Guitar Hero

Really adding to the Christmas card stash at the moment (I have a few more to upload later).

Here I used a Gerda Steiner digi - coloured it with markers, cut it out by hand and added Stickles. I had a circle of card and one of foam lying around left over from making a shaker card, so I stuck it on that to give it some dimension. I used an embossing folder on the base and the sentiment is Mama Elephant.

I'd like to enter:
Jingle Belles Santa Claus
Winter Wonderland use a digi
Watercooler   Christmas
Give a Crafter a Cookie  photo
Gerda Steiner  share your design

Pro-Am Showdown # 10 - Bicycle Ride

This year, my self-imposed challenge is Pro-Am Showdown, where I take on a commercially produced card I've received (the Pro) and see if I can beat the professionals at their own game with my amateur card.

This is the card I am using as inspiration:

This is another card that was actually sent to my son. I liked the fun, cute character on the bike, the liveliness and the colours. 

So on my card you can see the lesser-known ginger bear on a bike- the stamp is Waffle Flower. I masked it and used a Tim Holtz stencil . The sentiment is also by Waffle Flower. 

I'd like to enter:
As you See It  when I lose my mojo I take inspiration from commercially produced cards. 
Just Us Girls  something new - first time I've use bear stamp, something old - the card I used as inspiration.
Brown Sugar anything goes 

Inkspirational Challenge- Photo

Time for another challenge at Inkspirational . Here's our inspirational photo:

For my DT card I stamped a scene using some colours  and elements from the photo and adding yellow to represent the beach.  The 'shelf' is a Papermania stamp, stamped repeatedly. The starfish and sentiment are from an old magazine freebie. The jar (Clearly Besotted) is supposed to be filled with sand! The seagull is by Crafty Individuals.

Our Guest Designer is Jaydee  and I hope you'll come over to Inkspirational and see what she and the rest of the Design Team have made, and enter your own creation.

I'd like to enter:
Eclectic Ellapu  seaside
Addicted to Stamps  make your mark
Fairytale  at the coast 
Deep Ocean  a day at the beach
Little Red Wagon  sing a song 'Wish you were here' by Pink Floyd and covered by Wyclef Jean, Ed Sheeran and others.

Popcorn Party

I rented 'Beauty and the Beast' from Amazon , bought a cheap popcorn maker, cut some popcorn boxes on the Silhouette and told the kids we were having a movie night.

I got the kids to decorate their popcorn boxes, and of course, had to do one too.

I used 'Band Camp' set from Avery Elle, a Tim Holtz stencil and the bunting is Happy Little Stampers.

Actually, movie night didn't quite go to plan..... when we tried to play the film we discovered the Smart Hub on our TV is broken. So they had to gather round the computer to watch the film! There was one desk chair and two armchairs that we pulled over to the PC, but the armchairs were so low that the children had to stand on them to see the screen. And we had wasted so much time trying to get the TV to work that I didn't have time to sit and watch the movie anyway!

I'd like to enter:
Crafty Catz party time
All Sorts  fancy folds
Making Memories anything but square

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Something Beginning with S.

I chose this week's theme at City Crafter  - feature something beginning with S on your project.

So here are...safari, sunset, Serengeti, sentiment, splashes (of water), silhouettes and stamping .

The silhouettes area Silhouette cutting file and the sentiment is MFT. The background was made with Distress Inks.

I hope you'll come over to City Crafter, see what the rest of the DT have made, and join in the challenge.

I'd like to enter:

Try it on Tuesday  let it shine 

Time Out  shine / sunbeams 

Ooh La La  landscapes 

ATC/ CAT

This ATC was inspired by a picture on the Double D Challenge mood board - can you see which one?

The cat is Hero Arts, the watering can and sentiments are Alte New and the flowers are Penny Black.

I'd also like to enter the ATC challenge at Happy Little Stampers. 

Go Surfin'

Okay, it's got the 'white stuff' but has it got enough white space? Oooh it's my cas dilemna all over again! I made this card for a few challenges , one of which is a cas challenge, so I hope it is appropriate.

The sea, sand and surf board were cut on the Silhouette . I coloured them with ink and stencilled and embossed spots onto the surfboard. The sunbeams were made with a stencil and embossing powder. I cut the sentiment on the Silhouette and coloured it with ink - it was actually the same colour ink as the sea , so I don't know why it looks a different colour!

I'd like to enter:
Less is More  no stamps (nearly failed at the last moment and stamped a sentiment...but managed to realise in time!)
Curtain Call surf's up
Time Out sunbeams
Come and Get it  summertime

Peace and Love

I bought the MFT Deer Friends set when it was first released and since then I've been totally stumped as to how to use it!  I've had a few attempts at using it but always dumped the results. So I was thinking of getting rid of the set.

