Cards For Men Challenge and Anniversary Blog Hop!!

Hi! Welcome to the Cards For Men Anniversary Blog Hop!

If you've come to me via Sarah, you are on the right track. 

If you've just arrived and want to join the hop, please start at the very beginning at Cards For Men

 I'm super excited to be asked by Donna to join her once again for this special occasion as a Guest Designer!

It's hard to believe that Cards for Men is one year old already!!! 

To celebrate there is lots going on with tons of prizes available. 

There are two challenges, both with a Christmas theme. 

The first challenge is...

 Make a card, or a present, or both, the choice is yours.

 The second challenge is..

collect a word from each blog to form a festive phrase.

 (My word is 'WISH').

 At the end of the blog hop you should have 11 words, (Donna will have two words).

Work out the phrase and leave it in the comments back at Cards for Men.

One random winner will be drawn for each category.

You can get all the details and lots of inspiration over at the Cards For Men blog.

Each blog is giving away candy to one lucky winner! 

My candy is sponsored by my beloved Peachy Keen!!

 (Here's a little background into this amazing company)

Peachy Keen Stamps is a family owned and operated leading clear stamp manufacturer based out of Northeast Wisconsin. Our stamps are made with the highest quality polymer on the market today, giving them their unique peach tint. The whimsical images designed by Kathy Jakopovich coupled with their durability make them a favorite amongst scrap-bookers, card makers, and artists alike. These stamps are sold exclusively online at www.peachykeenstamps.com and at independent stamp and scrapbook stores worldwide. Please visit our website for a complete list of retail locations.

This is the prize for one lucky winner....

It's the 'Happy bird' steel die, (designed by Kathy at Peachy Keen in collaboration with Cottage Cuts)!

 To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous candy, you just need to leave me a comment. Simple!

One random winner will be drawn on 20 December.

Here's my Card.......

The image and phrase is from Whimsie Doodles and coloured with Copics. 

The DP is by My Mind's Eye.
The cute face on the underpants is from the Peachy Keen set
PK-470, Happy New Year Face Assortment!

Here's my Gift

This is made using an envelope for the inside pockets. 

(It's folded in half after gluing the flap down and chopping the top off).
The sentiment is by Papermania.

The blog hop will run until midnight on 19th December and winners will be chosen on 20th.

Your next stop is the lovely Shirley.

Here is a list of the blogs in case you lose your way....

 Cards For Men 
Donna 

Alison 

Amy 

Kitty 

Kym 

Mandy 

Patricia 

Sarah 
Me

Shirley
Back to Cards for Men

Good luck everyone and happy hopping!!

Cards For Men Challenge #3

It's time for another Cards For Men challenge already! Where DOES the time go!
Th challenges are now every two weeks instead of monthly which is wonderful.
Cards For Men's third challenge is a sketch. I love sketches.
Half the work is done for you when you don't have to think about a layout.

Here's the sketch (there is an optional theme of  Love/Valentine).

 And here's my card.......

The image is coloured with Copics and is a SU stamp from the set 'For Father', using MME DP and Nestie circles to frame the image. I added three brads for balance.
Sponged with Tim Holtz distress inks.'Tea Dye'.

Most men don't do 'lovely dovey' cards, so I came up with this sentiment and thought it would fit most men's idea of a love or valentine card . You know I'm right! LOL

Here are the guidelines
1. The card must be for a man/boy.
2. You need to follow the theme/sketch that is set.
3. It must be a new card.
You are free to combine challenges with other blogs.
The challenge will close on the 14th February 2010 at midnight GMT.  

The challenge is sponsored by Donna's Den and Donna has donated this fabulous prize....
It is a 'No Scissors Required Die Cut Decoupage' book, which contains 8 sheets of die-cut decoupage, 3 sheets of pop-out captions and 8 sheets of craft board.

 The other DT girls have come up trumps with the challenge.
Please pop on over to the Cards For Men blog to see their fab samples and to have a bash at the challenge.
We have now got the Mr. Linky gadget up and running now, making it a lot easier to post your entries.

Have fun and good luck!
Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

A New Year..... a new challenge.... at Cards For Men!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it will be one of peace and happiness for all of you.
Today, I have for you a new challenge to start the 'new' year off. The clue is in the 'new'.
Yes, the challenge over on Cards For Men is 'NEW'. It can mean anything. You interpret 'New'.

I decided on 'New Job'...........

I've been racking my one brain cell for days trying to get the idea into shape.
I have millions of PC Hug Club images that have gathered dust since discovering stamping and colouring.
So, I decided to dust them off and use them. This one is from the Honeyville set. I wish I could take credit for the colouring, but alas no, it's already coloured, all I had to do was print it out. 
I printed it onto an A5 card, then folded it to make an A6 card, (10.5cm x 15cm) (4"x6").
I printed it twice. Once with the image and once with the sentiment. I adhered one inside the other after cutting around the image. I then sponged all round the cards in Adirondack Latte ink.
The polka dots were produced using my Peachy Keen background stamp, PK-100, Large Polka Dots, inked with the Latte ink.

