Anneke's Attempts - The AA of crafting...

Phew! Ever since I heard the theme was floral I wanted to take part in the Crafty Blogger's Network Challenge. I had already missed a  challenge for which I had made a card when our internet connection went off for nearly three weeks, and now that is fixed, the lead to my mini-laptop is broken. This means I am very limited in coming online again, as I normally do this lying down in bed, and now I have to come downstairs and sit at my husband's computer, which is very difficult for me.

Anyway, this serves as a birthday card for my stepmother-in-law, who is called Malle. It is unusual for me to go this floral, another little step out of my comfort zone. I must say that zone is gradually growing, bit by bit.

So, just before the deadline, I would very much like to enter this card in the challenge.

When I do decide to make the effort to come downstairs, I have to make it worth my while. So I found another  challenge I think this card would suit.

Scrap Creations have one on the theme of flowers, so I am entering that one as well.

Of course there's always anything goes as well. Use your stuff is one of those at the moment. This card fits their spirit as well. I was sent these flowers in one of the many crafty packets my facebook friends send me. I wanted to do them justice, but as I said before, it's been outside of that comfort zone for me. I was always worried I would end up making something very old fashioned and naff. The same goes for the blue floral paper, which was part of my hunky dory packet. By weaving it with the pink paper, and colour coordinating the flowers, I actually very much like the result.

Make it Monday are experts on the anything goes theme, so this one os for them as well.

Happy crafting!

It's been a while since I blogged here. That's largely due to the telecom company who saw fit to cut us off from the internet for what seemed like ages. It is amazing how much we had come to rely on the internet, and how much we missed it!

Today is a very special day, as my cousin a few times removed (no idea how you're supposed to count that out) is getting married. We would have been at the wedding at the moment, if it weren't for our little boy getting an ear infection. He's coping well but very tired, and in no way up to celebrating, or being babysat.

So in her and her husband's honour I am posting the card I made for them, and entering it in a few challenges.

While I am at it I would like to thank Feline Playful for all the work they put in, making it so easy for me and many others to find these challenges.

At Bunny Zoe's Crafts the theme is: 'Celebrations'. It couldn't work out better, could it?

This shaped card from hunkydory fits nicely into this month's Hooked on Craft challenge of 'More than one fold', while it was absolutely perfect for the purpose of a wedding card as well.

And then there's That Craft Place with  'Anything goes' while they relaunch early. 

So those are the three I am entering, to try and get back into the swing of things. I must say it did feel strange, and I had to push myself a bit to restart.
Hopefully I'll be lucky.

When I saw the theme 'Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside' of  That Craft Place  I first thought that would be really easy. That day I had read several challenge blogs, and had gone through my stash and put stuff ready around various themes that appealed to me. I am used to taking one card at the time, and so after I had finished the first card, I was totally overwhelmed at the thought of all these other ones, I had complete crafter's block. It was clear I was going to use the boat - a base card from HunkyDory, but I started to think a boat is quite different from the seaside as such, and doubt crept in.

The same happened for the other cards I had planned, and I was really dissatisfied as I went into the night. I lay awake pondering, and by morning this card was designed. It still took a while to get around to actually making it, but here it is.

Since over at Quirky Crafts  the theme is to build a scene, I thought this would fit perfectly as well, so I am entering their challenge too.

I find these challenges really do stretch me, and make me learn at a much faster pace than I otherwise would.

Some of you know how scared I was of using my Promarkers. Well, here's my second try. I particularly like the way I have been able to put in the textures of the rocks underneath the lighthouse. I wish I had taken a close-up of it now, might still add one later.

I did post a close-up of the name of the boat: Happy Birthday, and for good reason. PanPastels have Happy Birthday as their theme. On the paper I cut the beach gear out of there was this tiny lettering with almost each picture, and this happy birthday one on its own. It is so small it could only be used as detail, and I pondered how I could do it to fit the scene. Using it like this on the boat seemed just perfect. If I would have any chance at all of winning this one, the prize of  a PanPastel trial pack would be the perfect addition to my still tiny, but gradually growing, stash.