I often have Youtube on in the background while I craft and I noticed that the designers demoing MFT 's releases tend to use a lot of dies with the stamps. I have a Silhouette so I very rarely buy dies but I decided to look through my cutting files and see if anything sparked.

This set - a frame, a banner and a flower (which I didn't use) were, I think, a free set from Silhouette. I stamped the deer and sentiment (Hero Arts)  in dark brown ink . I cut the frame out of glitter card and made a background using Distress Oxide ink and pearl water,  Then I added snowfall acetate behind the frame.

I'd like to enter:
Cut it Up  Christmas
4 Crafty Chicks blue Christmas
Happy Little Stampers  Christmas  die cuts
Tic Tac Toe Challenge  acetate, critter, die-cut

Balloon Ride

Here I used a digi by A Day for Daisies and I cropped it so you can just see part of the balloon. I coloured with markers and paper-pieced the balloon.

I stencilled the clouds using a cloud edges stencil I cut on the Silhouette. (I copied the idea from MFT!)

The sentiment is by Waffle Flower and I stuck it all on a cream coloured base.

I'd like to enter:
Stempelgarten  anything that can fly
Fab n Funky patterned paper
Always Fun  paper- piecing
Make My Monday  travel

Found it!

I stamped and die-cut this Lil' Inker rabbit last week, to make this card , but then I lost it. After looking for it for a few days, I gave up and made another one. So, of course, the original bunny turned up eventually, and so I've made him into a Christmas card. 

The trees are Neat and Tangled and the sentiment is Hero Arts. I added a flurry of Frantage and some clear gems. 

glitter shot 

I'd like to enter:

Cardz4Guyz Christmas 

Crafty Gals Corner  Christmas 

Little Red Wagon Christmas 

Watercooler   masculine 

Addicted to Stamps  anything goes

Swinging Penguin

Last night we had a fantastic thunderstorm that went on for hours and as I couldn't sleep, I decided to make a card combining a few challenges.

The swinging penguin is a digi from Whimsy stamps (coloured with alcohol markers)  and I created the NOEL digitally.  There is lots of clear glitter on the lights, streamers and letters but of course it doesn't show in the photo.

I'd like to enter:
Shopping Our Stash  light bulb
Winter Wonderland  penguins
Cupcake Inspirations black, yellow, white
Use Your Stuff  colour splash
Sweet Stampin Christmas

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Kraft Crafting

This week at City Crafter  Kirsty wants us to use kraft as our base.

For my DT card I stamped a My Favourite Things leopard and coloured it with pencils.

The two sentiments are from other sets by Avery Elle and W plus 9 . I do love MFT stamps but I often don't find the included sentiments very useful - they seem a bit too punny for most occasions and some of them don't seem to cross the Atlantic very well. For me, they could just include a 'happy birthday' and a 'thank you' in each set and I'd be happy.

I cut a wavy line through my kraft card and put yellow card behind and added some faux stitches.

Please come over to CCCB and see what the rest of the DT have made, and enter your own kraft crafted creation.

I'd like to enter:

Give a Crafter a Cookie  picture 

Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge  birthday 

Rabbit Birthday

Another Lil' Inker stamp - I like that they're cute and slightly quirky. I've used part of a sheet of 12x 12  double-sided scrapbooking paper by Pinkfresh Studio. I like that it is thick enough to make the card base. The embossed sentiment is Waffle Flower and I coloured the rabbit with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter:
Come and Get it  two or more dp - I hope this qualifies as it is two patterns , although they are actually two sides of one paper.
Crafty Animals  anything goes
Stamp Ink Paper tictactoe  Green, pink and embossing

Birthday for Christmas

I knew I would enter the challenge at Just Add Ink as soon as I saw it. The challenge is to use birthday stamps and make a Christmas card. After a quick shuffle through some stamp sets  I realised that the perfect set had just popped through my letterbox - this brand new Pure Innocence stamp from My Favorite Things.

To make it look Christmassy, I stamped and masked the little holly stamp (a magazine freebie) and stamped the girl over the top, so the holly sat on top of the cake. I went for traditional Christmas red and green, added a strip of patterned paper , a Hero Arts sentiment, glitter pen on the dress and some red gems.

As well as Just Add Ink, I'd like to enter :
ABC Christmas Challenge  new (the stamp)
Aud Sentiments  Christmas
Casual Fridays  Christmas




Thanks for the Honourable Mention at Just Add Ink .