAIRY'S DIGI DAYS is entitled 'Mum's the Word'.

 You don't have to use one of Jenni's images but if you do you can enter more than once.

 My card  this time is an unashamed copy of a layout I watched a demonstrator do at the show although on hers the main focus of the card was the two hydrangia style flowers and I have added the Cardmadfairy butterfly, which is one of my favourite images, as a focus. The background has been distressed and then stamped round the edge with a free image that came with a magazine, the backing paper is a Tim Holtz. The flowers are made by die cutting lots of flowers from an old Basic Grey paper, sticking them onto a punched circle and glittering the centres. The glitter which is not something I usually go for is something else I picked up at the Make It show. As you can see I have gone a bit mad and the whole butterfly is coloured with glitter using a special glue with a very fine nozzle! Great fun to do but I think I need a bit more practise!

Entering the following:

http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/ Open
http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/ Use a digi
http://perfectsentimentschallenge.blogspot.com/ Anything goes /die cut
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ Always anything goes
http://sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com/p/rules.html Things with wings
http://www.trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com// Mothers Day
http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.com/ Celebrate your Mum
http://digidoodleshopsbest.blogspot.com/ Pink and Green
http://doyoustackup.blogspot.com/ Things with wings
http://sjpapercrafts.blogspot.com/2012/02/monthly-challenge-2-february.html Flowers & pink/red

Don't be square

Time once again for a new challenge at the Cardmadfairy and this time she has requested anything but square.  I'm hoping to see some really inspirational projects like the ones the design team have made. 

I have used the inspire image and as it features a picture of my highly talented niece Lynsey who is a writer I decided to make her an early birthday card, one less job to do in June! I also used one of the birds from the three crows set as it has writing on it.

I discovered a new stationers near me a few days ago, I was only looking for printer paper but to my surprise it had quite a large range of craft items including Tim Holtz Ranger. Needless to say I didn't just go home with paper!

So the papers with writing are from a Ranger pad, the other papers are from a Docraft pad, the metal letter is from an Armani jeans belt I got from a charity shop, I am always on the look out for things to craft with, and I have had the feathers for donkeys years. Oh and I also bought a set of Ranger embossing folders which I tried out for the first time, I also used my hot glue gun for the first time to put a card together and I will definitely be doing them both again soon!  

Entering these challenges:

http://alotarubberstamps.blogspot.com/ shaped card
http://ccmonthlychallenge.blogspot.com/ anything goes
http://justtracyscraftschallenge.blogspot.com/ for a female with a flowing element (ribbon)
http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.com/search/label/challenges pink and brown with ribbon
http://sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com/ things with wings
http://cookingitupwithkatie.blogspot.com/ something spooled, metal, sentiment 
http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com/ distressed
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/ wings
http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ use your stash
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ always anything goes

Hearts

Hello Folks time to play a new game with the Cardmadfairy! There were some FABULOUS entries for the Ribbons and Bows challenge and I have had a truly inspirational tour of Blogland.
This time guess what we are asking for!  Ok not too hard to guess, it is the time of year when our thoughts turn to affairs of the heart is it not? So we are asking you to use hearts on your project. Jenni has some beautiful heart images which you can find here. The design team have made some fabulous cards with them which we hope will inspire you.
My card has actually got three different Cardmadfairy images on it! The heart which is a freebee, the banners and the bird.
I had it in my mind I wanted to create the idea of the banners you see at a street party so I printed the image in different sizes and layered them up. I was going to leave the background white but  I got a free set of papers with a magazine and the sky paper jumped out at me. I wasn't sure what to do with the bottom half and I was going through my various paper pads and this one put me in mind of a garden wall with some wintry flowers in front of it which really liked with the heart . Lastly I added the little bird on the heart which again is layered to give it a 3D effect.

The hearts are coloured with distress ink and covered with glossy accents.

Entering these challenges.
http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ Red,white and black
http://karensdoodlesnetherlandschallenge.blogspot.com/ Make a card for someone special (my lovely husband)
http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.com/ Anything goes
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com/ Hearts
http://papermakeupstamps.blogspot.com/ Be my valentine
http://daisydoodlescreativechallenges.blogspot.com/ Valentine's day
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ Always anything goes
http://www.bellichallenge.blogspot.com/ Hearts/Valentines
http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/ Use a Digi
http://trulyscrumptiouschallenge.blogspot.com/ Love and hearts

Ribbons and Bows and a Winter Wedding

Time for a new challenge at the Cardmadfairy and the theme this time is
Ribbons and Bows.
 There are some beautiful creations to inspire you over at the Challenge and quite a few of the cards have been made with brand new images. Also there is a lovely freebie just right for all the Valentines cards we will all be making soon so pop over to the shop for a look!


