Hop To Stop

Starting today my friend Becca Cruger, aka Damsel of Distressed and the queen of gorgeous grunge, is hosting the third annual Hop To Stop Domestic Violence. Did you know that 1 of 3 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime? I certainly did not. I'm sure we all agree this is not acceptable, and more awareness needs to be raised around the issue. You can find more information about domestic violence, it's impact and available resources on the National Resource Centre on Domestic Violence or if you are in the UK there is information on how to find help over on NHS Choices with links to resources for both men and women experiencing domestic violence.

Becca's Hop to Stop is taking place from October 15th to 30th and it's a wonderful way to play your part. You can share info about the hop on your blog, Facebook or other social media and also link up a card that *features* the colour purple, which is the domestic violence awareness colour. You can find more info over at Damsel of Distressed and over on the Hop To Stop event Facebook page. You can also send your cards to Becca who will donate them to the Community Violence Intervention Shelter in Grand Forks, ND. 



My card was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch as well as the wonderful sentiment from STAMPlorations Fond Expressions 2. I stamped Mixed Media Elements randomly in the background in Versamark, then I stamped the sentiment in black Versafine and heat embossed all the stamped images. I used my beloved Gansai Tambi watercolours to create the background on watercolour paper, which I had die cut using a stitched die and used washi tape to mask the edges. Last, I matted the watercolour panel onto purple cardstock and added a strip of heart patterned paper from Lawn Fawn, cut to a banner using a Lawn Fawn die.

I'm also linking up my card over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where the theme is Totally Resistible (use a resist technique), Daring Cardmakers where the theme is monochromatic and Just Add Ink where the theme is Just Add G (G is for grunge in my case). 



Card: 250 gsm white card, 300 gsm purple card from my stash, Langford&Hill 190 gsm watercolour paper

Stamps: STAMPlorations Fond Expressions 2 and Mixed Media Elements

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark and Versafine Onxy Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Nested Dies, Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment banners

Other: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark paper, Ranger fine clear embossing powder

Birthday card for Grandma

Hi all, did you make it through Christmas all right? I'm feeling very lucky in being able to take time off work, and I'm still at home, enjoying those days when you have managed to get rid of all your guests (as wonderful as they were) and you have the fridge full of leftovers. What else is a girl to do but craft and spend some quality time with the sofa and a good book? And of course hang out with Gary, the new love of my life. He is such a good little chap, and I have to say I really enjoy our time together. He lives right next to my crafting desk, so I feel like I always have company when I craft, even though he mostly likes to keep tucked away in one of his many hides during daytime.

Anyhow, my Grandma is turning 91 soon, which I find is quite a respectable achievement. So I thought it would warrant a very special card. I was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I die cut the letters for the words Happy Birthday Grandma in Finnish (how lucky it's much shorter in Finnish than English, otherwise I would have needed a giant card!!). I also die cut the front and middle panels using a stitched rectangle die. Then I stamped the rose from STAMPlorations Blossom Overture and coloured with Copics. I attached the layers, and finished by adding some Ice Stickles.

I would also like to link up with the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Sparkle
Allsorts - Anything But Christmas
Inkspirational - Bah Humbug, Anything But Christmas
Card and Scrap - Anything Goes 
Creative Craft Cottage - Add some sparkle

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: STAMPlorations Blossom Overture
Dies: Lawn Fawn Cole's ABCs, Stitched Rectangle Dies
Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark
Inks and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics R43, R24, R27, R29, R89, YG11, YG13, YG17
Other: Ranger Ice Stickles

