And the winner is.... GWENDRAITH

I used the widget random number generator to pick the winner of the software giveaway and it was..... comment number 2.

So, taking it logically, the second comment left in the list was by gwendraith.  I will be emailing the details of how to download the software to her - congratulations!!

And for those people who weren't successful this time - I will apparently be given another download code in three months time, so keep an eye out for another giveaway post.  Or, if you can't wait that long, you can still grab a bargain by using my code STMMMS59047 which, as a special offer, will provide you with a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value in total!)

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 57 - heat embossing

We are kindly sponsored for this challenge by The Stampman (and Lady of course!) who are offering the winner the lovely prize pictured.

Starburst Stains Brush on The Fun - Holiday Wreath

Deep, rich, vibrant colours with a two-toned shimmer!

These are all dye based products, which give them that vibrancy and can be used on any porous surface, (paper, wood, fabric, balsa, chipboard, etc).

Instructions on how to use: Add hot water, (filtered preferrably, especially with the stains), let sit at least 10 minutes.

Shake or stir before each use.

The challenge set was to use heat embossing, and I usually enjoy that but for some reason this time I struggled a bit for inspiration.  After several attempts, I ended up with this card, which is a standard 6 x 6 card base in a burgundy leatherette cardstock.

I stamped the festive swirl onto the top left hand corner and heat embossed with gold detail embossing powder.  The Poinsettia was glittered using quickie glue pen and gold glamour dust.

The topper was a vellum image of father christmas and child, that was stuck onto plain card and then triple heat embossed to make it into a glossy tile.  That was mounted onto gold mirri board using four small gold brads.

I coloured some white ribbon with burgundy promarker to go along the bottom of the card, and attached a bow at the base of the topper image.

I also stamped happy christmas on the left side of the ribbon with gold inkpad, but alas it was too faint to show in the picture. 

Clean and simple inspiration

Sometimes, less is more.  I thought I'd have a rummage through my stamps and see if I could find any that I hadn't used in a while.  I liked this simple orchid stamp because you could colour it in, or leave it as line art.

I used plain white base card stock, and embossed two thin lines down the righthand edge.  I think red stands out nicely on white, so used that as my contrast colour.  The highlight in the flower was done with a red Sakura gellyroll glaze pen.  Having said that, I think it would work superbly as a monochrome black and white combo - super easy if you need a card in a hurry!


Also, don't forget there are only a few more days left before a blog reader can win the fabulous free software from My Memories digital scrapbooking - all you have to do is call in at my previous post and find out what you have to do...

You can make some cracking scrapbook pages with it - even me (and I am a complete novice!).

You can also find My Memories Suite at

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook-http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

Another scrapbook page

I have been playing some more with my new My Memories software, and the free design sets that can be downloaded.  It was great fun trying out new layouts - the only limit is your own imagination!

The My Memories website has some very useful tutorials, which explain things like how to use imported images and digisets provided as freebies from other companies - very useful!

In this layout, I used a background from a My Craft Studio cd.   The possibilities are endless - and there are lots of free designs available on the internet as well as from the My Memories website.

The next step on my voyage of discovery is looking at making backing sheets for my cards - how expensive are the pre-printed sheets?  Now I can make my own!

So, remember, all you have to do to win a copy of this fantastic software  is to visit the My Memories website and leave a comment on my last post to say which of the design sets you like the best between now and the end of the current challenge at Crafty Cardmakers (no 56 - Recycled).   When the challenge is closed, on Sunday 27th November, I will randomly choose one of the comments left there to be the lucky recipient of the free software.   I will then contact the winner and let them know what code to use to get it.

Birthday boy

This card was made using a digi image from Sugar Nellie called Nathan.  He colours in like a dream!  (this time I used promarkers).  Nathan is sitting on a straightforward easel card made out of plain white cardstock.  He is mounted onto oval nestie diecuts, and matted onto an x-cut diecut frame.    Decoration was simple and in keeping with a plain and simple approach and the colour scheme was kept to the minimum.

I am entering this card into the Crafts and Me challenge - Birthday

Don't forget, the free competition to win free software from My Memories digital scrapbooking is still open - all you have to do is call in at my previous post and find out what you have to do...

You can make some cracking scrapbook pages with it - even me (and I am a complete novice!).

You can also find My Memories Suite at

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

Christmas needn't be fancy...

Christmas is getting ever closer and I am totally conscious that I still have loads of cards to make.  I thought I would try to be less complicated, and utilise all those embossing folders I bought for the Bug.

