Cuttlebug Mania

I found a new card challenge site named Cuttlebug Mania.

It has a challenge to use orange.

I started by putting some orange card in my cuttlebug with the music embosser.
Then I found 2 other co-ordinating papers plus a butterfly as an embellishment.

The library craft challenge

At the library craft challenge they have a theme based on Death on the Nile.


We are to be inspired by the book in some way.
I chose colours to reflect the heat of Egypt including oranges, browns, sand tones plus a small amount of blue for the Nile river.
I copied a small hieroglyph that appeared on Google recently and used it as a strip across my card.
I tried not to use black, as it would be too heavy with the papers I chose.
Hopefully my card will be a creditable inspiration!

Cardz4galz and Time out

At Cardz4galz they want a graduation card.
I made this to be for female or male as I don't sell many graduation cards.
The microscope and spectacles inspired me. My daughter has a friend who recently got her science PhD,it made me think of her.

Time Out challenges has this beautiful picture to inspire us

I started by doing a patchwork background in pale blues and turquoises.
Next using paint, I stamped 3 big flowers.

After they dried, I fussy cut and added them to the front of the card.

I'm also entering it at Dare to be artsy where they want flowers

Colour my heart dare and Jo's scrap shack

At Colour my heart dare they have this picture


The challenge is using red,white and blue.(plus a little black or brown if needed).
My card is for a man.

Also it is anything goes at Jo's scrap shack so I have used some scraps on this card for a male.

Cardz4guyz plus others

At Cardz4guyz challenge the theme is beside the seaside.

This enabled me to use something I've been hoarding for 2 years. I was in Hawaii 2 years ago and bought some souveneirs which came in a paper bag featuring snoopy and a surfboard.
I knew it would come in handy!

I tore some pale yellow paper to look like sand then carefully tucked the picture behind it.

I can imagine a teenager who surfs getting this card.

At The Male Room it is anything goes with optional origami.
I'm hoping pinwheels qualify, it is after all paper folding.
The background cardstock is shimmer and I thought too pretty to totally hide.

I'm also entering this one in A gem of a challenge

Sketches in Thyme

At Sketches in Thyme this is their latest sketch.

While we were in Christchurch we visited the museum.

One of the exhibits was this 24 gold  plated speedway bike on which Ivan Mauger won 6 World speedway championships.

Read about it here.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ivan-maugers-gold-plated-motorbike-sold-canterbury-museum

I started with a cream paper that featured gold circles.
Next I tore 2 scraps of patterned paper featuring circles that looked to me like wheels and inked the edges with "old paper" which comes out looking like gold edging.
I had 2 smaller photos so adhered them one on top of the other and matted on a neutral coloured background.

I hand stitched 2 rows at the top and one at the bottom in black to resemble tyre tracks (?)
Yes there is a row of stitching at the bottom cut off by the scanner.
The tickets made good journaling as all the necessary words were there. After adding a couple of arrows, I'm done!

Sketchy Boards Challenge.

My daughter buys unusual things.
She loved Frida Khalo so anything Mexican or ghoulish appeals to her.

If you look at this post, you will see her garden ornaments
https://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/2016/03/using-squares-just-for-fun.html

I've chosen the Day of the dead skulls and made smaller copies of those photos for my Sketchy Boards layout.
Here's the sketch

You can see now why I chose them!

The background paper has been turned sideways so that the black runs up the right hand side. I traced a white circle with gel pen to even it up.
Next I added bits and pieces but didn't overdo it.

Scrap room

The Scraproom facebook group has a starter  sketch.

I've used Bella papers from their New York range on this layout and kept it true to the sketch as it is a sombre theme.

The Peace bell stands in Christchurch NZ in the middle of the Botanical Gardens.

You can read about it here:

http://www.paradise-press.co.nz/wpb.html

Now here is my layout

Cute card Thursday

cute card Thursday has a stitching challenge.

I've made a thank you card which could be for a male or female.
The main motif is a #D sticker using felt with stitching.
I added Washi tape saying Thank You plus a Sassafrass Lass circle border trim.

Sketch 'n'scrap

                                                                                                                                                                         This is the sketch at sketch'n'scrap that is due by 31st May.

And at Challenge Yourself



I'm combining these 2 challenges.
The 2 photos of me are almost identical, taken at a park in the middle of Christchurch, New Zealand.

The pole is a Victorian era one with intricate panels and stood at the junction of 4 paths.
This was symbolic to me, as I'm turning 65 this year and the different parts of my life are all coming together, looking forward.

I love TRAVEL, it is my main passion and I hope to continue doing it for a while yet. (We were travelling when this was taken)
I'm financially secure now which allows me to travel.
My daughter is early 30's and has her life sorted out.
4 years ago I bought a house which will see me out.
So far, my health has been reasonable, hopefully it will remain so for a while.
Basically, I'm ready to face my future with no demands or encumbrances.

Kraft +

At Kraft + they have a colour and sketch challenge.



Here's my interpretation.

 It was at a wedding late 1960s and my uncle was being funny as usual.

Everyone in the photo looks so happy.

Freshly made sketches

Here's the challenge at Freshly made sketches.I bought several new pieces of scrapbooking paper yesterday which has motivated me to make more cards.
Here's my first, using a citrus themed paper.

