Magic Window Card

 I love it when I find a shape or technique which I have never tried before. This week I found a magic window card, I found inspiration for this card from You-Tube. After Googling it I realised that some folk called it a shutter card too! I knew this interactive card would be just right for the encouragement card I needed to make for friends who are going through some painful health problems.

I followed a tutorial HERE at first without embellishing it to just make the card and learn how the shutter part worked, but it was a bit small at 4"x4"so I made it again to measure 6 x 4, a size I felt happier with.

I love the way this magic circle (or shutter) card works ...as the card is opened the shutter inside opens to reveal the "Thinking or You" message, it reminds me of a camera lens shutter in slow motion, . I found it hard to stop playing with it LOL! The "think bubble" was made using a die from an X-Cut speech bubble set which looks a bit like a cloud, I cut it from a piece of card then cut around it to make a frame around the aperture. I used tiny flower and scalloped oval punches for the bubbles!

The dark blue and green colour combo is one of my favourites especially when the green is somewhere between sage and lime!
I had a dotty theme going on inside with the scrapbooking papers and embossing folders I used, all the papers were from K&Company "Hopscotch" 6x6 scrapbooking paper pad.

This was also a good opportunity to use the fabulous Owl Builder punch from Stampin' Up, I love this cute little owl it's fab for using up the scraps of card and papers which I cant bear to throw away! I used tiny black sticky flat back pearls to complete the eyes, are these owls cute or what? they always make me smile LOL
I also used the Stampin' Up embosslets butterfly folder which die cuts and embosses 5 different butterflies at the same time, such a useful thing to have! I layered the butterflies and used flat back gems to complete them. The bellyband (first picture) uses the Stampin Up framelits labels collection and the matching pricking template.

The "We Are",   "Thinking of You"  "& Praying" were all computer generated. I didn't want the card to become too fussy and lose the simple message that "We Are Thinking of You & Praying" so I didn't add any more embellishments.

I find it hard to see family and friends go through stuff, I wanna wave my magic wand and make it all better and easier for them. but I don't have one!!! I do have something far far better though.....My faith in God! and the power of prayer! and the hope that brings.

I'm entering this card into some card making challenges...
Get Creative: "Butterflies"
Creatalicious: "Butterflies"
Dragonfly Journeys: "What's the word, Bird"
Crafty Hazelnuts: "Patterned Papers"
AAA Cards: "Woodlands + Something New

Cards Galore: "Anything Goes"

Craft Your Passion: "Anything Goes"
Sisters of Craft: "Anything Goes"

I think I have ticked all those boxes! I have butterflies, birds, the woodlands is an owl and the something new is the magic circle card itself, I have used patterned papers and yes anything goes!

here's hoping for a win! but have to say i had mega fun wth this one.

thanks for dropping by, I love  to see who has visited so please leave comments, God bless you and all you set your crafty hands to do! xx

52 weeks @52 Project Life

Good Morning !,
It's 5 am on a rainy Saturday morning, yet again I cant sleep!!! so I thought I would do something constructive rather than sit here zombie style in front of my laptop looking into blank space. With all the chaos lately at home I have become somewhat stressed and feel quite ill, i am battling hard really trying to keep myself out of hospital so the best thing to do is be honest about it but try and find something to take my mind off how I feel! it's worked in the past!
In less than 2 weeks time I will turn 52  ***!GASP!*** how did that happen? Well I have been thinking a lot about scrapbooking again. The plan last year was to get back into traditional scrapbooking but after a couple of layouts that plan got lost and just didn't happen. I do feel that I really wanna do it BUT I chase photographs around my desktop, I search for the perfect layout, papers, embellishment etc etc that I become such an intense indecisive perfectionist that my pages never get past the idea stage. its frustrating I have lots of stash to use lots of photo's and a story to tell but my critical eye stops me all the time. So what's the answer?
I have heard of a system of pocket scrapbooking... "Project Life" I have looked into it on pinterest and google and it seems to be the answer to my problem. Obviously you never know if something is the answer or a good idea for you unless you try it out so that's what I am going to do.
I had one of those "OH YEAH" moments a few days ago where I realised that there are 52 weeks in the year and I will be 52!!! (not rocket science is it?) but what if I do this thing where I document my life for a year, spend 52 weeks sharing being my life @ 52 (gotta think of a better way to phrase that LOL) so I have asked Kev to buy me the album and the plastic pocket pages along with the die from Stampin' Up which cuts out the 4x6 and 3x4 cards some card in my favourite colours and just a few bits n bobs to start me off. I don't want to become a hoarder of Project Life cards so will just get a few and create the rest myself. I want to do this so that I can look back on this year too. It's the kind of thing I should have done two years ago as I turned 50 but most of you know how desperately ill I became in 2013 / 14 so that wasn't a possibility for me.
Now the one thing I had to get over was the worry that I would miss doing the traditional style of scrapbooking using my papers etc, I thought it was just a matter of putting photos into pockets and job done, but now i see  that it can be a bit more than that if i so desire (and I do), I can make the little cards myself adding ribbons embellishments my stash die cuts stamps etc etc but I can also intersperse the pocket pages with 12 x 12 layout pages if I want to. I can make up my own rules, or just decide not to have any rules at all! sounds good to me ;o) so now I am off to look at more pinterest boards and view more youtube videos  before I make a start next week I will start on Match 1st

I will let you know how I get on

Super Pup, Ethans Birthday Card

I shared yesterday about Super Pup...a digi-stamp by Tiddly Inks. Well after spending ages trying to get my printer to speak to my laptop and play nicely, I finally got it printed out 4 times onto smooth card and I coloured the images with my Promarkers. Well after cutting and layering the image decoupage style using foam pads, I created a card that really made me smile lots which is just what the doctor ordered LOL, here's a close up of Super Pup.....

