Polkadot Bikini

I love this image from Mo's Digital Pencil and I had fun colouring it in.
I'd like to enter it for these challenges:
Twisted Tuesday Challenge Red Hot Summer
I love Promarkers Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenges Summertime Girls
  

Reed all about it

Using this reed stamp (Judith) a few days ago reminded me how versatile this stamp is.

I stamped the reeds and coloured the stems and leaves. Then I stamped it again on a scrap of pink and brown patterned paper and paper-pieced the heads (do you call them heads?).  Then I used the rest of the paper as a panel down one side. That's it. Clean and simple!

I'd like to enter this for:
Less is more Paper piecing
Cas-ual Fridays Pretty in Pink

A walk on the beach

The weather, in the South East of England is summer-y one day and gone the next. I struggle every morning to decide what to wear. Very often it's summer clothes with winter accessories (boots, cardi and umbrella)!  I'm starting to get into the summer mood, though, as we're busy running exams at work and so my summer break is in sight!

This card was made with an A Day For Daisies image, coloured in and cut out, and stuck with silicone glue on a paper scraps background.

I'd like to enter this for:
Artful Times Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
Emergency Crafters  Summer sun
Crafting when we can Summer fun

Frogs in crystal

  

Maybe it’s something to do with the crazy weather, but we have a bumper crop of tadpoles in our garden pond at the moment.

For this card I dredged up an old technique I’ve not done for a while – Caught in Crystal. This involves floor wax and, when I got the bottle out, I found the lid had stuck on fast! Creativity was on hold while I found ways to get it open!

The frogs image (Magenta) was stamped onto acetate. I spread the back of the acetate with floor wax, glitter dust, alcohol inks and layers of tissue paper.

The background was made with distress inks and the reed stamp (Judith).

 I’d like to enter this for :

Fashionable Stamping Challenges  Nature

Hotshot Craft Blog  Distress Inks

The Professionals

Here’s a card for a teacher or librarian. I might give it to my son’s teachers, if I have the nerve. I always feel embarrassed giving handmade cards to people I don’t know very well!

I sometimes go to a reading group and last week we read The French Lieutenant’s Woman. I ordered mine, second-hand, from Ebay and it was okay when it came, but during reading it fell to pieces! It’s made it’s way onto this card.

I used a Gorjuss stamp, manilla tag , prima flower and kraft paper – I hope the kraft paper adds to the schoolroom/library look.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Secret crafter Saturday Challenge The Professionals
Twisted Tuesday   Get krafty and recycle
Little Red Wagon Get krafty
Paper Crafting Journey Feeling krafty

Let's go fly a kite

Another card I made yesterday at the crop. I was doing a layout using Basic Grey What's Up papers and I paper pieced the stamp(Papermania) with the leftovers. The little red bird was cut from the scraps too. The cloud paper and brads are also BG What's Up and I also used Promarkers and Distress inks.

When he saw this, my five-year-old son tried to steal it off me, which is the acid test on whether this is a suitable card for a little boy!

I'd like to enter this for:
Jelly Park Challenges Let's go fly a kite
Little Red Wagon Boys birthday
Do you stack up? Men/boys

Beach Hut

I was at my local crop yesterday. We made a lovely layout using this stripy paper (Echo Park)  and then I used the leftovers to make this card.

The beach hut and deckchairs are from a free Emma Ball stamp set that came with Simply Homemade magazine. The bunting and sea stamps (stamped 3 times) are from two other sets. I coloured with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter this for:
Oldie but Goodie Banners or bunting (the sea and bunting stamps are old)
Lia Stampz Summer
Polkadoodles Summer Scene
Raise the bar challenge Summer
Allsorts Challenge Paper Piecing
Papertake Weekly 321 (1 beach hut, 2 deckchairs, wave stamped 3 times.)  
  

Feathered Friends

Hello to the 23 people who've been kind enough to 'follow' my blog. I'm really grateful!

I bought this Crafty notions stamp today - it was half price!  I paper pieced it with two papers from Basic grey, Lily Kate collection. I kept it 'Clean and Simple' and when I know who I'm going to send it to, there's room for a sentiment.

I'd like to enter this for these challenges:
Paper and Such Design Blog Our Feathered Friends
 Emergency Crafters Butterflies, birds or anything with wings.
Basic Grey Challenges Clean and Simple

Feeling Fruity

I wanted to enter 'I love Promarkers' challenge 'Tutti Fruitti' but I didn't have a fruity image to use. Then I remembered some outline stickers I've had for years. I love using up my old, forgotten stash!
The buttons are supposed to be reminiscent of little slices of orange and lemon. I enjoyed the colouring in- very relaxing!

As well a 'I love Promarkers', I'd like to enter this for:
City Crafter Challenge Buttons
Paper Crafting Journey Colour it up
Out of a hat creations buttons.  

Cage Dancer

Oh no – the ballerina has been locked in a cage by an evil baron and forced to dance forever!!!

 The ballerina and the cage are both from My Craft Studio  Simply Silhouettes CD and the papers are Daisy Ds.