Frilly and funky

At Frilly and Funky they have a challenge named I love it because....



I recently made this scrapbooking layout using wood paper as my background.
My title is chipboard that I have inked.
On this (very economical) layout I have recycled lots of items which is why I love it!

There's a square of hessian cut from an old potato sack,
The book paper was torn from an old book,
The black and white curved paper was a lolly container.
The mesh with holes from a tablet manufacturer.
The photo mat (navy) was cut from a tourist brochure.
The 2 white leaves are from a cake topper.
Everything worked in so well.

Daring Cardmakers

At Daring cardmakers they ask us to use clocks and time.
I've recently done this layout so have decided to use that instead of a card.

It features the clock tower from Alkamaar in Holland.
My ancestors on Dad's side were born in that town so it has a special memory for me.
It was a beautiful spire.

Unstampabelles

The twist at Unstampabelles is the 1920s and the theme is "To have and to hold"

I put an unusual twist on my layout.
 The photo is from a Phryne Fisher costume exhibition I attended a few years ago.
She is in a series of books by Kerry Greenwood and I have read them all.

Back in those days people didn't always get married in white dresses.
My grandparents attended many weddings where the photos were of brides dressed in something like the coat above.
It is blue, so a good colour for a bride.
I've used white doiley and flowers to allude to a bride too.

Colour dare and Male room

I'm sharing 2 cards which are distressed in 2 different ways.

The first on the left, is for The Male Room where they want a number card.

I inked using pinecone, around the edges of the big tag and used the number 45 plus a castle 3D sticker.

The one on the right is for the Colour dare challenge using this palette


I've used New England ivy, heather, fern (stem) ,Sapphire (sentiment plus ballerina (flower).
I roughened the edges of the grey on all sides, but it looks in this like it is only on 2 sides, must be the camera angle.

More little bits from my Counterfeit kit used.

At Case this sketch they have this sketch

I've made a thank you card for a man using blues with a tiny touch of red.
I kept it plain because of the busy patterned paper.

Joy of sets card

At Joy of sets there is a tic tac toe challenge.
I've decided to go across the top row and make a birthday card.
I used pearls not jewels but hope they count, an owl and aqua green papers.

Kea & Vic's bakery

Here's another two layouts done with my Counterfeit Kit "Autumn holiday".

I used inks on my background plus a few dribbles of mist.
The wooden paper suited these photos, so it became my main mat.
I'm pleased to have used 3 of the bird tags I made by dipping them in walnut ink and stamping the previous month.
There is also washi tape and enamel dots , plus some cork alphas and brackets.

And now my last layout for this month.

The background paper is Lilybee designs and range is Persnickety huffy

I had 4 photos from a bakery we visited in Christchurch so used them all on the one layout.

One was cut shorter so I fitted the large tab in there.

 I also used the Vespa (hooray) plus 2 arrows and a sticker.

I also accentuated the layout with 6 red rhinestones that have been on my desk since Christmas! (another hooray!).

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Looking at my blog statistics I see there are an average of 20 people looking at each post, a comment wouldn't go astray, even a short one.
I continue to blog so that I have all my layouts recorded electronically.

Challenge #1 CKC.

Here is a sketch we are asked to use.

I've put my own twist on it using my Sunset kit plus some silver corrugated cardboard.

In Christchurch a few years ago, they had a bad earthquake which destroyed many buildings including their cathedral.

The steeple fell completely down, so the Cathedral has been temporarily replaced with a cardboard cathedral, built from perspex and those big cardboard rolls that come inside Factory sized aluminium or paper.It is fascinating to see!

The stickers from a Prima kit I had on the right hand side are appropriate for this.

Comparing Now and then

In my May kit was a paper saying the great outdoors. It is meant for camping photos but I have managed to alter it by carefully covering up some of the images.
I visited Christchurch in 1978 and again last month and had 2 photos very similar of me standing by the river.
I also had a tag I had made a few months ago saying "Now and Then". It is perfect for this layout!
I added a few journaling words and it was complete.

Li'l red wagon

At li'l red wagon there is a sketch challenge.
I'm always looking for ideas to use up scraps, so this suited me.
The sentiment is from my Counterfeit kit.

Let's scrap

I finished my Pink "sunset" counterfeit kit this month so now I'm on to the "Autumn holiday" travel kit. I'm working on my New Zealand Photos of course.

My layout is based on this sketch



which is at Let's scrap sketches.
I might return to do the other side as well as I have more tram photos.

I'm also entering this at Use your stuff where their challenge is to use tags.

My goodness it must be 10 years since I used cardstock as background but it works for this layout.
As you can see, instead of punching diamonds or squares, I used tags.
I had put 2 sheets of old Basic Grey tags in my kit.There's 7 tags on here.
There are also a set of 3 tickets from the kit which becomes my journaling.

The patterned paper I used has an olde worlde vibe which goes with the tram.

Hope you like my layout!

A few days later now and I went back and did the other half of the layouts.
I'm pleased to use more tags plus the FWAB tree which I have had for ages.
I had just enough of the printed paper to make my library pocket.

And here's the combined layout

There's a thin strip of grey along the top of the left hand side because the cardstock was slightly shorter. I will compensate by cutting the same width from page 2.