Detachable tag Christmas card

I have been reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I might have mentioned it some previous blog posts. It's quite interesting, and as opposed to many other books that talk more about the mindset and very elusive and abstract, this book has a lot of very practical and hands on ideas of increasing happiness in your life. One of the ones I have really taken to is reducing clutter and "stuff" in general. I have been going through my wardrobes, my random cupboards and trying to let go of things. Another idea I have read about in blogs relating to the same line of thinking is that we hold on to a lot of things just because we think we ought to. I'm not saying we shouldn't hold on to things that truly have sentimental value, of course we should, but I'm questioning whether we need to hold onto every single card we get sent for example. I have it in the back of my mind that it's somehow an obligation to hang on to them, and I have gone through a lot of my old birthday and Christmas cards, hanging on to those that I really find I have a sentimental connection to but getting rid of those that I feel I only keep "because I'm supposed to". This is such an interesting idea, I could go on about it for pages and pages. Particularly as this house is inhabited by another person who is very sentimentally attached to even the smallest things. It's quite interesting that my Mum is very minimalist, and she works hard to get rid of clutter, whereas the family of my dearest are very much sentimentally attached to a lot of things, so I think our attitude to how to connect with material possessions is strongly linked to the behaviour of our parents.

Anyhow, this got me thinking of my Christmas cards. Are people hanging onto them just because they feel they have to? Is there anything I can do to help them enjoy the thought that I have put into the cards, but then let go of them? Maybe there would be a way to get people to recycle the cards? And then the current, very ingenious sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch gave me an idea (I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of this, but I can't point to any specific inspiration where I would have seen this done). What if I make the tag detachable, and encourage people to use it for a gift. Then the remains are much easier to dispose of, as it's no longer a "proper" card. Plus there is the added benefit of recycling some of the materials, and hopefully bringing some joy to yet another person as well. 

The card without the tag and the reverse side of the tag.

For this card, I started by die cutting the tag using a die from Lawn Fawn Tag You're It from the purple paper from Let's Polka in the Dark. I stamped the matching tag onto red paper from the same collection, and fussy cut it to match the tag. Then I stamped the adorable little reindeer from Party Animal and added the gingerbread man and christmas hat from Holiday Party Animal, die cut with the matching dies and coloured with Copics. I die cut the Merry using the Merry Christmas border die from gold mirri card and stamped the smallest "Christmas" I could find in my stamp stash (it's from Stampin' Up Endless Wishes). I also stamped a greeting and some small images on the back of the tag in case the recipient of the card chooses to use it as intended.

I think next time I will edit the text to start "I would love it if
you wanted to recycle the tag" instead.

For the background, I brushed water onto watercolour cardstock I had cut using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies. Then I added Tim Holtz Festive Berries and Seedless Preserves ink and blended them together. I also flicked some colour splotches using my watercolour brush. I really love playing with these watercolour backgrounds lately. I also heat embossed some gold speckles onto the background, although unfortunately it doesn't show very well in the picture. Then all that was needed was to attach the tag using a few small glue dots which I had "de-stickyfied" between my fingers so that the tag will pop off easily. I also added some twine, again it's detachable so it can be used to tie the tag to a present. I absolutely love this idea, and feel a bit bummed I have already created more cards than I need for Christmas. Oh well, next Christmas everyone is getting a detachable tag card from me, be pre-warned!

In addition to linking up with CAS(E) This Sketch, I would like to enter the Christmas Challenge over at Happy Little Stampers where the theme is Tag. I'm also playing along over at Time Out where the theme is Christmas Card with purple or pink. Last but not least there are a few Christmas themed blogs that inspired today's card, so I would like to link up with Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge where the theme is Bright Colours, the lovely Jingle Belles where the theme is Holiday food (talking about Gingerbread as it's my chosen Christmas food... did I tell you I got an alpaca cookie cutter when we went to the alpaca show last weekend? Can anyone say alpaca gingerbread for Christmas? Yaaay!!! To be honest, I really like reindeer as well, although given the cute fellow on the card, that's probably a bit morbid. If you haven't tried it, I would warmly recommend if you ever get a chance, but maybe not at Christmas...) and ABC Christmas Challenges where the theme is V is for Very Cute.  

