Sunday, 4 April 2021

Signs of Spring

 





I love to take part in many challenges and have been very fortunate to have been included in a list over at 613 Avenue Create of some amazing crafters who have had so many featured projects last year that we are 2020 Master Rockers. I am truly honoured to have been included in such a talented bunch and we have been invited to be Guest Designer during the course of this year.


The challenge theme is always Anything Goes and the 
Optional Twist for April is: In The Garden, Create A Card for Spring

I have used some fabulous digital stamps from Kate Hadfield Designs to make a scene as the main focus of this card.


In this digital pack Signs of Spring there are lots of images that can be used on their own or combined to make a scene like this. I started off with the welly boot and puddle. I added daffodils, snowdrops, birds bees and a cute little smily worm. Finally as the weather constantly changes there is sunshine, clouds and rain as we never know what to wear for the best this time of year!

The image panel has been coloured with Twinkling H20's for the sky, Promarkers, metallic gel pens and clear glitter pen accents on the snowdrops and raindrops. This panel was then added to some plain yellow cardstock.



The paper are from the Spring Drop First Edition pad from Dovecraft. I used the patterned green on the cream cardstock base. A strip of the pastel stripe/dotty paper has been trimmed with some lilac and I added faux stitching with a gel pen. The pink is also from this paper and that was why I coloured the welly boot in pink (and added spots because all the best wellies have spots)

The flower trim is a pre-cut vinyl border that came on a roll from a poundshop long ago. I added some pearls and gems to the centres.

The glittery bees are stickers from the paper pad. The butterfly is a die from a set of 4 small ones from Marianne Creatables. It is such a pretty shape and you get a nice crisp cut. Finally the digital sentiment is from Daisy Doodles who used to make some lovely images and sentiments but are now retired.

In the last month or so in the UK we have had so many signs of Spring and on my walks I have really enjoyed seeing so many pretty flowers popping up and hearing the birds tweeting. We have even seen rabbits in the local park. I have always loved nature but this year it seems especially poignant to see this new life and re-birth to get rid of the sadness and anxiety that the last year has entailed. I hope the signs of Spring everywhere herald happier times for all.

I am truly honoured to be a Guest Designer this month at 613 Avenue Create. 
Thank you so much for asking me. 

Card Details -


Size - A5

Digital Images - Signs of Spring (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Sentiment - Spring Has Sprung (Daisy Doodles Now Retired)

Die - 4 Butterfly set LR0158 (Marianne Creatables)

Papers - Spring Drop (Dovecraft First Edition)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Twinkling H20’s

Embellishments - Gems, pearls, Vinyl Die Cut Border, bee stickers from paper pad



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)




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Thursday, 1 April 2021

Bug Brats Easter 01

 


It is the start of a new month and I am back with my DT hat on for 
The Freebie/Progressive Challenge at The Outlawz.



As long as you made a card with the March freebie you will automatically get the April image free. It is a fabulous way to use images from artists you many not have used before. Also sometimes the image is completely different to something you would normally use. It has been a good way for me to stretch my creativity and take me out of my comfort zone. 

I would highly recommend anyone who is not already taking part to jump in and have a go. We are a really friendly bunch at The Outlawz.



This month we are sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps



We have been given this image Bug Brats Easter 01 to play with. Easter cards are not something I tend to make very often but this is such a cute image. I am sure we all know a little girl who loves to dress up.

I coloured the image using a combination of Promarkers and pencils and then fussy cut with my favourite Fiskars embroidery scissors. They have short blades and are perfect for precision cutting. I popped the image up on thin foam pads.

The card base is a sheet of A4 card and I covered this with the green spotty paper. The glittery Easter egg paper is from the Spring Drop First Editions paper pad. I added a layer of pink gingham underneath. The image has been layered onto a stripy paper in pastel shades and I added the pale pink mat underneath.

The sentiment is from Scrap N Fonts. They don't seem to be around anymore which is a shame as they did loads of printables and sentiments which I have used over the years.

The 2 little fat chicks are from Birdie Brown. I was gutted when she stopped making digis as she had so many cute ones. She did however go on to design rubber stamps for some big companies so happy to see she is still designing.

Finally the banner is an old pre-printed banner from Let's Make Cards magazine. I used to subscribe to it many years ago and there are so many elements I still have that are used in cards to this day. Some bits were really good, some not so much. I was never into the cut and paste style of cardmaking that this seemed to do, always more interested in doing my own thing and not copying other cards. The banner was too big for the card so I did some careful trimming and used some small brads to join the sections together.

I hope we will see you enter our challenge at The Outlawz and look forward to seeing the entries using this image.

