Have I seen you somewhere before?...

...well, the answer is 'Yes you have'! because this is the same image I used for my other grandaughter's 'Back to School' card but doesn't she look different in these colours and in this setting? This card is for number one granddaughter, Holly who is starting senior school this month - another new beginning for her!

Go here to see her in a different setting and to pick up the image details.

I'm afraid I didn't keep a note of the Copics I used for you - sorry!...but I can tell you that the edges of the image are distressed with Chipped Sapphire DI. (Don't know what I'd do without these inks!!) The blue spotted paper is a digital download from Bearly Mine Crafts and this one is just the perfect colour for the image. I used Bev's wonderful tutorial on Resizing Digi Papers, so thanks so much for that hun - it worked perfectly! The pink stripey paper was from my stash and just a scrap, so I can't tell you whose it is. Also from my stash is the butterfly ribbon, which I picked up at a craft show somewhere - I have a habit of picking up things at craft shows, that's why I have to keep working! LOL

The wonderful flowers and stamens are from Wild Orchid Crafts (link in my sidebar) and the sentiment was computer generated.

I believe this qualifies for the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge, which is New Beginnings. I think this image has been around long enough to fit the bill.

You'll no doubt be relieved to hear that you've seen the last of Back to School cards...well, at least for another year, so now we can get on with something different.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you enjoyed looking at this project.

Diane x

Here we are again!

Good morning peeps and TGIF!

This is another image from the truly talented Mo Manning, which is called 'Paul Texting' but in my mind it's Martin Texting! Martin is number 2 grandson and that's who this card is for - we had a family trip to Chester Zoo and when he wasn't looking at the animals, he was texting his friends! So you can imagine how I couldn't resist using this image - it so reminds me of him. As you can see, it's to celebrate the return to school (well at least I think his Mum is celebrating!).

The DPs are from Diane's Daughters, 7 Gypsies and the Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby pad, which is so gorgeous I thought I was very brave to cut into it LOL! The image is coloured with Copics (numbers below) and I deepened the shadows with my Faber Castell pencils, all the distressing is with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and the buttons are a mixture from my stash.

Skin: E000, E00, E21, R11, R20
Hair: E53, YR21
Clothing: E43, E44, E47, E49, BG000, BG10, BG11, BG13
Bag: BG15, BG23, BG18, BG75
Phone: C9, C7, C5
Shoes: E41, E43
Shadow: W1, W3, W5

I do hope you like this one and be brave, there's only one more to go in the 'Back to School' series!

By for now,
Diane x

Air guitar

Good morning, peeps and I hope you're all having a great start to the week this fine and sunny Monday morning! Well, the series continues and all the cards are now delivered! This one is for my number one grandson, Matt who is off to sixth form college this week to start a BTEC National Diploma in Music Technology - I won't pretend to know exactly what that means because just the name of it makes me feel like an old fogey! All I know is that he has aspirations to be a radio DJ in the future and I just think it's great that he has a dream!

The image is another from the wonderful Mo Manning and is called 'Air Guitar'- I just thought it was very appropriate as I did with the music printed paper in the layout. All the papers are from 7 gypsies, by the way.

I coloured the image with my Copics (of course!) and I'll list them at the end of this post for you but I did add to the shading with my Faber Castell pencils. The little stars are punched with a Carla Craft punch and covered in Distress Stickles in Walnut Stain. I've also used the endlessly useful Stampin' Up Word Window punch for the sentiment, which was computer generated. All of the ditressing on all layers was done with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and the brads are from my stash.

I hope you like it - I always find cards for the boys more of a challenge.

I'll be back soon with yet another in the 'Back to School' series.

Copics used:
Skin: E000, E00, E21, R11, R20
Hair: E31, E25, E29
Vest: R35, R37, R59
Jeans and boots: W7, W5, W3, W1, E43, E41
Shadow: B000 + chalk

Bye for now, Diane x

Back to school again!

Good morning peeps and a fine and sunny morning it is here in Yorkshire although, you can probably tell from the picture above that it wasn't quite so fine and sunny when the photo was taken!

Anyhoo, this is the second in the 'Back to school' series and you'll probably be sick of them by the time I've been through all my grandchildren! This is for number three grandson, James and I've used another lovely Mo Manning image, Yale. These images from Mo are so expressive and an absolute delight to colour. I coloured him with my Copics and carefully kept a note of which colours I used on the reverse of the image. I got up early this morning to work on this card because it needs to be delivered today and, guess what? I stuck the image down without transferring the Copic numbers so they now cannot be seen! What am I like?

The DPs are mainly from 7 Gypsies but also from the Girls' Paperie and Stampington. I created the star from a Papermania stamped image and then cut it out. I'm entering this for the Truly Scrumptious Challenge, which is a sketch with an optional extra to include a knot somewhere on your card. Of course, I had to fiddle a bit with the layout but I think the sketch is still recognisable!

