Monday Mania with TGF

I'm totally honoured to be playing hostess this week for The Greeting Farm's Monday Mania challenge.

As my country stopped to honour our brave ANZACS yesterday, I decided to set the challenge based on the colour of the Army uniform, since its something I've been surrounded by since birth. My paternal grandfather, father and brother have all served in the Australian Army, with my brother currently still serving our great country.

I had created two cards for this challenge using other images, keeping with the colour scheme I had set but I wasn't entirely happy with them. I woke Friday morning knowing that the deadline for submission of my creation was close and had a card in mind. I spent the next 24hrs planning and strategising how to make it happen. I set to it Saturday afternoon and worked on the card base for hours!! The "forest" actually comprises about 5 different stamp sets using 8 different ink colours!! Stamping and blending the forest left the Kraft base really wet so I needed to let it dry a bit before I cut out the frame. I coloured Courage Ian during this time with Copics (of course) and then smudged him with choc chip ink for effect. I paper pieced his helmet with a camouflage print design I found via Google. I changed the colours with my Copics to better fit my colour scheme and then, after carefully cutting out the "forest window", I set about putting it all together. When finished, I applied Crystal Effects to the goggles to make them shiny. Not sure if I've managed to get this in the photo.

Fussed and played until 11pm Sat night then tried - oh tried so hard - to fall asleep as I was rising at 3am to head out to a Dawn Service with my brother and the rest of the family, then back to take my Mum to hospital for an appointment and then onto church afterwards!! I was totally whacked when I got home and needed a nanna nap. Awoke refreshed and "knew" just what I needed to finish of the card. I used a mini label that I altered with an ink (who's name I can't quite recall atm, will come back to add this) to create a "dogtag" label and handwrote the inscription. The ball chain is aactually what the pricetag was attached to a couple of hairclips I recently purchased. Just shows that you should never, ever throw away anything - it was a perfect addition.

Anyway, I hope you can join me and my dear TGF friends this week in the Monday Mania challenge.

I'm also entering this card into the current Cards for Men challenge - Monochrome

Thanks for stopping by.

Michey xxx

CARD DEETS:

Image: TGF Courage Ian; Hero Arts Dandelion Frame; Verve Abundant Blessings, Forever in our Hearts, Leaves; KaiserCraft Lilac Avenue

Ink: Memento: Tuxedo Black; SU: Choc Chip, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, River Rock; Distress Ink: Frayed Burlap, Old Paper; Versacolor: Olive, Cement,

Paper/Cardstock: SU Kraft, PTI White

Others: SU Crystal Effects, Cuttlebug Labels, Mimco Chain (used for the dogtag detail), Spica Glitter Pen - Silver,

Copics: See picture for Copics used

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #21

In the lead up to my hosting the Monday Mania challenge over at The Greeting Farm, I had a couple of practice runs making cards for my entry. This is one that I created that I just wasn't all that happy with.

However, it did mean I managed to participate in Keesh's Inkspiration Challenge last week for my very first time!! Yay!!

Hope you like it.

Hugs, Michey xxx

CARD DEETS:

Image: TGF Cute Troop

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Fresh Snow

Paper/Cardstock: PTI White, KaiserCraft Millitary collection

Others: Copics (sorry I forgot to take a piccie), Edge distresser, PTI Twine

Lest We Forget - ANZAC Day 2010

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

LEST WE FORGET.

Verve, Cupcakes & a Mojo Sketch

Wow.....what a week it has been......and now the weekend is here (for us Aussies anyways). ;)

I set myself a challenge at the beginning of the year to participate in some challenges, hopefully every week. I smashed that this week. I've made 9 cards!! I'm stunned myself - and I did four of those tonight, but I'm not gonna show you until tomorrow as its already 3am and I wanna go to bed.

Sadly, I lost one of the cards on Tuesday....I took the three I had made Monday to work with me on Tuesday to get some photos done during daylight hours and somehow when I checked at the other end, I only had two. :( The card I lost had some of my new MOST FAVOURITE paper on it and I used this weeks SSSC for the layout. It was lovely, but you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)

Anyhow, here is the one of the cards I've made this week. Was for the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge and Verve's Release Challenge # 1. I used this week's Mojo Sketch as the layout guide and cracked open my pack of KaiserCraft Devonshire 6x6 DP.

