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Friday, January 13, 2012

Leannes Happy Dance

Those of you who are UK based will understand what I am on about! For those of you from abroad, you may not realise that we have a 24hr Craft Channel, Create and Craft, you can watch online, but there is a much loved Lady on there, Leanne Chivers, who does a "Happy Dance", especially when she gets to go home early, lol. And I have been dancing for the past 24 hrs!!! Doing Leannes Happy Dance!!
Hubby shouted at me last night to stop dancing in bed, I nearly spilt my home made soup all over the floor as I was doing the happy dance, and I was even letting my Butt do the Happy Dance when driving around today!
So Why was I doing the Happy Dance, why havent I posted apart from a quick one liner?
Well look over there ------------->----------------------> see them?-------> 3 of them? ----------> in 24hrs!!
Happy Dance, Happy Dance, Happy Dance!!!
Normally I am quite a prolific card maker, but I have only made 2 cards in the past 48 hrs! One I am going to post for you now, the other leaked, but I was wonderfully happy with it, so I will re-do it, and post it another day. My head had been spinning at the wonderful events that started yesterday afternoon, and I havent been able to settle, I have been too busy dancing the Happy Dance!!


I have only been blogging since October, and it took me some time to get the hang of it... then I went to the NEC with a couple of friends, and found out about sample makers and design teams. I had no idea these people existed! I thought they actually worked in the companies Offices, Naive I know, any way.
My FG, (Fairy Godmother) and I will show her to you one day started insisting that I blogged, etc, then that I ought to apply for some design teams, she thought I was good enough, I disagreed but you really cant argue satisfactorily with a 3" high Fairy you know, so being a good and dutiful God daughter I did as I was told, and at the start of the new year, thats 13 days ago, I sent off some applications to various places asking for Design team members. I never once thought I'd get a response.
Happy Dance started yesterday, with the Stamp n Doodle email, Hence the one line post, why I never finished the card I was making, and why I didnt spot until it was too late that my other one was leaking in time to save it.
Then this morning I was just starting to settle down again, and opened my emails, this time from Paper Crafting Journey, so Happy Dance started all over again.
While I was busy dancing, one of my friends, who I had gone to the NEC with, sent me an email asking me to phone her pretty urgently, so off I trot to the phone. Would I mind if she put my name down as a possible designer for a company she knew was looking for DT members? Erm well no, but I had just been offered these 2 as well, and didnt really think that I would be considered seriously as there are much better designers out there.
Lo and behold, just as I am coming to terms with DT number 2 I get an email from Scrapbook Stamp Society!! So soon? They cant like my style!! Would I like to join the Dream Team? So the Happy Dance Started all over again!! So I have been dancing for the past 24hrs, and am now just starting to get my feet back off the ceiling and onto the floor where they belong!
The card is now finished, as it was only a few bits I had to do, the tag, the ribbon flowers, that was all, so here is the card I made yesterday for the Ditzy-Craftymess daily Challenge here
We were given a shoe template and told to go make it.............Ta Shendy...!
So I did make it, from paper in my stash, as I couldnt find the pad I wanted to use ( I found it today it had fallen behind my foiler!) and then thought what do I do with it? So bit of a re-think later I came up with an old Fairy Tale, I know FG is really featuring heavily tonight isnt she? Remember the tale of the cobbler, and the little elves?How they made the most amazing shoes for the poor cobbler? So that was the inspiration, but I didnt have any elves! Or a Cobbler for that matter, so a sewing machine and patterns had to do! So I shrunk and tiled the Template Shendy had given us in My Craft Studio, and printed it off, then got a stippling brush and distressed the edges of the sheet with a Vintage Photo Distress ink by Tim Holtz. I cut one of the little patterns off the corner, made a longer slit, and curled the edge of the paper under. I did buy the Hunky Dory kit last year, which had the sewing machines, and scissors on, so I rescued those from their storage box, and inserted the scissors in the slit to make it look as though they were cutting the pattern out. 
Next I trimmed around the sewing mechanism of the machine, and slipped the carefully cut out pattern under the needle and Pinflaired it into position. I used the rest of the paper on my base Bronze card stock, matted onto some Gold Matt finish Mirri, and placed the finished shoe on top as a stopper. I made another copy of the same shoe, and cut it out, placing it so that it looks like its being sewn together. Added a coiled Measuring tape, again from Hunky Dory, and proceeded to decorate the shoe.
Out came some White satin Ribbon, and a needle and thread, and now I remember why I dont like making these stupid but pretty flower things! Anyway, got some made in White, used the remaining blue paper I had used for the shoes to punch out some flower shapes using a Mini Tonic flower punch. Then as my youngest had been thoroughly taught by Jodie from Tonic, on how to make the flowers at a My Craft Studio Sale day, and he taught me, I made the flowers up with tweezers, 5 layers to a flower, with lots of cursing, and glue all over the place!! I wanted a big Flower for the "Clasp" at the side of the shoe, so found my Papermania Blueberry Capsule collection, (which matched the paper pad I had wanted to use but found down the side of the Foiler),  and layered two large paper flowers and secured it to the shoe with a contrasting brad from the set.
That's when the first email arrived!!
I didnt manage to settle down to finish it until mid afternoon, just before the 3rd email, but finish it I did just in the nick of time, I quilled a strip of Blue paper into a rose bud, then I got that blooming needle out AGAIN, and made one full Rose in a Blue satin Ribbon, and made the second, unfinished, with the edge trailing down the card, remember in the story the Cobbler started by cutting and laying everything out, and the elves improved upon it, which was what I was hoping to hint at with the Blue Ribbon Roses.
As a Fairy Tale card without any elves , I thought it suitable for a new Baby, and added a tag I had found in My Craft Studio, but can I remember where it was? NO!! I'll add it if I can find it again!! anyway, I then added the Congratulations tex, printed it off onto some photo card, cut it out, punched a hole, and put a bit of the blue satin ribbon through.


phew long post, have I made up for not posting yet?


I hope so , so thats my news, what do you think?


xx


Lou

6 comments:

Sheen said...

Oh, Lou, this is just PHENOMONAL! Sorry for shouting...it's a masterpiece! No wonder you're on DT's, my friend. All the very best of luck with it, it's so exciting for you. How lucky are they to have you!
Crafty hugs, Sheenagh x

Di said...

Totally delighted for you! And it's really well deserved!! 'Happy Dancing' here for you chick! Di xx

Alyx said...

Lol...I know what you mean about that happy dance as I'm still doing it too! Very well done, Lou...all this accolade is much deserved. Best of luck with it all.
xx

Jo said...

Congrats, Lou, i know how you feel - i'm now on 3 DT's too - it's so exciting to be part of challenge blogs isn't it? There's so many talented crafters out there and a world of inspiration!
Crafty hugs, Jo x

Krafty Hugzz Kenzi x said...

Hi hun, congrats, i have just joined team pcj too so were both newbies, ur blog looks gr8 and love them lil shoes
lotsa hugz
Kenzie xx

Linda Simpson said...

Well Lou your card is amazing as usual. I couldn't be happier for you my dear friend as you deserve it. Woohoo we will be working together!! How fab is that?

Hugs always
Linda xxx