This card is made from plain white cardstock that is embossed with a swirly Christmas Tree.  (not sure whose embossing folder this one was).  Because I had embossed the actual card base, I found that I had a faint line down each side left from the embossing folder.  I debated cropping it and mounting it white on white, but then it occurred to me that I could make a feature of the lines!  Et voilá. 

A touch of glittery ribbon and some glamour dust on the stars meant that even though it was a simple and plain card, I think it still looks pretty effective!

I am entering this card into the challenge at Creative Card Challenges - Minimalistic.

Don't forget, the free competition to win free software from My Memories digital scrapbooking is still open - all you have to do is call in at my previous post and find out what you have to do...

You can make some cracking scrapbook pages with it - even me (and I am a complete novice!).

You can also find My Memories Suite at

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

My Memories Suite software - Blog Candy special offer

I've been meaning to look into scrapbooking for some time, as an extension of my card making. Like most people I have boxes of photographs that never get seen, and it's got worse since digital cameras became more common, because now I have even more images stored up on my hard drive!  But where to begin?  And did I want a physical or digital scrapbook?

Then I heard about the My Memories Suite, which is digital scrapbooking software that is rated #1 by Amazon and which has a value of $40...   It's great for utilising those digital images in scrapbooks and photobooks, but you can also use it for cards and calenders and when you have created your albums, you can just print them out - it is really easy to use!

The first thing I tried was to create a page using elements from some of the free kits I downloaded, and some photos from my hard drive.   As it was Remembrance Day, I chose to make that the topic of my page.

I've never made one before and was really impressed.  It just shows how easy the software is to use.

Even better, someone reading this blog right now could win a copy too!

All you have to do to win is to visit the My Memories website and leave a comment here to say which of the design sets you like the best between now and the end of the current challenge at Crafty Cardmakers (no 56 - Recycled).   When the challenge is closed, on Sunday 27th November, I will randomly choose one of the comments left here to be the lucky recipient of the free software.   I will then contact the winner and let them know what code to use to get it.

As an additional bonus, if you submit an entry to the Crafty Cardmaker's challenge, you may also win a £10 voucher from the lovely Joanna Sheen (who is the sponsor) too!

  

And if you don't win a copy of the software, you can still grab a bargain by using my code STMMMS59047 which, as a special offer, will provide you with a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value in total!) 

 Just enter the Code STMMMS59047 on the shopping cart page here at My memories.com

I downloaded the software straight to my computer with no problems at all from here in the UK, so it isn't a problem that the company is based in the US.

You can also find My Memories Suite at

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

A quick card...

I had a bit of an "eek" moment today.  I suddenly realised I missed a birthday yesterday, so I had to make a card super quick.    Worse, it was for a man so was doubly difficult!

The topper was made from the new Big One cd, which has just been released from La Pashe.  The image used was a trinitage - 3 layers of decoupage, but nothing fiddly.  I wanted this card to go in the post, so just used foam pads to separate the layers (you are supposed to put them on a multi fold stepper type thing I think to really make them stand out)

As  a result you can't really see from the photo that the lower bits at the front (up to the cloches and the cabbages) are raised, which really make them stand out in real life! 

The base card was a white 5 x 7 blank and I used a sheet of "grass" backing paper as a mat on top of it.
 
The final touch was the sentiment, which was a silver peel off mounted onto plain black card.  It is going to be late - but it's the thought that counts!

Get well ... again

I'm beginning to feel like I am doing nothing but get well cards lately!

This card was one that I had to pull together in a hurry, so I used some diecut decoupage from my stash, and some rather nice backing paper I bought at Doncaster (if only I had bought more!!!!).

This is an A5 landscape easel card and I used my nesties to cut the topper backing shape and the sentiment.

The sentiment along the front was stamped (but unfortunately I can't remember whose stamps I used).

Birthday card for Josephine.

I got a little reminder pop up from my LJ list today to say that it is Josephine's birthday. 

So it is too late to post the original, but I thought I would dedicate this card to her - and hope that she has a wonderful day!

The card is a 6x6 portrait white base, which was distressed around the edges with vintage photo distress ink.  I used some copper tone paper which was punched along one edge with a Martha Stewart punch and a piece of scrap from my box to form the background. 

The topper was a crafty individuals stamp, stamped using the vintage photo distress ink and coloured with distress inks - vintage photo, victorian velvet and a combo of bundled sage and pine needles.  I used a stardust pen to colour the bee wings. I mounted the topper onto pink mulberry paper, which was wetted and torn to get a frayed edge.

The flowers were all made from scrap paper and punches, and were made into a bouquet with the addition of some punched leaves and a white chiffon ribbon tinted with the vintage photo distress ink tied into a bow.  All were glued into place with pinflair glue.

Finally, I stamped a greeting top and bottom on the patterned paper.