Thanks for stopping by for a lookie.

Mwah!! Michey xxx

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(I'm all bleary eyed now so I'll come back and add the deets a little later...)

CARD DEETS:

Stamps: Verve......

Ink:.....

Paper/Cardstock:......

Other:.....

Copics: ....

Mad For Markers Challenge 1 (Entry 2) + Copic Creations Challenge 26 + Anya Ink 2 + Cupcake Inspiration Challenge 54

Just a quick post for now as I want to get this card in before the 5pm deadline with the MFM challenge and its now 4;51pm!!

Nothing like a wee bit of pressure!!

I'll be back in a second to add all the blah, blah, blah. :)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Okay.....I'm back (I made the deadline and can breathe again!!). :)

I have been wanting to make an Easel card ever since they first started appearing on blogs, but couldn't quite work up the courage to step out and do it until this week. I started this card on Monday night with a clear vision in mind and went about creating the base and the matted layers.....then my mojo up and left home. Its not back yet, but has popped in for a moment here or two and I've made the most of those moments. (In reality, I just stamped/printed several images and coloured them in using the three colours from the Mad For Markers challenge and was not happy with any of them. They're actually coloured in quite lovely, but I wanted to make this card for one of my BFF's who's having a birthday this coming week and I just wasn't all that ok with the images I'd coloured. They were either tooo young/girlish or in the end didn't match the DP I'd already started with.) I came home after a truly frustrating day yesterday (Friday) determined to get the card finished. Looking through my out-of-control collection of stamps, I happened upon one of the very first sets of TGF stamps I ever purchased, The Anya Collection. They were perfect because my BFF is well-known for her handbag/shoe collection and her love of all things related to SHOPPING!! My roomie and I were watching the brand new BBC version of Sense and Sensibility last night as well and I think this encouraged my mojo to come home!! :)

For this card I've blended a few different challenges. Copic Creations challenge for this week is "black hair", which is perfect as my BFF has lots of gorgeous, long, black hair. I'm also entering this into the Anya Ink challenge, which is Pink and Sparkly as there is some of that going on here, plus the current Cupcake Inspiration Challenge - I was inspired to use the lace on this card because of the beautiful lacy icing pieces on these cupcakes.

Anyway, there are a couple of firsts for me here too: my first easel card; and, my first time using flowers (not entirely sure they work for me tho). Once I was done colouring last night, I pulled out my Crystal Effects and coated Anya's shoes and handbag to give them the appearance of patent leather (see the piccie above left). Then it was off to bed so they could dry. I was off to my BFF's birthday brunch this morning and had a lovely "high tea" with some other darling girlies. Thanksfully, I hadn't planned on taking the gift or card with me today, which was just as well since the card was still in a gazillion pieces. I got home (via a stop at my local scrapping store) at 3:20pm and raced to pull it all together before the 5pm deadline at the MFM challenge!! Phew....my mojo definitely likes a challenge!!

That's it for me atm. I'm off to swallow some pain meds, have had an annoying headache all day (probably related to the fact that I didn't get my coffee in yesterday - remember I did mention it was a frustrating day - plus I was a little down on my H2O intake the past few days too).

Have another project on the go as well that I want to spend some time playing with tonight.

Hope your weekend is shaping up to be all kinds of lovely. :) Hugs, Michey xxx

CARD DEETS:

Images/Stamps: TGF The Anya Collection; Verve Birthday Surprise (Sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Choc Chip, Distress Ink Old Paper and Frayed Burlap

Copics: (See picture below - sorry for quality - used my iPhone)

Paper/Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Flourishes Classic White, Crate Paper Lillian Collection "Gathering"

Others: Fiskars Upper Crest Punch, KaiserCraft Rhinestones, Nestabilities (Label Eleven and Large Scallop Oval), Prima + Hero Arts + KaiserCraft Flowers (coloured with Copics to match), SU Crystal Effects, Glue Dots, Maya Arts Lace