One thing that was completely new to me was working outside of the base card. The boat is the only card that opens up, it is stuck on single card as background. It is a sign of slowly growing confidence that I have ventured into doing this. When I saw the 'Alter It' challenge at Lisa Somerville's  I thought I would leave that one for what it was. And then I found myself making this card and thinking: 'Hey, that's altered.' So I went back to her blog to see if it would fit, and I feel I can safely say Icreated the card for the Bloggers Challenge Alter It Challenge.

The Drunken Stampers  are looking for new in a different way, using something that is new to your stash. Well, as I said the Promarkers are, but I did use them once before, just a teeny weeny bit. But the beach gear is from a 12X12 I was sent by a friend when I was recently in hospital. I did have some of those as backing paper, just floral or abstract. A lot of the ones she sent me were much more specific, and this is one of those. So I looked for different ways of using those as well. That should qualify this card for that challenge too.

You know what I said about the anything goes theme, it being so broad I would not know where to start. Well, there is another one on the go at Poodles Parlour. It looks as if there is an unwritten rule to use a digi stamp. That would be another first for me, I am building up to it, but nowhere on their site can I find any rule or information that says you have to, and I thought this card has brought so many different elements together it would suit the anything goes very well. So I hope this entry will be accepted.

It is probably needless to say by now, but this card too is going to Jackie Newport's fund for Charmaine and Maddie, who live with cystic fibrosis. A facebook page will be set up soon to support this fund. I will pass on the link as soon as I have got it.

So to really set a challenge, Crafty Bloggers Network  decided on the theme Oriental. You would be surprised how hard that is, and I really needed the design team's examples for inspiration this time. This card has been cooking in my mind for so long, that the next one I had lined up to make has gone past its date now. I even had a sleepless night where my mind kept going to this oriental card.

I had plenty of stuff. The HunkyDory card shape immediately jumped out at me as having Eastern style. i also have loads of peel-offs that fit the theme. My crafty facebook friends all keep sending parcels of crafty stash, for which I am extremely grateful! Sylvia's had included several oriental ones, in different colours. But how to put it all together?! I scoured google images for inspiration, and saw things I liked, but beyond me to create.

Then when tidying around our kitchen I came across these cards, one of which I cut up to use. Once that decision was made, the card kind of made itself. Phew!

Fingers crossed now that it will be approved of and liked.

While I am at it I've decided also to enter it in the Ditzy-Craftymess Challenge . I find Anything Goes such an overwhelming theme, I think the history of this card suits it.

So here's this morning's make, entirely inspired by the Fab'n Funky Challenge . This is so far from my usual style, and really challenged my creativity, but I am happy with it.

It has a few firsts, my first bit of distressing for starters. I tried earlier on, but made a bit of a bosh of it. Today it seemed to work. I would love to get some feedback from people who know about distressing, whether this is done ok. I have purposefully kept from posting a close-up for know, as really it is the overall impression that matters.

It is a small thing, maybe, but it is also the first time I have curled the paper. I was quite amazed how much difference that made. Those butterflies really came to life, and I regretted having left those two at the top flat, just plain raised.

I used sticky ribbon for the body of the main butterfly, so I am entering the Do You Stack Up Challenge  again. That too is a first: the first challenge I have entered more than once.

Entering the Sweet Stamps Challenge  is another. Stamping in itself still scares me so much. I only tried it once with a sentiment, and that's a while ago now. I think this sweet stamps blog and their challenge may well give me that extra push. Watch this space... 

In any case the challenge is shaped cards, so this should be perfect. Would the distressing be considered a form of stamping? 

Apart from the stamping itself, I also have an enormous threshold for using the promarkers. I feel I need my hand held and taken step-by-step through it. If anybody feels they wish to do that, and have the patience (!), please let me know.