I hope you like the card and I should be back soon with number three in the series - are you bored yet?

Bye for now.

Diane x

Cornell goes back to school

Good afternoon, peeps! I hope you're all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for the Bank Holiday weekend.

This is one of the wonderful Mo Manning's images and Cornell is the name that Mo has given to her. I thought she's be perfect for a Back to School card - I have five to make in total for my five grandchildren. Three of the five are making new beginnings this term - number one granddaughter, Holly and number three grandson, James are both starting at senior school and number one grandson, Matt is going off to sixth form college. This card is for number two granddaughter, Lucy who is about to start her final year at Junior school.

I used a sketch from the lovely Bev and it's so kind of you hun to provide this wonderful resource for us all to use - thank you! I'm afraid I haven't the faintest clue which Copics I used to colour the image because this is part of the batch of images I coloured when I was last away from home and I didn't keep a note. I'm off again this weekend with my Copics ready and packed but I'll try to keep some notes this time!

The papers are from my new Prima pack called 'Fairy Flora' and The Glitter Pot have it here at a very good price - I thought I should just stop stroking all these papers and use some. Every one of the designs in the pad is absolutely gorgeous and you could well be seeing more of these! I punched the edge of the top paper with my Martha Stewart Doily Hearts punch.

The flowers are some Prima ones from my stash and some are from Wild Orchid Crafts (link in my sidebar) and I just cut some leaf shapes from some scraps of very old DP. I wasn't sure about using the rainbow ribbon after I first put it on to the card but I think it's grown on me. Anyway, it was from Fantastic Ribbons although I can't see this width on their web site now.

Finally, I distressed the edge of the Nestie shape the image is on with Forest Moss Distress Ink.

I hope you like this card and have a great weekend all of you!

Bye for now

Diane x

Aubrey Bumblethorpe

I thought I would share with you this card that I've made for my hubby's birthday. His birthday isn't until next Monday but when I was considering when would be the best time to upload this, I had to confess that he probably wouldn't even know how to find my blog let alone think of looking at it, so I reckon I'm safe!

I chose this image from Just Inklined mainly because we have an ongoingjoke about buying a trike (of the Harley Davidson type not a red plastic one with wooden wheels!!) and growing old disgracefully. When I saw Aubrey, I had to confess that there is a certain likeness to DH in the beard and the specs but, thankfully, there it ends! This is what my hubby looks like and, as you can see, he has more hair than Aubrey!


It was ironic that the lovely Mina posted a card with the exact same image to her blog only yesterday - I wasn't copying hun, honest! I'd already made the card when I saw your lovely post.

The DPs in the background are from K & Co, 7 Gypsies and Bo Bunny. I embossed the Nestie label with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday folder and distressed the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I was away from home when I coloured the image with my Copics so I don't have all the colours for you but those I do I'll list below. After colouring with the Copics, I used my Faber Castell watercolour pencils to deepen the shadows and to 'grey down' Aubrey's denims, which were looking a bit too laundered to be real. I also added Glossy Accents on his specs, spanner, belt buckle and boot straps and finished with buttons charms and ribbon from my stash.

Copics used:
Skin: E000, E00, E21, R11, R20
Beard and spanner: C1, C3
Tshirt, boots and belt: W1, W3, W5, W7
Denims: B93, B95, B97, B99

I must get on now with some back to school cards and a project for a local group with which I'm involved.

Bye for now,

Diane x

Just Magnolia Challenge

Good evening, peeps and happy Tuesday evening to you!

Yay! I finally managed to get a card made for a challenge and I'm just about in time to enter it because I know this challenge closes tomorrow. This week it's a sketch from the lovely Bev and I must say that I really enjoyed working with it. I decided to use Bubbling Tilda as the image since she hadn't even seen ink since I bought her and I've coloured her with Copics (I'll list the numbers below). The DPs are from Magnolia, Papermania Henbury Lane and Crafty Individuals Springtime pad. The pearls and dewdrops are from The Hobby House and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The leaves have been punched with my McGill Pine punch and the ribbon and lace are from my stash.

Copics used:
Skin - E50, E00, E21, E11, R20
Hair - E51, E53, E33, E57
Bubble pipe - YR20, YR21, YR23
Tilda's dress - B000, B00, B02
Tilda's wings - Blues as above + V01, V12, V15
Bubbles - C1, C3
Shadow - W1, W3, W5

I added Stickles Stardust to the bubbles and Tilda's wings and Glossy Accents to the bubble pipe. The circle (cut with my Nesties, of course), is distressed with Milled Lavender distress ink, as is the sentiment, which is from Hero Arts.

I hope you like it. I'm sorry for the gloomy photograph but it's a bit like the skies over Yorkshire at the moment! I can see the purchase of a light tent looming evre closer! It's unusual for me to be posting so much - wouldn't it be great if I could keep it up?!!

Diane x