Card Details -


Size - A5

Digital Images - Bug Brats Easter 01 (Bugaboo Stamps) Chubby Chick 01 & 03 (Birdie Brown RETIRED)

Digital Sentiment - Scrap N Fonts (RETIRED)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers & Arteza Pencils

Paper - Spring Drop First Edition Pad (Dovecraft)

Embellishments - Brads



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)




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Tuesday, 30 March 2021

Contact Me

 If you are interested in any cards that are on my blog or need to get in touch at all for commissions or Design Team enquires

please email :-

enquiries@madebymandy.com


Many Thanks


Facebook Page - Made by Mandy

Pinterest Board - Amanda Cruxton / Made by Mandy

Instagram - Amanda Cruxton









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Wednesday, 24 March 2021

I'll Be There For You

 


Over at Kate Hadfield Designs there is lots going on. Kate is really generous with her freebies which are readily available. If you sign up to the newsletter you get access to an extra subscriber area the Doodle Den where there are loads more freebies.




A new freebie has been released called I'll Be There For You which has 2 papers, 3 flower ensembles and 2 leaves. It's a lovely little pack which can be used on it's own or easily incorporated with any other digital elements.



I'd seen there were a load of free scrapbook page templates in the Doodle Den and this Blocked and Squared really jumped out at me as I love geometric shapes and it inspired me to make a digital layout using this kit.


I use a program called Affinity Designer on the Mac. I find it easy to use when creating multi layer projects like this. In this 'card' there are 34 layers

 I started out with the teal paper as the background and added a layer of white as a border. I then used the layout and added the squares in the 2 papers.

I added the flowers and leaves, sizing up or down as required for each square.

As a final touch I added a text sentiment using an already installed font Zapfino.

There are oodles of freebies. Simply sign up to the Newsletter in the Doodle Den and you will be given access to so many resources. There is a gallery full of projects by the Creative Team and customers and so much inspiration for crafter and teachers. I would highly recommend you pop over there and join in the fun.


Digital Card Details -


Size - 6” x 6”

Digital Images - I’ll Be There For You Freebie (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Papers - I’ll Be There For You Freebie (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Font - Zapfino


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)


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Thursday, 18 March 2021

Honey Bear Thank You

 


Imagine That Digistamp have a Progressive Challenge each month. 
If you completed a card using the Digi of the Month you automatically get the following month emailed to you. If not you can purchase that stamp for a reduced price.

The set we have been given to play with for March is Honey Bear. You get papers, images and sentiments which can be easily mixed and matched with other projects.


The starting point for me was the hexagon shape. I have a set of Torn Edge Hexagon dies that I have never used before from a mystery bag at Crafter's Companion which I thought would work well with this set.

I printed the coloured bear image on glossy photo paper. Kris' images are really colourful and I find the photo paper really brings out the vibrancy. I enlarged one of the bees in the image to use as an embellishment and also printed out a strip of the hexagon paper.

I used the largest of the dies to cut the image out and then made a slightly larger one from brown card which was trimmed with deckle edge scissors (remember using them all the time in the old days?) I added some sparkle around the edge with the clear glitter overlay pen from Spectrum Noir.

I used an A4 sheet of kraft card for the base and added the image panel to it. The stripe of yellow paper was matted onto a strip of the brown card. I then used a small die to cut the bee, matted onto more brown card and popped up using foam pads. The foiled sentiment (which was awful to photograph!) is from Kanban.

As a final touch I used some gold glitter glue on the flower centre and some REALLY old Stickopotamus bee stickers.

This is the perfect card to thank someone for being so sweet. 
We always need thank you cards in our stash ☺

Card Details -


Size - A5

Digital Image - Honey Bear (Imagine That Digistamp)

Digital Paper - Honey Bear set (Imagine That Digistamp)

Dies - Torn Edge Hexagon (Crafter’s Companion)

Embellishments - Stickopotamus bee stickers, Stickles glitter glue, Spectrum Noir clear glitter overlay


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Wednesday, 17 March 2021

Leah's Picture

 


You know how every now and again you have an idea and when you have made it it comes out better than you could have ever dreamed? Well this is one of those projects. I actually cannot believe I made this!

At Kate Hadfield Designs the Creative Team are given free reign on what we can create. Sometimes we have a prompt. This month Kate wants to highlight the overlays.


I have played with making digital cards before so I know the basics of how to layer but this has taken it to a whole new scale. 

A little neighbour over the road was 2 on the 15th. She is moving into her 'big girl bedroom' and her parents have been decorating her room. I know she is having greys and pinks and wanted to make a picture for her room. 

I use a digital program called Affinity Designer. I started with the background which is the blue and green paper from the Painted Pretties set.


