Crochet flowers

A few people have asked me how I make the crochet flowers I use on my cards, so here's how:

You only need a few metres of yarn for each flower.

I use different size hooks for different size flowers.

ch: chain (luftmaske)

sl st: slip stitch (kjedemaske)
sc: single crochet (fastmaske)
dc: double crochet (stav)
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ch 4, join with sl st to first ch to form a ring.
Round 1: sc in ring, *ch 3, sc in ring*, repeat * to * 3 more times, ch 3, sl st to first sc to join = 5 ch-3 loops.
Round 2: *sc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 1, sc* repeat from * to * in each ch-3 loop, sl st to first sc to join = 5 petals.
Fasten off, and your flower is done!

Hope you understand my pattern. If it's unclear please let me know and I will try my best to help you out. Please don't post my pattern anywhere else, make a link back to my pattern instead if you want to share...
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I would LOVE to see a picture if you make and use my flowers on a project... (just leave a link in my comments).

Another mermaid

Autumn is officially here. It has been pouring down all day today, and it's cold. Brrr... It's a good thing we have warm tea/coffe, paper and stamps!
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I've had time to sit down and play with my new mermaid stamps again. This here is Current Ebbtide and her little pet fish Anela. Aren't they the cutest?
Ebbtide is another one of Amy Young/Sweet November mermaids. Don't know if I love her or Shimmer Redkelp the most.... lol... and I have another mermaid, too, that I will try to get inked up over the weekend. Image is coloured with ProMarkers (Mandarin, Pumpkin, Apricot, Vanilla, Blush, Dusky pink, Blossom, Amethyst, Lilac, Lavender, China Blue, Cornflower, Blue pearl, Black, Cool gray 2 +4 and Blender) and is mounted on 3d foam tape for dimension. I've also added some "pearls" and some ribbon. Border is punced with MS punch, and I have used a black pen to draw a bit around the edges of the papers.

This card goes into these challenges:

Oh, Alice: Chapter 31 - Use crowns and/or mythical creatures

Charisma Cardz Challenges: #38 - Anything goes!

Thanks for looking, and I really appreciate your comments!!

Shimmer Redkelp & Otto...

Finally some time to sit down and do some blogging again... I had the house full with visitors this past weekend. My mum and dad, and my auntie too, came friday afternoon and stayed until monday afternoon. It was good to see them all again. We talked a lot, ate a lot and drank a lot.... ehmm... a little bit of red wine.
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The only downside of having them, was that I received some much wanted mermaid stamps (by Amy Young /Sweet November Stamps) just before my visitors arrived... and I had to put them away the entire weekend - the stamps, not the visitors;P -and be social instead... lol... and then I had work on Tuesday, so it wasn't until last night I got to sit down and play with my new stamps.
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It was hard to decide wich one I wanted to try out first, but I decided on Shimmer Redkelp and her sweet otter Otto. Isn't she the most gorgeous stamp? I'm sooo in love with these mermaids (I got a couple more that I haven't played with yet...). I knew from the first time I saw them that I needed to own a few...

I have used Promarkers to colour in with (Cocoa, Cinnamon, Blush, Vanilla, Dusky pink, Ivory, Blossom, Cool aqua, Duck egg, Mandarin, Pumpkin, Apricot and Blender). The sentiment was sent to me in the post a while back, so I don't know anything about it. I've also used a MS punch, some ribbon and brads. The flower is made with one of my crocheted flowers (it's so much fun to crochet these, and it only takes a few minutes. I can write down the pattern if anyone is interested), some torn and distressed book pages and a brad.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketches: #60 - handmade flowers

Passion for ProMarkers: week 70 - make your own flowers

The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge: #101 - anything goes

A Spoon Full of Sugar: #122 - anything goes.

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Thanks for looking!

EDIT: You can find the pattern to my flowers HERE.

Miss Anya again...

Just a quick post tonight...
Image is Miss Anya by The Greeting Farm. She's coloured with Promarkers and so is the scalloped oval border. I don't own this stamp myself, but she was so much fun to colour up that I'm wondering if I might have to buy one for myself.... lol... I have used one of my crocheted flowers again, but making it a bit more interesting by adding some torn bookpages coloured with Promarkers (Duck egg), a brad and some ribbon.

This card goes into these challenges:

ICSketches - sketch #83

Sketchy Colors - challenge 38- Red & Turquoise

Hooray for you!

I guess I was on a roll, and then it stopped a bit.... maybe due to the fact that I'm working again! Yoohoo! I'm back to the same place as before... same school as Maja attends. It's sooo good to be back "in business", even though it's only 3 days a week... but can't spend my days making cards and playing with my stamps anymore... back to night time stamping... hahaha....

I needed a card for the girl next door who turned 8 the other day, and came up with this. Maja, who will be 8 in three weeks time, chose the image; a bratz girl printed out from one of those "print and colour in" pages for children.
Image is coloured with Promarkers (I didn't make a note of which ones) and mounted on 3d foam tape. Sentiment is a freebie from Create with TLC (tons of freebies on there:)) I have also used some scraps of paper and some bling...
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I sometimes wonder what other card makers do to the inside of their cards... so I thought maybe other people would be interested in seeing what I do to mine (most of the time anyway...).