Another new one to me is the Try it on Tuesday Challenge . I am always interested to make cards that are textured, touchy feely, as my son and my father and other males in the family have a visual disability, of which I am a carrier. I had our boy, who is now five, feel his way across this card tonight. He went from the ribbon in the middle, with the smoothness of the gold, and the roughness of the fabric to the gems and the butterflies themselves with his little fingers. He was asking particularly about the gems, I guess they are the most obvious protrusion. On the other hand the intricacies of the black butterfly sticky ribbon, eventhough that is relatively flat, seemed to fascinate him as well.

That's it, I'm off to make some more, now, hopefully. Please do leave me your comments, ideas, feedback.

Yesterday I had another look around the challenges I now know of, and found a fair few had new themes. So I got all my crafty stuff set out and went through it thinking of all these different subject and selecting goodies to use. I got a bit overwhelmed eventually.

One immediately spoke to my imagination, which was the glitter geeks  with Myths and Legends. I have some foam fairies I have been wondering what to use for, and I thought they would do just the job. Then, going through my stash, I found angels, pyramid and decoupage fairies, cupids, and so on. So what did I end up making? An Easter bunny card... Well, it is a myth, it should fit, and it was great fun to make.

I also had in mind Jackie's potential to sell it. You know by now I am sending her cards to raise funds to improve the lives of Charmaine and Maddy who live with cystic fibrosis. I am aiming for ten cards and will then send them as a packet. So I thought an Easter card would be well in time. I also happened to have the right sentiment to go with it, saying 'Some Bunny Loves You', so that closed the deal.

Then this morning I was looking at more challenges, and lo and behold, the card I made yesterday happens to be just right for three more:

- Creative Card Crew  with Fantasy which is highly similar;

- Colour Create Challenge (http://colourcreatechallenge.blogspot.com/) with pink and green, exactly the colours I happened to use, as if it was meant to happen.

- and Do You Stack Up  with Ribbons, and again I used two pieces of ribbon, carefully chosen with the white dots to match one of the background papers.

So I would like to enter all those this time. I did want to add another picture, because the reflection of the light on the shiny paper was different on it, so you got to see a bit more of the card, but the blog has voted against it for some reason.

Now I will  get on with designing the others I was inspired to make last night. Hopefully I will have more to show you by the end of today.

When I first saw the Sarah Hurley Challenge  , I really thought that was out of my league. But when I started on my batch that I want to make for Jackie Newport from Craftyspecials to sell to raise money to improve the life of a little girl who has cystic fibrosis I came across a bit of paper in my stash that reminded me of the Lists and Me challenge. In fact I think it is one of the papers Jackie herself sent me, but I am unsure about that.

It has five princesses on, called the little angels. I was always one of those little girls who wanted to be a princess and I have always hung on to that angelic innocent bit inside me, even though it has been joined by a whole load of other stuff as I grow older. The first one is a ballerina. I did ballet for a little while when I was little. I dreamt of elegance, but was much more taken with the outfit in the end, than with the discipline and the strict teacher who tried to implement it. Add a few ankle sprains and I'd had enough.

Next is cupcake princess. Baking is one of the things I miss very much. I love it, but being bedridden for the last few years has meant I have had little chance to. Whenever I do see a chance, I grab it, preferably as an activity with our little boy. He is only five and already tells of his memories of us baking together. It definitely applies!

Angel is in the middle - need I say more?

Then there is pink princess. She's a bit far out for this card, if I am honest. So I will let her be symbol for my whimsical girly side.

And Cutie is at the end of the row. Well, everybody always says how much our boy is like me, and everybody that meets him immediately remarks what a cutie he is! It makes me smile, as I do recognise myself in this little princess to, and am happy to admit it!

With the embellishments I was careful to follow the theme as well. There's a bow, as I love wrapping presents, always have done. Mum used to keep them for me to do. Love hearts, as love is another word people have used to describe me which I find an enormous compliment. Stars - you have to admit I'm a star, come on! Last but by no means least flowers. Our Friends have been working so hard to change our jungle back into a garden, so that when I can manage to get outside a bit there will be nice flowers and plants to look at: food for my soul.

I think I did well, I hope Sarah and her team do too.