Card: 300 gsm white card, 300 gsm watercolour paper, Stampin' Up Whisper White card, gold mirri card

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark

Stamps: Lawn Faw Party Animal, Holiday Party Animal, Thank You Tags, (&matching dies for all Lawn Fawn stamp sets), Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge and Endless Wishes

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz distress inks Seedless Preserves, Festive Berries

Colouring: Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Merry Christmas border die, Tag You're It dies, red and white bakers twine from my stash

Happy Crazy Halloween

Boy am I glad it's Friday. I'm suffering from a worklife related existential crisis. All I do is try to get through the weeks and make it to the weekend, sometimes it even feels like I'm only fully alive from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, the rest of the time I'm walking around in a zombie-like stupor. I know I'm supposed to be all excited and positive, but all I want to do is bury myself under my duvet and eat a ton of chocolate. I know it's just the darkness and this time of the year, and it will eventually pass. It's funny how some people just embrace autumn and talk about wrapping up in huge sweaters and having hot beverages. I'm trying to see their side of the argument, but I'm finding it very hard, especially as my toes are freezing despite doubling up with fluffy wool socks. Grumble, grumble...

Talking about zombie-like stupor, it's almost Halloween! I can't wait for next weekend, as I will be spending it with alpacas, the coolest animals ever! Pop back next weekend to hear what it's all about... Anyhow, back to Halloween. I grew up not even knowing what Halloween was, so it's never featured on my list of interests. I mean nowadays it's all been imported from the US, but back in my childhood, we didn't know about trick-or-treating. We do have an All Saints night around the same time of the year, but it's all about lighting candles and remembering those who have passed. No pumpkins or candies though.

Despite my general lack of interest towards Halloween, I had to have a little play with the gorgeous Crazy Things Halloween-y bits and bobs, just for one card. I have no idea what to do with it as I really don't know anyone who is into Halloween to send it to, but at least I had lots of fun making it! My colour inspiration for this card was this week's Colour Me...! with some quite Halloween-ish colours. The layout was inspired by the sketch over at Mojo Monday, it's been a while since I played along over there. It's also been waaay to long since I played along with the Snarky Sisters, so here is my long overdue contribution to the most recent challenge which is Halloween with some pink. Boy, I've missed good old Edna! I'm also linking up over at 4 Crafty Chicks, The Friday Mashup, Deep Ocean Challenges and Inky Chicks where the theme is Halloween

Card: 300 gsm black card, 250 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous Bird Crazy and Crazy Things with matching dies, Lawn Fawn Hats Off

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Tim Holtz distress inks Black Soot, Wilted Violet

Colouring: Copics YR02, YR04, YR07, R20, R43, V04, V09, E37

Other: Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday border die, Tag You're It die and Let's Polka in the dark paper pad, Stampin' Up Glossy Accents

Alpaca my scarf

I am so excited my selected bits and bobs from the Lawn Fawn Christmas release arrived just in time for some weekend crafting. I am trying very hard not to fill my craft room too much, but every time Lawn Fawn comes out with a new release I just want every single bit of it. Sigh. Talk about first world problems. But this time they really outdid themselves. There is an alpaca stamp!! Alpacas are so awesome, they are my favourites. A while ago the Culinary Consultant arranged for me to have a day out at an alpaca farm, and I got to see hundreds of alpacas, including a baby that had been born that day. It was amazing, I put a few pictures from my day on my photo blog here. So I put in my pre-order for the alpaca stamp as soon as I saw it, and was very excited to get to play with it.

This card was inspired by a few challenges. First of all, the layout was inspired by the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and the colours were inspired by Cupcake Inspirations. I'm also linking up with Crimbo Crackers where the theme is Small and Cute, and also with Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge where the theme is 'twas the night before Christmas. Last but not least I'm linking up with the Anything Goes challenge over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

I created the background for my card using Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours DSP and Tim Hotlz distress inks in Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot. I created the snowy hills from hammered white paper using Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Dies. I stamped the alpaca and coloured him with Copics and paper pieced his scarf from the new Lawn Fawn Let's Polka In the Dark paper. I stamped the cute sentiment from the stamp set onto green card and heat embossed it in white. Last, I used the new small snowflake dies from Lawn Fawn to create a few ornaments for the corner. Last, I added a band of the same green paper for the background that I used for the alpaca scarf. It's a small card, only 10x10 cm but I think it's a perfect for this wintery scene. And I just love the funny sentiment that comes with this set, and the alpaca is so unbelievably cute in his little scarf. 

Card: White 300 gsm hammered card, white 300 gsm card
Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka In the Dark
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Alpaca
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Tim Holtz distress inks Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot, Copics
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside borders die, Mini Snowflakes die, Papermania Seafoam White