Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show

This post is well over due but then again, so are many of the soon to follow entries!

Earlier this year, I won tickets to the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts show over in Trafford Park. I've never actually been to a show like this before, although when I was younger my dad took me to computer fairs and my mum sometimes worked photography seminars so I kind of knew what to expect. I took my flat mate along with me (more on that later) and I think it's fair to say that a successful day was had by all. I probably more money than I should have but I got some gorgeous new stamps and a Kanban Crafts card kit (which was actually a bargain).

There was just so much there! It was amazing. I was like a child in a sweet shop and didn't know what to look at first. Luckily (or so I thought), my flat mate, Natalie is not a crafter like me so she kept me on a certain level of calm. That was until we came across the jewellery making stalls where they were letting people have a go at making a pair of earrings. I don't have my ears pierced so it wasn't of particular interest to me but Nat decided to have a go and we agreed to meet up there in an hour.

One hour (I completely lost track of time) later . . . .

I headed back to the stall to see her fully engrossed in making her earrings. I left her to her crafting and when I came back a second time, she had bought lots of kit to make her own. And so the craft bug spreads!

A Climbing Commission

This birthday card was commissioned by the recipient of my hiking card for a fellow hiker and climber. The idea was that it was the same style as my previous one, except that this one would be a climber instead of a hiker. 

Not being a climber myself (at the time) I knew very little about the technical side of it - having now had a go, I realise the error of my ways but it's another card I'm proud of. The birthday girl also has a German Shepherd so it was requested that one made an appearance. I'm really pleased with the way the twine resembles climbing rope however, I would like to stress that this is NOT how you climb!

As with the previous card, this one is a zig zag and finished with a brown paper rock face. The climber and her dog are paper pieced and finished off with twine and a birthday peel-off sentiment.

A Birthday Card from Asgard

My third Avengers card. This one was a personal one for a friend who, like me, is a fan of Loki (he just needs a hug!)

In the same style as my Ironman card and Thor card, I created a paper pieced image, this time using the image from one of the posters for the new film. Detail was added with black pen and is set on a green card blank, finished with a birthday sentiment.

I always struggle with faces, which is why, you may have noticed, that I leave them out most of the time. I can't remember my reasons to drawing it in this time and I don't think it looks too bad. My friend went all fan girl over it when she got it so mission accomplished in my books!

3 down, 5(?) to go!

Chic 21st

It's about time I wrote (apologies) and started to catch up with  my cards - I'm really falling behind. 

This one was for my best friend's 21st birthday. She's always a tricky one to make as I never really know what to put on her cards. I always go down the fashion/dresses route. For her 18th I did an Art Deco themed card (which I was particularly pleased with).



So this year, I opted for a stepper card. I drew the design myself and finished the dress with patterned vellum.
The text was a papercutting, originally traced from Word and then cut out in black card. It was extremely fiddly but I love the effect it makes.

Saaaaaayyyyuuuuuul!!!

My dad likes his rugby. I've been to a couple of matches as well. For his birthday, I decided to make him a card in the theme of his team: Sale Sharks. 
It's one of my more simple cards, using a stepper base, I paper cut the Sharks logo from some white card to put on the front. I like the dimension that the stepper card creates, I used this to my advantage with a set of posts and a rugby ball, giving the impression that the ball is about to be kicked half way down the pitch.
I finished is simply with a peel off sentiment.

A Card for a Potterhead

Having just blogged about my hiking birthday card, and my Wicked birthday card for that matter, I realised that I completely forgot to write about my sister's birthday card back in October. To call her a bit of a Potterhead would be the understatement of 2013.

Some of the inspiration for this card came from a small business called Paper Panda who makes the most intricate paper cuttings and I thought I'd give it a go. 
I used a zig-zag card again, with the back of the card a silhouette of Hogwarts. I used my sneaky powers of detection to find out which house she was in and made this the colour scheme of the card, as well as providing the design for the central fold. 
Like with my Wicked card, I was running short of ideas so for the front, along with the sorting hat and a birthday sentiment, I went crazy with a few stars.

My favourite bit is definitely the silhouette. I'm really pleased with it but it was hard going although I can now say that I've done it and I really do know how much work goes into what Paper Panda produces - and mine isn't even anywhere near the scale her work is on! I may do more paper cutting in the future but I definitely think that paper piecing is my thing.

Hiking + Card making = Very Happy Emma

I'm really falling behind with these cards! This one dates back to the beginning of November. One of my best friends is really into hiking. I'm also really into hiking but he's REALLY into hiking. So a hiking themed card had to be done. The zig-zag card was perfect for this because is meant that I could create different levels of the card, in the same way that the land changes when you're climbing a mountain.

We had climbed Helvellyn (for me, it was the first time) a couple of weeks prior to his birthday so Swirral Edge was still fresh in my mind and this is what I based it on, complete with trig point. Impressively (or obsessively) on his part or mine, he guessed that it was Helvellyn. I added a paper person scrambling along the edge and as he loves his German Shepherd, she had to go in somewhere as well.
The compass was an afterthought. I wasn't sure whether it would be too much but I think it works well and helps to get rid of some of the grey. This was simply drawn on with pen and finished with a paper needle. To complete the card, I just added a birthday sentiment.

I loved making this card although I did get a little bit obsessive about it and spent most of an evening making it but I had never combined my two hobbies before (I don't think card making on top of a mountain is ever going to happen!) so I think I'm allowed to. 

He loved the card (although I think a lot of it was due to it having his dog on the front!) and a few weeks back, he commissioned me a couple of other cards, one of which based on this one, but those will have to wait a little while longer . . .