I usually only add a one layer panel to the inside. Sometimes I punch one edge with a border punch (if I've used it on the front of the card), some has a stamped image on the panel and sometimes, if I don't have a coordinating stamp, I draw an image. I usually also add a thin, black double line around the edges of the panel and use my Promarkers to add some colour outside the line, and sometimes I just use an inkpad (like the one top right). Clean and simple, that's what I like...

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Thanks for looking!

Hedgehog on a balloon...

Oh well... I'm on a roll! Another card! Already! I'm even surprising myself... lol... Guess I've got too much spare time on my hands being without a job and no children at home...
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I made this card this morning whilst the children were away at school/nursery. Isn't that the cutest hedgehog? I've got a feeling that balloon's gonna burst any minute though... lol...
I don't know who the stamp is by... I stamped the image with my friend's stamp while I was there last week (and was, of course, too busy talking to notice any brand names...). Anyhoo... image is coloured with Promarkers (Cocoa, Cinnamon, Dusky pink, Blush, Vanilla, Ivory, Cornflower, China blue, Blue pearl, Cool grey 2 and 4. I also used the colourless blender to blend the shadows beneath the balloon. And I used Lime green and Apple for the scalloped border). I have used my promarkers along with Hero Arts shadow ink (baby blue) on the edges. And I have also distressed edges by scraping them with scissors. Sentiment was made with an alphabet stamp set, it says "happy birthday!"
I'm entering this card into these challenges:
2 Sketches 4 you - Laura's Sketch #60
Creative Cottage challenge - #22- Celebrations
Stamp something- Something cute
Crafty cardmakers- #29- Clean & simple
The Paper players- #14- Clean & simple

Two cards

Monday again... I think Monday is becoming my favourite day of the week.... Maja at school, Susie at nursery, hubby at work, and me at home - alone! So I let housework be housework and dig out my papers and stamps instead! Today I finished this card:
Again, I have borrowed a stamp - one of the Gorjuss girls- from Renate. I have coloured her with Promarkers (Cocoa, Cinnamon, Dusky pink, Blush, Vanilla, Blossom, Ivory, Duck egg, Cool aqua, Red, Rose pink and Cool grey 2). Image panel is mounted on 3d foam. I have used Tilda papers and a MS punch. The edges is distressed by scraping a pair of scissors along the edge and I also added a bit of ink around the edges.

I had fun, the other day, crocheting some small cotton flowers. I have used one of them on this card. I put the bead from a decorative foam flower through the middle hole in the crocheted flower before gluing it to the card....

I'm entering this card into these challenges:

Sketch Saturday - Challenge #119 - a sketch

Stamptacular Sunday challenge - challenge 75 - Distress it!

Secret Crafter Saturday challenge - challenge 99- Clean and Simple

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I also have a second card to share with you today... woohooo! That's not like me, is it? Two cards in one post... hehe... I made this card last week while visiting my friend Randi. I know, I know... two cardmaking visits in one week! Lucky me! It's so much fun meeting up with friends to talk and make cards and share stamps and ideas.

I have borrowed the Henry mouse stamp from my friend. Isn't he the cutest? He was coloured in (with Promarkers) while I was at my friends house, and I was too busy chatting away that I forgot to make a note of what colours I used... Papers from Nille, and again I have used some of my chrocheted flowers. I tried colouring one in with a Promarker, but I'm not sure about the effect.... Sentiment is made with a couple of different alphabet stamp sets and says "Hooray for you". Edges are distressed with scissors and I have also drawn a couple of lines round the papers with a pen.

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Thanks for looking & have a great week!

Green Miss Anya

Oh, it was sooo cold this mornig... I was seriously thinking about lighting a fire in our fireplace....It turned out to be a very beautiful, sunny day though, but still a bit chilly where there's no sun. I don't want summer to be over just yet, but I guess there's not much I can do about it really... lol... At least cold weather means more time inside and that will in turn lead to more time to craft...

Yesterday I met up with Renate, a lady I met here in blogland. Turns out she lives just "round the corner" from me (it took me no more than five minutes on my bike to get to her house...). She makes the most beautiful cards, and I've been following her blog for a while now, so it was really fun to meet her in real life. I brought some of my stash, and we spent the entire morning talking and making cards. I guess I did a lot of talking because I didn't even manage to finish one card while I was there.... I finished it at home last night though...
I have borrowed Renate's "Miss Anya" stamp by the Greeting Farm (such a cute stamp) for my image. It's coloured with Promarkers and mounted on 3d foam. Butterfly border is a MS punch. Black DP is by Dovecraft - Amethyst Floral prints. The green DP is something Renate gave me, so I don't know who it's by... The green heart is handmade... I cut a piece of card, covered it with glue and sprinkeled some glitter on.

I didn't add any flowers on my card because I thought the flowers on the DP were flowers enough.... and I also think I have a thing for simple cards at the moment...

Thanks for looking!