I made the eyes and nose shine using Glossy Accents. To create a cloudy background I used my powder blue pan pastel with an acetate template for the sky I stamped with my Lovely as a Tree stamp by Stampin' Up at the bottom of the rectangular scene to give the idea that the pup is flying higher than the tree tops,  I used some tiny polymer stamps to create a flock of birds flying into the distance. After setting the pan pastels with hairspray I added the Super Pup decoupaged image to the background to complete the scene.

I matted and layered the completed scene onto mat black card and then onto blue holographic card and attached it to my white A5 card blank. I tried to use a white pen over a grey Promarker to add like little jet stream from the cape and back legs to give flying movement but it doesn't really show up much at all.

I think if I use this image in a similar way again I will make the image of Super Pup much smaller which will be more effective, but this one is for my grandson Ethan celebrates his birthday this week, I know he will love it and will be convinced that Super Pup is our doggy Lulu in the picture.

I am entering this card into a few challenges, 

The Alphabet Challenge.....R is for Round or Rectangle

Chocolate Coffee & Cards Challenges.....For The Boys

Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge.....Celebration Cards 4 Kids

Creative Knockouts.....Animal Friends

I have purposely not put "Happy Birthday" on the card as I know my grandson Ethan will want this card to be framed and hung on his bedroom wall after his birthday.  this pup looks so like our Lulu!

Kev and I have been visiting for the weekend to celebrate Ethans birthday (which is actually next Tuesday), We live over 100 miles away so only see each other every couple of months! We have had a fab time finishing off with a small surprise party for him, we bought super hero cups plates table cloth and birthday banners which co-ordinated perfectly with his card, we couldn't have planned it better! still finding it hard to believe our Ethan is 11 years old this week!

Lulu and Super Pup look like the same doggy! (she has hung her cape up here LOL)

I now one thing! creating this card really made me smile and cheered me up on a day which had been quite stressful, even though I was up very late finishing it

As Lovely As A Tree.....Centre Step Card

Today I want to share a thank you card which is made especially for the mental health team who work from The Woodlands Resource Centre, in St Annes on Sea. I have had a lot of support during my illness and it was world mental health day last week so I though I should send a thank you card to them and what better image to use than this one for their card? (woodlands!!!)
I used this Stampin Up set below to create it...

 I have been trying to buy this Stampin Up "Lovely as a Tree" stamp set" for ages, I absolutely love the grove of trees (bottom stamp) I bleieved the set had been retired so didn't bother going to Stampin Up for it. I kept bidding on eBay for them but was always outbid at the last minute. in desperation I asked Cal a Stampin Up demonstrator (her username is HysteriCal on ukscrappers) for help.

To my surprise she told me that its the one set that has lasted so long without retiring it's that popular! So I ordered it along with my new Stampin Up paper trimmer (which is fabulous but that's another post!!!) I have marked the centre of the block with pencil to help me in a project I am trying out!

So the first card I have created with it is a centre step card but I used the landscape style rather than the usual tall portrait version as it fitted the image better! unfortunately I see looking at the photo now that 2 of my sticky back gems have dropped off at the bottom GASP!!! I shall go back and stick them all on properly with glossy accents! so glad that I haven't posted it already!

I used an embossing folder which gives a wood grain effect behind the image and I used the long spellbinders Parisian border die at the bottom. the "Thank You" is die cut using a Robert Adams die

To colour the image which was stamped with my Rich Cocoa Momento ink pad, I used Promarkers.

I decided to send the ground further back than the stamped tree mound edges as I didn't want to give the sense that the trees were on the edge of a cliff! 

I wasn't totally satisfied with the sky which I had coloured at the bottom and blended into the green and then brought colour down from the top too so I used a powder blue pan pastel very lightly but leaving some white till I got the desired effect.

I am really pleased with the card and cant wait to think up some lovely Christmas designs once I have played some more with this fabulous stamp set LOL

CHALLENGES...
I'm entering a few challenges again today as it inspires me to keep to crafting especially when in pain or just feeling blaaaahhhh!
Their name is linked to their respective blogs so just click to go to them!

Creative Card Crew.....Black Cardstock
Ooh La La Creations.....Inspired by Nature
Little Red Wagon.....Give Thanks
Creative Knockouts.....Thankful
Sisters of Craft.....Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination..........Antything Goes