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

Side Step Card & Cute Knitting Die Cuts

The Christmas cards are still a work in progress, to be honest I keep changing my mind on exactly what I wanna do so I'm still thinking that through especailly which papers to use so I wanted to try something totally different today... I browsed on Pinterest (a favourite armchair activity lol) and I found samples of side step cards I have only ever created centre step cards so I decided I really had to have a go! theres even one based on a semicircle but that's for another day LOL!

I needed to make a thank you card for my close friend Kath, she has been helping me to make some preemie baby hats for another friends littlle baby girl who was born very early. Kath has made the knitted ones while I have made some crochet ones. I love how realistic these Marianne Design die cuts have turned out. I embossed them then used a promarker to accent the embossing.

This is the front view of the side step card I made today. As well as the the Marianne Design die set I mentioned earlier I also used the Tattered Lace ornamental rose die. The thank you circle is a small clear stamp which was stamped then heat embossed in silver and cut with a circle die. I used a silver marker to colour the knitting needles, they look quite realistic!

I have wanted to participate in some card challenges for a while but I always seem to miss the deadlines or tiredness and my health problems get in the way, However, I am gonna break that cycle now and enter this card into a few challenges, kinda like getting back into what I really love to do...card making and scrapbooking! actually playing with all things pertaining to papercrafting.

CHALLENGES
Here's the challenges I'm entering this card into,
Select the name as this is linked to the relevent website
Inspiration Destination.....Anything Goes
Sisters Of Craft.....Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon.....Giving Thanks
Creative Knockouts.....Thankful
In The Pink.....Fancy Folds and Pink
Crafty Hazelnuts.....Use Patterned Papers All Over the Card
The Sisterhood of Crafters.....Think Pink (breast cancer awareness)

Im feeling really happy now that I have learned a new card shape
but even more so that I have been back into card challenges again
But mostly because I like this card (I am usually over critical) and the recipient will love it


thanks for stopping by , I hope you have a great week
please leave me a comment before you go!

My Creative Journey

I mentioned in my last post that I would share about my creativity...

well it's been quite a long journey and I am still not "There Yet"! My creativity has been kind of an evolving thing. My grandmother showed me how to sew and embroider when I was in junior school. My mother was an artist, she painted in oils she was also an expert at crochet. I learned to crochet myself in my mid teens, I always loved art but found it much easier to colour in than to draw so when I stumbled upon the world of rubber stamping in 1996 I was overwhelmed with the joy of being able to create handmade cards that folk wanted to buy. I started doing craft stalls and parties where folk could order exactly what they wanted in a card with personalisation. My mother bought me loads of stamps and helped with the fortnightly stall, she loved it. I learnt a lot of techniques with inks and stamping. my mother died in 1999 and my husband in 2002 and life took me into a different direction. I couldn't face doing craft fares anymore without my mother. and grief put a stop to my creativity. this psx fuschia stamp was my mothers favourite

I moved to Lytham St Annes from Dudley in the West Midlands in 2004. God had given me a brand new start in life. A new home, a new ministry and a new church which came with a lot of new friends a lot of which were fellow crafters! I worked as a manager of a Christian bookshop. I loved this ministry but as it started to decline (as with many Christian bookshops the internet had become it's downfall) and then closed. I became seriously ill with anxiety and depression. While I was in recovery which was a slow proscess I started papercrafting again, and trying out new things. I was now a grandmother to Ethan and found scrapbooking really inspired me to get creative with my grandsons photo's. I have learnt many more techniques, bought a big shot and later a Cricut and enjoyed all manner of papercrafting, I was back into my creative groove but for fun and not to raise money.  Over the years I have added to my collection of rubber stamps, inks, dies, embossing folders, I have recently bought a Silhouette Cameo which has been put to some good use to create papercrafted scripture gifts for our local outreaches and missions to Romania.
Well that brings me to today.

I still have some goals which I want to achieve....I want to teach my church friends the art of scrapbooking as many have asked for lessons I would love to start up a faithbooking group too. I have many projects swimming around in my head which are on a sort of revolving must make list! I would also love to get some experience in art journaling. and I have seen some awesome canvas creations I would like to have a go at as well as getting the most out of the stash and equipment I already have. I want to join a crop of experienced scrapbookers so that I can stretch my skills even more and get more inspiration to scrapbook again as its something I haven't done for a while. so that's some of my creative journey, I am always on the look out for new projects but more than anything I want to be in my creative groove daily. I get such a buzz such a perfect sense of one-ness with God when I am happily creating something, it just kinda makes my heart sing and the world suddenly becomes a pretty awesome and inspiring place to be. everyone has a sweet spot I believe, and creativity is mine.