Forget about the dirty looks

Good Morning & welcome!  Sweet Stampin' has another fab challenge for you this week, a very timely one if you're needing to make a Father's Day card or have an upcoming male birthday as it's CARDS FOR MEN.

Recently I spent a chunk of time sorting out my SU stamps.  Gone are the random words or images that I know I will never use & what remains has been re-organised to make more sense to me.  Which is really how it should be but for some reason I persisted in keeping them in their sets.  Those are SU papers too & I broke out the DI's for a spot of watercolouring.  I even did that thing of mopping up my excess ink.  Because I absolutely definitely need more backgrounds to use up, lol!

I needed some layout inspiration so I nipped along to the talented Jules' blogs & borrowed sketch number 54.  Thank you Jules.

Playing along with:

Thanks for dropping by.  If you're breaking out the MAN stash this week, come & join in the fun.  Have a great week!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

(I'm Not Okay - MCR)

A quiet return

Well hello, it's been a while!

Here I am sneaking back in to the blogging world via the Sweet Stampin' challenge.  Happy Birthday to the challenge, 16 years is something to be proud of!  Sharing a card I made for an incredibly special young lady who loves a bit of pink bit & also needs a card with lots of energy & personality.

So looking forward to catching up.

The Genius (occasionally!) xx

James Dean daydream

Do you think my day needed brightening when I made this card?!  I just had the urge to make something bright & in your face!  I really like it too and I like the fact it uses pretty much one of the first stamps I ever purchased way back in 2006.  I read a statistic a while ago that said stampers only use the majority of their stamps 3 or 4 times.  Isn't that scary when you consider how much we spend on them?  

This was made for our challenge over at Sweet Stampin' this week where we want to see creations with 'presents' on.  I was actually amazed at how few stamps I have with presents on.  Hopefully you'll fare better & come play along with us.

Playing along with a challenge or two:

Always Happy Birthday June - Happy Birthday

Crafts Galore 52 - Anything Goes

Country View Challenges June - The Written Word

Crafting with Friends 68 - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers - 147 - Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts 58 - Anything Goes

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Greatest day of my life

I do love a sketch for inspiration, sometimes your my brain just doesn't know where to start!  So in the interests of efficiency (it does happen occasionally!) I combined this week's card for Sweet Stampin'. where we want to see embossing, with the sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping and ended up with this:

I heat embossed that wee cake from Stampin' Up & i'm really happy with the result so i'm entering in to a few challenges:

Clean and Simple Stamping - Sketch

Stamping Sensations - One for the Girls

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Then because I was feeling so efficient & I need to make a ton of cards, I went and made a dry embossed card too, the image on this one is a digi from SK Digis (no longer trading)

I'd like to join in a few challenges with this one too:

4 Crafty Chicks - Flowers

Craft Rocket - Flowers

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (not used the optional Spring theme)

Fussy & Fancy - Add a Sentiment

I love the colours on this one but let me tell you, they look nothing irl like they do on screen, if anyone ever works out how to get a good representation on teals & aquas on a computer I want to know!

Thanks so much for popping by, if you're embossing anything this week why not drop by Sweet Stampin' and share with us :-)

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

You can buy your hair if it won't grow

I was having one of my rare but welcome bursts of efficiency last week & feeling very proud.  Until I realised I hadn't scheduled this post.  Still I guess there's nothing wrong with 2 day late post letting you know we've got a bingo board challenge over at Sweet Stampin' is there?  You still have 5 days to join us :-)

I loathe green, although not all green.  Just the green green ones, y'know, like on this card!  Despite that, I love this card.  I know, so contrary.

I used a fabulous new digi stamp from Digi Stamp Boutique, Susan made me buy it.  She is a bad influence ;-)

Checking out a few challenges too:

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (optional old stash)
Daring Cardmakers - Do Something DIGI

Have a great day,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

I heard you got a new girl friend

Men cards are something I never seem to have enough of, are you the same?  Aren't they just so darn difficult to make for?  The new challenge over at Sweet Stampin' this week made me determined to chip in.  I like this one as it's great for men with no hobbies although it would have to be someone you liked quite a bit to use all those superlatives!

Those background stamps are one of my favourite ever stamp sets (Extreme Elements from SU).  I keep looking at the splat dies that are now appearing.....so far I have managed to stop myself and stick with the stamps ;-)

As ever, I'd love to play along in a few challenges:

Addicted to Stamps 276 - Anything Goes

Cardz 4 Guyz 186 - January Blues TOP 3!

Creative Moments 135 - Anything Goes

Shopping our Stash - Birthday!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Your love is my love

Lots of layers, a toughie for a girl whose heart leans towards CAS design!  Anyway, lots of layers is the theme this week over at Sweet Stampin' so here I am and if you count the card base i've got 10 layers, woohoo!

I'm not a green lover normally but I do love a bit of lime, with black & turquoise especially!  I'm on a mission to make more men cards but honestly think this would work for either species.  

