CD Sunday - Just Because

I love a 'Just Because' card.  Did you know that we as a nation are one of the Worlds biggest card makers and givers? (Can't remember where I read this - but I did).  It must be 'because' when we have run out of Birthdays, Get Well and Good Luck etc., etc., we always have 'Just Because' - which is a one of the best  reasons for sending a card.
Although mine is a Christmas card it is still a 'Just Because'...........

it is also my second favourite discipline - stitch cards.   The pattern for this one comes from Form-A-Lines - and the BP from Carol Ann's Studio 2nd Christmas CD - CD-8.
There are so many  reasons for a 'Just Because' card so I am hoping to see many, many entries to our challenge - esp as it is my turn to choose the top 3.  I am looking forward to what I know will be a difficult decision. I have a little bag of parchment Christmassy flowers for the winner.
Please have a look at my fellow teamies 'Just Becauses' - they are all so different and such great cards.
Sadly it is Deb's last week with us as our Guest Design Team member.  Her cards have been and are great and I am sure she will be joining us again.  Thank you Debs.

Christmas is coming -

and although we all seem to moan about starting preparations in August I think we have to -  to get all those handmade goodies and cards done in time.  In my case I need something more and  Christmassy for the Show next month.  The tree is already in a display case I have purchased for the purpose - so this last couple of days I have been making some Christmas parchment flowers - mainly poinsettias. This year I tried to make them more realistic and I hope I have managed to give that impression.  I used my usual pattern for the flowers and green and red parchment which I purchased from the Art of Craft.  After I had stuck the layers together I used some creamy yellow beads and stuck them individually into the centres.  Doing them one at a time avoided the bead hole showing uppermost.  I then just touched the top of the beads with a Sakura Brush pen in green and then yellow.  I used a new - to me - glue called appli glue.  It dries clear and is just thick enough to allow the bead to stand and not flop over whilst drying. In fact I have been using this glue quite a bit in the last week or so - I can recommend it.
I tried glitter on one of the poinsettias but it didn't look good.  They are better plain.

Here they are - mixed in with some others made using a special sparkly vellum.

CD Sunday - Nursery Rhymes

Another week has slipped by so quickly and here it is - time for another challenge.  I decided to make some ATC's for our theme of Nursery Rhymes and I sourced my materials from various places.Using allsorts of bits and pieces is what I love about making ATC's.

I used Joanna Sheen's  'ATC Assistant', ' Crafty Image Emporium CD'  and Ooh La La Creations -' Shoes in Bloom '  for my basic sources and then peel-offs, Flower Soft and a rubber stamp for the rest.  The clock face came from 'The Fruit Pixie' - a veritable Aladdins Cave for ATC enthusiasts.
We look forward to seeing lots more great entries to our challenge and it is even more fun now we have a top three each week as well as our monthly Sponsor.  Well done to Sue, Jocelyn and Caroline - our winners last week.  Who will it be this week? It is Jenny's turn to choose her three favourites. 

May I introduce you to 'Cordelia'

'Cordelia' is one of 4 Elegance patterns designed by Judith Maslen sold through the CC Collection. There are three more lovely ladies yet to do but this is my favourite and I had to make her first.

I love doing any of Judith's patterns  but I am really  pleased how this one has worked out.

I haven't decide on a mount or backing paper yet.  It needs a little thinking about.
I hope you like this lovely image as much as I do.  Thank you Judith for yet another gorgeous pattern.

Miniature Handbag - an extra

I have bought a handmade necklace as a birthday gift for a family member and I didn't really like the plain ordinary box that it came in so.................................

I made a bag  to match the necklace.
The pattern of course is by Amanda Yeh.  I found a beautiful toning backing paper  on a Carol Ann's Studio CD and printed it out on parchment.  To the centres of the embossed flowers I added blue nailheads and crystal gems.  The spotty chiffon ribbon is from The Art of Craft.
I enjoyed making this handbag as a personal gift - and even my son was impressed.

I am also going to enter this in the Allsorts Challenge - Anything But a Card.

CD Sunday - Only Ovals

Sunday seems to have come round much quicker this week.  We had so many great entries last week and as Jenny said it is going to be hard for Christine to choose her top 3 - a new feature at Cd Sunday.

We have a winner  though  - ChrisJW - for our Sponsor prize- Grandma's Button Box CD  - from Katy Sue Designs.  Congratulations Chris.  I know you will enjoy using this CD.


For my DT card this week I felt like doing some stitching and I found the pattern for the oval Sunflowers in an oval frame at Form -A- Lines . For everything else I used the 'Sunflower' folder on Ooh La la's CD - 'Shoes in Bloom'.  The wrapround on my card is the insert from the folder used as an outsert  and I just snipped around the edges of the two printed sunflowers to slip over the corners of the matting. I can't remember who makes the butterfly punch but as I suspect most of you have this  punch,  you will know the maker. I have backed my punched out butterfly  with parchment and then embossed from the back.  Added jewels for the body.
I hope you like the card and that  it will inspire you to think Oval.

Paper Lantern

A birthday card for a special friend who has a birthday today.  I hope it arrived safely - and Happy Birthday wishes Mandi.
The pattern is by Judith Maslen.

In my Summer Garden

A nice simple design by Christine Coleman in the September issue of the Parchment Magazine.  My copy arrived this morning and I just wanted something gentle to do.    Coloured on the back with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils using dry pencil technique.  (Fancy way of saying - just colouring in).
The black ink work should be finer than this.  I cheated and used a Staedtler Fineliner instead of mapping pen and ink.  I wasn't in the mood for a pen.  Am I bovverred?
xx

Oh Christmas - #86 at Ooh La La

I needed to start adding more to the very few Christmas cards I have managed to make so here is another one and I decided to enter it in the Ooh La La challenge - Oh Christmas.
I have printed out one of the toppers onto parchment  from the  'White Poinsettia' folder on Carnival of Colour CD (Ooh La La).   I have embossed the image and then used one of the backing papers for the oval and the rectangular mounts and then a sheet of the matching weave background for the card itself.  Peel off trims and sentiment  from stash and spotty ribbon from The Art of Craft..

CD Sunday - Buttons

I am very excited this week for quite a few reasons.  We have a great sponsor in and we have been given a copy of Grandma's Button Box CD to play with and I love the CD.  It is colourful, bright and fresh.  I am looking forward to seeing your designs on the Button theme.  I think buttons figure in our earliest childhood memories as who didn't play with Grandma's or Mother's button box?  We used to use my Mother's buttons as tokens for a great card game called Ha'pennies in, Ha'pennies out.
Gosh that dates me.
Also my great buddy Debs is joining us this month as our guest DT.  I have known Debs for about 4 (mad) years now and I will be on her stand again at the NEC in November.
And we are now going to chose the 'Top three' entries each week - starting this week.  Please see our Blog for more details.
I think our team has made some fab cards and I hope you visit their Blogs - and I hope you like my contribution.  I loved making it and here it is.

I have used the patchwork letters which are a particular favourite of mine on the Cd. There are sheets of large, medium and small in capitals and lower case.  I have printed them all out and slowly cutting them all out so that I have a ready supply to use.
Last but not least a thank you to Chris for for her great contribution as our GDT last month.
I look forward to more sessions of blog hopping.  I have found that when I go to look at an entry to one of our challenges I always look futher on the Blog and sometimes go off on a visit  to someone on their 'blog friend' list - and then some time later...............