I’d like to enter this for these challenges:

CD Sunday Beautiful Ballerinas

City Crafter Challenge Ballerina   

Balloon Race

Just playing around this Sunday morning and found some kid’s jigsaw blanks I found in a cheapo shop ages ago.

I stamped the verse (Paper Inspirations), masked it and inked with brilliance, using more torn paper masks for clouds. The balloons are a mix of Kaisercraft and All Night Media and I used a white pen to highlight bits of the balloons.  

I will give this to my son to assemble the jigsaw puzzle and then get him to use a blank to make his own.

I’d like to enter this for:

Quirky Crafts Up, up and away
Creative Card Crew Song inspired (Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon)
The Paper Variety Anything but a lo or card   

Make Lemonade

Here's a card to send to a friend who's having a hard time.

The image is by Mo's Digital Pencil and I paper pieced it with two different patterns and coloured the rest with Promarkers. I use Distress Ink to soften the white background. All papers except the check one are Basic Grey and the sentiment is by Unity.

I'd like to enter this for:
Do you stack up? Paper Piecing
Mo's Challenge Blog Anything Goes
Crafty Ann's Challenge It's a girl thing.   

Strip Poker

Here’s a card you could give to a man with a sense of humour!

The woman is a um , I think from Viva Las Vegas stamps. The buckle is amade from chipboard, covered in Utee. The background paper is from My Craft Studio. The ribbons and mini playing cards were stuff I had lying around.

I'd like to enter this for these challenges:

Shopping our stash Masculine

Little Red Wagon Use a playing card

CRAFT Male card

Artful Times Men

The Stampman Challenge Make it for a man  

Butterflies, birdhouse and blooms

This simple card was very nearly a one-layer-card – but in the end I decided it looked better mounted onto the coloured card.

The text and flowers  are part of a large Kanban stamp - there was an image of a woman attached but I didn't like it, so I cut it off and now just use it as a frame/border.  The birdhouse is from a HOTP set that came free with Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine and the little butterfly was part of another magazine freebie. The sentiment is Papermania. I coloured it in with Promarkers and gel pens (on the butterflies).
I will be giving this to my partner's mum to thank her for having our son to stay for the last few days.
I'd like to enter this for:
Come and Get it Challenges - Flowers and butterflies
A Gem of a Challenge Photo inspiration

Elfin Safety

Have you ever seen those magazine articles where they take a designer fashion item and show what great value it is by calculating the ‘cost per wear’?  

This stamp, ‘Falling Softly’ by Stamps Happen is a big and quite expensive wood mounted stamp, but, oh boy! – the cost per wear is fantastic!  

I’ve used it for birthdays, thank-yous and Christmas; coloured it in pastels, brights, neutrals and glitter; changed the skin colour to reflect the recipient; made her bounce off balls and fall out of Christmas trees.

This time I stamped her onto coloured paper, cut her out and coloured her in with markers and gel pens. The background paper already came with the border and I faintly stamped some text (Indigo Blu). I stamped a mushroom (Lavinia Stamps) and added glitter (don’t think it shows in the photo).  The ticket is from Pink Paislee; I stamped it with a Craft Stamper freebie which says ‘Fairyland Park’. Finally, I added gems and a flower made with punches.

I'd like to enter this for these challenges:
Oldie but goodie Anything goes
Let's ink it up Favourite Embellishments (gems)
Fashionable Stamping Challenges Mystical and very magical
Out of a hat creations Favourite Stamps  

White wedding

This month's A Day For Daisies club kit is wedding themed and, although I haven't got anyone to give this to at the moment, I thought I'd enjoy making a wedding card.

I printed the image onto parchment and coloured it from behind. I embossed the dress, flowers and veil from the back to make them raised and white. I used an Xcut border punch, a heart punch and some bling.

Bring on the wedding- I'm ready!!

I'd like to enter this for:
Simply Create Wedding
Cas-ual Fridays Bling
Digital Tuesday Anything goes
Try it on Tuesday Anything goes    

On the beach

It’s wet and dreary outside but it’s summer in my craft room! I made this with an A Day for Daisies image, paper scraps, a shell stamp (unknown UM) , Martha Stewart punch and assorted types of marker pen.

I'd like to enter this for these challenges:
The Paper Players Summertime
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge Photo Inspiration
Allsorts Challenge By the seaside  

Stickered

I don’t often make cards using just stickers but these seemed perfect for this project. The card is for a couple who are adopting a little boy this month.

The space stickers and paper are from October Afternoon. ‘Off we go’ is one I had hanging around and I mounted it on the reverse of the star paper. I added silver outline stickers of circles and squares.

I’d like to enter this for:

Here come the boys Anything goes

Jellypark Challenges Boy Crazy  

Under the sea

Some rubber stamps are really versatile and I use them lots to get different looks and effects. This big mermaid scene stamp, by Enchanted Ink, is not very versatile, but it does have impact. I stamped it onto vellum and coloured it in from behind.  

Sorry if you don’t like topless mermaids…..in the unlikely event that they do exist, they probably don’t have bikini tops!

I'd like to enter this for these challenges:
Do you stack up? Under the sea
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge Anything goes