Keeping this short as sneaking a few minutes to post but would love to join in some challenges:

Penny Black & More - Something New (Embossing Folder)

Shopping our Stash - Old (Stamps) & New (Embossing Folder)

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Bring me a higher love

I was so chuffed to get a Top 3 placement from Stamping Sensations for my last card, maybe I should harness my pmt grungy, messy creativity more often!

Fairies & Fantasy is not one of my favourite themes if i'm honest with you.  I don't think i'm very good at it.  Despite that i'm reasonably happy with this week's card.  I love the black & white combination & I love that I used a piece of a very old 6x6 paper pad as well as an embellishment (that wee swirly bit in the corner) that I have owned for donkey's years.  A very old donkey at that!

If you're better than me at fairies & fantasy creations, we'd love to have you playing along this week at Sweet Stampin'.  Do pop over, the girls have made fabulous inspirations for you.

While I'm around, i'll play in a challenge or two:

A bit more time to Craft - Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

I know what I know if you know what I mean

We've got a distress challenge over at Sweet Stampin' this week.  I'm not great at distressing cards, have to be in the right frame of mind....severe pmt usually (bizarrely) works well lol!  Hopefully you'll not all be suffering that while you're creating your distress masterpieces this week!

This fabulous stamp is from Inkylicious and there was sanding, inking, tearing, more sanding on this card.  I just went to town & enjoyed it...it's like therapy!

As is my habit, I'll enter a few challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge - Birthday Card

Crafty Catz 387 - Anything Goes (optional CAS)

Crafty Friends 68 - Anything Goes

Penny Black & More - Close to Nature

Stamping Sensations - Autumn Glory TOP 3!

Thanks for dropping by,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Another gear in a big machine

It's time for a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin' and even though it's not my week, I'm joining in.  Life has been very busy (in a wonderful way) and my card stash is seriously depleted so any push to get me creating is good.

So team Susan have a favourite stamp challenge & we all know it's near impossible to choose just one!  But I do LOVE Penny Black stamps & they were some of the very first I purchased and are still some of the most loved.  This one has been in my stash since 2009 and doesn't he just make you smile :-)

Entering a few challenges too:

A Gem of a Challenge - Fun Outside

Crafty Friends - Dies/Punches

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies

Retro Rubber - Anything Goes

Rubber Dance - Also Favourite Stamp

Thanks so much for dropping by x

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

I got your photograph

Some days, I like to play rather than create an actual finished project.  The dreamweaver-ed stars on this panel are one such piece and having been sat there for a few weeks, I decided they would be perfect to use in this week's challenge of Stars and Stripes over at Sweet Stampin',  

They were particularly perfect because the dreamweaver pastes were sent to me from a wonderful friend of mine who moved from the U.K. to the U.S.A. a few years ago & left me missing her every single day!  Also totally unintentionally, the sentiment is one from a Hero Arts set that I purchased on a visit out to see her.  There were a number of shopping trips involved in that trip & I recall having to buy an extra suitcase to come home with!  What a card full of memories :-)

As I do on these rare occasions of blogging, i'm playing along with some challenges:

Craft Rocket - For Men/Boys

Through the purple haze 128 - Spots or Stripes

Thanks so much for dropping by,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

So, no-one told you life was gonna be this way

Time for another challenge over at Sweet Stampin' and this week we want to see CATS and/or DOGS.  I apparently don't have many cat stamps so I dug out this gorgeous dalmation instead.  He's from a company that makes the most wonderful realistic dog stamps of practically every breed, I'm just having a little trouble remembering the name....

I teamed him with spotty papers from Stampin' Up & this fab sketch from SSW2.

Here's me playing along with some lovely challenges:

Fussy and Fancy 186 - Anything Goes

Seize the birthday - Anything 'Birthday' Goes

 Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 - Fab Sketch

The Male Room 59 - Many Legs

So, what's on the agenda this weekend?  Well, not much for me.  Lots of housework, a couple of cards and hopefully a nice walk if it stops raining!  Hope your weekend is a good one xx

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Love is a Battlefield

You'll be pleased to hear the urge to do housework has passed!  I am back to normal again ;-)

I got completely abandoned by mojo recently & asked Susan to give me a random word that I had to get inspirations from.  The second one she threw at me was...unicorn which I interpreted very literally!  Very proud here as I used up some very old paper, the backing is Brilliant Blue from Stampin' Up & the paper pieced body is a velvet paper.  Ideal for a little one as they can actually stroke the unicorn 'fur'.

So if you fancy a bit of paper piecing this week, come & join us at Sweet Stampin'.

Thought I'd join in with a few challenges too:

Come and Get it - It's a Girl Thing
Crafting when we can - One for the girls

Cupcake Inspirations -



Thanks so much for dropping by,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Just wanna dance the night away...

Over at Sweet Stampin' this week we have a 'Mellow Yellow' challenge.  Truthfully, your yellow doesn't have to be mellow.  It can be a bright as you like !

Every time I see yellow cards, I promise myself I'll use more yellow....it's lovely & cheery but I still forget!  I think I might go make another one while it's on my mind!

I used a lovely image from Stampin' Up's Simply Soft set and some spotty paper also from S.U. 