My card this week for the challenge  is going to be winging it's way across the pond to the daughter of one of my good friends who is getting married in Canada. She loves to make cupcakes and so I asked Jenni if she would be able to make a new digi stamp I could use for her. I love the result and I am sure she will too. I coloured the image with my trusty promarkers using some of the snap on fine nibs on the detailed bits, aren't they great?  As my sewing machine was out I decided to try adding stitching to a card for the first time and I love the result so I will definitely be trying it again. The flowers are from Wild Orchid and the ribbons and heart charm are from my stash.
Entering these challenges.
http://www.craftysentiments.blogspot.com/ Anything goes
http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ Romantic card
http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ Bows
http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/ Favourite embellishment (flowers)
http://craftybootschallenges.blogspot.com/ New beginnings
http://shellysimagesblog.blogspot.com/ Anything goes
http://cookingitupwithkatie.blogspot.com/ Pink,pearls,flowers
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/ New beginnings
http://ilovepromarkers.blogspot.com/ Anything goes
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ Always anything goes

Inspired

One of my Christmas presents this year was a sketch book from my daughter Emma. I have been thinking about doing some art journaling recently so it was the perfect thing to get me started. 

My multi-talented big sister Jenni has taken the She Art course run by Christy Tomlinson and inspired by the fantastic work she has done I decided to have a go. Jenni's latest piece was inspired by the lyrics of a song by one of her favourite bands which got me thinking about Emma and the band she is in and some of their songs.  One song starts with the line "There are voices in my head telling me what should be said" which struck me as the perfect line to start a journal with! If you are interested you can hear the song here!

So here is the result which I am pretty pleased with, the only problem is I had tidied all my crafts away as Emma is coming to stay for a few days and her old bedroom is my craft room, so now I have to go and tidy all over again!  Ah well when the Muse come what can you do? 

Lastly I just wanted to show off the canvas I created for my lovely husband Steve who is a cycling fanatic.

Happy crafting everyone!

http://sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com/ Anything but a Christmas Card

http://thesquirrelandthefox.blogspot.com/ Something New

http://ceschallenges.blogspot.com/ Anything goes

http://fairytale-challengeblog.blogspot.com/ Something new

http://deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.com/ All things new

Thank You

Well here we are in 2012 I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and peaceful New Year. I managed to get north to Scotland this year after being thwarted by the snowy weather the previous two and had an enjoyable stay with Jenni and the rest of the family. The journey back was a trifle hairy driving through gale force winds and horizontal rain but it was worth it, I'm not sure how many more Christmases I will have with my mum who asked me for the first time what my name is but who was very pleased to see me none the less.
Anyway on to our new challenge at Cardmadfairy. I trust everyone had some wonderful gifts to be thankful for, so what better way to start the year than by saying Thank You. I had lots of new crafting supplies and also some gift vouchers for my local craft shop so I am looking forward to testing them all out and having a spend when I need something new! I wanted to keep my card fairly clean and simple for a change so I used the sheet of dotty blooms which you can find here and I printed them out onto patterned paper. I used some pigment powder from Blonde Moments to give them a bit of sparkle and added white Sakura pen over the black dots to highlight them. The flourish was part of my Christmas present from Jenni and the papers were free with a magazine which I can't find at the mo so I can't give credit but it was a great freebie and included some lovely stamps which I can't wait to try out! I used the cut out flowers from the Martha Stewart border punch to finish off my flowers and I printed the sentiment from the computer.

Entering the following challenges:
http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/  The Colour Blue + 1 other colour
http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ Anything Goes Using Your New Stash
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com/Shiny New Year (Use something Shiny on Your Creation)
http://digistamps4joy.blogspot.com/  something old(button), something new(papers and stamp )
http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/  something new (papers and stamp )
http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/ open
http://www.ibrakeforchallenges.blogspot.com/clean and simple
http://sassystudiodesigns.blogspot.com/ Use Something New
http://sarahhurleychallenges.blogspot.com/ Giving Thanks/ Thank You
http://www.trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com// Thank You
http://cinspirations.blogspot.com/ With Thanks