I hope it's given you one or two ideas. Pop on over to the Cards For Men Blog to get all the details and see what the other amazing DT members have in store for you.
You won't be disappointed. There's a super prize to be won too!

Thanks for stopping by.
Viv xx

Cards For Men Challenge Blog is launched!

Today's the day!! Did you guess the theme for the first ever Cards for Men challenge?
Yep! It's a Christmas theme. Well....it HAD to be, didn't it! LOL

Here's my first CFM challenge card......

Recipe.....

Kraft card

Stamp - SU's 'Lovely as a Tree'

Brown velvet ribbon

DP - Papermania's ' A Christmas Carol', matted onto dark brown card.

Sentiment - Hampton Arts

The 'snow' is the stuff you buy in a big bag to put on your windows to mimic snow. It has glitter in it and is only 99p from a shop in the UK called B&M.!!! There's TONS of it in a bag!

OK, not tons, but LOADS!

I made a mask by punching out a circle and sponged over it in Bashful Blue ink, to form a watery sun behind the trees.

Please join in with this very first Cards For Men Challenge, we can't wait to see what you come up with.

This is the fantastic prize donated by Donna's Den Of Crafts,  The  Crafter's Companion Ultimate Pro, so come on and play!

Pop over right away and see what the rest of the DT have created and to get all the details.

This challenge will run for two weeks in the lead-up to Christmas and then it will run monthly for a while to see how it goes.

(Hopefully, it will be every two weeks eventually).

Have fun!

Viv xx

I should be in bed

Instead I'm on here! I need to get a grip! LOL

Well I might not have time to get on here tomorrow, got a busy day out of the house.
Gotta take one my D-i-L and new grand daughter for a check up at the surgery tomorrow morning.
(Think it's the 6 week check, seeing as she's 6 weeks now).
Alan has the Warfarin clinic at the same time, I have to go to Mum's 'coz she wants some stuff, then the rest of the day's my own. All one hour of it! LOL
Anyway, here's an extra card I did for Oscar's 4th birthday. (I forgot I'd made that one with the skateboard)! Doh! Ha Ha

I wrote that it was from my Mum, 'coz she has given up sending cards now. It's too much hassle for her.
It qualifies as a 'Cards for Men' card too, 'coz it's for a boy.

Well, I'd better get to bed or baby won't be getting to the clinic and it'll take me 20 minutes to get across town to go and pick them up, as Macclesfield is grid-locked at rush hour! The appointment is 9.30am!!!

Don't forget! Cards for Men starts it's first challenge on 1st December!
Viv xx

Happy Birthday Alan!

It's hubby's birthday today and he's always saying 'when I was a lad', so I've made him a card that's ALMOST his era!!! Ha Ha.
He was born in 1938, so it's not TOO far out!  Yep! He's 71 today! Happy birthday Love!
I've used the sketch on Crazy 4 Challenges #12

I sponged everything with Tim Holtz 'Tea Dye' distress ink.

The 'Newsprint' is a piece of 12x12 DP from Monk's Den craft shop. Wish I'd got more now 'coz I like it a lot! VERY 1930's which suits that digital image a treat! That's from Digital Two for Tuesday.

I made up the sentiment and printed it off the PC.

The mount was done using a Nestability label die. (Can't think which one it's called now).

The Basic CS was picked up at the Papyr Box in Somerset, while we were on holiday.

I tarted the corner up a bit with a scroll that looked quite 30's and put two brads on the sentiment for the hell of it.

(I've since, stamped 'happy birthday in the blank column on the 'newspaper').

Hope you like my bit of nostalgia. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to catch up with you soon.

Viv xx

Birthday Boy

I made this for my Grandson who will be 4 on 29h November.
It's a bit different from my usual style and I enjoyed the challenge.

I used components from a set I got from Donna over at Donna's Den of Crafts.
They were perfect for my 4 year old grandson. I am always racking my brain, (what bit I have), for boys cards and these elements are just the job I reckon!
The paper is a single sheet I got at Monk's Den craft shop in Ashby-de-la-Zouch a couple of weeks ago.
I'll have to keep an eye out for more 'coz I like it.

The '4' was cut with my Sizzix alphabet. The circles were punched out.
The CS is Bazzil as usual!

I'm quite pleased with this card. It didn't take me ages like they usually do, which was a bonus.
Well, that's all from me today. I've been with Mum all morning at a Wiltshire Farm Foods tasting session in the complex where she lives.
I thought it worth attending as Mum needs something like this. She isn't eating properly since she moved in.
She had to change to an electric cooker as there is no gas there. At 90 years old, it's a bit much for her to take on board and consequently, isn't cooking herself a proper meal now.
Anyway, she likes these ready meals and they are being delivered tomorrow. I ordered her 2 week's worth to see how she gets on with them. I got home at about 2pm and after doing some shopping and watching my son put a flat pack wardrobe together, the day has vanished!
OKAY, I've bored you enough, I'm off.
Thanks for stopping by and I WILL catch up with you very soon!

Viv xx