Participating in some lovely challenges:

Come and Get It - In the Garden

Dragonfly Dreams - Anything Goes

Penny Black & More - Spring

Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

He was long gone when he met me

With a female card, if in doubt you can pop some flowers on & it works.  The nearest I can get to that for a man, are trees.  They may not drink beer, play golf, watch football or indeed have any hobbies at all but they can't take offence at a tree!

My distressed, inky, splodgy tree is for this week's challenge over at Sweet Stampin' where we're looking for masculine creations.  A fairly quick make but sometimes, that's all you can fit in!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Waking your heart & shaking your walls

Woohoo, getting in early for my July post lol!  Actually hoping i'll make it more than one this month.  Why does it take me such a long time to get back to blogging after the April/May festival?  Also, since when did July get here so darn fast?

Since July is a good holiday month, we want to see creations with a Summer or Holiday Destination theme over at Sweet Stampin' this week.  Here's what I made, not based on my hols at all:

Now, I LOVE this card & especially these papers which come from our sponsor this week, Michele R Designs.  I've never really used digital papers before and now i'm wondering why?  They were such a doddle to use and I love that I can layer before printing to help keep it in the lower postage bracket. 

Joining in with a few challenge:

Crazy 4 Challenges - Lighthouse/Ocean

Just Us Girls - Summer

Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

That's Crafty - Masculine

It was really lovely to read your comments about libraries & being a librarian, it's great to know there are plenty of other book passionistas!  I'll think of you all while I'm on duty this week.

Right now, I'm reading 'Ship of Brides' by Jojo Moyes.  I only heard of Jojo Moyes when the lovely Lisa talked about the book 'Me Before You'.  I remember her being very passionate about it & thought that I would get a hold of it.  Eventually I read it & enjoyed it, which led to me reading 'The One Plus One' (also enjoyed) & now I am working my way through the rest of her books along with a heap of others.  I currently have 16 books waiting in my 'to read' pile, I don't like to run out!

I notice there is now a sequel to Me Before You called After You.  I'm not sure I want to read it.  I can't imagine where you can go from where it finished without being terribly cliched.

Have a lovely day folks, thanks for reading my waffle!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Go on, shake your tail feather

Well it's June & here I am again, carving out a rare minute to blog.  I needed something to get mojo up out of the armchair so I went back to my friends at Freshly Made Sketches for this fab sketch and combined it with the challenge at Sweet Stampin' this week of STARS.  My halo is even shinier because it's not actually my week to play!

We are looking for a lovely new team mate or two at Sweet Stampin'.  Head on over to the blog if you are interested in applying, all details are there.

Entering some challenges:

Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Freshly Made Sketches: Sketch

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes

Earlier this year, I started volunteering at a local library in order to keep it open.  I love books and feel passionately about reading.  So much so that I finally feel I have discovered what it is I want to be 'when I grow up', it's just unfortunate I discover this as the position of librarian is being seriously cut back......

Is it just me?!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

February to May

Well I totally missed March & April but I'm sneaking in before May is over!  As regular visitors will know, March & April are my super busy months, I make cards at a fast rate of knots but have no time to blog them.  

I'm dipping my toe back in the water with this week's Sweet Stampin' challenge.  It's a subject that is almost as challenging as the objects themselves, Terrible Teens!  Something I am quite familiar with.

The image came from Dr Digi after a lucky challenge win and I thought he'd be great for teen boys (and older ones too lol!).The games console is a very old Sizzlets die & the Master at Work/Play cam from a set of golf stamps, gotta love versatility.

A few challenges to play along with too:

Allsorts - Happy Birthday

Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes

So if you've a tricky teen to create for, head across to Sweet Stampin' and play along.  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Sit back & Chill out

I've christened it 'Man Week' in my house, I have made nothing but male cards since Monday, am up to 11 so far.  I'm quite impressed.  It was all sparked by a couple of comments about the general lack of men cards everywhere and I thought I'd challenge myself, you know how I love a bit of pressure lol!  Speaking of which, my 150 cards in 113 days is still going well and I am absolutely on target to make it, woohoo!

This fab digi image is from Karen's Doodles (find him here) and seems perfect for those hobby-less men.  Some DSP & CS from Stampin' Up and a few Promarkers completed the card 

I was also hugely inspired by:

Creative Moments - Anything Goes (optional embossing)

Fab n Funky - Male card

Sketch Saturday - Sketch

Thanks so much for dropping by, I hope to be out visiting you all today and tomorrow after the chaos of birthdays and then getting hit by a hormonal mood, love 'em!  Who'd be a woman?!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Game Time

I almost started crafting last night at 1am, it was another poor sleeping night.  Strangely though I don't feel tired today.  Maybe it will catch up with me later but for now, I am a whirlwind!  So here's another card for my tally, I am a wee bit behind schedule.  I recently sorted out all of my clear stamps and found a *few* lotv stamps that have never been inked.  I teamed this one with some SU paper and this lovely sketch and hey presto!

Inspired by these lovely challenges:

I love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon - They say it's your Birthday
Simon says Stamp - Anything Goes
Sketch Saturday - Sketch

The Male Room - Babies or Little Ones

Thanks so much for sropping by,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx