Opus Gluei Challenge #140 A little Sketchy

This fortnight Kristen has challenged us all to use a sketch, which is not something I do very often and my interpretations are usually very literal but not this time.
No, this time I paid the price of not thinking this through.
Hmm.

Sooo once I realised just how difficult it is to get 3 separate square nestie die cuts to line up accurately; lots of maths and measuring....and  I thought WTF crafting is my hobby it's supposed to be fun. I had a rethink and decided that Wonky is fun and hip and cool and wicked and... but to make it look properly wonky I started again and used my Wonky Rectangles nesties.

I also went back to the Retro Sketches challenge site and had a look again and there is a PTI die that is three squares in a row, so that makes it easier, but there is no way I'm paying PTI prices and P&P, are you having a laugh mate?! I think not.
But 100 hundred intrepid card makers have done the calculations for the 3 in a row.
Kudos to them :-)

I spent ages cutting the apertures and then I forgot to mount the frame using dimension foam so you can't tell the wonky rectangles are apertures AND I also forgot the Butterfly element as I was FAR too busy fussing about the 3 in a row thing.
Grr so let that be a lesson for us all to not sweat the small stuff or it'll all go pear shaped!

To make up for the missing butterfly element I added card candy in the bottom left corner as I couldn't think of anything that would work with the rest of the card, without it looking like a botch job, which is exactly what this card is but hey I can hide that if I put some more card candy in the top left corner to balance it maybe a bit better- but now I think it is illegal because I've deviated from the sketch too much!
Who knew card making could be this exciting?

But aren't the Octopode flowers cute?
It's the smallest flower in the rubber stamp range stamped onto some Basic Grey Sweet Threads designer paper.

Happy creating with sketches!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge # 139 See you in September

This fortnight the lovely Deena is asking for a school themed project.

Both my sons cycle to school and one of them cycles past a wood with ponds in it, and this is what he sees when he looks around.
Click on it to make it bigger.

It's a 12 x 16 inch canvas and the stamps are Octopode rubber stamps, aren't they great characters?
I like to paper piece so I prefer to buy rubber stamps but Octopode have a huge range of digi stamps that are all fabulous.
Here's a link to the digi stamps Octopode Factory.
I bought the rubber stamps direct from the owner Lily through her blog FrillyUnderwear.

The owl on the right is in an unusual pose. Then I realised it's because something is poking him in the ear.

 Don't these little birds look dapper in hats?

I had to draw this little bird a worm to hold as she has that look of frenzied excitement mixed with obsession that only finding a juicy worm gives you (if you are a bird that is, not me personally..or you).
She's thinking "Mine, mine, MINE!"

What better than a swim on a hot day.

Now these flamingo's have a very smug look about them and are thinking "Aren't I just the dog's bollocks?"
(Which is slang for exceeding handsome and lucky or the best over here in England.)

I got mirror images of the flamingo and the duck by stamping onto a sheet of plain rubber and pressing a piece of card onto the plain rubber. I think the technique is called reverse stamping.

I'm also entering this canvas in the Octopode Challenge "How does your garden grow?"

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

In the Pink Challenge #1. Anything Goes

A new fortnightly challenge blog has started called In The Pink that is co hosted by a dear friend Sylvia .
The themes of the challenges will change fortnightly but the projects are always to be predominantly pink in colour.
I'm sure the blog will be a big success for Christine whose idea it is and she is the creator of the blog and Sylvia.

I recently bought myself some Octopode rubber stamps and this card uses one of the chicks. Isn't she adorable???
I love circles so came up with this layout that I'm really pleased with.
The papers are Bo Bunny double dot and the Spellbinders Edgebilities die is the Classic Bracket one.
Click on it to make it bigger.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

1st Birthday Party for The Octopode Factory's Friday Challenge.

I wanted to do something in rainbow colours to celebrate the 1st Birthday Party for The Octopode Factory's Friday Challenge . Happy Birthday to you Lily and the Design Team!

I have also been wanting to make some colourful butterflies cards for a while and mooching about on the internet I found this marvelously happy card by Amy Rysavy from Prairie Paper and Ink blog and her card is based on an amazing Wedding Cake that is covered in colourful butterflies, I hope you click the link so you too can oogle the fantastic cake and her card.
So these two cards are CASed from Amy.
We have got Audrey Hepburn and her beau Charlie Chaplin celebrating in fine Octopode style.
Click on the picture to make it bigger.

I paper pieced Audrey and coloured Charlie in a very scruffy way with my coloursoft Derwent pencils as I wanted him to provide a contrast from the butterflies and look like he does in his films. (Do you notice Sylvia, how I'm on first name terms with them? Ahem)

Do you have any stash that you very nearly didn't buy but that you now use all the time?
I have my Martha Stewart 3 butterflies punch that I use loads, in fact it's my most used punch and the littlest butterflies are brilliant for added a little colour/space filler/added interest in card making.

I brayed my bright Andirondack dye inks; Citrus, Sailboat, Red Pepper, Sunshine Yellow, Pool and Raspberry onto individual white cards and overstamped a polkadot pattern in the same colour, as I didn't have any rainbow coloured plain card to make the butterflies with.
 It took a while to do but I think it works really well and I've plenty of coloured card left over for something else so I'd recommend giving it a try if you feel like it and want some coloured card to match your inks.

The heart in Charlie's hat is a Hero Arts button stamp.

The gorgeous little chicks in their shells are from Catslife Press and are tiny unmounted rubber and I understand that they love a good party (I think most chicks do), so I'm going to try very hard not to lose them on the dance floor.

Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

The Octopode Factory Challenge, Girls just wanna have fun. "I love a Smartie Party!"

I initially typed Girls just wanna have fur by mistake, I don't think that's true for many girls do you?
I can't say I have any desire to have fur unless I was really really cold and even then it'd be a toss up between frostbite and fur.
I suppose there might be the odd girl wanting to be a werewolf, I nearly said dog... yikes,   I'll change the subject.

So this picture is called

"I love a Smartie Party!"

This is Audrey Hepburn Octopode style but without the cigarette, sorry the scalpel came out and the cigarette was vamooshed off the rubber.
She loves smarties; particularly the orange ones and it's even more perfect for her, when combined with a party.
She came in her ordinary clothes which is a shame.
I thought she might have dressed up a bit.

This shiny black card is just impossible for me to photograph, yikes.

I've used Hot Tropics Card Candi for the heart frame (which is the third largest Spellbinders nesting heart).
Now I don't know about you but I have quite a lot of card candi that I have struggled to find a use for apart from the ubiquitous 3 in a row.
Does this sound familiar to you?
But I have found I like using it to make frames for things.

I'm also looking forward to trying some of the new mini card candi which sounds great because the current candi is often just too big for the project.
If you buy the white icing card candi you can colour it with any ink to match your project, even dye inks, which surprised me, they just need to be allowed a longer drying time. Hold the card candi with your tweezers and use a bit of sponge to colour them.  You get a nice uniform colour this way.

Now to prevent you from repeating my tantrum, you have to do a trial run and place them around your frame to see if they will fit nicely before you glue them down. I know, who can wait?  but it'll save your stash and card if you do this.
Unless you know you are going to do an overlap with something else, in which case make sure you start gluing from that point, so if they don't fit together when you come to join them up no one will see.

The crown stamp is Artemio from the London set with Tower Bridge on it.
Big Ben is from the Papermania Portobella Road Stamp set.

The Octopode challenge blog is here.

Happy Creating!
Gini
xx