I then added the cloudy sky overlay from the Springtime Overlays set. I wasn't sure if you could use just some of it but it is really easy to move it around on your page to cover only the section you want. I would imagine you can cut sections from it as well if you only wanted specific parts of the overlay. I will experiment with that in future projects. There are some lovely overlays in the store.


The main image I wanted to use was the castle from Happily Ever After. I made this quite a large size and then added the Fairy Godmother. The little Frog Prince looked cute and I really wanted to include the rainbow. Leah has been such a happy little soul over this year of strangeness and it has been lovely to see her blossom. She has been the colourful rainbow in even the dullest days.


Using Springity Spring I have I of course added the smiley sunshine. The cloud is the same shape as the over lay so it is easy to resize and 'colour' in some of the clouds in the sky. By only colouring some in this has added layers and dimension to the picture.


I have also added some of the grass tufts, daisies and some of the little creatures ladybird, snail, bee and a cheeky little worm peeking out of the doorway. 

The whole design was then printed out onto photo paper and the colours are really vibrant. I then framed it using a silver frame from my collection.

I hope it gives as much joy to Leah as it did to me to make it for her.

I really loved making this. Kate's designs are so much fun to work with and there are so many fabulous items in the store. I love making cards and colouring so the stamps are my faves. There are coloured images, papers, doodles and you are only limited by your creativity. 

There are oodles of freebies in the store too. Simply sign up to the Newsletter in the Doodle Den and your will be given access to so many resources. There is a gallery full of projects by the Creative Team and customers and so much inspiration for crafter and teachers. I would highly recommend you pop over there and join in the fun.

Project Details -


Size - 8” x 10”

Digital Paper - Painted Pretties (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Overlay - Springtime Overlays (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Images - Happily Ever After set & Springity Spring (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Embellishments - Silver Frame



I would like to enter this into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)


at 24 comments:
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Monday, 15 March 2021

Ruby Christmas Drink

 


Over at The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up it is the Merry Maidens turn to showcase some fabulous Christmas cards.


This paper pack Cheers Christmas Edition designed by Decosse's Dynamite Doodles 
is up for grabs to the lucky winner who follows the Optional Twist if you feature a BEVERAGE you might drink during the HOLIDAYS as the focus of your card. 

For example, eggnog, mulled wine, hot toddy, wassail, hot buttered rum, brandy Alexander, Christmas punch, hot cocoa, etc.



If you want the chance to win this month's featured paper pack, be sure to create a card that features the twist.

The Sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo Stamps who is offering a $12 certificate from their store.


I love working with Jodie's images and this was a fun one to colour. I used Promarkers and loads of glitter courtesy of Spectrum Noir glitter markers, a glittery red gel pen, gold gel pen and a clear glitter gel pen for the glass.

I die cut the image using a Romantic Rectangles Nestability die and used some glimmer chalks around the edge.

The card is a tent style and measures 6" square. The green mat has been recycled from an old card and was the perfect size for the patterned paper which is the Fruit Punch from the Cheers Christmas Edition Pack. I loved the shape of the glass and the candy cane, totally Christmas. I also like the fun spotty border that frames the outside. The paper has been printed onto glossy photo paper and the colours are so vibrant. I also enlarged one of the glasses to make a motif that could be used on the card.


The green striped paper is a nod to the candy cane. It is from a HOTP Creative Cardmakers pack. I bought loads of them when I first started making cards years and years ago and they are still so useful today.

The sentiment was a freebie from Tlc Creations. It is part of a larger sentiment with a ribbon frame. One of the great things about digital is that you can crop them, resize and remove parts that you don't want to use. You only need basic editing software to be able to do this and you can tailor them to your own needs then.

I cut the image using a die from Petite Labels 1 from Spellbinders and again used the glimmer chalk around the outside edge.

Finally the enlarged fruit punch motif was fussy cut with my ever trusty tiny blade Fiskars embroidery scissors which I have had for about 30 years. They were really expensive at the time but I use them so much they were worth the money. The blades rarely need sharpening and I can cut really precisely with them.

I do hope you will take part in our challenge and look forward to seeing your creations.

Card Details -


Size - 6” x “6 Tent

Digital Image - Ruby Christmas Drink (Bugaboo Stamps)

Digital Sentiment - taken from Christmas Cheer Ribbon (Tlc Creations)

Digital Paper - Cheers Xmas Edition (Decosse's Dynamite Doodles)

Paper - Earth Tones Cardmaker’s Creative Pack (Hot off The Press)

Dies - Romantic Rectangles Nestabilities (Spellbinder) Petite Labels 1 (Spellbinders)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Spectrum Noir Glitter Markers, Red Glitter gel pen, gold gel pen, Sakura clear glitter pen

Embellishments - Glimmer Chalk



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)

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