A Two Challenge Combo, and A New Toy

This week I've managed to combine two challenges into one card.
Keryn set the dare over on Daring Card Makers...

It's Keryn here this week and I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a 'Big Shot' die cut machine and I'm loving it. I want any excuse I can find to make cards, well anything really using die cuts. This week I want you to play with me. Dig out your dies and your die cut machine. Cut shapes of any size and theme you please and use at least one on your card for this week.

 I combined it with Kazan's sketch over on 2 Sketches For You and came up with this:
 

Ingredients:
Dies (as per Keryn's dare): Nellie Snellen frame (painted with acrylic and sanded); flowers made with Cuttlebug asterisks; Sizzix flower pot; Quickutz grass
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Poundland gems
Ribbon from stash
Papermania paper
Pen stitching

As well as card making, I'm trying to expand my crafty repertoire and this week I acquired this..

..Mum's old sewing machine.  It's older than me, but still works a treat (and weighs a ton).

No more pen stitching on cards for me, I'm going for the real deal.  I've even bought some separate needles to use on paper.

I've not just got the machine for my paper crafts, I am attempting to make a dress! It may take some time as the last time I did any sort of dressmaking/machine sewing was at school in about 1987, and I think my Mum ended up finishing it off!

Cheers

Ruthie x

Card Positioning Systems Sketch #161

Yes the weather is rubbish again today so here's another sketch based card.

I used this week's sketch on Card Positioning Systems blog:

Here's my take on it:

Ingredients:
Papers - Bo Bunny
Chipboard fancy brackets cut using Nestabilities label dies
Cuttlebug alphabet dies
Buttons from Paper-and-String
Ribbon from Aberkan
Papermania Scrabble tile
Pen stitching

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Happy Easter

Just stopping by to wish everyone a very happy Easter.  I've no crafting to share today, just a few photographs, so navigate away now if you are looking for cards :-). 

First up, I decided to take an Easter/Spring inspired photo for my blog, so earlier today I ventured into the garden to get a pic of the daffodils which are currenltly flowering.  Unfortunately today was very windy so it proved a little difficult, but I eventually got a pic:

Yesterday (in preparation for much chocolate eating) Mr Crafty Blogger and I headed out for a walk up Rivington Pike to burn a few calories:

Neither of us had ever been up there, (despite both growing up relatively locally) and we had a lovely surprise when we found the ruins of the Rivington Terraced Gardens.  No it wasn't like an edition of Time Team, they are a well known local attraction which somehow neither of us had ever heard of!   The gardens were built at the turn of the 20th Century for Lord Leverhulme.  The site covers 45 acres and originally included Lord Leverhulme's house and numerous ornamental gardens and structures inspired by his trips abroad.

Here's a few pics:

The Pigeon Tower:

This was built as a summer house.  The top floor was used as a sewing room by Lady Leverhulme.

One of the ornamental lakes:

One of the summer shelters (there are numerous ones on the site):

Finally a pic of one of the many ornamental arches which remain.

If you are interested in knowing more about the site (as I was) there is a clip from a local cable news program on YouTube which is far more informative than I could ever be HERE.

Happy Easter once again,

Ruthie x

DCM Diamond Dare

I made the most of the awful weather yesterday and joined in with this week's DCM dare:

Well, as you know we're looking to each month's birthstone for inspiration for the first dare of that month. This month is a bit of a tricky one (well we found it tricky anyway...) The birthstone for April is the

Diamond

so we'd like you to come up with cards which relate in some way to diamonds.

How you decide to use the birthstone is up to you, it may be a card for someone who has a birthday during this month, featuring "diamonds. or it may be a card that refers to the meaning or mythology surrounding the stone - anything goes, really as long as somehow the birthstone is hinted at.

So here's my card:

Ingredients:

Papers - My Mind's Eye

Vintage image from the Graphics Fairy (found the link via Jo Kill's blog - thanks for sharing Jo)

Scalloped frame made from scrap cardboard and a Nellie Snellen die

Ribbon - Making Memories

Assorted diamonte jems from stash

Scrunched paper flower (tutorial here)

Cuttlebug embossing folder and swirl die

Vintage ticket designed in Photoshop and cut using a Sizzix die

Quickutz button die

Fiskars scalloped lace punch

Pen stitching

I also made another card using this week's 2Sketches4You sketch:

Ingredients:
Papers - Bo Bunny
Vintage ticket as before
Boss Kuts bird die
Nestabilities ovals and circles dies
Fiskars scalloped lace punch
Jute string from Wilko (garden dept)
Pins from local market
Pen stitching

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x