Ali's card making blog

This is a great idea over at the Cowgirls Sunday Stamp'en challenge blog this week. Basically you make a Christmas card for a soldier to send to a loved one (no glitter as could cause safety problems - felt a bit weird making a Chrimbo card with no glitter, but I am pleased with the result!) So here is my card for the challenge which I am going to send off to the soldiers. It seems to be (I think) a US address to send it to so will check the postage at the post office (well, will get hubby to when he is sending off parcels from his ebay empire!) The card was made with a cute Penny Black stamp (coloured with promarkers) which I got as part of a set with a magazine subscription recently and some cuttlebug embossed paper. I am also going to enter the card into the following challenges: Totally Gorjuss - Wild thing (the hedgehog) Cupcake sketch challenge 2 Sisters - Christmas (also collecting cards for the soldiers, contains full explanation of the no glitter rule also!) Sarah Hu...

I've had a very busy weekend crafting and another day to go today, woo hoo! No work till tomorrow :-) We are off for a walk in the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire this morning (better wrap up warm, it's freezing!) and then it will be time for more card making this afternoon, might even do some Christmas cards! So what have I been busy making? You might have spotted this new stamp on my desk last week if you are a follower of the WOYWW posts. It is one of the new ones from S.W.A.L.K and I thought it would be perfect for hubby for our 11th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks time. I've been having a good play with the CD rom that I got with the stamps too, I love the papers and the verses (as I am rubbish at writing my own!) I'm entering the card into the following challenges: Just inspirational - Sketch and C.R.A.F.T - Anything goes (the celebration being the anniversary) Better go and dust off my trusty trainers ready for the walk, more cards later!

Here is the card I have made for hubby's birthday in a few weeks time (shhh...) I have used a digi stamp (can't recall where from sorry!, coloured with promarkers and backed with paper of my Funky Hand Dreams Come True CD. Finished off with a few gems and a sentiment. Hubby really is a beer monster in real life so hopefully he will like it ;-) I am entering this card into the following challenges: August digi day at Stamp Something Challenge 8 at Just Inspirational (going to the pub being the hobby/activity/entertainment) and Cupcake's blue and green challenge

Wednesday again! If you don't know what WOYWW is all about by now then check out Julia's blog at the Stamping Ground - click on the WOYWW badge on the sidebar of my blog. Well, Dad loved the mini book I'm glad to say. We had a lovely day over in the Lakes with my Mum and Dad and some old friends who came along for the party. Here is a picture of my Dad with his cake (not made by me I'm sorry to say). He enjoys cycling, hence the cyclist coming down the hill on the cake! So, what's going on with my desk this week? These photos were actually taken last night. I was making a card for a friend and then when I finished that I was having a bit of an experiment with my Promarkers having looked up some of the tutorials kindly recommended to me by fellow WOYWWers. My first attempt at skin colouring makes her look like she has had an accident with fake tan! So I gave up with that one and started a second with lighter colours. I'm rather pleased with the result. ...

Wednesday again, how quickly it comes round! This week I have been mainly colouring as I have been stocking up on Promarkers. (Cowling and Wilcox are selling the packs of 5 half price till 22nd August, I've just ordered another 3 packs on top of the 2 they have already sent me!) I really need to have a lesson on using them though as I was never an artist and am tending to just colour in more or less solid blocks, so could do with a lesson on light and shading! Yes, that is also a Christmas card you can see on my desk! There were so many very organised bloggers I had seen that I was shamed into making a start! There were quite a few Christmassy bits in the haul of stash I got from the car boot sale the other week, so I emptied them all out and had a play. I'll show you the snowman card again when it is finished! The only slight problem is I can't find where I have hidden all my Christmas stamps from last year, any ideas?! There was a Professor of Findology on BBC bre...

I just love the Pink Petticoat digistamps, you may have spotted this one on my WOYWW last week, half coloured in. I've used this particular one a few times now, usually for girly birthdays! This one is for the 30th birthday of someone at work. She is a brunette so I have coloured the hair (with my promarkers) of the digi to match! I am going to enter this into the following challenge: Craftalicious 'Birthdays'